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V O L . X X V I N O. I I JA N UA R Y 2 7 , 2 0 2 0 26 C O M M E R C I A L D E V E L O P M E N T F O C U S A first thought was at Robbins Lumber, in Searsmont, which had built a wood chip biomass plant and is owned by friends of O'Malia. But that would've meant new con- struction for equipment as long as a football field, an expensive prospect. In August 2017, Homeotherm called. ey were shutting down one of their lines and were selling the equipment. New it would've been as much as $25 million, but they'd sell it to GO Lab at a discount. at sped up the process. A flurry of fundraising began, including sup- port from Maine Technology Institute, Finance Authority of Maine and investors. Off and running In 2019, with financing from a con- sortium of state and local entities, GO Lab bought the Madison mill for $2.4 million. "With closing on the mill and hav- ing a concrete location, people can see that this project is actually happen- ing," Henry said in August when the deal closed. O'Malia says much of the focus now is on raising capital and getting the mill ready for the Homeotherm equipment, which is waiting in Germany. "We needed a football field and we got two football fields," O'Malia says as he stands at the end of the 200- yard long former papermaking space in the mill's main building. e mill, which shut down in 2016, was perfect for their needs. e equipment had been sold off and it hadn't been closed long enough to deteriorate. "It was the perfect space at the perfect time," he says. Another benefit is the area work- force, some of whom are already working for GO Lab. "ey know how to manufacture, they know how to plan," says O'Malia. e mill will run three shifts and employ about 130 once it's producing all three products in 2022. GO Lab started as a way to solve a problem, and now O'Malia is excited about the opportunities it's creating. "It's a chance to make a change, in a lot of ways," he says. "It's fun to part of the solutions, fun to part of solving the problem." Maureen Milliken, Mainebiz senior editor, can be reached at mmilliken @ mainebiz.biz » C O N T I N U E D F RO M P R E V I O U S PA G E CN Brown Company has a variety of rate plans that are suitable for the smallest businesses to the largest en es. Choose a plan based on your business's size and unique needs. Comprehensive hea ng fuel op ons for your business cnbrownenergy.com/commercial-fuel/commercial-electricity Backed by superior service and reliability! > Electricity > Hea ng Oil > Kerosene > Propane > Natural Gas > Gasoline > Ultra-low Sulfur Diesel > Off-road Diesel pcmcompany.com 207-618-7500 M A I N E A N D N E W J E R S E Y Accuracy You Can Build On " Our team is consistently impressed by the quality, promptness, and profession- alism of PCM. Working with PCM as cost estimators on numerous projects, their input has proven invaluable for our team, as architects and consulting engineers, in moving our projects from design into built reality." — Timothy Lock, OPAL; Susan T. Rodriguez, Susan T. Rodriguez | Architecture · Design Photo: Susan T. Rodriguez | Architecture · Design C O S T E S T I M A T I N G | C P M S C H E D U L I N G | C O N S T R U C T I O N S U P P O R T S E R V I C E S | C O S T & C L A I M S A N A L Y S I S P H O T O S / M A U R E E N M I L L I K E N The exterior and interior of the The exterior and interior of the Madison Madison mill mill, where , where GO Lab GO Lab will produce an will produce an innovative, highly efficient insulation. innovative, highly efficient insulation.

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