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V O L . X X V I N O. I I I F E B R UA R Y 1 0 , 2 0 2 0 22 S O U T H E R N M A I N E Less obvious but most significant for seafood processing was Saco's "friendly sewer department," he says. e plant uses 25,000 gallons of water a day. Wastewater discharge includes consideration of things like dissolved oxygen and suspended solids. "It takes quite a treatment facility to handle that volume on a daily basis," Holden says. "You need proper treatment that can handle and process our discharge volume. It's a measure of both scale and sophistication. Saco has a wonderful sewer department that has the ability to scale with the extra volume." Transportation logistics Nearly across the street from Luke's is Atlantic Sea Farms. Founded in 2009 as the nation's first commercial kelp farm off Portland, the company in 2017 expanded into a 6,000-square- foot processing facility in Saco, where it partners with kelp-growing operations along the Maine coast and creates products like kelp kimchi and kelp sauerkraut, available for the food service industry nationwide and retail sales in the Northeast. During the harvest from April through June, staff picks up kelp from farmers along the coast, haul- ing perhaps 50,000 pounds per day from as far as Eastport. Once in Saco, it's frozen, then processed. e plant also houses a nursery producing kelp seed that's distributed free to farmers. Production has grown steeply. In 2018, the facility processed 40,000 pounds of kelp. In 2019, it was 240,000 pounds. is year, the harvest is expected to be 650,000 pounds. "ere was a good building here that worked perfectly for processing," says Brianna Warner, president and CEO of Atlantic Sea Farms. "It's right on the I-95 corridor, so it's easy for distributors to pick up. It was available space and the type of building we needed." Highway proximity is key. McEwen at Sea Salt Lobster says its fleet of four trucks, moving two ship- ments a day, can easily hop on the inter- state for a quick run to Boston. Maine Lobster Now's Klenda ships UPS and FedEx for flights out of Portland, Manchester, N.H., Boston's Logan. "Lobsters only live so long when they're out of the water," he says. "Sometimes there are limitations with transit time. Klenda's plan to move to Saco was forced in part by the difficulty of expanding from Maine Lobster Now's site in Portland. Last year, the company shipped 60,000 packages nationwide last year, breaking $10 million in gross sales, he says. "Trying to find any building over 10,000 square feet in Portland is limited or very expensive," Klenda says. A new location had to be close enough to the existing facility to retain employees and at least the same size with room for expansion. To beat the high cost of new construction, cri- teria for an existing building included three-phase power and access to sewer, water, natural gas and internet. He found what he needed in Saco's industrial park, a 17,348-square-foot building originally developed by New England Industrial. Perks include loading docks, ample height clearance and acreage for expansion. He's now in the permitting stage and hopes to be operational by July. Klenda views Saco's seafood cluster as a boon for the city. "It's a lot of jobs," he says. Incentives Another recent arrival is Ready Seafood, which last September opened its new $15 million, 52,000-square-food facility on Route 1 as the largest lobster processing operation in Maine. Construction was funded in part by investors who received tax breaks under a federal program that designated Saco as an Opportunity Zone. Maine Technology Institute's Maine Technology Asset Fund invested $2.5 million in the plant as well. And Ready has a credit enhancement agree- ment with the city of Saco and received a federal Community Development Block Grant for construction of the plant. Founded by John and Brendan Ready in 2004, the company buys and sells over 15 million pounds of live and processed lobster annually, runs three packing and grading shifts 24/7, and sources millions of pounds of live lob- ster annually from the Gulf of Maine to the Canadian Maritimes, according to the company's website. e Saco plant has state-of-the-art cooking and freez- ing technology, including a high-pres- sure processing machine that produces raw lobster meat, pressure-extracted without heat, then flash frozen. Synergies Warner sees benefits to being part of an industry cluster. "We work with some of our neigh- bors on sharing resources, space and transportation," she says. When Ready Seafood, trucks lobster to a cold storage facility in Gloucester, Mass., it allows Atlantic Sea Farms to load kelp for the trip. Atlantic has been able to use Luke's machinery. "It helps to be in the ecosystem," Warner says. "As lobster dealers, there are times when we need each other," agrees McEwen. "We extend that industry helping hand when necessary. If some- one has a truck issue or needs ice, we would be able to connect with them." Laurie Schreiber, Mainebiz senior writer, can be reached at lschreiber @ 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 Diverse industries S aco is in the midst of diversifying its industry recruitment. A market analysis is underway to identify potential sectors, says Saco Director of Planning and Development Denise Clavette. Route 1 has available land on the market for development and the city has acquired two separate sites for future business and industrial park expansion, with lot sizes based on company needs. We've had inquiries from people for 20 acres and 60,000-square-foot buildings to 2 acres and 4,000-square-foot buildings. — Denise Clavette Saco Director of Planning and Development F O C U S P H O T O / T I M G R E E N WAY Brianna Warner Brianna Warner, president and , president and CEO of CEO of Atlantic Sea Farms Atlantic Sea Farms in in Saco, says proximity to I-95 makes Saco, says proximity to I-95 makes it easy for distributors to pick up it easy for distributors to pick up the company's kelp products. the company's kelp products.

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