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W W W. M A I N E B I Z . B I Z 19 M A R C H 2 3 , 2 0 2 0 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 Maine lawyers. Maine clients. Maine values. Por tland / Kennebunk • 207-775-7271 • 1-800-756-1166 • jbgh.com At Jensen Baird, our commitment is to you. We know what our clients need, because we know Maine. Our lawyers understand the unique challenges of living and doing business here. We aren't part of a huge national firm, we're part of the community. And we've been that way for over 60 years. A business for today's world Hebert has STARC Systems on a growth path B Y P E T E R V A N A L L E N I n a world fraught with anxiety around a fast-moving virus, STARC Systems seems like a business cus- tom made for the times. The Brunswick company manufactures clean barriers used by hospitals during construction. Dust and debris stay on the construction side, while the sterile, hospi- tal side remains clean and infection-free. In seven short years since its found- ing, Chairman Tim Hebert has guided STARC Systems into larger and larger workspaces at Brunswick Landing, and this year aims to have 80 employees. While the privately held company does not disclose sales figures, Hebert said those numbers doubled last year and are expected to double again this year. The company received private equity invest- ment and, along with its larger production staff, has beefed up management ranks, with Hebert hiring a CEO, CFO and strong sales staff. Later this spring, the company will consolidate two sites at Brunswick Landing, moving into 50,000 square feet in a former aircraft hangar on Orion Street. "This is great story of conceiving, star ting and growing a business in Maine and partnering with Maine's inno- vative support ecosystem to accom- plish their goals," says Steve Levesque, executive director of Midcoast Regional Redevelopment Authority, which oversees development of Brunswick Landing, a for- mer Navy base. Roots in the construction business Hebert, 40, is a Lewiston native who grew up around his family's construc- tion firm, Hebert Construction, which was founded by his grandfather, Edward Hebert, in 1943. Today, he owns Hebert Construction 50/50 with a cousin, Mike Hebert. "That is my day-to-day job," he says. "I split time between the two companies — a lot of nights and weekends." Heber t Construction's por tfolio includes a range of hospital expansions. Its portfolio includes St. Mary's operating room expansion, the Piper Shores com- plex and the Patrick Dempsey Center for Hope and Healing. The more work Hebert Construction did in hospitals and health care, the more Tim Hebert started thinking about ways they could better contain the construction areas. He pursued the idea at night and on weekends. "At first it was an idea," he says, but soon he was applying for grants and pat- ents and reviewing designs — "all stuff I could do on weekends," he adds. Within the first year, he brought on a mechanical engineer, Bruce Bickford, who he met at a Maine Technology Institute conference. Soon, they were collaborating on the design of the containment walls. "He took the idea and made it some- thing real," Hebert says. All the while, STARC Systems was very much in the startup phase. Hebert was sure there was a product there, but he didn't yet know there was a demand. "We were doing work at Maine Med. I got a call that a lady had tripped on a piece of debris," Hebert says. He quickly responded. "That night, instead of going home, I went to my office," he says. "That really started things. We knew we needed to do something. That was the catalyst. Since then it's been a series of fortu- nate events." He and Bickford, now chief operating officer, developed the first prototype to get feedback from the health care industry. They hired a sales lead, Chris MacKenzie, and started producing the barrier walls. A make or break year That's when things got real. To start producing the main product, the barrier walls, STARC Systems needed working capital. Hebert was able to get a line of credit from Norway Savings Bank by mortgag- ing his house. MTI provided some grant money and Hebert put in some of his own money. In all, the company had $200,000 in startup capital and a 2,000-square- foot space at Tech Place, the business incubator at Brunswick Landing. "We were in rented space. We had no sales. I had two young boys. It was scary," Hebert says. "My day job gave us the ability to live our lives."

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