Mainebiz

V O L . X X V I N O. V I I I A P R I L 2 0 , 2 0 2 0 12 B U S I N E S S M A I N E B U S I N E S S M A I N E B U S I N E S S N E W S F RO M A RO U N D T H E S TAT E with public meetings and interviews with key city or town stakeholders. Cerahelix founder departs for UMaine Susan MacKay, the co-founder and CEO of Cerahelix Inc., has resigned from the company to take the position of senior research and development program manager with the University of Maine's Advanced Structures and Composites Center in Orono. Alex Crowell, a Cerahelix board member and investor, has taken over as interim CEO at the Orono-based company, Maine Startups Insider reported. At UMaine, MacKay will turn her attention to managing the Advanced Structures and Composites Center's large-scale bio- based additive manufacturing program, working with Oak Ridge National Laboratory. She will help research, develop and commercialize products that use the developing technology, also known as 3D printing. N O T E W O R T H Y N O R T H E R N & E A S T E R N The University of Maine System in Orono said it processed $12.8 million in student room and board adjust- ments and rebates as of March 31. The university was also working to have a student fee adjustment and rebate policy in place by April 15. The Maine Department of Education delivered 500 wifi-enabled Samsung Tab A's with a 12-month Verizon ser- vice to Piscataquis County schools to support remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. The devices were procured through a collection of donations and are being offered in Piscataquis County first because data shows it has the highest percentage of students without connectivity. to all of our first responders, healthcare workers, public service professionals, and EVERYONE else working around the clock in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. We truly appreciate you. Thank You! www.KennebecSavings.Bank Winton Scott Architects W S A 5 milk street, portland, maine 04101 • 207.774.4811 • wintonscott.com 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 " Their work is always very professional, detailed and accurate and they always get the job done on time. They are easy to work with and have proven to be flexible when unexpected changes in the task at hand are thrown at them. We have complete trust in their ability to perform at the highest level." — Steve Weatherhead Boys and Girls Club Kennebec Valley 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 Q: My company is in a financial crisis. What do I do? ACE Advises: Our current situation with COVID-19 and a virtual shutdown of businesses certainly is an economic as well as a health crisis. But businesses come to the point of crisis all the time for many reasons: Customers move to a new competitor, the manufacturing recipe seems to be lost, or perhaps the new products are not getting traction as the old products are ending their life-cycle. When your company has a problem, there are many tools you can use to help define solutions, such as root cause analysis and the 8D problem solving framework. But when the crisis is a real and potentially existential risk to the business, consider the three-step process outlined here. 1. Determine the current financial situation. Setup a cash flow analysis for the next 13 weeks to understand just how much time you have to make a shift, get funding or further reduce costs. This cash-flow analysis can be supplemented by modeling scenarios to define best and worst cases and define trig- ger points for action. 2. Identify what can be done to make the company as robust as possible in the short term. Are there alternative channels? Can you re-purpose prod- ucts or manufacturing capability for new demands? What might change cash-flow scenarios? 3. This crisis will end. Now is the time to envision what the business climate, customer buying patterns and channels might look like once it is over. How can the company be positioned to best take advantage of the new world order? A S K AC E A n s w e r e d b y T e r r y J o h n s o n The Association for Consulting Expertise (ACE) is a non-profit association of independent consultants who value "Success through Collaboration." The public is welcome to attend its regular meetings to share best practices and engage with industry experts. For more information go to www.consultexpertise.com. Terry Johnson is a business advisor and manages the Maine Mentor Network for the Maine Center for Entrepreneurs. He focuses on helping organizations get the help they need, define robust business models and to drive innovation. His website is www.practicaldecisions.com and he can be reached at terry@practicaldecisions.com Determine the current financial sitation. What can you do in the short term?

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