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W W W. M A I N E B I Z . B I Z Fact Book / Doing Business in Maine 200 200 IDEAS FOR MAINE'S BICENTENNIAL 17 Serving Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont 207-361-4515 / 82 Hanover Street Suite 4 Portland, ME P O RT L A N D O F F I C E F U R N I T U R E S H OW R O O M N OW O P E N F O R M E R LY O F F I C E WO R K S O F N E W E N G L A N D Teknion, Kimball, Hon and 100's of other manufacturers represented Experts in Office Furniture, Office Design and Installation W W W. E X T E R U S F U R N I T U R E .C O M In Maine, geography shapes destiny B Y W I L L I A M H A L L tuck at the extreme upper-right corner of the U.S., Maine is a geographically unique state. It's the only of the continental 48 that borders just one other state. Historically, qualities like this have helped foster Maine's success in many transportation-related sectors, from international trade to aerospace. Active seaports have dotted the Maine coast almost since Europeans first set- tled there in the 17th century. In more recent but pre-pandemic years, hundreds of cruise ships have called on Bar Harbor and Portland. Portland is also the East Coast's second-largest oil port and home to a growing container shipping industry, since an Icelandic line, Eimskip, moved its primary U.S. port there in 2013. When it comes to air transportation, Bangor International is a key port — and because of its location serves as a stop for dozens of diverted transatlantic flights each year. BGR was even an emergency landing strip for the Space Shuttle. Likewise, in 1962, the town of Andover housed the antenna base for the world's first transcontinental communications satellite, Telstar 1. Today, Maine continues that heritage with companies such as bluShift Aerospace, which builds rocket engines in Brunswick for NASA. From decommissioned Navy base to one of state's biggest economic success stories B y M a u r e e n M i l l i k e n runswick Naval Air Station opened in 1943 and thrived for decades as the city's major economic driver. By the early 21st century it employed 6,500, including 700 area civilians, supporting a $140 million payroll. When the Navy announced in 2005 the base would close, the region braced for economic devastation. The Midcoast Regional Redevelopment Authority was formed to take charge of the economic development of the site, renamed Brunswick Landing: Maine's Center for Innovation. When the MRRA took over in 2011, as the country was still climbing out of the Great Recession, the goal was to 800 new jobs by 2018. That goal was left in the dust. By 2018, there were 1,620 jobs at Brunswick Landing. The "innovation" in the name isn't just for show – that focus has made Brunswick Landing a success, Steve Levesque, MRRA executive director said that year. "It created something that's not your average industrial park." Two years later, there are 2,300 jobs, 140 businesses, an annual payroll of $110 million and $425 million in private investment at the former Navy air base. B S P H O T O / C O U R T E S Y M I D C O A S T R E G I O N A L R E D E V E L O P M E N T A U T H O R I T Y P H O T O / C O U R T E S Y O F B L U S H I F T A E RO S PA C E A rocket engine performance test on bluShift Aerospace's vertical test stand in Brunswick. Brunswick Landing, a former Navy air base, is now a business park.

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