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V O L . X X V I I N O. I JA N UA R Y 1 1 , 2 0 2 1 18 2 0 2 1 E C O N O M I C F O R E C A S T F O C U S M A N U FAC T U R I N G Manufacturing's word of the year: 'Pivot' B y P e t e r V a n A l l e n T he pandemic took many busi- nesses by storm last year, literally sweeping many to the wayside. But others emerged stronger. e word of the year was "pivot," and Maine had a number of businesses that quickly changed their business model to provide essential goods. Small manufacturers like Westbrook- based American Roots, which makes fleece sweaters and other apparel, started making protective masks, as did Gorham-based Flowfold, a maker of wallets and backpacks. Distilleries like Newcastle-based Split Rock Distilling and Portland-based Maine Craft Distilling started producing hand sanitizer. But no company had a larger impact than Guildford-based Puritan Medical Products. And its impact — with a new production facility in Pittsfield, hundreds of new jobs and $140 million in CARES Act funding — will continue into 2021. Puritan was an example of what author Malcolm Gladwell talks about in "Outliers." It had its 10,000 hours (and more) of experience produc- ing medical swabs. When the Trump Administration came to Puritan and asked it to produce literally millions of swabs, to be used in COVID-19 test kits," the company was able to quickly adapt. With help from Maine's larg- est construction company, Cianbro, which offered a vacant warehouse and construction services, and Bath Iron Works, which created manufacturing machinery, Puritan was able to expand production to a second major site, in Pittsfield, 33 miles from the Guilford headquarters and primary manufac- turing site. Maine's Congressional delegation was instrumental in coming up with $140 million federal aid to help with the rapid expansion. If "pivot" was the word for 2020, "per- sist" might be the word for 2021. Manufacturers that made major shifts in 2020 will this year face the added challenges of finding qualified workers, operating on tighter profit margins and struggling to sustain their original businesses. M A R I N E I N D U S T R I E S Maine's shipyards will continue to grow in 2021 B y M a i n e b i z S t a f f M aine's two largest shipyards con- tinue to grow and evolve. Bath Iron Works recently started sea trials on the future USS Daniel Inouye (DDG 118), the first destroyer built at the shipyard to head down the Kennebec River in two years. BIW is owned by General Dynamics Corp. (NYSE: GD), a Reston, Va.-based defense contractor. BIW employs 6,500 people and plans to accelerate hiring in 2021, with a projected goal of bringing on another 2,650 workers as part of its goal to increase the rate of shipbuilding to two ships a year. e USS Daniel Inouye is a 510-foot- long, Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer, named for the late U.S. senator from Hawaii. BIW's last sea trials for an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer were in March 2018, and the ship was delivered to the Navy about three months later. BIW has built over 30 of the destroyers since launching the first one in 1989. While figures are not available on the cost of building individual vessels, the future Daniel Inouye is part of a $3.9 billion Navy contract awarded to BIW in September 2018. Next up for the Bath shipyard is the future USS William Charette (DDG 130), with four more under contact after that. Shipyard's plans will bolster Kittery housing stock Further south, in Kittery, the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, which had 7,310 civil- ian employees in 2019, has seen a steady increase in civilian employment in recent years. It is one of four Navy facilities and is primarily responsible for maintenance of Navy ships. e shipyard has invested in a land- use study looking at ways to reduce traf- fic and increase affordable housing. In the coming year, the facility will continue to invest in its infrastructure. In September 2019, a New Hampshire company, Methuen Construction Co., was hired for a $59 million job to build a new facility that would consolidate the yard's paint, blast, rubber manufactur- ing and plastic molding operations into one location. e job is expected to be completed by September 2023. A proposal by a private investor could benefit the shipyard's burgeoning work- force. Aztek LLC of Kennebunkport plans a $59 million, nine-building mixed-use complex that would include 300 apartments in Kittery. e project could open by late 2022, and create much needed housing. N O N P RO F I T S Nonprofits will again be tested this year B y R e n e e C o r d e s A fter a bumpy ride for many Maine nonprofits during COVID, the head of the Maine Association of Nonprofits predicts a challenging 2021 for a sector that employs one in six Maine workers. Organizations tested during the pandemic include Auburn-based Good Shepherd Food Bank, which distributed 2 million more meals year-over-year in 2020, and numer- ous groups that switched to virtual fundraisers or performances when in- person events were impossible. "Like businesses, the nonprofits that faced the toughest challenges were those meeting emergency essen- tial needs or centered in providing services in person," Hutchins says. In 2021, she says that social service agencies expect demand for food and shelter will keep rising, while organi- zations supporting those with mental health problems will continue to face unprecedented demand. "And our arts and cultural organizations that power many Maine downtowns will still be wondering how to survive without knowing when they will ever be able to fully open again." She also notes there is uncertainty about what communities will need as the pandemic continues, what will happen to the economy, whether donors will continue to step up and whether the government will be in a position to help. In spite of all that, she says that nonprofits are flexible and resilient even in the toughest times, adding, "If we work together to value and support » C O N T I N U E D F RO M P R E V I O U S PA G E If we work together to value and support the critical value of our nonprofits, the sector will innovate, transform and come out stronger than before. — Jennifer Hutchins Maine Association of Nonprofits If 'pivot' was the word for 2020, 'persist' might be the word for 2021. P H O T O / C O U R T E S Y F L OW F O L D P H O T O / C O U R T E S Y B I W Flowfold pivoted from making wallets to face shields. The USS Daniel Inouye, built at BIW

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