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W W W. M A I N E B I Z . B I Z 15 A U G U S T 2 3 , 2 0 2 1 F O C U S G R E AT E R B A N G O R / N O R T H E R N M A I N E increased demand for home construc- tion products, the plant went to 24/7 operations and now employs 160. "We did quite a few rounds of hir- ing," said Whitney. Recruitment wasn't difficult, he said. "One of the biggest draws is that we're an established company in the area," he said. "We have very good pay and benefits." All of the employees, who range from recent high school graduates to veterans with 30-plus years of tenure, stayed through the past year. "I'm proud to say they actually decided to come to work through the pandemic," he said. at said, it's getting harder to find people, he added. Recruitment strate- gies include working with local schools, holding job fairs and advertising. "Recently, we started offering a $500 sign-on bonus and a $2,000 retention bonus," he said. Hit hard e conversion helps to solve for lost markets in other forest product sectors, said Doran. Maine's timber harvesters and haulers were hit hard in 2020, when most logging contractors who are mem- bers of the association reported a 30% to 40% reduction in wood markets, he said. Many are suffering severe revenue losses, layoffs, loss of clients, reduced productivity and inability to plan for the future, due to economic impacts of the pandemic and the loss of the Pixelle Specialty Solutions pulp mill in Jay to an explosion in April 2020. "I look at any investment or expan- sion or new business startups as major news in our industry," Doran said. "We want to make sure there are markets for every wood product in Maine. What LP is doing is an enormous benefit to the logging community." In Aroostook County, said Towle, "Farming and forestry are the primary drivers to our economy and we're always encouraged when investments are made to sustain these industries through modern product manufactur- ing and value-added processing." Laurie Schreiber, Mainebiz senior writer, can be reached at lschreiber @ mainebiz.biz A healthy smile can make all the difference. Protect yours with dental insurance backed by the nation's largest network of dentists. NortheastDeltaDental.com STAND OUT IN A SEA OF SAMENESS WITH YOUR SMILE POWER! P H O T O / F R E D F I E L D I look at any investment or expansion or new business startups as major news in our industry. — Dana Doran Professional Logging Contractors of Maine A giant crane with a lifting capacity of 500 tons is helping with the $150 million conversion at the Louisiana-Pacific Corp. mill in New Limerick.

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