Mainebiz

V O L . X X V I I I N O. V M A R C H 7 , 2 0 2 2 6 The ConnectMaine Authority an- nounced that it was awarded a $28 million grant by the U.S. Department of Commerce to bring fast, afford- able internet service to thousands of unserved homes across the state. The award will fund a new public-private partnership that will connect more than thousands of unserved homes in more than a dozen communities. The federal funds, awarded through a competitive grant process, will support a partnership between ConnectMaine, the towns of Somerville, Washington and Isle au Haut and internet service providers Consolidated Communications, Axiom Technologies and LCI Fiber Optic Network to bring fiber to unserved areas in Franklin, Hancock, Knox and Lincoln counties. The grant will support the establish- ment of municipally-owned networks in the three municipalities serving as partners under the grant. Lauren Lear of Lauren Lear Photography and Krystina Fisher of the Messy Cookie plan to open the Photo Kitchen at 1190 Forest Ave. in Portland in late April. The space is designed to accom- modate photographers, influencers, cooking classes, workshop-based busi- nesses and events. It will also have a boutique studio that will be available to rent as an event and workshop venue. The two entrepreneurs looked at about 20 venues before leasing this one. Full Plates Full Potential, a Brunswick- based nonprofit working to end child hunger in Maine, awarded a total of $104,563 to four organizations in its inaugural round of John T. Woods Innovation Fund grants. Established in memory of the organization's cofound- er, this grant program supports school districts and community organizations in piloting new strategies that increase participation in, and access to, meal programs for children and youth. Recipients included Augusta Teen Center and Healthy Communities of the Capital Region, $30,000 each; Cultivating Community, $26,563; and Bath Area Family YMCA, $18,000. Dirigo Labs, an accelerator program in Waterville, was designated as an Amazon Web Services Activate Provider, allowing its startups and en- trepreneurs to access benefits to help accelerate growth. The accelerator, launching its first cohort in March, will host approximately 10 Maine-based startups representing a range of in- dustries including biotechnology and information technology. Waterville Creates launched the Youth Arts Access Fund. The fund, created to provide all youth access to arts pro- gramming and education opportunities regardless of income, ability or back- ground, was established with an initial $15,000 grant from the Raymond J. and Mary C. Reisert Foundation and has received additional support from the Margaret E. Burnham Charitable Trust and the Colby College Center for the Arts and Humanities. Cricket Wireless opened at 1128 Lisbon St. in Lewiston. Maine's Congressional delegation as well as Gov. Janet Mills are asking Maine Veterans' Homes to reconsider B U S I N E S S M A I N E Business news from around the state B I Z M O N E Y ON Semiconductor, now known as onsemi, says it will sell SoPo plant B y W i l l i a m H a l l A Maine semiconductor factory that has had a major pres- ence in South Portland is now being sold. Phoenix-based onsemi (Nasdaq: ON) announced Feb. 28 it has signed an agreement to sell the 371,000-square-foot plant to Diodes Inc. (Nasdaq: DIOD), of Plano, Texas, for an undisclosed price. The sale is expected to close in the second quarter this year, according to news releases from both onsemi, formerly ON Semiconductor Corp., and Diodes. Following the sale, Diodes "will integrate the South Portland facility as well as its operations and employees," the company said. Last year, onsemi laid off roughly 740 of its 34,000 employees as part of a streamlining effort. The cuts included some in South Portland, but the company at the time would not say how many. Instead, a spokeswoman told Mainebiz the reductions were "minor." The company acquired the facility, which makes a range of semiconductor wafers and components at 333 Western Ave., in a 2016, $2.4 bil- lion acquisition of Fairchild Semiconductor International Inc. The plant and offices then employed about 700 people. During the acquisition, some industry analysts suggested that the plant's age — it was built in 1962 — might lead the buyer to close the facility. With $1.81 billion in 2021 revenue, Diodes is considerably smaller than onsemi, which reported revenue of $6.74 billion last year. But Diodes' revenue is growing faster, up 46.9% in 2021 compared to onsemi's 28.3% revenue increase. Diodes has said it's on a path to pushing its gross margin to 40% in 2025, a goal that could create high expectations for the South Portland site. If the sale is completed, the new site would join 31 other Diodes locations worldwide and expand the company's capac- ity to manufacture 200-mm semiconductor wafers for use in the automotive and industrial markets, the company said. "The proposed acquisition of the South Portland facility aligns well with our strategic objective for significant revenue and profit dollar growth over the next several years," said Dr. Keh-Shew Lu, chairman, president and CEO of Diodes. "The team's exceptional engineering capabilities and skills will support our technical and operational performance expecta- tions and are a welcomed addition to the Diodes' family." The transaction plans follow the sell-off earlier this month of a similar onsemi plant in Belgium. Hassane El-Khoury, president and chief executive officer of onsemi, said, "The transactions provide employees at the affected fabs with continued employment and growth oppor- tunities while allowing onsemi to transition production from these fabs to other manufacturing sites in an orderly manner." P H O T O / W I L L I A M H A L L Onsemi's South Portland site. N O T E W O R T H Y S T A T E W I D E S T A T E W I D E N O T E W O R T H Y S O U T H E R N S O U T H E R N N O T E W O R T H Y C E N T R A L & W E S T E R N C E N T R A L & W E S T E R N N O T E W O R T H Y M I D C O A S T & D O W N E A S T M I D C O A S T & D O W N E A S T If the deal is approved, the site would join 31 other locations in producing semiconductor wafers for automakers and other markets.

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