Mainebiz

V O L . X X V I I I N O. X I X S E P T E M B E R 5 , 2 0 2 2 10 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 Education and Design Center. e $78 million, 105,000-square- foot center represents a new chapter in engineering educa- tion to better meet the needs of students and employers, includ- ing the innovation to advance research and economic develop- ment. e project is the largest of its kind in UMaine history, made possible with the support of more than 500 donors and a $50 million investment from the state. e center houses the department of mechanical engineering and the biomedical engineering program, and includes teaching laboratories for the mechanical engineering technology program. A student project design suite includes 44 workbenches and shops for biomedical engineering, electron- ics, 3D printing, vehicles, metals, wood and composites. Mars Hill ski area to upgrade chairlift BigRock Mountain, a nonprofit ski area in Mars Hill, received a $2.5 million grant to upgrade its 50-year-old double chairlift. e grant, from the U.S. Department of Commerce's Economic Development Authority, pushes the ski area halfway toward its fundraising goal. "e $2.5 mil- lion is granted toward a $5 million project that includes our capi- tal campaign for a chairlift and expansion of our snow making infrastructure," the mountain's marketing director and assistant general manager, Aaron Damon, told Mainebiz. "e EDA grant, along with the $1.25 million raised from local donations, puts BigRock at 75% raised of the total project cost." BigRock hopes to install a new Doppelmayer quad chairlift. e ski area will con- tinue fundraising efforts. 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 Katahdin Bankshares Corp. (QTCQX: KTHN), the Houlton-based parent company of Kathahdin Trust Co., has declared a cash dividend of $0.138 per share for the third quarter of 2022. Jon J. Prescott, president and CEO of Katahdin Trust, said the amount represents a 10.4% in- crease over last year's third-quarter dividend. B R I E F ImmuCell plans expansion to help meet demand for its flagship product B y L a u r i e S c h r e i b e r P o r t l a n d — A Portland animal health company that's outgrown both its original production plant and a 2019 facil- ity expansion is getting set to build a second expansion. ImmuCell's expansion will help the company increase production of its flagship product, First Defense, which is used to fight E. coli and other viral infections in newborn dairy and beef calves to avoid the use of traditional antibiot- ics to treat the disease. As of the end of every quarter since March 31, 2020, ImmuCell has had a backlog of orders for First Defense. "Good problem to have," Michael Brigham, president and CEO of ImmuCell Corp. (Nasdaq: ICCC), told Mainebiz. "Product demand is strong." A growing footprint ImmuCell's headquarters is in a 35,000-square-foot build- ing the company owns at 56 Evergreen Drive, off Riverside Street in Portland. In 2019, it leased a 14,300-square-foot building a stone's throw away at 175 Industrial Way. The landlord is TVP LLC, led by Daniel Catlin and Richard McGoldrick of Falmouth real estate development and investment firm Commercial Properties Management. The latest deal leases a patch of land next to the build- ing at 175 Industrial Way. Plans call for construction of a connected building of 15,400 square feet. "Right now it's an excavation site," said Brigham. Meanwhile, production is catching up at the existing plant. "We're almost at break-even right now," he said. "This is an expansion for the future so we never backlog again." The 56 Evergreen Drive headquarters houses the cor- porate offices and manufacturing operations for the liquid processing phase that goes into making First Defense. In 2019, the company moved its final formulation, fill- ing and assembly operations to the leased building at 175 Industrial Way. That site became operational in mid-2020. The first expansion freed up space in the original facility to double liquid processing capacity and increase freeze drying capacity by 50%. The company employs about 75. The second expansion is not expected to result in significant new hires. "We're fully staffed," said Brigham. "This is taking crowded people and spreading them more rationally, giving crowded equipment more room while creating space for new equip- ment, and adding warehouse and cold storage space." For the expansion, Landr y/French Construction of Scarborough will manage construction. Industrial heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration will be managed by AAA Energy Service, which is also based in Scarborough. Design work is by Kristi Kenney of KW Architects in Kennebunk. P H O T O / T I M G R E E N WAY Michael Brigham of ImmuCell Corp., center, leased land for the company's expansion in Portland from landlords Dan Catlin, left, and Richard McGoldrick. The company's existing production site is in the background; excavation for the new site is in the foreground. This is an expansion for the future so we never backlog again. — Michael Brigham ImmuCell Corp.

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