Mainebiz

V O L . X X V I I I N O. X X I I I O C T O B E R 1 7 , 2 0 2 2 6 CPM Constructors' founder, president remembered CPM Constructors' founder and CEO, Eldon Morrison, and president Paul Koziell perished in a plane crash in Arundel on Oct. 5, prompting condolences for the leaders of the well-known Maine construction company that has completed dozens of projects from Kittery to Jonesport. e men died after the single-engine plane Morrison was piloting crashed, according to published reports. Peter Mills, executive director of the Maine Turnpike Authority; Associated General Contractors of Maine's exec- utive director, Kelly Flagg; and U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, all praised the men for their contributions to Maine businesses and communities, as well as their philanthropic work. CPM Constructors is a family-owned general contractor focusing on bridge, pile driving, railroad, historic reha- bilitation, and marine construction work across Maine and northern New England. Clients include state depart- ments of transportation, turnpike authorities, municipalities, railroads, utilities, boatyards and other private entities. Morrison founded CPM Constructors in 1985. N O T E W O R T H Y S T A T E W I D E A dozen new Land for Maine's Future Conservation projects across Maine will protect wildlife habitat and preserve public access to lakes, rivers, scenic B U S I N E S S M A I N E Business news from around the state S T A T E W I D E B R I E F Rupee Beer signs on with 3 major U.S. retailers B y R e n e e C o r d e s B r u n s w i c k — A year after launching Rupee Beer, broth- ers Sumit and Van Sharma are taking their Indian-style lager to the next level via three major U.S. retailers — Costco, Whole Foods and Total Wine & More. The new partnerships will put Rupee Beer at select regional stores of all three retailers, with precise shelf place- ment still to be determined. Sumit and Van Sharma, whose parents own Bombay Mahal restaurant in Brunswick, grew up in Portland and brew Rupee Beer in Massachusetts, though the long-term goal is to create a base in Maine's largest city. Both were honored on the Mainebiz NextUp/40 Under 40 list of the state's rising movers and shakers. Asked how the new retail partnerships came about, Van Sharma chalks it up to "being at the right place at the right time, and Rupee was something which made sense to their consumers." For Rupee Beer, the pluses of working with Costco, Total Wine and Whole Foods are many: "They believe in our brand, product and mission to bring Indian-style beer to more people and also introduce new and exciting products," Van Sharma said. Rupee Beer is now sold in Maine, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, the District of Columbia and Virginia, with distribution to Illinois, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, North Carolina, Florida and Connecticut slated to start in coming weeks. In Maine, Rupee Beer is sold at more than 70 loca- tions from Kittery to Ellsworth. The Sharmas have big plans for their brand globally, citing demand in several Commonwealth countries, including the United Kingdom, Australia, South Africa and Canada, as well as within the European Union, Southeast Asia and the Caribbean. "We are grateful how Rupee continues to grow with just us two working behind the scenes while having other day jobs," the siblings told Mainebiz in a joint email. "For us, the next steps involve building out a team and helping grow the brand into newer markets." By year's end, Rupee Beer will be sold in nearly a dozen states. P H O T O / J I M N E U G E R Brothers Sumit Sharma, left, and Van Sharma, founders of Rupee Beer, have big plans to grow the brand. They were photographed at Bombay Mahal, their parents' Indian restaurant in Brunswick. views and mountain vistas, Gov. Janet Mills announced. The projects include Reed Deadwater, the state's largest con- servation project to protect deer winter- ing habitat. Three projects will preserve working farmland, four will preserve working waterfront and five projects will preserve working forests. The projects total $7.7 million and are expected to leverage an additional $24 million in private and federal funds. The Land for Maine's Future program was established in 1987 when voters approved a $35 million bond to fund the purchase of land and easements. In 35 years, it has conserved 610,000 acres, including 333,425 acres of working lands. Dishing the dirt on soil company expansion An Australian company that's devel- oping a product to help farmers fight climate change is expanding its Brunswick-based laboratory to a space nearly 10 times larger in South Portland. Frank Oly, a co-founder and the COO of Loam Bio – in the state of New South Wales on Australia's east coast – traveled to Maine this sum- mer to check out the 3,500-square-foot space at 35 Foden Road and give the final go-ahead on the move. Its North American bioprocessing laboratory has been in shared bio-lab space at Brunswick Landing's TechPlace since March 2021. "Microbial soil sequestra- tion promises to be one of the most elegant carbon removal solutions, as it is quick, globally-scalable and provides huge benefits for growers," Loam Bio's website says. "A farmer coats their seeds with the microbial inoculum before sowing and the plants and the microbes work together to build car- bon in the soil and keep it there." N O T E W O R T H Y S O U T H E R N Partners Bank in Sanford awarded a total of $24,000 in scholarships to 22 Maine and New Hampshire high school students who graduated in 2022 and have begun their post-sec- ondary education. Brickyard Hollow Brewing Co. in Yarmouth announced that it will open a sixth Maine location at 123 Madison Ave. in Skowhegan. S O U T H E R N

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