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V I E W P O I N T S W W W. M A I N E B I Z . B I Z 3 D E C E M B E R 1 2 , 2 0 2 2 Featured @ Mainebiz.biz For a daily digest of Maine's top business news, sign up for the Mainebiz Daily Report at mainebiz.biz/enews A mid the chaos of the past three years — with the pandemic, supply chain issues, labor short- ages, inflation, wage increases — manufacturing operations have had their hands full. Interestingly, despite all the upheaval, manufactur- ers in Maine grew the workforce by nearly 2% between 2019 and this year. At the same time, wages grew by 14.7%, according to state Department of Labor data. Bath Iron Works reported recently that in the past decade it invested $130 million in recruitment and training. It may not be what anyone would call heady times, but the manufacturing industry has held its own in these turbulent times. As Senior Writer Renee Cordes reports in our cover story, a number of manufacturers continue to look for employees. Bath Iron Works, Franklin Printing and Puritan Medical Products Co. are all in growth modes and are continually seeking out employees. ey're finding a competitive hiring environment. "ere's a lot of competition," says one GM. "ere were times when we didn't react fast enough and the person accepted another job — I mean in a day or two after speaking to the recruiter, not a matter of weeks." See Renee's story, "Widgets, workers and wages," which starts on Page 10. Also on the recruiting side of things, we talked to Hinckley Yacht Services, which has more than 700 employees on the East Coast and 250 Maine, about its hiring efforts. Working with the Landing School in Arundel, Hinckley is hoping to retrain traditional tradespeople to become boatbuilders. All of those skills are needed in the sophisticated Hinckley Yachts, but with some variations. For more on this, see "Calling carpenters, electricians and mechanics," which starts on Page 19. For a far different environment, Senior Writer Laurie Schreiber looks at Maine manufacturers that are focusing their efforts on NASA projects or other types of spacecraft and equipment. As she reports, the extreme temperatures and conditions in space pose a whole new set of challenges for manu- facturers. See "Maine aims for the stars," which starts on Page 14. See our list of Maine's largest manufacturers, which is on Page 26. Peter Van Allen pvanallen@mainebiz.biz It may not be what anyone would call heady times, but the manufacturing industry has held its own in the past three years. From the Editor P H O T O / P E T E R VA N A L L E N 1 Get Maine's business news daily at mainebiz.biz. Below is our top content from Nov. 22 to Dec. 6. 1. Last vacancies on former Nasson College campus to become market-rate apartments 2. Portland eatery makes the cut for Esquire's list of Best New Restaurants 3. $18M real estate portfolio is largest Brunswick deal in 5 years 4. A real estate report touts proximity to a Trader Joe's or Whole Foods, but here's the caveat 5. With mortgage boom waning, banks find other growth opportunities 6. Personnel moves: A roundup of new hires and promotions in Maine's banking industry 7. Millinocket nonprofit touts modular homes as a possible win-win for Maine economy 8. In face of housing crunch, Bar Harbor hotelier proposes employee dorm 9. GoGo Refill, a South Portland plastic-free business, will open a Brunswick store 10. In SoPo, growing consulting firm finds great visibility in former Weight Watchers building Legal counsel from hops to sale. bernsteinshur.com Be informed. BE SHUR. Wherever you are in your beverage journey, our team of advisors can set you up for long-term success—providing strategic counsel to companies at all stages of the business life cycle. Despite economic uncertainty, manufacturing holds its own

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