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W W W. M A I N E B I Z . B I Z 73 Fact Book / Doing Business in Maine I N N OVAT I O N / R & D CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS TESTING AND INSPECTIONS • Soils, asphalt, concrete, masonry, fireproofing, and steel: Reduce potential delays, defects, unexpected costs, and repeated maintenance. ENVIRONMENTAL CONSULTING • Groundwater, landfills and tank removal monitoring GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEERING AND EXPLORATIONS • You see what's on top, we'll show you what's below. SUCCESSFUL PROJECTS START FROM THE GROUND UP RWGILLESPIE.COM / INFO@RWG-A.COM BIDDEFORD, ME 207-286-8008 • NH 603-427-0244 • MA 508-623-0101 three are now employees of Howell Labs. Her business is located in Standish, in rented industrial space. MB: What drove the acquisition? JM: GDL has been a vendor of ours for years, but we became aware dur- ing the pandemic that her business was struggling. e quality of their work was always excellent, even to the military's stringent standards, but their lead times were expand- ing. We contacted Kris last year to see if there was anything we could do to help her in getting back on track, and the discussions eventu- ally came around to us purchasing the business but retaining her and her employees. MB: What are the advantages of the acquisition? JM: We realized that we could use our (relatively) larger size to take over the administrative tasks that were burdening Kris as a sole owner, such as accounting, purchas- ing, invoicing and human resources. is will allow her to focus on the actual day-to-day work of powder- coating, which is her passion. It also will allow her to continue to train her two employees in the intricacies of the process, so there will be continuity and cross-train- ing instilled at GDL. Based on our company experi- ence as well as our research, there is a real need for high-quality powder-coating services, so we anticipate expanding the business over the next few years. MB: What were the terms of the deal? JM: I cannot disclose the terms of the deal other than to say that Howell Labs purchased GDL from Kris, who was the sole owner, and that Kris and her two employees are now employee- owners just like everyone else here at Howell Labs. There is a real need for high- quality powder-coating services, so it's anticipated that the deal will allow the new division to expand over the next few years. From left, GDL employees Taylor Mitsin and C.J. Bettencourt and former owner Kristine Lang enjoy a pizza lunch hosted by Howell Laboratories to welcome them to the company. P H O T O / C O U R T E S Y O F H OW E L L L A BO R AT O R I E S I N C .

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