Mainebiz

W W W. M A I N E B I Z . B I Z 17 O C T O B E R 2 1 , 2 0 2 4 F O C U S M I D C O A S T / D OW N E A S T Greisen Aerospace has been using its engineering and 3D-printing capabilities to develop a blood- collection apparatus for Salmonics. "Even companies outside of TechPlace have pro- vided some support as well," Giray says. "It's really nice to have that Brunswick Landing network." About about a third of the way toward a $2 mil- lion fundraising goal, Salmonics plans to stay put at TechPlace for the foreseeable future. "We can produce 20, maybe 25, times what we produce currently within the same footprint," Giray says. "We can certainly add on people and more production." Alumni in the neighborhood STARC Systems, a maker of clean modular barri- ers used during renovations, was TechPlace's first industrial tenant, occupying around 4,500 square feet in the machine shop area. Previously, it was based in a 2,500-square-foot space about 75 miles up the coast in Cushing. "We quickly outgrew that and needed room to build our product," says Bruce Bickford, the first employee hired by the company's founder, Tim Hebert, in early 2014. TechPlace "was our first opportunity to have a large space to ourselves," he recalls. "ere was no commercial real estate of that size that had enough room and an overhead door at a reason- able price. It was a tremendous opportunity to help us get launched." After leaving TechPlace in September 2017, the company went to Brunswick Landing, where it has continued to grow. Today on the Landing, its 103 employees spread across three locations. e company, led by President and CEO Chris Vickers, is majority-owned by North Branch Capital, a private equity firm based in Oak Brook, Ill., via a buyout in September 2023. At the time, there was also significant reinvestment by Hebert, who was recognized as a Mainebiz Business Leader of the Year in 2020. North Branch bought a stake from Richmond, Va.-based Blue Heron Capital, which invested $3.5 million in STARC Systems in 2017. STARC Systems will continue its next chapter in a new 85,000-square-foot manufacturing and administrative facility near Hangar 6 at Brunswick Landing. STARC Systems will lease the facility from Priority Real Estate Group, of Topsham. Currently in final permitting, the project will break ground this fall, according to Bickford, who says the company is keen to keep its employee base in Brunswick. "Going somewhere else is disruptive," he says. "We enjoy the amenities of the Landing, and some flexibility in terms of how we can occupy new spaces." Similar to STARC, bluShift Aerospace is another TechPlace graduate now based at Brunswick Landing, where the company occupies around 12,000 square feet of manufacturing and office space along with a rocket-launch test site. e 12-employee com- pany plans to keep hiring. "Brunswick is a great place for us to attract tal- ent, and our plans are to keep that as our R&D and headquarters location," says Sascha Deri, bluShift's founder and CEO. Decades ago when he was in high school, he used to drive past the Brunswick Naval Air Base when it was was off limits to the public and glimpse planes flying overhead. While TechPlace had not yet opened when he founded bluShift in Massachusetts in 2014, the attractive location and funding from Maine Technology Institute "made it very easy to jump to Maine" in 2016, he says. His first impression of TechPlace: "Awe and excitement, starting aerospace here among tech entrepreneurs in a place of such rich aviation heri- tage," he says. Charting a new course Today, there isn't much room for companies that outgrow TechPlace but want to stay in the neigh- borhood. at's because Brunswick Landing is about 97% full, according to Jake Levesque, MRRA's director of innovation and development since August 2023. With plenty of options elsewhere on the site, the agency aims to create a second startup hub, for companies that are beginning to scale up. "We're in the process of discussing options with developers to create a TechPlace 2.0 or TechPlace Grad School," Levesque explains. Location options include 11 lots currently for sale of varying sizes. ough pretty scattered, five are grouped together near Hangar 5. Levesque reports that handful of developers are interested in building on the lots, undeterred by the aftermath of this summer's toxic chemical spill. "ere is a lot of negative talk happening right now, but our development efforts are about five years ahead of schedule," he says. Meanwhile at the current TechPlace, Josh Hardy helps out wherever he can, months after his former employer — aquaculture startup Running Tide — closed down and cleared out. "I've been approached by a few business owners to come and work for them, but I'm trying to take it slow and figure out what makes sense for me," he says. At TechPlace, he's perfectly placed to do that. R e n e e C o r d e s , M a i n e b i z s e n i o r w r i t e r , c a n b e r e a c h e d a t r c o r d e s @ m a i n e b i z . b i z We're in the process of discussing options with developers to create a TechPlace 2.0 or TechPlace Grad School. — Jake Levesque Midcoast Regional Redevelopment Authority P H O T O / J I M N E U G E R Cem Giray, CEO and president of Salmonics LLC, in the company's lab in TechPlace in Brunswick.

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