Mainebiz

V O L . X X X I N O. X X V I N OV E M B E R 1 7 , 2 0 2 5 6 TD Bank plans to close three Maine locations TD Bank, one of the 10 largest banks in the U.S. and the bank with the larg- est market share in Maine, plans to close 51 branches nationwide, including three in the Pine Tree State. e Maine branches are set for closure as of Jan. 29, 2026, according to a bank spokeswoman. ey are located at 31 Goding Ave., a shopping center in Lincoln; 835 Main St., in Westbrook; and 217 High St., in Ellsworth. e move will leave TD Bank with 28 retail locations in Maine. N O T E W O R T H Y S T A T E W I D E With federal funding for the Supplemen- tal Food Assistance Program, known as SNAP, set to expire Nov. 1 unless Congress intervenes, Gov. Janet Mills pledged $1.25 million in state and phil- anthropic funding to aid anti-hunger pro- grams in Maine. The U.S. Department of Agriculture informed states that SNAP benefits would not be distributed in November due to the federal govern- ment shutdown. Sebago Technics acquires Brunswick engineering firm South Portland engineering and land development consulting firm Sebago Technics Inc. added structural engineer- ing capabilities and a midcoast presence with the acquisition of Lincoln/Haney Engineering Associates in Brunswick. e firm specializes in new construction, renovations, historic building restora- tions and structural assessments. Lin- coln/Haney has eight employees. With the acquisitions, Sebago's total employee count is now 135. e acquisition is part of Sebago's growth plan. Lincoln/Haney will continue to operate from its Bruns- wick location. All of its employees are slated to join Sebago. New projects underway in Scarborough e Downs in Scarborough has under construction new condominiums, a Market Basket grocery store and an Intermed outpatient facility. Sitework is also underway for the town center, 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 S O U T H E R N Shaw & Tenney's new owners consider themselves stewards of the brand B y L a u r i e S c h r e i b e r E stablished in 1858, Shaw & Tenney in Orono is a traditional maker of wooden oars, paddles, spars and boat hooks. In July 2023, Neil and Jennifer Gutekunst became just the fourth family to own the company. They consider themselves stewards of the brand, using much of the same machinery dating back a century and having a deep bench of skilled craftsmen. "Our shop is a pretty cool, old woodshop," said Neil Gutenkunst. Career pivot The Gutekunsts came to Shaw & Tenney in a surprising man- ner. Neil is a former U.S. Marine Corps judge advocate and criminal defense attorney. Jennifer was a human resources professional. Woodworking was new to them. In 2019, they moved from suburban Philadelphia to Portland and bought Gorham custom stair tread manufacturer New England Treads. After time on the shop floor learning to run a wood mill, they bought Waldoboro mahogany screen door maker the Wooden Screen Door Co. Learning that Shaw & Tenney's previous owner, Steve Holt, was thinking of selling, they went for it. "The learning curve is pretty steep," Gutekunst said. That includes complex shapes — specialty paddles, square-to-round oar shafts, different lengths and wood spe- cies, all perfectly straight and free of knots and defects — for demanding use on the water and endowed with wood's distinctive flexibility and shock-absorbing characteristics. The shop is full of bandsaws, table saws, lathes, sanding drums and hand tools. Lumber used includes the softwood spruce and hardwoods ash and cherrywood, each with charac- teristics that balance features like flex, strength and beauty. Each product is made from a single piece of wood. For the oars, the shaft is turned on a lathe and the blade hand-crafted. The company produces a couple of hundred pairs of oars and a couple of thousand paddles yearly, each drawn from time-honored patterns, then cut, refined, sanded and richly varnished, either by hand or in a "dip tank." New product lines The Gutekunsts are moving forward a project, begun by the previous owner, to produce utility oars, under the brand name Woodland Oar and Paddle, and sell them in bulk at a lower price point through business-to-business deals. A lathe updated with help from the University of Maine's Advanced Manufacturing Center provides faster operations, turning out four oar shafts in 12 minutes, compared with one in half-an-hour. The result is increased capacity, both for premium made-to-order products and utility stock. Sales of the line started earlier this year with Chesapeake Light Craft in Annapolis, Md., which has a longstanding relation- ship with Shaw & Tenney as the latter's only other oar dealer. The goal is to secure a couple more dealers for Woodland Oar and Paddle distribution on the East and West coasts. Shaw & Tenney is partnering with South Portland hand- forged axe-maker Brant & Cochran to produce axe handles; the Advanced Manufacturing Center assisted with the prototype. The goal is to have handles ready for holiday sales this year. A line of bags is in development, too. "The team members are fantastic, our products are gorgeous and we're constantly striving to do better," said Gutekunst. SP ONSORED BY The team members here are fantastic. The products are gorgeous. — Neil Gutekunst Shaw & Tenney P H O T O S / T I M G R E E N WAY In 2023, Neil and Jennifer Gutekunst became the fourth owners of Shaw & Tenney, a maker of traditional wooden oars and paddles founded in 1858. Alex Bagley sands an oar on a drum sander on the Shaw & Tenney shop floor in Orono.

• Cover