Mainebiz

V O L . X X X I N O. X X V I I I D E C E M B E R 1 5 , 2 0 2 5 8 B U S I N E S S M A I N E B U S I N E S S M A I N E B U S I N E S S N E W S F RO M A RO U N D T H E S TAT E Town & Country Federal Credit Union in South Portland said it donated a to- tal of $12,000 to 12 nonprofits as part of its 12 Days of Local Giving initiative. The Portland Symphony Orchestra announced that Music Director Eckart Preu's contract was renewed for the next three seasons, through July 31, 2029. The city of Portland and the city of South Portland announced a marine dredging project aimed at restoring and maintaining working harbor operations in the Portland Harbor and Fore River area will begin Dec. 15. The initiative addresses significant sedimentation that has impacted the ability of active piers, wharves, ramps/landings and marinas to support vessel berthing at all tide intervals. Central Maine Healthcare will be acquired by a California nonprofit under plans approved by Maine regulators, who imposed several conditions, including a requirement that the deal be completed within two years. K D Sullivan Wealth Strategies in Winslow was acquired by Warner Wealth, a wealth management firm in Madison, Wisc. Good Shepherd Food Bank of Maine in Auburn announced that supporters Fritz and Susan Onion officially donated the two solar ar- rays that have been powering the organization's Auburn and Hampden distribution centers since 2020. In nearly five years, the solar arrays have produced approximately 65% of the energy used at both facilities, resulting in nearly $200,000 in util- ity cost savings. CN Brown Co., a family-owned energy provider in South Paris, an- nounced that it raised $250,000 for MaineHealth Barbara Bush Children's Hospital in fiscal year 2025. Franklin Savings Bank in Farmington donated $150,000 to Titcomb Mountain's T-Bar project. Mount Desert Island Hospital in Bar Harbor has secured a $4 million com- mitment from Ruth M. Colket toward a major facilities upgrade, following a $10 million lead gift from televi- sion producer and philanthropist Dick Wolf. Construction of a new emergen- cy department entry at the hospital is underway. The Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory received a $1.6 million federal investment to modernize a century-old research building to house a translational science and en- trepreneurial initiative program called MDI Bioscience. Warren Construction Group in Topsham said it completed the con- struction of shelter housing at 65 Thomas Point Road in Brunswick for Tedford Housing. The 17,000 square- foot facility will house administrative staff as well as families in 10 indi- vidual units and up to 24 individuals in two separate wings. The Jackson Laboratory in Bar Harbor was awarded a grant of up to $30.6 million over three years from the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health through its Computational ADME-Tox and Physiology Analysis for Safer Therapeutics program. The funding will support the lab's efforts to create digital heart models rooted in both mouse and human biology that reflect a wide range of human cardiovascular differences. Haley Ward Inc., a Bangor-based professional services firm, is con- tinuing its acquisition-driven growth with the addition of CCA LLC in Brookfield, Conn., which becomes its third Connecticut office. The firm also operates offices in Glastonbury and Winsted in the Hartford area. Twin Rivers Paper Co., a Madawaska- based producer of specialty paper products, is celebrating its 100 th an- niversary in 2025. B I Z M O N E Y McCrum bought out by McCain's, Aroostook County reacts B y J o h n O ' M e a r a P otatoes are Maine's largest agricultural crop. Although the market for retail "eating" potatoes is strong, the majority of Maine's potatoes are processed into popular snacks such as fries or potato chips. A major shift has recently occurred in the world of pro- cessed potatoes — international giant McCain's bought out Washburn-based processor McCrum. Many longtime Aroostook County residents remember the various potato processing facilities that have existed on Parson's Road in quaint, idyllic Washburn. Five years ago, Penobscot McCrum invested $32 million to reopen and modernize a long-shuttered facility, creating competition for the larger McCain's facility in nearby Easton. Now, virtually all of the processing in Aroostook County will by done under the wide and far reach of McCain's. Given that Penobscot McCrum's facility in Washburn has only been operational for five years, some observers were surprised by the buyout. "I think it was a surprise to some and expected by oth- ers," says Brian Guerrette of Guerrette Farms in Caribou, who sells fresh potatoes across the country but also sells processing potatoes to both McCain's and McCrum. "They were already receiving McCain's potatoes," notes Guerrette of the facility in Washburn, implying that recent developments are building on an already established county relationship between the processors. Guerrette emphasizes that he's had good experiences with each of the parties. "Both McCain's and McCrum have been very fair," he says. He does wonder whether McCain's will keep all of the current farmer contracts McCrum has with local producers, noting that there may be some producers who might opt to stop growing amidst the current shakeup. Guerrette also wonders about the opportunities that will now be available for people wishing to enter the world of growing processing potatoes. "Is McCain's willing to take on new vendors? Their his- tory has been to take on fewer vendors" Guerrette says. Jim Gerritsen of Bridgewater in southern Aroostook County wonders what the buyout will mean for potato growers in Maine's largest county. Gerritsen has had an ownership stake in Wood Prairie Farm, an organic seed potato farm, and is a long-time observer of Maine's potato industry. "I think the actions of monopolies helps monopolies," he says. "It isn't good if you are a farmer looking for places to sell potatoes if a new startup is bought out by a monopoly." With the future of potato processing in Aroostook County in flux, uncertainty and silence has fallen over the county's largest industry. Calls to the Maine Potato Board, Penobscot McCrum and McCain's have gone unanswered as of this writing. P H O T O / C O U R T E S Y O F M C C R U M The Penobscot McCrum potato processing plant was built in Washburn in 2020 and now employs 145. N O T E W O R T H Y M I D C O A S T & D O W N E A S T M I D C O A S T & D O W N E A S T N O T E W O R T H Y N O R T H E R N & E A S T E R N N O R T H E R N & E A S T E R N N O T E W O R T H Y C E N T R A L & W E S T E R N C E N T R A L & W E S T E R N

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