W W W. M A I N E B I Z . B I Z 33 J U N E 1 , 2 0 1 5
T
he Aroostook Partnership
for Progress, a public-private
organization created to spur
economic development in Maine's
northernmost county, is leading a
grassroots eff ort to advance the forest
products sector as a "cluster" with a
strong potential for adding good-pay-
ing jobs in Aroostook County.
Robert Dorsey, the organization's
president and CEO, says a working
group of 35 forestry business leaders,
educators, bankers and government offi -
cials has met four times since December
to identify opportunities to expand e
County's forest industry, as well as the
potential obstacles. e group's next
meeting is scheduled for June 3, when
Dorsey expects an action plan will be
developed to give shape to the idea that
diverse Aroostook-based businesses
such as 7 Islands Land Co., Ecoshel,
ReEnergy Holdings, Louisiana-Pacifi c
Building Products and J.D. Irving Ltd.
have common competitive strengths
and needs and would benefi t from a
closer working relationship.
Forest products make up 20% of
Maine's $50 billion overall economy.
Roughly 39,000 direct and indi-
rect jobs are tied to Maine's forest
economy statewide, according to the
Maine Forest Products Council's 2013
report. About 7,000 of those jobs are
based in Aroostook County.
"It's a big deal, not only for
Aroostook County but also for the
entire state of Maine," Dorsey says.
Joseph Cortright, an economist
at Portland, Ore.-based Impresa
Economics, gives some credence to
the eff ort underway in Aroostook
County to identify its forest products
sector as a cluster. In a 65-page white-
paper he wrote for e Brookings
Institution titled "Making sense
of clusters: Regional competitive-
ness and economic development,"
Cortright makes the following points:
¡ Clusters are the key organiza-
tional unit for understanding and
improving the performance of
regional economies.
¡ Identifying a cluster matters
because it orients economic
development policy and practice
toward groups of companies
and away from individual
companies. at's important,
he says, because it encourages
those groups and local and state
government to work together
on common problems (such
as workforce training), rather
than treating those problems as
isolated challenges.
¡ Identifying a cluster's competitive
strengths and its needs requires
ongoing dialogue between compa-
nies and other stakeholders within
the cluster.
¡ Clusters should build on the unique
strengths of their regions rather than
try to be like other regions. Diff erent
regions have diff erent sets of eco-
nomic development opportunities.
Innovating an economic future
Aroostook County initiative touts potential of a 'forest products cluster'
B y J a m e s M c C a r t h y
S M A L L B U S I N E S S F O C U S
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C O N T I N U E D O N F O L L OW I N G PA G E
»
Northern forest
product cluster
Forest Resources
harvesting / land management
Biofuels
Dimensional
lumber
Panel goods Pulp
Markets:
energy production |
resdential and
commercial heating
Markets:
home remodel and new
construction | industrial
wood products
Markets:
paper products |
food additives
Products
harvest waste |
pellets | chips
Products:
lumber | fencing |
flooring | roofing |
log homes | pellets
Products:
specialty paper | exports
Products:
oriented strand board |
veneer | laminated strand
lumber | AdvanTech
(brand of award-winning
flooring panel)
Markets:
Home remodel, new
construction and products
| industrial wood products
S O U R C E : Aroostook Partnership for Progress
