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W W W. M A I N E B I Z . B I Z 29 J U N E 1 , 2 0 1 5 additional $75,000 and retrofitted about half of the space for boat production. "e city now has a building that is designed for a range of boatbuilding and they lease it to me," says Guimond. "So it was a win-win situation for everybody." In May 2014, the city received $100,000 under the Community Development Block Grant program for Millennium to train 12 employees. In July, three months after mov- ing in, the plant suffered a fire. At the time, there were two boats under construction, both slated for West Coast fishermen. ere were 14 peo- ple on the payroll. e fire destroyed both boats and caused smoke dam- age. A sprinkler system saved the building. e fire apparently started in a trash barrel. e crew was back in the building the next day, removing debris and scrub- bing soot. e firm lost the contract for one of the boats, but rebuilt the other, and has been expanding ever since. Millennium Marine designs are a modified hybrid of the traditional fishing boats of the Northumberland Strait and the "Novi" boats of Nova Scotia. Characterized by a flared, rounded bow, high forward sheer, raked shelter and deep draft, the boats are known for their great stability in rough seas, high carrying capacity and the strength of their solid fiberglass hulls balanced by weight-savings in the cored superstructures, says Guimond. Today, Guimond looks forward to getting new workers trained and pushing production beyond 2016. "When I started here this time last year, only one of my employees had any experience in a boatyard," he says. "e rest have been trained in-house. Now it's going quite well on its own, although I do spend a lot of time on the shop floor. It's been 'train the trainer.' ey learn how to operate the equipment, cut the material, wet it, roll it out, spray it, and then they pass it on to the next employee. A lot of the core workers who started here are still with us today. We're grateful for that." L a u r i e S c h r e i b e r , a w r i t e r b a s e d i n B a s s H a r b o r, c a n b e r e a c h e d a t e d i t o r i a l @ m a i n e b i z . b i z 800.777.5244 www.TalkWithNorton.com Specialists in business insurance and employee benefits. Proud Supporters Of Maine Startup & Create Week Talk with Norton. MAXIMIZE THE REWARDS. Minimize The Risk. 15_NIF_1268_Maine_Startup_Print_Ad_0522_out.indd 1 5/22/15 10:02 AM Cory Guimond, owner of Millennium Marine in Eastport, oversees the launch of "Triple Trouble," a lobster boat. P H O T O / L E S L I E BOW M A N

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