Mainebiz Special Editions

V O L . X X I N O. X I V 4 FA C T BO O K / D O I N G B U S I N E S S I N M A I N E Q UA L I T Y O F L I F E L ike any media organization, Mainebiz is never standing still. is year, we reinvented our long-running Fact Book, which has always been aimed at executives, is now for the first time offered to companies outside the area — companies considering a move into or expansion in Maine. Fact Book: Doing Business in Maine will be distributed in hard copy and a digital edition to eco- nomic development organizations and state agencies, as well as the state Legislature. It's also going out to University of Maine alumni throughout the Northeast, letting them know Maine is not the same place it was when they were in school. It will be taken along on international trade trips via our connection with the Maine International Trade Center. "For you long-time subscribers, you'll recognize that we've taken our annual Fact Book publication and made several upgrades and improvements," says Mainebiz Publisher Donna Brassard. "While it's always included data that you need to operate your business in Maine, this year we got some valuable feedback from readers and have added more content that tells a story around what the data indicates. And, for the first time, we have stepped outside of Maine to offer this publication to non-Maine businesses who might be considering a move here." Maine is known for many things. ose "from away" might know it for its lobster, lighthouses, summer camps or even as the seasonal home of the Bush family. All that is true, of course. But there's so much more. Economically, Maine has turned into a vibrant place. ere's the Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences in East Boothbay, where scientists are studying every- thing from microbial oceanography to large-scale dy- namics of the global ocean. ere's the Maine Medical Center Research Institute in Scarborough, an anomaly in Maine, being a hospital with affiliations with Tufts University and the University of Maine in Orono. On Mount Desert Island, which many from outside the state know for Acadia National Park, valuable work is being at MDI Biological Laboratory, a biomedical research institution, and Jackson Laboratory, a leading genetics research institution. In South Portland, WEX Inc., whose shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange, has created a global corporate payments portfolio. Some of Maine's traditional industries have rein- vented themselves. In Skowhegan, Amber Lambke has found new markets for Maine-grown grains at Maine Grains. e lobster fishery, which has had its ups and downs, has been bolstered by the trade with Asian mar- kets. Companies like York-based Maine Coast Shellfish and Saco-based Sea Salt Lobster are generating annual sales of $40 million and $20 million, respectively, in part on the premise of delivering live lobster to Asia within 72 hours. In Belfast, on Maine's Midscoast, the owners of four marine-services companies teamed up to open Front Street Shipyard, which is building luxury yachts of over 100 feet. e thing you can't measure is Maine's homegrown wisdom. Kent A. Peterson, president and CEO of Fluid Imaging Techniques Inc. in Scarborough, says 60% percent of the company's sales are from outside the United States. Yet he argues that Maine is the company's ideal headquarters. "It can be said that with such an expansive global network of customers," he says, "rather than thinking that Maine is at the margin of the U.S. gross domestic product, geographically speaking, I consider Maine to be at the epicenter of our world market." Pe t er Van Al l en, Mainebiz editor, can be reached at pvanallen @ mainebiz.biz and @ MainebizEditor Why Maine is the place More than lighthouses and lobsters (but plenty of those, too) B y P e t e r V a n A l l e n Maine fact sheet Demographics Population 2014: 1.3 million State Capital: Augusta Largest City: Portland Land Area: 33,215 square miles/86,027 sq. km Length of coastline: 3,500 miles/ 5,633 km Lakes and ponds: 6,000 Forest: 17 million acres/6.9 million hec (90% forest) Location: Northeast USA, bordering Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec Same-day access to: Boston, New York, Montreal Economy GDP 2013: $54.8 billion Per capita income GDP 2013: $26,824 Annual Real GDP Growth 2013: 0.90% State budget, 2016–2017: $6.7 billion Exports Maine 2014: $2.8 billion Imports via Maine 2014: $3.9 billion Transportation Interstate highways: 2 Deep-water ports: 3 International airports – scheduled service: 2 Airports with customs service: 10 Rail: 1,400 miles/2,253 km International rail facility: 1 Foreign Trade Zones: 5 Key Sectors Aerospace & Advanced Materials Environmental Technology Food, Beverage & Agricultural Products Hospitality & Tourism Information Technology Life Sciences Marine Construction & Technology Pulp, Paper & Wood Products Renewable Energy S O U R C E : Invest in Maine P H O T O / T I M G R E E N WAY P H O T O / T I M G R E E N WAY P H O T O / A M B E R WAT E R M A N Dr. Peter Brooks at Maine Medical Center Research Institute. Amber Lambke, president and co-owner of Maine Grains. Tom Adams, owner of Maine Coast Shellfish.

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