Mainebiz

V O L . X X I N O. X V J U LY 1 3 , 2 0 1 5 10 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 Sugarloaf to spend $1.3 million on lift upgrades Sugarloaf will install a new, state-of- the-art terminal at the bottom of the King Pine chairlift this summer, part of more than $1.3 million in upgrades to the resort's lift infrastructure, the company announced June 25. Of that amount, $800,000 will be spent to replace a chair lift that malfunctioned and rolled backward last winter, injur- ing seven skiers. e new terminal will replace the entire load-terminal at King Pine, including the tension- ing system, braking systems, anti-roll- back systems, electronics and gearbox. It will be designed and manufactured by Doppelmayr, and will feature a redesigned gearbox as well as the lat- est braking and anti-rollback technol- ogy. Construction on the new King Pine terminal is scheduled to begin in early July and the lift is expected to open in December. Hotel construction begins near Oxford Casino Construction of a 93-room Hampton Inn has begun on the site across from the Oxford Casino on Route 26 in Oxford. e Lewiston Sun Journal reported that GIRI Group LLC President Ashish Sangani expects the hotel would be com- pleted in the next 11 to 12 months. In May, the town of Oxford approved a tax break for the developers of the $15.4 million Hampton Inn — a 15-year credit enhancement agreement that will allow Quincy, Mass.-based GIRI Group LLC to be reimbursed for some of the taxes it pays on the property, though it can only be used for various infra- structure needs like water and sewer projects. Under the deal, the town will take an annual 20% of the prop- erty's increased taxes and put it into a special account for the developer. e total allocation will be $367,500. e hotel is expected to create 23 part- and full-time jobs with salaries ranging from $25,000 to $80,000 and an estimated 50 to 90 temporary jobs during construction. N O T E W O R T H Y C E N T R A L & W E S T E R N Kennebec Valley Community College in Fairfield introduced an Associate in Applied Science degree in Sustainable Design-Build that is designed to meet growing demand for builders with sustainable design- build and traditional timber-frame construction skills. Androscoggin Home Care & Hospice in Lewiston was awarded $10,000 from the TD Charitable Foundation to support sponsorship of Autumn Night Out, the agency's annual auc- tion, and a $5,000 grant for Camp Dragonfly, a grief support retreat for children and families. AIM outlines plans for Bucksport mill demolition A representative of AIM Development LLC, a subsidiary of American Iron and Metal, the Montreal-based metal recycling firm that purchased the former Verso Paper mill in Bucksport, presented demolition and redevelopment plans at a public meeting on June 24. e Ellsworth American reported that Jeffrey McGlin, vice president at AIM Development and manager for its Bucksport project, told the gathering that the company was expected to file another demolition permit application in the following week with the Maine Department of Environmental Protection, which had denied its first application and advised the company to hold a pub- lic hearing on its plans. McGlin said the company hopes to begin demoli- tion at the eastern end of the mill and is considering building a dock on that end of the site to take advan- tage of deep-water and freight rail capabilities there. He also said the company plans to ship scrap metal from the site rather than creating a scrap yard there. Unity College president to step down Unity College President Stephen Mulkey is stepping down at the end of this year to retire. e Morning Sentinel reported that Unity College — which is located in Unity, just east of Waterville — made the announcement on June 29. A search for a new leader will begin this fall. e newspaper noted that Mulkey, who was hired in 2011, helped lead several initiatives at the school, including a successful push to divest its fossil fuel investments. SMCC to provide training for electricians at BIW Bath Iron Works and Southern Maine Community College signed an agreement on June 26 that will extend a training program for almost 90 marine electricians recently hired by the Bath shipyard. e Portland Press Herald reported the train- ing is scheduled to begin in July. SMCC had already trained almost 100 marine electricians at BIW under a previous training agreement, the newspaper reported. Maine Quality Centers, a state-funded program that provides customized workforce train- ing grants to Maine employers, is providing $75,000 in funding for the BIW training program. Lyman-Morse buys Camden boatbuilder Lyman-Morse Boatbuilding has acquired a Camden boatbuilder that will give the omaston company access to what it calls one of the top harbors on the East Coast. e omaston boatbuilder announced its acquisition of Wayfarer Marine Corp. on July 1, noting that the Camden company has been renamed Lyman-Morse at Wayfarer Marine as a result. Barclaycard completes $5 million expansion of Wilton call center Barclaycard U.S. opened its Wilton call center in 2008 at the time to support its new credit card with L.L.Bean, but it's worked out so well that the national credit card company has invested $5 million to expand and renovate the facility there. Company officials and other dignitaries, like U.S. Sen. Susan Collins and Rep. Bruce Poliquin, celebrated the completion of the Wilton call center's expan- sion on June 30. With 380 full-time employees right now, the new investment allows the facility at 128 Weld Road to hold up to 500. Additions include new work areas, kitchen pantries, a "micro-market restaurant" and a 100-seat meet- ing room. Improvements include security and handicap accessibility upgrades. Doug Villone, Barclaycard's director of business strategy, told Mainebiz that business growth in the last few years was an underlying factor in the company's decision to expand its Wilton facility, which is one of its four call centers in the United States. But what specifically drove the company to invest in Wilton was its strong overall performance, he added. "We looked at the performance of Wilton and it continues to perform strongly," Villone, a native of Monson, said. "We get low-employee attrition and it's a cost- effective place for us to operate." Ever since Barclaycard started call center operations in Wilton, Villone said the company has found that it has been a "great market" for them. "With all the mill closures in that part of the state, there was an employment void we were able to help fill," he said, "and they were folks who were a good match for the business that we do." — D y l a n M a r t i n P H O T O / C O U R T E S Y B A R C L AY C A R D U. S. Barclaycard U.S. interim CEO Curt Hess and U.S. Sen. Susan Collins speak with an employee inside the company's newly expanded and renovated call center in Wilton. M I D C O A S T & D O W N E A S T C E N T R A L & W E S T E R N

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