Mainebiz

V O L . X X I I N O. I JA N UA R Y 1 1 , 2 0 1 6 16 A Massachusetts IT company will bring 20 immediate jobs and an expected 200 jobs over the next four to fi ve years to Waterville. e expansion of Burlington, Mass.-based Collaborative Consulting and the expected development of part- nerships with nearby colleges is seen by area interests as a big plus for the revitalization of Waterville, whose eco- nomic health was formerly dependent on manufacturers now defunct. Collaborative's arrival ties in with city and community organization goals for economic development, and with initiatives by resident Colby College, which is also in the midst of trans- forming the downtown area with the purchase of four historic buildings. " ere was a time when Waterville was not doing so well, with the mill closures that occurred, and the loss of manufacturing jobs," says Jennifer Olsen, former executive director of Waterville Main Street. Olsen, who left her position at year's end, cites Colby's purchases and Collaborative's arrival as synergistic developments that are also votes of confi dence in Waterville as a city with great poten- tial. "Colby's buying power lever- ages other investors, such as bringing Collaborative Consulting to the table. Now we're on an upswing. If ever there was a renaissance, Waterville has got it going on right now." "Waterville is like a lot of other man- ufacturing town and cities, in Maine and the nation, that have seen the outfl ow of manufacturing jobs," says City Manager Mike Roy. "Our manufacturing jobs shut down, and now we're hoping to get things back up. Collaborative fi ts into our goal of being attractive to businesses that are positioning them- selves for the 21st century." Waterville has other major employ- ers, including two hospitals and two colleges. But more companies are needed, says Roy. "We're in need of more employment opportunities," Roy says. "In the absence of manufacturing jobs, many middle- class-wage jobs have disappeared. is helps to fi ll a gap in our employ- ment picture." In addition to its Massachusetts headquarters, Collaborative has offi ces in Bridgewater, N.J.; Conshohocken, Pa.; and Wausau, Wisc. In all, it has 450 employees. e business and tech- nology consulting fi rm serves three major industries — fi nancial services; life sciences, which includes pharma- ceuticals, biotech and medical devices; and the public sector. e Waterville offi ce will be a tech- nology delivery center that will support clients by building software and other- wise supporting their software needs, with a primary focus on fi nancial ser- vices, says Collaborative's chief strategy offi cer, John Williams, who was reached by phone recently on his drive from Massachusetts to Waterville, where he planned to meet with college presidents to discuss potential partnerships. Jobs will fall into two primary categories: IT, such as software development and test- ing, data science and more; and business disciplines such as user experience, busi- ness analysis and project management. "We help companies and govern- ment move into the new digital era, getting them off old platforms, helping them to create new ways of interacting with their customers and to access the data they need to improve their busi- ness and processes," says Williams. Collaborative will be located in Waterville's Hathaway Creative Center, probably starting off with a few thou- sand square feet. Hathaway, a 19th century cotton mill that became a shirt factory, is itself a revitalization project, rehabilitated and today housing com- mercial and residential tenants. Falling within a Maine Pine Tree Zone, busi- ness tenants in certain industries, includ- ing IT, can qualify for receiving reduced or deferred state taxes. Pine Tree Zone businesses also qualify for Employment Tax Increment Financing, a state pro- gram that helps businesses hire new employees by refunding 30% to 80% of the state withholding taxes paid by the business for up to 10 years. "We believe those programs will help us," says Williams. " ey help defray the high cost of hiring and training for a company like ours. I think if the state didn't have them, Maine wouldn't be on equal footing with other states." Partnerships with area colleges e alliance with Colby is expected to bring student internships, faculty and staff training, and professional devel- opment opportunities in the digital world of rapidly changing technology. For example, Williams says, Colby has strong economics and computer sciences tracks. "Putting those two together with our people who are in the fi eld every day, we hopefully can come up with innovations in the fi nancial services industry. We can look at what we're seeing in the market and where we think technology can help businesses, and develop new business models. You see that kind of relationship, for example, at MIT, where their engi- neering school is working in the fi eld of robotics with BMW and Raytheon on cybersecurity. is is the same idea, except in the fi nancial marketplace." " ere's great synergy there," says Colby President David Greene. "We've been thinking about ways we might support entrepreneurship more gener- ally, both at Colby and in the local area. It might mean, for example, we would think about putting a business incubator downtown. If we did that in connec- tion with Collaborative Consulting, the work done there could be powerful. So we see this as an opportunity for us." Calling itself Collaborative Waterville, the fi rm also plans to work with omas College, Kennebec Valley Community College and the University of Maine to create opportunities for technology and business skills education for students. P H O T O / C O U R T E S Y C O L L A BO R AT I V E C O N S U LT I N G Waterville renewal Massachusetts IT firm plans 200 jobs L a u r i e S c h r e i b e r F O C U S John Williams, chief strategy offi cer for Collaborative Consulting, at his offi ce in Burlington, Mass.

• Cover