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V O L . X X I I N O. I V F E B R UA R Y 2 2 , 2 0 1 6 6 Critics weigh lobstering proposal at hearing As expected, a proposal meant to streamline the process of acquiring a lobster-fishing license in Maine was met with opposition from many veteran lobstermen as it went in front of Maine lawmakers on Feb. 10. "Given the suc- cess and profitability of the industry, it is not surprising that there is mounting pressure to create more access to the industry," Patrice McCarron, execu- tive director of the Maine Lobstermen's Association, told the Portland Press Herald. As of November 2015, the waiting list to issue new lobster-fishing licenses contained 293 names, with some applicants being on the list for more than a decade. Among the provisions of the proposed bill is the creation of a new limited Class II of lobster and crab-fishing licenses that would allow the holder to fish with a maximum of 300 traps, as opposed to the current 800 traps allowed with a Class II license, and a provision that would remove licensing fees for applicants over the age of 70. N O T E W O R T H Y S T A T E W I D E Maine Craft Weekend, a statewide tour of Maine craft studios, breweries, businesses and events, received a $41,000 grant from the Maine Office of Tourism for marketing. The Maine Small Business Development Centers, a statewide program that helps entrepreneurs to start and expand their businesses, announced it assisted 1,633 clients in 2015, which saved and/or created 619 jobs, launched 102 new businesses and provided access to $37.6 million in capital to start or grow businesses. The Home Depot said it will hire 450 associates in Maine in preparation for spring, its busiest selling season. Report: Demand for housing outpaces supply Despite a 9% increase in providing affordable housing from 2014, there is growing discrepancy between supply and demand in southern Maine and New Hampshire, according to Avesta Housing's 2015 Affordable Housing Activity Report. Portland-based Avesta said 3,348 people in southern Maine and New Hampshire applied for affordable housing through the nonprofit last year, but it was only able to accommodate 434 of the requests due to the limited number of income-based units available and low turnover in existing units. As of the end of December, 2,248 appli- cants remained on Avesta's waiting list for affordable housing, with the majority of applicants over the age of 55. at's 163 more senior appli- cants than in 2014, with applicants between the ages of 35 and 54 coming in a close second. "e level of unmet need for a safe, affordable place to live is higher than we have ever seen," Dana Totman, president of Avesta, said in the report. Apothecary by Design selling retail pharmacy Apothecary by Design will sell its retail pharmacy in Portland to a team that includes one of the company's founders. e pharmacy, which is at 84 Marginal Way, will be renamed Coastal Pharmacy & Wellness. It will continue to serve customers as a retail-and-compounding pharmacy, nutraceutical provider and coffee shop. It will be owned and operated by Joe Lorello, a compounding phar- macist and co-founder of ABD; Cassi Brooks, who is operations manager for ABD's retail and compounding pharmacy; and Stephen Drapeau, a pharmacist who practiced most recently in South Portland, the two parties said in a joint announcement. Terms of the deal, which is expected to close in March, were not disclosed. Apothecary by Design, founded in 2008, will focus on specialty medi- cations and compounds, including specialty medications for hepatitis C, HIV and infertility. It will continue to provide services to patients with chronic, complex diseases. It is based at 141 Preble St., just a block from the retail pharmacy. Developer retools plan for Lincoln Mill Kennebunkport developer Tim Harrington of LHL Holdings has asked Biddeford city officials to approve a new site plan that would increase the number of apartment units in the former Lincoln Mill B U S I N E S S M A I N E Business news from around the state S T A T E W I D E S O U T H E R N Auburn Manufacturing: Innovation on fire M E C H A N I C F A L L S — Auburn Manufacturing, a 50-employee business founded in 1979, devel- ops, manufactures and markets textile products for extreme-tem- perature industrial applications. At one time, production and shipping took place at three facili- ties in Mechanic Falls and Auburn, a system that evolved organically and worked perfectly well toward achieving a great reputation. Still, founder and CEO Kathie Leonard was aware of inefficien- cies: They weren't getting product out the door as quickly as cus- tomers needed. Product develop- ment was slow, too. But she was unable to identify the bottlenecks. "Say a customer needed 500 rolls of high-temperature tape to be used as door seals in equipment," Leonard says. "We would weave the tape in one plant, then truck it to get coated at our other plant. Then it would come back to the first plant to get pressure-sensitive adhesive applied. Then we would truck it to our warehouse, to be stored or shipped." In 2012, they started to work with Wayne Messer, project manager with the Maine Manufacturing Extension Partnership, a fee-for-service organization that helps small and medium-sized manufacturers become more efficient, productive and globally competitive. With Suzanne Hamlin from Transformational Knowledge Group, the team used external assessments and a baseline financial forecast to analyze market dynamics, company priorities and corporate-wide operational metrics. Leonard worked with Messer on a strategic planning process that included developing new space, new markets and new products. The result? "We're a lot more focused in terms of where we're going," Leonard says. For example, to solve that production tangle, the team walked through the production process, tracing materials through the three facilities. "That's just the way we grew," says Leonard. "It turned out, we were going around in circles many times." Ultimately, the solution was to ditch the leased warehouse and invest $1.4 mil- lion to expand the Auburn plant from 30,000 square feet to about 50,000 square feet, and purchase an additional oven system that speeds capacity for coating and heat-treating fabrics, enabling the company to develop products more quickly. Leonard credits Lewiston-Auburn's business-friendly environment for obtain- ing financing easily. "I think the banks understand what manufacturing needs," she says. "They've been with us all along." Leonard had thought about expanding, but MEP helped clarify its usefulness for the company's growth. "If you stand still in business, you tend to start going backward," she says. "This needed to be a 21st century business." The company expresses its renewed drive in a new tagline, changing it from "The safest name in high heat-resistant textiles" to "Innovation on fire." It hired a vice president of innovation and engineering. And it is indeed on fire. New prod- ucts include a pre-assembled valve insulation kit, marketed to institutions and municipalities — the first time the company moved beyond industrial customers. Leonard and Messer continue to work together. "Had we not invested in the training we obtained from MEP, we may now have been wondering what to do next," she says. "Instead, we're setting in place another three-year plan." — L a u r i e S c h r e i b e r F I L E P H O T O / DAV I D A . RO D G E R S Kathie Leonard, president and CEO of Auburn Manufacturing Inc.

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