Mainebiz

V O L . X X I I N O. X V 8 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 Q uality and dedication of the workforce. Receptive business climate. Capacity to expand. ese are major reasons compa- nies choose to relocate or expand to Maine. Maine & Co. compiled tes- timonials from leaders of businesses from other states that have signifi cant presences in Maine. "We try to see how Maine can posi- tion itself to accommodate corporate growth plans," says Peter DelGreco, CEO of Maine & Co., a private non- profi t that provides free and confi dential consulting services to businesses looking to relocate to Maine or expand within the state. "We're seeing a lot of those companies lately coming out of the Boston area. ey're growing and they've run out of space, run out of workforce on the [Route] 128 belt, and they're begin- ning to look across the country and say, 'How can we continue to scale our busi- ness?' Maine is geographically blessed to be so close to what is arguably the sec- ond largest area of new-venture creation in the country, and the world." Companies expanding to Maine are hiring in Maine. DelGreco of Maine & Co. lists Sun Life Financial, OnProcess Technology, Wayfair, AthenaHealth, Carbonite and Boston Financial as examples. For AthenaHealth founder and CEO Jonathan Bush, Maine always seemed like a natural choice for expansion, having grown up summering on North Haven, says David Tassoni, senior vice president of operations at AthenaHealth. e health care technology company consoli- dated its remittance operations into the former MBNA campus in Belfast, where it has 900 employees today. Bush looked at Vermont, western Massachusetts and elsewhere. e availability of the Belfast site became a big consideration. e Pine Tree Development Zones program — off ering businesses greatly reduced or eliminated state taxes for up to 10 years for creating new jobs — also proved a motivator. " at was an added plus," says Tassoni. "At the end of the day, if Maine didn't have tangible economic benefi ts like the Pine Tree Zones, it would be hard to compete with other states. It's not that we sought it — we didn't come and say, 'We want tax breaks' — but we can't ignore it. e fact that we had something compa- rable to, if not better than, any other state certainly did not hurt." Still, what tipped the balance in choosing Maine was Bush's belief in the commitment level to be found in Maine employees. "I don't think companies chose Maine because there's an ample supply of labor," says Tassoni. "But what you get is a labor force that is highly committed to mission. If you are a mission-centered company, people typically enjoy working in a com- munity like that. ey enjoy doing some- thing that's worthwhile, that they can be proud of. at's ultimately one of Maine's greatest assets, that people want to feel good about the work they're doing." Casting a net far and wide At any given time, Maine & Co. works with 30 or more businesses of all sizes — all of which have expansion on the mind. "We cast our net far and wide, but the bulk our sales and marketing eff orts are aimed at companies getting ready to expand, to how show them how suc- cessful they can be in Maine," DelGreco says. "We start with simple things, like labor workforce identifi cation and analysis, real estate site work, and incen- tive identifi cation and evaluation. We coordinate site visits, and sometimes help identify fi nancing opportunities." DelGreco recalls how meticulous Burlington, Mass.-based Collaborative Consulting, an IT fi rm, was in evaluat- ing locations for its technology delivery center, ultimately selecting Waterville. "We went to their offi ce, and they had a giant map of the whole country, full of pushpins," DelGreco says. "And they had visited more places than you can imagine." Collaborative Consulting's chief strategy offi cer, John Williams, cor- roborates that recollection. "We looked at any communities that were in our profi le that were in the central time zone on east, because most of our clients are East Coast based," says Williams. " e map still hangs on the wall, and Maine has a little fl ag in it." Collaborative has satellite offi ces in Bridgewater, N.J.; Conshohocken, Pa..; and Wausau, Wisc. Collaborative selected Waterville for several reasons, Williams says. Although Waterville isn't a low-price location, it's better- priced than Boston. e area also has a large enough population and the higher education opportunities need- ed to hire skilled personnel, train new hires and develop partnerships with area colleges. It's close to Northeast clients. And Waterville, like Maine in general, is a natural attraction for people wanting to stay in state, or for people who want to move to Maine. "Retention is part of our model," says Williams. "We wanted to be in an area where people want to be, where they have family or want to raise a family." Collaborative Waterville, as it's called, opened Jan. 1 and now has 12 em- ployees; the goal is to have a workforce of 200 over the next four or fi ve years. "People aren't used to hearing Waterville as a place to build a tech- nology center," Williams says. "I think people expected we would choose Portland as having more education, more of a technological and entre- preneurial bent. ere's always the question, 'How do you fi nd the talent there, the workforce?'" Collaborative hasn't had any prob- lem, as it connects with the colleges and the area's vibrant professional network. "People love to refer their friend, their cousin, someone know and trust and want to work with. e majority of employees we've found are referrals," he says. "It's been an incred- ibly warm reception. at kind of sup- port gives us a lot of confi dence." 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 Why Maine? There are many good reasons to move to Maine or expand here B y L a u r i e S c h r e i b e r P H O T O / C O U R T E S Y O F W. M A R C B E R N S A U, BO S T O N B U S I N E S S J O U R N A L Jonathan Bush, founder and CEO of AthenaHealth, knew Maine as a vacationer, but was impressed with the incentives offered to businesses.

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