Mainebiz

W W W. M A I N E B I Z . B I Z 11 JA N UA R Y 9 , 2 0 1 7 developed and patented the shipboard heat-treating system to meet the phyto- sanitary requirements of the European Union. At its Dec. 19 meeting, the Eastport Port Authority approved motions that will allow it to hold the license to the technology and enable it to obtain $1.65 million in Maine Department of Transportation fi nanc- ing for the system. e board then agreed to contract with Phyto-Charter to fi nish building it, e Quoddy Tides reported. Phyto-Charter invested a considerable amount of money to develop the equipment. But Port Authority Executive Director Chris Gardner told the paper it was "diffi cult to attract new capital into this, because it's never been deployed full scale. It was hard to get a fi nancing package." e heat-treating system operates as the vessel is being loaded and is viewed as the most cost-eff ective means of heat-treating wood chips. N O T E W O R T H Y M I D C O A S T & D O W N E A S T Bella Luna Toys, an online retailer of educational toys, art supplies and crafts in Rockland, reported it expe- rienced a 42% growth in sales from Black Friday through Cyber Monday and that sales were up 73% for the fi rst week of December compared to the same period last year. M aine's smaller manufacturers expected to ring in the new year with a new manufacturing law that is expected to help Maine's Manufacturing Extension Partnership program have more predictable and stable fi nancing, MEP Center Director Larry Robinson told Mainebiz. President Obama was expected to sign the bill into law by early January, with strong bipartisan support from the U.S. House and Senate. Until now, the federal government supplied $1 for each $2 MEP could match through its consulting activities with the state's small- to medium-sized businesses, defi ned in Maine as those with one to 50 employees. The new law, co- sponsored by U.S. Sens. Susan Collins and Angus King, now only requires MEP to match $1 for each $1 in federal money. "The law allows our center to maintain a more regular fi nancial footing," Robinson said. "In some of the previous years we couldn't draw down the federal match because we didn't get enough of our own match money. So we lost the rest of the federal money for that year," he said. The new Manufacturing Extension Partnership Improvement Act is part of the American Innovation and Competitiveness Act. It is aimed at improving the MEP programs in all states, including Maine, by offering them consulting resources to compete globally, help them integrate their supply chain and give them access to training and new technologies that could improve effi ciency, productivity and profi tability. The nationwide MEP centers are linked through the U.S. Department of Commerce and National Institute of Standards and Technology to strengthen the global competitiveness of U.S. manufacturers. Maine MEP averages a budget of $1 million per year between the federal and matching funds, Robinson said. "This legislation will enhance Maine MEP's ability to provide critical resources to companies that will create jobs and spur economic activity," the senators said in a joint statement. Robinson said there are about 1,600 manufacturers in Maine, and 80% have 50 employees or fewer. Of those, half are metal and machine shops or in food production, and the other half are evenly distributed among a number of produc- ers, including biotechnology and wood. Robinson said MEP provides technical services and work- force development with its six fi eld staff. They work on about 15 projects per year, for which the smaller manufacturers pay for services. MEP is currently looking for an additional person with 20-plus years of operational experience in manu- facturing for the Bangor area. It's diffi cult to fi nd staff, Robinson said, because many large companies that had those experienced engineers moved offshore in the 1990s. New law could help smaller manufacturers B I Z M O N E Y Executive director of Bigelow Lab dies at 58 Graham Shimmield, 58, execu- tive director of Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences, died Dec. 24 after a battle with cancer. A glob- ally recognized leader in oceanog- raphy, Shimmield served in his role at Bigelow Laboratory since 2008. During his tenure, he transformed the organization, building upon its longstanding scientifi c reputa- tion to develop a $32 million marine research and education campus in East Boothbay, which opened in 2012, along with a $6 million residence facility that will open in spring 2017. "Under Graham's leadership, Bigelow Laboratory has nearly doubled in size, developed signifi cant education pro- grams, launched a successful philan- thropy program to support our work, and increased the reach and impact of our science through expanded outreach and our Centers for Venture Research," Ben Twining, a vice president and senior research scientist at Bigelow Laboratory, said in an obituary posted on the lab's website. "Graham was committed to contributing to innova- tion and growth in Maine's economy through our research and partnerships around the state." Twining will serve as acting executive director. Eastport a step closer to shipping wood chip to EU Eastport is one step closer to ship- ping bulk wood chips to the European Union for use as biomass fuel. Eastport Port Authority approved a fi nancing plan to prepare wood fi bers for ship- ment by heat-treating them to elimi- nate pests. e Quoddy Tides reported that Eastport-based Phyto-Charter has The law allows our center The law allows our center The law allows our center The law allows our center The law allows our center The law allows our center The law allows our center The law allows our center The law allows our center to maintain a more regular to maintain a more regular to maintain a more regular to maintain a more regular to maintain a more regular to maintain a more regular to maintain a more regular to maintain a more regular to maintain a more regular to maintain a more regular to maintain a more regular to maintain a more regular to maintain a more regular financial footing. — Larry Robinson, Maine Manufacturing Extension Partnership M I D C O A S T & D O W N E A S T THERE IS A DIFFERENCE THERE IS Because Construction Management Design/Build General Contracting Engineering Sheridan Construction www.sheridancorp.com Fairfield Portland 207-453-9311 207-774-6138

• Cover