Mainebiz

W W W. M A I N E B I Z . B I Z 11 O C T O B E R 3 0 , 2 0 1 7 into opposition from residents of the neighborhood, the Kennebec Journal reported. A request for proposals for a housing development at the north end of the site, near Route 3, got no takers in April, but the Augusta Housing Authority has asked to lease two acres at the south end at no cost for a low-income development. e six-building, 34-unit complex would be at the end of dead-end residential Maple Street, which is off Bangor Street, the main north- south artery on Augusta's east side. e authority is also asking for a tax increment fi nancing deal for the $6 million project. e rents wouldn't be subsidized, but residency would be restricted to those who earn less than 50% to 60% of the area median income, a range of $17,000 a year for an individual and up to $40,000 for a family. Rents would be $581 to $967. Some 449 more units of hous- ing are needed in Augusta to meet the demand for aff ordable hous- ing, according to a Maine Housing Authority study. Bethel Area Chamber hires new director e Bethel Area Chamber of Commerce hired Jessie Perkins, an employee of fi ve years, as its next director. She steps into a position held for three decades by Robin Zinchuk. As announced at the chamber's annual meeting, Zinchuk will remain on staff with the title of outreach and development director. "We have seen a tremendous amount of change in the past 30 years, and the organiza- tion has grown as we have sought to meet the needs of our growing and ever-changing group of entrepre- neurs," Zinchuk said, adding that the organization "has never been stron- ger." Perkins had served as events and marketing manager. A new CEO at STARC and additional investment in Auburn P&G site B y m a i n e b i z s t a f f With capital in hand, STARC hires CEO Within weeks of securing $3.5 million in fi nancing from Blue Heron Capital, STARC Systems hired a CEO with extensive merchandising experience. Chris Vickers, a native of Caribou and Colby College grad, was previously president and CEO of Vermont Country Store in Manchester, Vt. Starting in 2010, he served as chief mer- chandising and marketing offi cer, then took over as president and CEO in February 2013. Previously, Vickers served as vice president of merchandising at L.L.Bean Inc. STARC, which is based at TechPlace in Brunswick Landing, creates temporary wall containment for renovations within health care, education and commercial construction projects. P&G invests $4.6M at Auburn plant Two major safety upgrades at Procter & Gamble's Tambrands factory, at a cost of $4.6 million, are the latest of a total $11 million in upgrades at the Auburn site. The factory, which produces 9 million tampons a day, com- pleted a 33,000-square-foot, $6.2 million addition earlier this year at the 530,000-square-foot plant at 2879 Hotel Road, the Sun Journal reported. The plant is the leading North American producer of the Tampax Pearl product, which generated $288.7 million in sales in 2016, more than twice its leading competitor. The site has 400 workers. A 50,000-square-foot expansion in 2012 added three production lines. Since P&G bought the site in 1997, it has invested $400 million there. Venture capital fi rm withdraws $5M loan offer Boston-based Arctaris Royalty Ventures Co-Investment LP withdrew its offer to lend $5 million to Stored Solar LLC, owner of biomass power plants in West Enfi eld and Jonesboro. Most of the proposed loan was to have been backed by Finance Authority of Maine. The Bangor Daily News reported that FAME spokesman Bill Norbert confi rmed that Arctaris rescinded its request for the state agency to insure 90% of its proposed loan to Stored Solar, a subsidiary of the French energy fi rm Capergy, which purchased the two plants from Covanta Energy in October 2016. Kestrel woes mount in Wisconsin Kestrel Aircraft, which recently was evicted from Brunswick Landing for failing to pay rent for at least a year, faces pos- sible legal action by the state of Wisconsin and the city of Superior, Wisc., over millions in defaulted loans. Fox21 in Superior, Wisc., reported that Kestrel owes roughly $4 million to the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. and another $2 million to the city of Superior, funds that were supposed help pay for an as-yet-unbuilt aircraft manufacturing plant that would lead to 650 jobs. The station also reported that Kestrel founder Alan Klapmeier, who is now CEO of Kestrel's parent company, One Aviation, says the state didn't follow through on promises that he says were essential to Kestrel's ability to build the plant. Klapmeier said he still wants to build a plant in Superior but wasn't sure it was possible. "Obviously we're very disappointed with this entire project and the way it came about," he told Fox21. "We still tried in good faith to keep the jobs here and have this result in a successful project, obviously Superior could benefi t greatly from these types of jobs. But at this point, we'd have to say we don't know." B I Z M O N E Y —Wayne Brown, President, Brown Foodservice, Inc. " I T S H A S G I V E N O U R DATA S Y S T E M S A N A M A Z I N G S H E L F L I F E ! " I T S H E L P S F O O D S E R V I C E D I S T R I B U TO R S L I K E B R O W N M A N AG E M I L L I O N S O F O R D E R S W I T H O U T E R R O R . . . W H I L E K E E P I N G I N F R A S T R U C T U R E C O S T S D O W N . I T S O LU T I O N S TO P O W E R YO U R G R O W T H I T S N E . C O M • 8 8 8 - 2 6 4 - 7 8 5 2 Our highly experienced, certified engineers have the skill to analyze Brown's business and recommend hardware/infrastructure solutions that maximize the time before their next upgrade. We also work in partnership with Target Data Systems to ensure that systems are robust enough to handle Target's warehouse management functions smoothly and reliably—which is critical to upholding Brown's 75-year-old reputation for delivering high volume food orders perfectly every time. Call today to discuss how ITS can help your growing business! We tried in good faith to keep the We tried in good faith to keep the We tried in good faith to keep the We tried in good faith to keep the We tried in good faith to keep the We tried in good faith to keep the We tried in good faith to keep the We tried in good faith to keep the We tried in good faith to keep the We tried in good faith to keep the We tried in good faith to keep the We tried in good faith to keep the We tried in good faith to keep the We tried in good faith to keep the jobs here and have this result in a jobs here and have this result in a jobs here and have this result in a jobs here and have this result in a jobs here and have this result in a jobs here and have this result in a jobs here and have this result in a jobs here and have this result in a jobs here and have this result in a jobs here and have this result in a jobs here and have this result in a jobs here and have this result in a jobs here and have this result in a jobs here and have this result in a successful project. — Alan Klapmeier One Aviation N O T E W O R T H Y C E N T R A L & W E S T E R N Rainbow Federal Credit Union in Lewiston rebranded as Dirigo Federal Credit Union. The Maine Arts Commission in Augusta said it awarded $373,000 in competitive grant awards to more than 100 recipients throughout the state. Senior Planning Center, an insur- ance and fi nancial services fi rm in Farmington, opened a location at 338 Madison Ave. in Skowhegan.

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