Mainebiz

V O L . X X I V N O. V I I A P R I L 2 , 2 0 1 8 10 B U S I N E S S M A I N E B U S I N E S S M A I N E B U S I N E S S N E W S F RO M A RO U N D T H E S TAT E Europe, according to a news release. Geiger BTC Group will be led by Frank Murphy, BTC Group's manag- ing director. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Geiger is the largest privately owned and managed pro- motional products distributor in the United States, and BTC Group is the largest in the United Kingdom, the release said. Geiger also publishes the Farmers' Almanac, though the deal will not have a direct impact on the publi- cation, Geiger CEO Gene Geiger told Mainebiz. Geiger has 225 employees in Lewiston. Geiger operates 16 divisional offi ces across the United States and is affi liated with more than 550 inde- pendent sales representatives. It is a family-owned and managed company in its fi fth generation. New Balance lands $17M contract to make sneakers for U.S. military e Department of Defense has awarded New Balance a $17.3 million fi rm-fi xed-price contract to provide American-made athletic shoes to initial entry service members upon arrival at basic training. Boston-based New Balance, which has manu- facturing facilities in Skowhegan, Norridgewock, and Norway, secured one of three contracts awarded by the DOD for American-made athletic footwear under the provision. e contract, awarded by the Defense Logistics Agency, contains a base performance period of 18-months, with an additional 18-month option contract clause. Owners plan to rebuild Moosehead area inn A Go Fund Me campaign to assist the owners of a historic inn on Chesuncook Lake that was destroyed by fi re early Saturday morning, has raised more than $21,000 towards its $50,000 goal. Located on Chesuncook Lake in the Moosehead Lake region, the Chesuncook Lake House was destroyed by in a fi re but everyone escaped with- out injury, according to a statement sent to Mainebiz on behalf of the owners, David and Luisa Suprenant. e remote inn, built in 1864, is accessible via a 52-mile drive up the Golden Road and another 15 miles on a snowmobile trail. New owner for Sugarloaf, Sunday River In a deal that's expected to close later this year, Boyne Resorts announced March 20 that it reached an agreement to buy the Sugarloaf and Sunday River ski resorts from Resort Holdings LLC, an affi liate of Oz Real Estate. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed, but Boyne Resorts CEO said out- right ownership will give the company greater latitude to invest in the resorts than it had as an operator managing the resorts for an investment group. N O T E W O R T H Y C E N T R A L & W E S T E R N The Retail Association of Maine in Augusta formed a partnership with the National Retail Federation Foundation and the nonprofi t group Jobs for Maine's Graduates to provide the foun- dation's RISE Up training and creden- tials that help entry-level student job seekers develop meaningful careers. Central Maine Healthcare in Lewiston unveiled plans to open an outpatient care center in Topsham in July. The 44,000 square-foot facility at 105 Topsham Fair Mall Road will provide access to high-quality imaging, urgent care, cancer care and lab services. Brunswick Landing lands USDA grant for solar array e U.S. Department of Agriculture has invested $1.5 million in the new solar array at Brunswick Landing, part of its mission to improve the life of rural Americans, USDA Director Tim Hobbs said March 21. e 4,500- panel solar array went online in December, and is part of the Midcoast Regional Development Authority's plan to make the 3,200-acre Brunswick Landing campus 100% sustainable. " is is a pretty exciting project," said Tom Brubaker, MRRA public works and utility manager to those gathered Wednesday to hear the announce- ment. "It's a milestone in making this an energy self-suffi cient campus." e loan to Diversifi ed Communications, which owns the 1.5 megawatt solar array, is part of the USDA Electric Loan Program, which is designed to help maintain and upgrade the coun- try's electrical infrastructure. e total cost of the project is $3 million. 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 Clint and Susan Condon purchased the Belfast Bay Inn, a luxury boutique hotel. Maine Credit Unions provide $100,000 toward hunger effort B y M a u r e e n M i l l i k e n Good Shepherd Food Bank's renovation of the former Bangor Daily News print- ing and distribution center in Hampden got a boost March 12 with a $100,000 commitment from Maine Credit Unions' Campaign for Ending Hunger. Auburn-based Good Shepherd is renovating the distribution center to expand capacity and make distribu- tion throughout Downeast and north- ern Maine more effi cient. The renovation will add 8,000 square feet of warehouse space to the original 36,000 of storage in the 40,000-square-foot building, not by increasing the size of the building, but by retrofi tting what is there to change its purpose from newspaper distribu- tion to food storage. The food bank bought the build- ing from the Bangor Daily News in October 2015, and started using it in January 2016. "[We] have only been using a small portion of the space and have not installed racking, etc. So the renovation will greatly expand our use of the building," said Clara McConnell, director of public affairs for the food bank, in an email. In addition to installing racks for storage, temperature and humidity- controlled storage zones will be added, as well as a food inspection/ sorting/packing area where volunteers will work and community meeting space. The food packing area will be named the Maine Credit Unions' Food Packing Area, as part of the expanded partnership, the food bank said in a news release. The project is expected to cost $4.25 million, and the food bank is also pay- ing off the building's $750,000 mortgage, McConnell said. A groundbreaking May 23 will kick off the public phase of the capital campaign, but 13 corporate and foundation donors have already contributed to the project. Kristen Miale, president of Good Shepherd Food Bank, said in the news release that the limited capacity of the Auburn-based distribution is "the single greatest obstacle to meeting the food bank's long-term goal of distributing 31 million meals annually — particularly with more healthy, fresh food acquired from Maine farmers." The renovation would add capacity to annually distribute 13 million pounds of food — the equivalent of 10.8 million meals, Miale said. "The new commitment from Maine's credit unions provides a signifi cant boost in our effort. The Maine Credit Unions Ending Hunger program raised a record $740,000 this year. Miale said that Maine's credit unions "continue to be leaders in helping to end hunger in Maine, and are valued partners of the Food Bank and Mainers who struggle with hunger." Todd Mason, president of the Maine Credit Union League, said the new commit- ment "represents our shared vision of creating expanded access to food... We are excited to support initiatives that work towards the goal of ending hunger in Maine. We also recognize that the issue is less about there being enough food and more about getting the food to those who need it. This new distribution center will go a long way towards meeting that need, and we are thrilled to be a part of that." B R I E F P H O T O / J I M N E U G E R P H O T O / W I L L I A M T R E VA S K I S Kristen Miale, president of Good Shepherd Food Bank. Todd Mason, president of the Maine Credit Union League. M I D C O A S T & D O W N E A S T

• Cover