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Maine Connections
| July 2010
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Greetings!
Summer in Maine provides all of us lucky enough to live here with a great opportunity to get out and explore the state with friends and family.
Each summer, I always stumble across some wonderful Maine product or place I hadn't known about before; a tasty Maine-Made snack, a B&B with a charming host, a favorite new hike... One of of our tasks at DECD is to share these special Maine experiences with the world.
If you discover something new to love about Maine, please share it with us. You can simply hit reply to this e-newsletter or become a fan of DECD and The Office of Tourism's Facebook pages. For the Office of Tourism's page, click here: 
DECD's Facebook page, click here: 
All the best,
 Commissioner Thaxter R. Trafton
www.businessinmaine.com
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Are You a Subscriber to DECD's Connections?
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Mark's Business Tip of the Month:Mark Ouellette, Office of Business Development Director. |
Maine Made Can Help Your Business Grow!
The Maine Products Marketing Program, or Maine Made, is a great program that builds recognition for thousands of
exceptional Maine-made consumer
products.
You can leverage Maine's brand equity through this program and there is no fee to join. The Maine Products Marketing Program is open to all qualified Maine
producers.
Check out the Maine Made website and learn about how to qualify for this
program - www.mainemade.com. In addition, Maine Made members enjoy several program
activities which are available at a very modest cost, including the "Maine Made - America's Best" hand tags or adhesive labels, Kiosk display opportunities and scholarship opportunities for first year exhibitors at the New England Products
Trade Show (NEPTS).
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Maine Boatyard Days Maine Built
Boats will work with boatbuilders, boatyards, and affiliated businesses across
the state of Maine to present "Open Boatyard Days," August 16 & 17, 2010. The event will allow people to tour the insides
of boatyards and
boatbuilding companies across the state.
The dates
will build upon the Maine Boats, Homes & Harbors Show, held in Rockland
August 13th-15th.
People can visit the show and see a very broad array of boats, then go
on to visit the boatbuilders, boatyards, and affiliated businesses at their
location.Two days are planned to allow
time to visit different regions. Tours
will be available at all participating businesses every hour, on the hour,
between 10 am and 3 pm.
The following
companies have committed to opening their doors, with more to follow (by
region): Kittery to Portland: Clint
Chase Boatbuilder, Kittery Point Yacht Yard, and Portland Yacht Services; Sebago
Lake Region: Sabre Yachts; Boothbay
Region: Samoset Boatworks; Mid-Coast: Artisan Boatworks, Back Cove Yachts, Johanson
Boatworks, Lyman Morse , and Rockport Marine;
Brooklin Peninsula: Brooklin Boatyard and WoodenBoat School; Mount Desert Island: Classic Boat Shop,
Great Harbor Boatworks (formerly Ralph W. Stanley, Inc.), Hinckley Yachts, John
Williams Boat Company, Morris Yachts, Nautilus Marine, and Wilbur Yachts; Downeast: The Boat School, Husson,
Eastport Maine.
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Maine to Host EnergyOcean Conference in 2011

Maine will once again host the
EnergyOcean International Conference, the world's premier event focused on
renewable and sustainable energy from the oceans. In June 2011, technologists,
financiers and policy makers from around the world will gather in Portland to
share and discuss opportunities for the market of renewable, ocean-based energy.
"Maine is becoming a leader
in renewable energy," said Governor John E. Baldacci. "We have a competitive advantage with our great
potential for tidal, wave, and off-shore wind energy and I am excited about
sharing our developments with the world once again in 2011."
Conference attendees will learn of the latest technological
advances, investment opportunities, regulatory issues, and planned and
implemented projects around the world.
In 2009, the Department of
Economic and Community Development (DECD) was the platinum sponsor of the
EnergyOcean International Conference which was hosted at the Samoset Resort in
Rockport. The event was deemed a great success by the organizers, exhibitors
and attendees. Nearly 600 people attended the event, a 90 percent increase from
the year before.
"Hosting EnergyOcean 2009
was a tremendous accomplishment for Maine," said DECD Commissioner Thaxter
Trafton. "DECD was the responsible for recruiting both the 2009 and 2011
conferences to Maine; our hard work has paid off and we're extremely pleased to
have the opportunity to showcase Maine's impressive innovation, R&D and
ocean energy potential again at next year's EnergyOcean International
Conference."
"We are very pleased to return to Maine for
the 8th annual EnergyOcean International Conference, which has
evolved as a global leader in clean, sustainable ocean energy, and to be
joining forces with the State of Maine to create another highly-respected
annual event," said Laura Couvillon, EnergyOcean International Show
Director. "We are confident that this strategic location and worldwide
reach will deliver an unmatched value proposition to the fast-growing ocean
energy industry."
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State of Maine Trade Mission
to France October 2010

The Maine
International Trade Center is recruiting companies for a Trade Mission to
Paris, France from October 2-6, 2010. The focus of the mission will be
two-fold: to bring Maine's food and tourism
industries to the City of Light and promote Maine's unique culinary products -
including lobster, coldwater shrimp, scallops, and other seafood as well as
Maine's well-known blueberries, cranberries, specialty foods and beverages.
"This falls
perfectly into our 'Shop, Dine, and Stay' promotion," explains Pat Eltman,
Maine's Director of Tourism. "Maine has made a name for itself as a culinary
destination as well as a location to enjoy the beauty and fun that our classic
New England villages have to offer. France is our third largest overseas market
for attracting visitors."
The second
focus area of the mission is in the Renewable Energy and Advanced Materials
fields. France is home to the largest composites show (JEC) in the world and
has a vast network of importers and OEMs for the aeronautics, power generation,
automotive, defense and security, and medical products industries. France
is also making significant strides in renewable energy and wind power
development world-wide with leaders such as Areva, Alstom, GDF Suez, and others
that are developing EU, Latin America, and U.S. markets for their products and
systems. The U.S. Commercial Service, a division of the U.S. Department of
Commerce, indicates that there is a great deal of opportunity for U.S. exports and
partnerships in the renewable energy industry in France.
The France mission
features one-on-one matchmaking meetings with potential buyers for Maine
exports and tour operators for the tourism industry, networking receptions, a
special food/tourism State of Maine event, and an Executive Session for leaders
and investors in the French Renewable Energy/Advanced Materials industries.
For more
information on the trade mission, please contact Trade Mission Coordinator Jeffrey Bennett at jbennett@mitc.com
or (207) 990-3161 or visit MITC's website at www.mitc.com.
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OCD's Mike Baran Lauded as Downtown Visionary
The Maine Development Foundation's Downtown Center presented the 10th
annual Downtown Achievement Awards in a ceremony held June 4th during
the Revitalizing Maine Communities conference in downtown Augusta. The top award for Downtown Visionary was presented to Mike
Baran, Director of the Maine Office of Community Development. Downtown Visionary Award winner, Mike Baran (center) with Roxanne Eflin, Terry Ann Stevens, Bill King and Laurie Lachance.
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Bill
King, Maine Downtown Center Senior Advisor and prior recipient of the
award, said of Mike, "(he) is a visionary leader and a firm believer in
the power of a strong community. Mike appreciates the role that healthy
downtowns play in strengthening community vitality."
Congratulations, Mike!
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MTI Offers Development Awards to 4 Companies
On June 14, the Maine Technology Institute
(MTI) Board of Directors approved four MTI Development Awards to three Maine
information technology companies and one technology transfer project in the
area of forest products technology. This round of investment by MTI totaled $1,083,237 and leveraged
$1,117,442 in private and other non-state investment.
This 26th round of Development Awards was
approved for:
University
of Maine's Process Development Center in Orono will use its MTI Development Award to
conduct initial product certification testing to transfer technology that it
has been developing on a cellulose insulation product for use in residential
and commercial buildings. The product is made from recycled materials, is flame
and mold resistant and satisfies market need for energy efficiency retrofits and
new construction. The project brings UMaine's Process Development Center
together with two Maine-based companies, Green Comfort Save and Zeomatrix to apply
patent-pending technologies and move the technology toward commercialization.
Award:
$99,780 Match: $105,280
ClaimVantage,
Inc., a claims management systemlocated in Portland will use its MTI
Development Award to transform four lines of its business, Absence Management,
Short Term Disability, Long Term Disability and Life Claims, to a Software as a
Service (SaaS) model.
Award:
$395,570 Match: $395,570
CLYNK
, a bottle and can redemption service based in Portland with operations at
24 Hannaford locations from Augusta to York, will use its MTI Development Award
to complete design, prototyping and equipment purchase in order to allow
expansion into 17 new Hannaford locations statewide.
Award:
$500,000 Match: $585,725
CashStar,
Inc., based in Portland, is an interactive gifting and incentives company
enabling digitally-based branded and personalized gift card management.
CashStar will use their MTI Development Award to develop, test and deploy
mobile applications for Blackberry, iPhone and Droid users.
Award:
$87,887 Match: $87,887
The application deadline for the next round of Development Awards is November 5, 2010.
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MEP Awards Mathew Brothers Manufacturing Excellence Award
The Maine
Manufacturing Extension Partnership (Maine MEP) announced that Mathews Brothers, a 156-year old window manufacturer with a
history of innovation, is the recipient of this year's Maine MEP Manufacturing
Excellence Award. The award was presented at a ceremony at the
Mathews Brothers manufacturing facility in Belfast on June 15.
The award is presented each year to a Maine company that has demonstrated
outstanding leadership, vision and manufacturing excellence.Brian Hodges, Deputy Commissioner of DECD at MEP's award ceremony for the Mathew Brothers. | "The 2010 Maine MEP
Manufacturing Excellence Award reflects updated criteria which were modified
this year to reflect changing global circumstances. In a recessionary and
highly competitive global economy, manufacturing excellence is no longer the
only attribute necessary for success," explained Maine MEP President Rod
Rodrigue. "To survive today, American manufacturers must embrace cutting
edge management and production techniques that control costs while improving
production efficiency, quality and on-time delivery."
"This year's award
recipient exemplifies what it takes to succeed in the face of today's global
challenges," said Brian Hodges, DECD's Deputy Commissioner, who helped facilitate the ceremony. "In the world of cutting edge manufacturing,
these attributes are known as Next Generation Manufacturing."
Next Generation
Manufacturing (NGM) refers to a framework of strategies developed by industry
leaders and the Manufacturing Extension Partnership program that represent the
essential strategies for driving growth and achieving competitive world-class
performance. The Maine MEP Manufacturing Excellence Award now recognizes
manufacturers, such as Mathews Brothers, that have undertaken the necessary
strategies to position their operations for growth.
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Ocean Energy Board Member Receives Award
On June 9, EnergyOcean International
announced the winners of its 2010 Pioneer Awards. The Education Pioneer
Award was presented to Matthew Simmons of Ocean Energy Institute in Rockland.
The Education Pioneer Award is given to an organization (government, not-for-profit, etc.) that has made a
recent (in the last 5 years) contribution toward promoting and educating the
public about Ocean Energy uses, feasibility, benefits and/or suitable locations
for implementation of the technologies.
Congratulations to Matthew and Ocean Energy Institute!
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Upcoming Events:
July:
July
10 - Native American Festival and Basketmakers Market. College
of the Atlantic, Bar Harbor, Maine. The festival begins at 10 AM. Free and open to the public, this popular
event draws a wide
variety of enthusiastic visitors year after year ranging from
professional basket collectors to vacationers to local
residents.
207-288-3519 for information. August: August 13 - Lean Manufacturing event; DECD is a sponsor. http://www.mainemep.org/events.html
August 30 - SBA America East conference; DECD is a
sponsor.
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