News from APP/NMDC

Notes from APP and NMDC

Volume 1, Issue 26

Dec. 7, 2012

In This Issue

Rail Improvements Dicussed

SBDC Success Story

Visitor Guide Now Available

Track improvements discussed at Aroostook Partnership for Progress shipper's meeting at NMDC

CARIBOU - "We are making progress but as a railroad we want to get better," said Ian Simpson, general manager of J.D. Irving's rail properties including the Maine Northern Railway (MNR), speaking Nov. 29 to a group of shippers at the Northern Maine Development Commission.

Simpson was invited to update the business people and economic development officials at the request of Bob Dorsey, president of the Aroostook Partnership for Progress (APP). APP is a public-private partnership dedicated to aggressive and effective results-oriented economic development.

"It's been a year and a half since MNR took over the 241 miles of rail line in Northern Maine which was abandoned by Montreal, Maine and Atlantic and we had been hearing second hand about some of the improvements and how rail can benefit the economy in the region," said Dorsey.

Simpson said in the past 18 months cars per week have grown from 100 to about 239. In 2013 the company is pushing for 301 plus cars a week.

"We are chasing 300 plus a week," he said. "That is what we are geared up for now."

He added improvements made thanks to the $10.5 million Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant are resulting in faster track speeds which will help the short line become more competitive. Branch lines in Houlton and Presque Isle have gone from 10 mph to 25 mph and the main lines will be increasing in the near future. The biggest speed increase will be from Millinocket to Oakfield, which will rise to 40 mph.

Part of the TIGER grant called for replacing 50,000 ties. Simpson said about 49,000 have been replaced so far. He added other target goals, such as surfacing, ballast, replacing culverts and others, are moving along nicely. Simpson indicated about $3.5 million out of the original funding is still available to make further improvements next year.

Employment with the MNR is up from 23 full time jobs at the start to 37 right now. There are also an additional 23 temporary jobs in connection with the TIGER grant improvements.

One issue MNR is facing is a short supply of some types of rail cars, especially chip and log cars, but Simpson said his staff will work with shippers to solve potential problems.

"That is a challenge out there right now for some sectors," he said.

Simpson also told the shippers about improvement like the Brownville Junction bypass project which should cut down on transport times. He also said the company wants to create more options for shippers by increasing the number of interchanges between other rail carriers like CN, Pan Am and MMA.

Dorsey noted after the meeting that "indications are that national housing new starts are trending upward and manufacturing in the County is increasing so having a solid rail service in Aroostook County is critical for many of our larger manufacturing companies to remain competitive - and with diesel prices rising and Tier 4 diesel engine standards coming, we envision that rail will be even more essential in the future."

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Aroostook County Tourism

Stevens sets up shop in his hometown with a little help from NMDC staff

PRESQUE ISLE - Northern Maine Development Commission (NMDC) and Aroostook Partnership for Progress (APP) are making a big push to attract those who have moved away to come home to Aroostook County and the Maine Small Business Development Center (SBDC) at NMDC is helping in that goal.

SBDC director Rod Thompson, over the course of a few years, assisted Ryan Stevens in establishing Automotive Solutions in Presque Isle.

Stevens honed his automotive repair skills away from the County, even spending time in Hawaii doing auto repairs on high-end foreign vehicles.

"Everybody wants to be their own boss and you do what you can do to make it happen," said Stevens. "When choosing a place to live for the rest of my life, I chose my hometown."

That's where the SBDC helped out. Stevens first came to NMDC in June 2008 looking for information on business plans, codes, licenses, taxes and general feasibility issues. Over the next two years more work was done on the business plan a

Ryan Stevens, owner of Automotive Solutions, shares a laugh with Rod Thompson of NMDC.

nd in 2010 final plans were developed, including costing out the project and site location. It took several more months to find the appropriate location, but Automotive Solutions was finally launched at 80 Airport Drive in Presque Isle.

"I am a mechanic, not a business person, and I can honestly say without the assistance of SBDC and Rod this probably wouldn't have happened," Stevens said.

"We started from scratch with Ryan and I bet we met at least half a dozen times just working on the business plan," Thompson said. "When you see a young person wanting to add to the business landscape of Aroostook County making the effort is easy."

APP President Bob Dorsey added, "This is exactly the kind of example we're looking to replicate in the Mobilize Northern Maine process - encouraging former residents to come home to either fill emerging vacant jobs or do like Ryan did, start their own business."

Recently members of the Mobilize Northern Maine goal setting team concluded that we will need to do more than just train and retain younger people in Aroostook County. Citing the 2010 census decrease in our middle age workers, the team has set a target, pending approval of the APP board of directors, of growing the 18- to 44-year-old population by 3 percent by 2017.

Mobilize Northern Maine is an asset based economic development plan

Thompson added other entrepreneurs can learn from Stevens' experience, mainly establishing a business can take time and make sure your idea incorporates something you love. In this case Stevens is passionate about racing cars.

"I really want to race cars and the only way that will ever happen is if I have a business that is going to support it," said Stevens. "That has given me the drive to succeed."

Automotive Solutions can be reached by calling (207) 551-3435.

Thompson encourages anyone who is thinking about starting a business or an ongoing business that may need some assistance in a specific area, like market research, marketing or operations, to get in touch with the SBDC.

More information is available at www.mainesbdc.org, www.nmdc.org or by contacting Thompson at (800) 427-8736.

SBDC is a partnership program of the U.S. Small Business Administration, the Maine Department of Economic and Community Development, the University of Southern Maine and NMDC.

Visitor Guide is now available

CARIBOU - Tourists and potential tourists can now find the latest information on visiting the County in the new 2012-13 Visitor Guide, which has been distributed to chambers of commerce, tourist information centers, hotels and motels and other important locations.

Leslie Jackson, regional tourism developer for Northern Maine Development Commission (NMDC), said the guides were delivered in mid November and since then staff and members of the Aroostook County Tourism (ACT) committee have been placing the guides in optimal spots.

"This new Aroostook Visitor Guide is distributed at the Houlton and Hampden North Visitor Centers, the Aroostook Chambers of Commerce offices, handed out at the many tradeshows ACT and the Maine Office of Tourism attends throughout the year, mailed to hundreds of individuals requesting travel information through the VisitAroostook.com website and the toll-free tourism hotline and at many businesses throughout the County," said Jackson.

The guide is also available electronically, this year formatted for multiple devices, on the VisitAroostook.com website, but Mike Fawcett, chair of the ACT media and advertising committee, said there is value in having a printed copy.

"With all the push toward social media, having a physical tactile guide is invaluable especially at tradeshows where people want to pick something up and view it right on the spot," he said. "Different demographics respond differently to information sources. Having the physical guide helps us reach and fulfill the demographic that still prefers a good old book to paw through."

"The Visitor Guide contains information on all the wonderful things Aroostook County has to offer with topics including, but not limited to, cultural, historical, recreational, hunting, fishing, motorized and non-motorized activities, lodging, dining and events," said Jackson.

Also included is a directory of tourism related business and photographs by some of the region's premier photographers.

"The publication is partially funded by a grant from the Maine Office of Tourism," added Jackson. "In addition, many local businesses advertise in and support the book which allows us to go above and beyond to create one of the most attractive and information filled marketing pieces in the State of Maine. This guide is the primary marketing tool for attracting visitors to Aroostook and the support from local businesses and organizations is critical to promoting Aroostook County as a tourism destination."

For more information or for a free copy of the Aroostook Regional Visitor Guidebook, contact Jackson at (207) 498-8736 or email ljackson@nmdc.org.