ON THE COVER

Year in review: uncertainty but big wins in 2012

December 24, 2012 06:00 am

Headlines in 2012 were dominated by political news as we re-elected a president, sent a familiar face to Washington and watched as the State House turned more blue than red.

FEATURES

Greg Sweetser, executive director of the Ski Maine Association, says technology has given a real boost to Maine's $300 million ski industry

Tech investments fortify ski season for Maine resorts

Mark Jeanneret | December 24, 2012 06:00 am

Greg Sweetser has seen all manner of winter's weather-related ups and downs.

Robert Sharood displays a petri dish with mycelium in his Sanford lab while his father John holds growing medium for mushrooms

Mushroom business grows from new technology

LORI VALIGRA | December 24, 2012 06:00 am

A new type of cleanroom, complete with employees wearing protective bunny suits, is situated amid the rolling hills and farms of Springvale, in York County. But instead of manufacturing...

Glimmers of recovery spotted in N.E.

James McCarthy | December 24, 2012 06:00 am

All eyes were turned toward the threat of sequestration and the economy pitching off a looming fiscal cliff at a recent conference to forecast the region's economy.

Focus on Safety & Security

Dan A. Cote Sr., left, CEO and treasurer of The Cote Corp., a crane and rigging company based in Auburn, is joined by the company’s controller Daniel Gagne and his son, Daniel P. Cote Jr., who serves as vice president of operations and sales at the family-owned company. Founded in 1966 by Armand and Carmen Cote, the company makes safety a top priority ... and finds bottom line benefits as a result.

‘Zero injuries’ is the norm at The Cote Corp.

James McCarthy | December 24, 2012 06:00 am

In the crane and rigging work The Cote Corp. performs — whether it's lifting a 20-ton vault into a new bank building, installing a...

More move to the cloud as ME data cos. prepare for boom

Darren Fishell | December 24, 2012 06:00 am

Behind the black door at its high-security data center in Brunswick, Oxford Networks is preparing for one of information technology's...

Columns

Tax sheltering tool will gain popularity in new year

BY Justin Lamontagne

There are a few things in life that make me uncomfortable. The grocery store, for example, totally overwhelms me. The feeling of a new...

State revenues drop further; a fond farewell

BY Mal Leary

Curtailed spending gains momentumSupplemental budget still in flux

Lists

Maine's largest chambers of commerce

Ranked by membership as of January 2015

Rank	Name, location	Members/Year founded
1	Maine State Chamber of Commerce, Augusta	5,000/1899
2	Androscoggin County Chamber of Commerce, Lewiston	1,416/1887
3	Portland Regional Chamber of Commerce, Portland	1,400/1854

SOURCE : Each chamber of commerce./Compiled by Roger Magnus.

Maine's largest green buildings

Ranked by LEED certification level and gross square feet (1)

Rank	Project name and owner	Certification level/Gross square feet
1	TD Bank - Auburn Call Center JCI Inc.	Platinum/59,070
2	Bigelow Lab for Ocean Sciences Phase I Bigelow Laboratory For Ocean Sciences	Platinum/55,563
3	Hannaford Augusta Store, Hannaford	Platinum/48,000

(1) Projects listed have achieved Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design certification from the U.S. Green Building Council.
SOURCES : U.S. Green Building Council, as of Dec. 16, 2014, and individual institutions/companies./Compiled by Roger Magnus.

Maine's largest alpine ski areas

Ranked by vertical drop

Rank	Ski area, lcoation	Vertical drop (in feet)/Snowmaking coverage
1	Sugarloaf, Carrabassett Valley	2,820/95%
2	Sunday River Resort, Newry	2,340/95% (1)
3	Saddleback Maine, Rangeley	2,000/85%

(1) Seasonal approximate number

SOURCE : Ski Maine Association and individual ski areas/Compiled by Roger Magnus.

Maine's largest accounting firms

Ranked by revenue, 2013

Rank	Company, location	Revenue in Maine/Total employees in Maine
1	BerryDunn, Portland	$43.1 million/174
2	Baker Newman Noyes, Portland	$27.7 million/132
3	Macpage LLC, South Portland	$14 million/104