Brunswick Landing’s TechPlace gets $803K for manufacturing, creating 20 jobs

COURTESY / MIDCOAST REGIONAL REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY Clamar Floats, maker of composite floats for seaplanes, moved into TechPlace in 2018. TechPlace has received over $800,000 in new funding for infrastructure improvements at the manufacturing center.

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By Staff

A new investment of $803,000 in federal, state and local funds for infrastructure improvements at TechPlace, the manufacturing center at Brunswick Landing, is expected to create 20 jobs, retain another 120 and generate $3.5 million in private investment.

The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration touted those benefits Thursday when it announced a grant award of $642,500 to the Brunswick-based Midcoast Regional Redevelopment Authority, which operates Brunswick Landing and TechPlace.

The grant will be matched with $160,625 in state and local funds.

“I welcome these federal funds as another important investment in Maine’s economy,” Gov. Janet Mills said in a news release. “The infrastructure improvements that will result from this project will help TechPlace continue to support innovation and job growth in Maine and strengthen and diversify our economy as we continue to recover from the pandemic.”

TechPlace opened in January 2015 to support the small business development needs of early-stage companies in a collaborative environment, according to its website. The 95,000-square-foot incubator facility now houses 35 businesses along with a shared machine shop, welding booth, composites layup facility and bioproduction laboratory.

BluShift, STARC Systems and VividCloud are some of the tenants. BluShift, a rocket-maker using biofuel, expanded out of TechPlace in 2019, adding more employees and 3,000 square feet of production space, and raising capital for the launch of a larger rocket next year.

STARC Systems launched its construction debris containment panel manufacturing business at TechPlace in 2015 with three employees. The company is now one of the nation’s 1,000 fastest-growing businesses, with over 100 employees and utilizing nearly 100,000 square feet in three buildings at Brunswick Landing.

VividCloud, a software company specializing in “internet of things” applications, started in TechPlace with three employees in 2018. It now employs nearly 100 and recently broke ground on a 20,000-square-foot office building.

“The Economic Development Administration plays an important role in helping communities implement their plans to provide the vital infrastructure that businesses need to be successful,” said Linda Cruz-Carnall, director of the agency’s Philadelphia regional office. “This EDA investment will support the growth of manufacturing through the installation of HVAC equipment necessary for high-technology operations and product development.”

The funding will help bolster cutting-edge manufacturing as well as spur job creation in Maine, U.S. Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Angus King, I-Maine, and U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-Maine 1st District, said in a joint statement.