Photo / COURTESY POLY LABS
Seen here is a 60-station twin-head polyurethane molding machine used for manufacturing and molding footwear outsoles, insoles and midsoles. It rotates similar to a carousel.
June 7, 2024
Lewiston manufacturer Poly Labs sells its plant, but will stay under long-term leaseback
Photo / Courtesy, The Boulos Co.
Poly Labs sold its facility at 765 Webster St. in Lewiston to an out-of-state investor with family ties to Maine.
A manufacturing company called Polymer Laboratories and Solutions LLC, or Poly Labs, has sold its facility at 765 Webster St. in Lewiston to an out-of-state investor with family ties to Maine.
Lewiston Holdings 765 Webster LLC bought the 93,500-square-foot industrial building, on 8.3 acres, for $6.1 million.
Poly Labs plans to lease back the property for the long term under an absolute, triple-net lease structure, according to a news release.
The type of agreement means the tenant is responsible for all property expenses, such as insurance, taxes and maintenance, as well as the monthly rent of the building,
Noah Stebbins of the Boulos Co. represented the buyer. Lenny Pierce and Campbell Black of JLL represented the seller.
New products
Poly Labs designs and manufactures highly engineered, molded polyurethane components and polyurethane material systems for a range of applications, including defense, medical, footwear and impact protection.
The company decided to sell the property to invest sale proceeds in other parts of its business, Stebbins told Mainebiz.
A third of the revenue comes from impact cushioning such as sports helmets, a growing market. There are only a few U.S. manufacturers to meet a rising need for protection, he said.
Poly Labs also has a few grants from the federal government to develop new defense products, including a new type of boot sole for the military.
“Finally, they are reaching into new product categories as their reputation as a high-quality manufacturer spreads and new customers contact them for assistance,” Stebbins said.
Poly Labs has grown from 26 employees in 2020 to 72 employees as of May, he said.
Industrial investment
The property was listed with an out-of-state brokerage firm, JLL, which made the Boulos Co. aware it was for sale, he continued.
“The buyer was attracted to the property due to the well-established commercial area with close proximity to the interstate and the Lewiston downtown area, and Poly Labs is a great company on the upswing,” Stebbins said.
The property was also an attractive long-term investment because of the limited supply of industrial real estate in Lewiston. “Accelerated user demand in the market has resulted in 27% rent [growth] over the last three years and an industrial vacancy rate between 2.6% to 2.8% making this an attractive long-term investment,” he said.
A Maine investment group led by Windham management company Anania & Associates launched Poly Labs in late 2020, after acquiring the Lewiston manufacturing facility, equipment and intellectual property of a polyurethane and thermoplastic maker, Jones & Vining.
Operations were rebranded Polymer Laboratories and Solutions LLC.
By early 2021, the plant had doubled its workforce due to a surge in production.
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