[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 17 (Thursday, February 4, 2010)]
[Senate]
[Page S480]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  RECOGNIZING MAINE MANUFACTURING LLC

 Ms. SNOWE. Mr. President, manufacturers across the country 
have been hit hard in this current downturn. In fact, the manufacturing 
sector has lost 2.1 million jobs since the beginning of the recession 
in December 2007--roughly 15 percent of its total employment. That is 
why it is heartening to see that a small manufacturing company in my 
home State of Maine is hiring new employees and seeking to grow its 
product line. Today I recognize this firm, Maine Manufacturing LLC in 
Sanford, for the tremendous work it is doing to hasten an economic 
recovery in the region by putting people back to work.
  Maine Manufacturing, which specializes in the production of several 
disposable laboratory supplies like filters and centrifuge tubes 
frequently used in research and university labs as well as 
pharmaceutical and biotech companies, was founded in 2008 by Craig 
Cunningham, who formerly served as the director of engineering for 
Whatman Inc.'s Sanford plant. Whatman, a British laboratory equipment 
maker that is now part of GE Healthcare, announced in September 2008 
that it would be shutting its Sanford plant over the course of the next 
year, leaving over 200 employees without work. Seeking to mitigate the 
negative effects in the local community, Mr. Cunningham and his 
colleague, William Emhiser, requested that GE Healthcare operate the 
plant until early 2010 and keep roughly 70 employees until that time, 
allowing Maine Manufacturing to fully take over the facility. GE 
Healthcare agreed, and on January 4, 2010 Maine Manufacturing took over 
six product lines from the company.
  Mr. Cunningham's company started very small, with three full-time 
employees and four part-time workers just a year ago. To grow his 
business, Mr. Cunningham applied for and received a $100,000 community 
development block grant, which provided working capital to the company 
and afforded his business the opportunity to purchase critical new 
equipment. The grant also allowed Maine Manufacturing to create 12 new 
jobs. To further increase its workforce, the company recently offered 
jobs to 66 employees who previously worked at GE Healthcare. While 
creating quality jobs for Mainers, Maine Manufacturing is 
simultaneously becoming a major supplier to GE Healthcare, producing 
filters and other parts the company uses to manufacture larger 
products. Additionally, the company hopes to expand even more in the 
coming years to become a recognized leader in its industry.
  Because the recession has hit small businesses the hardest, it is all 
the more impressive that Maine Manufacturing has made such tremendous 
strides in growing, expanding, and hiring over the past year. These 
firms employ just over half of all employees in the private sector, and 
Maine Manufacturing has provided them with a model for successful job 
growth in coming years, which will be essential to the revitalization 
of the American economy. I am grateful for the actions of Craig 
Cunningham and William Emhiser to create necessary jobs for Maine 
workers, and I look forward to hearing future good news about their 
impressive company.

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