PORTLAND, Maine — C.H. Becksvoort, a maker of fine furniture in New Gloucester, is on the Web, but not enough potential customers are finding their way to the site. So Peg Becksvoort spent Friday morning with some experts in search engine optimization and website… Read More
OXFORD, Maine — Former employees of an Oxford call center that closed in April have filed a class action lawsuit, claiming the company failed to give them proper advance notice of the layoffs under federal law. Under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, or WARN… Read More
LEWISTON, Maine — Roughly a year ago, Carbonite Inc. opened its customer support call center here, bringing jobs to Maine that had once been in New Delhi, India — an example of the “onshoring” of jobs trend that’s still relatively rare. On Tuesday, the company unveiled… Read More
Katahdin Bankshares Corp. said Friday it had second-quarter earnings of $2.1 million, down slightly from the same period a year ago. “Although this was down 1.7 percent from the same period in 2011, we are pleased with the results,” said Katahdin Bankshares President and CEO Jon… Read More
WESTBROOK, Maine — Westbrook-based IDEXX Laboratories this week launched two products that represent a few firsts for the growing veterinary biotech firm. For the first time, the two products target pet owners as intended users, rather than just veterinarians who use IDEXX’s diagnostics product. And, noted… Read More
Damariscotta-based The First Bancorp said Thursday that it saw second quarter profits up $3.3 million, or 4.1 percent, over the same period a year ago. Profits were down slightly, however, for the first six months of 2012 — hitting $6.2 million, down $100,000, or 1.6 percent. Read More
Fairchild Semiconductor saw profits plummet in the second quarter, hitting $11.9 million, down from $44.9 million a year ago — a 73 percent drop. “We reported solid sequential sales growth in the second quarter despite a challenging macroeconomic environment,” said Mark Thompson, Fairchild’s president and CEO,… Read More
Shoemakers from Maine joined members of the state’s congressional delegation Wednesday on Capitol Hill to argue against dropping tariffs through a proposed trade agreement, charging that eliminating existing tariffs would hurt American manufacturers. Negotiations continue regarding the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a free trade… Read More
Scarborough-based Hannaford Supermarkets on Tuesday warned consumers that a supplier to the grocer has issued a recall on three products due to possible contamination with Listeria monocytogenes. New Jersey-based Buona Vita Inc. has recalled three meatball products, Hannaford said, all available through the grocer’s deli department. Read More
PORTLAND, Maine — Two environmental groups blasted Cianbro Corp.’s east-west highway proposal on Monday, charging that the likely route would affect conservation sites and hurt the state’s economy by damaging its “brand” as a wild and natural place — allegations the project’s chief sponsor vehemently denied. Read More
PORTLAND, Maine — Just this week, Best Buy said it would lay off 2,400 employees as it struggled to compete with online retailing. That follows the bankruptcy and eventual liquidation of large retail chain Borders, whose demise also was blamed largely on pressures from online enterprises. Read More
PORTLAND, Maine — EGift card innovator CashStar on Wednesday announced that it has attracted a new round of funding, adding $5 million to the $28 million in VC and private equity financing it had already raised. The company was founded in 2008 and now has… Read More
A short day at Jasleen Leach’s old job was from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., followed by a few hours in Washington, D.C.-area traffic to travel less than 50 miles, a quick dinner and short time with her two young children, then more work at home on her… Read More
Lobstermen up and down the coast are staying on-shore, effectively grounded by prices so low it has become uneconomical to haul traps. “Personally, I haven’t gone out for a couple of days. I don’t like the price — I don’t want to give them… Read More
The Maine Department of Environmental Protection has released average turnaround times for land-use permits showing improvement from 2010 to 2011 — a major goal of the administration in its attempts to make the state more business-friendly. Professionals who work on development projects around the state say… Read More
The Bureau of Insurance on Monday said four companies must stop doing business in Maine and pay penalties of $260,000 resulting from a “fraudulent health insurance scheme.” After consumer complaints of unpaid medical bills, the bureau investigated United States Contractors Trust, Real Benefits Association, Metropolitan Business… Read More
PORTLAND, Maine — With the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to uphold most parts of President Barack Obama’s health care reform law , Maine businesses must start planning for when the law goes into effect. “The first thing is for… Read More
BANGOR, Maine — Bangor Savings Bank saw earnings grow for the eleventh straight year and lent more than $700 million in loans, despite the “ lackluster Maine economy,” bank President and CEO Jim Conlon said Monday. The 160-year-old bank held its annual meeting Monday… Read More
A new Maine Maritime Academy report looks at the feasibility of developing a Searsport-to-Bangor logistics corridor, networking rail, boat, road and air to move goods into and out of Maine. Past studies have looked at one piece of the region, or only certain aspects… Read More
Maine continues to claw its way out of the recession that officially ended in 2009, treading slowly on a path to recovery. Economists say the state lost more than 30,000 jobs in the recession. Earlier this week, a new report from the Bureau of Economic Analysis… Read More
