A few years ago, Poland Spring was making the kind of news no company wants. A proposed contract with the Kennebunk, Kennebunkport and Wells water district to pump and bottle spring water was abandoned after a public protest, and voters in Wells turned down an ordinance that would have permitted large-scale extraction of water, preventing the business from expanding its operation there.

The opponents argued that Poland Spring would overuse the water resource, and in some cases, people also claimed that there was environmental harm in promoting the sale of water in plastic bottles that choke landfills.

But after weathering that storm, the company is making the kind of news any company would want.

Its newest bottling plant, in Kingfield, received an award from its corporate parent Nestle Waters North America as the best factory in the country. More importantly, the company has continued to grow during the recession and slow recovery, adding good-paying jobs with benefits to its 800-employee work force.

It has also continued to ship products south, reminding people that there is a place called Maine, with green hills and clean water coming out of the ground, which might be worth a visit.

The company serves as an ambassador for our state, building the Maine brand. And that’s good news for all of us.