ENERGY: Falling fossil fuel prices leads to shut down of two biomass plants

Two Maine biomass plants will be closed in March, triggering alarm in the state’s logging industry.

Covanta Holding Corp., which operates biomass plants in Jonesboro and West Enfield, intends to take the two plants offline at the end of March because energy prices are not sufficient to cover the costs of operation and fuel supply.

The facilities in Washington and Penobscot counties, respectively, were bought by Covanta in 2008. The Morristown, New Jersey, company operates 40 other biomass plants in North America.

The announcement sparked an immediate response Thursday from the Professional Logging Contractors of Maine, who in a release said the move will affect up to 2,500 jobs. Loggers have sold wood waste from logging operations to the plants for years, but the recent low cost of oil has depleted the demand for biomass. Read the story.

Mill’s hydro generators sold in Jay

Verso Corp. announced Thursday that it has sold four hydroelectric generators, part of the company’s Androscoggin Mill in Jay, to a New Jersey-based hydroelectric developer for $62 million in cash.

The generators are owned by Verso Androscoggin Power LLC, a subsidiary of Verso Corp., and are associated with the pulp and paper mill in Jay. The sale to Eagle Creek Renewable Energy LLC is part of the company’s “efforts to raise funds to address its previously disclosed cash flow and liquidity concerns,” it said.

The sale of the generators is not expected to have any affect operations at the Androscoggin Mill, which employs about 650. Read the story.

RETAIL: Brewery’s request for snacks tabled

The Zoning Board of Appeals on Thursday tabled a local brewery’s request to overturn a decision that prohibits the beer maker from selling snacks to visitors in its tasting room.

The action came at the request of city staff, who wanted more time to draft recommendations for accommodating the rapidly growing craft beer scene in Portland, which has 13 of the state’s 50 or so breweries.

Allagash Brewing Co. had sought a license from the city to sell prepackaged food, such as pretzels, chips and trail mix, to people visiting its tasting room on Industrial Parkway.

The city turned down the request based on zoning regulations, which only allow “ancillary uses” to brewing beer, such as selling bottles to take home. Other types of sales – such as T-shirts and pint glasses – are not allowed. Read the story.

MANUFACTURING: Maine yacht-makers merge

Luxury boat builder Hinckley Yachts announced Tuesday that it had acquired another well-known Maine yacht builder.

Morris Yachts became part of The Hinckley Co. on Jan. 1, according to a brief statement posted on Hinckley’s website. The company plans to continue operating Morris’ boat-building and service operations in Trenton under the name Morris Yachts LLC.

The two companies both build high-end sailboats, and Hinckley also offers a line of luxury power boats. Morris Yachts has been in business since 1972 and Hinckley began production in Southwest Harbor in 1928. Read the story.

Falmouth company expanding Arkansas facility

Falmouth-based Southworth Products Corp. said Wednesday that the company will invest $935,000 in its plant in Arkansas and add 35 jobs.

The company plans to add two new assembly lines at the plant and to better separate its shipping and production operations. Southworth Products Corp. is the world’s largest manufacturer of ergonomic material handling equipment and container handling equipment for vertical lifting and work positioning.

The products are intended to improve worker productivity and reduce workplace injuries. Read the story.

Portland company acquires new options for bovine medicine

ImmuCell Corp. of Portland has purchased the rights to an alternative method of delivering its medicine that prevents diarrhea in newborn calves.

The medicine, called First Defense, is made of antibodies found in nursing cows’ milk. It has traditionally been administered orally via a 2-inch-long pill, or bolus, which is inserted into the calf’s pharynx using a device called a balling gun, the company said Wednesday.

The alternative method involves a gel-like paste version of the medicine that is administered orally using a large plastic syringe. ImmuCell purchased the rights to the delivery method from DAY 1 on a contingency basis that is expected to cost between $350,000 and $550,000 over three years. Read the story.

Chinese firm’s offer could spark bidding war for Fairchild

Fairchild Semiconductor International Inc. said a revised takeover proposal from a group led by China Resources Holdings Co. and Hua Capital Management would “reasonably be expected” to lead to a “superior” offer for the company.

The board’s decision opens the door for the two groups to start talking to each other, the U.S. semiconductor company said in a statement Tuesday. Fairchild operates a chip fabricating plant in South Portland and was headquartered there until 2011 when it moved administrative offices to San Jose. It employs about 650 people in Maine.

Fairchild, which agreed to a merger in November with rival ON Semiconductor Corp. for $20 a share, said last week it received a revised, unsolicited acquisition offer of $21.70 a share in cash from a bidder identified as “Party G” – the same group as the one led by China Resources’ semiconductor arm. Read the story.

REAL ESTATE & DEVELOPMENT: Falmouth unveils plan for Route 1 development

The town of Falmouth and the Maine Department of Transportation are partnering to redevelop 11 acres of prime real estate on Route 1, and in the process will replace an overpass and ramp leading to the Maine Turnpike with a ground-level intersection.

The plans were announced Thursday by DOT Commissioner David Bernhardt and Falmouth Town Manager Nathan Poore, who said the ramp’s removal and replacement will be paid for by the developer eventually selected to build on the site.

The parcel is located on the eastern side of Route 1, north of the intersection with Bucknam Road. The on-ramp leads to the Falmouth spur that connects to the Maine Turnpike.

The clover-leaf design at that area likely dates to the 1950s or 1960s, built as part of the original construction of the turnpike, Bernhardt said. In exchange for a private developer agreeing to tear down the ramps and bring the spur intersection to ground level, the DOT will give the 11 acres formerly occupied by the ramp to the developer. Read the story.

RE/MAX franchise splits into three brokerages

Maine’s top-selling residential real estate agent in 2015 has sold off the bulk of his RE/MAX franchises in Portland and Portsmouth, New Hampshire, to focus on his own personal clients.

David Banks, who founded RE/MAX By the Bay in 1994 and grew it into one of Maine’s largest real estate franchises, said he had been thinking about selling the downtown Portland and Portsmouth businesses for a couple of years.

As part of the sale, Banks will retain the RE/MAX By the Bay brand in Portland, his clients, his personal staff and an office on Veranda Street near the Falmouth town line. The rest of the operation has been sold for an undisclosed sum to RE/MAX By the Bay executives Rachel Reed and Derrick Buckspan. In Portland, they have renamed the franchise RE/MAX Shoreline, but the Portsmouth franchise will continue to operate as RE/MAX By the Bay.

In a related turn, seven former RE/MAX By the Bay agents left the firm in December to open a Portland office of the Portsmouth-based Bean Group real estate agency. Read the story.

TELECOMMUNICATIONS: Time Warner customers told to change passwords

The passwords of as many as 320,000 Time Warner Cable residential customers nationally who have email addresses through the company may have been stolen in a hacking attack, the company has confirmed.

The company would not confirm whether any of its approximately 380,000 Maine customers were affected, saying only that the breach included “residential customers across our markets.”

Time Warner is the largest cable provider in Maine. A spokeswoman said in an email Thursday that the company was contacting customers through email and direct mail so they can “take precautions to protect their accounts and update their passwords using a strong, unique alternative.”

People who have Time Warner’s Roadrunner email accounts, with the .rr.com tag, are at particular risk, and are urged to reset their passwords. Read the story.