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Business & Industry

The Kennebec Valley Chamber of Commerce is a business association of some 650 businesses, industries and organizations in the greater Augusta region, southern Kennebec County. The Chamber’s teamwork approach is key in building a stronger economy, better business environment and higher quality of life for the 70,000 citizens in the 22-community area.

While government provides nearly four of every ten jobs in the region, other large employers include major distribution companies, health organizations, the state’s largest electric utility headquarters, financial institutions, growing retail centers and statewide association headquarters.

Manufacturers include Alternative Manufacturing (computer components) Kenway Corp. and Filter Belts (paper industry products), Kennebec Tool and Die (high tech and space products) and a number of wood products specialists.

The area is headquarters for the state’s largest electric utility, Central Maine Power Company, an Energy East Company, and includes major distributors such as NRF Distributors (flooring), PFG NorthCenter, Progressive Distributors and Pine State Trading (food service companies).

Health services in this central part of the state are provided by Waterville and Augusta campuses of MaineGeneral Health, which includes a teaching unit associated with Dartmouth Medical School. MaineGeneral opened the state-of-the-art Alfond Cancer Care Center in Augusta in 2007. Other health facilities include Veterans Administration Hospital, Home Resources of Maine, HealthReach Network home services and a number of others.

Construction of a major natural gas pipeline through Maine has added an energy resource to the area’s strong mix of electricity and fuel oil.

Bright Future: The Capital Area has grown significantly in retail business in the past decade with the addition of some major new retailers and redevelopment of others. The Marketplace at Augusta is the largest open-air shopping mall north of Boston with about 1.3 million square feet of retail space and significant expansions planned. In late 2007, Augusta Crossing stores began opening another 450,000 square feet of retail space, including Target and Lowe’s. Consumer retail sales in the Augusta Micropolitan grew to nearly $950 million by 2007.

Local automotive sales, now in excess of $300 million, contribute significantly to sales growth.

Augusta boasts several modern business parks: Gardiner opened a very successful new industrial park in 1999, and Winthrop has refurbished an old downtown woolen mill housing a MaineGeneral Medical Care Center and a mix of tenants.

FirstPark Hosts T-Mobile

The large telecommunications company, T-Mobile, selected FirstPark for the home of a new United States call center where more than 750 Maine people are employed. FirstPark is a high-tech business development center created by the Kennebec Regional Development Authority (KRDA). Twenty-four cities and towns in Kennebec and Somerset counties collaborated a few years ago to build “Maine’s premiere technology park” in Oakland, just off I-95. A number of professional offices have been built on the Verizon SmartPark property with opportunity to build out to some 3,000 quality jobs. FirstPark seeks to entice high tech, communications, research & development, insurance/finance and other new economy businesses to help create a new quality job center. FirstPark completed the $5 million business park site in 2001 and began marketing the pre-permitted business lots to potential developers and tenants.

Banking, financial and professional services round out this full service regional center and state capital.