Blog

The past few months have been an exciting time for Maine’s forest products industry. On August 13, ND Paper hosted the grand reopening of the Old Town Mill. “We’ve been fortunate to have many forest industry stakeholders and fellow businesses in Maine offer their assistance and resources. This kind of collaborative environment has made developing…

Biobased Maine has just returned from San Francisco, where we joined other Maine stakeholders to promote Maine’s assets and emerging bioeconomy for investment at the annual Advanced Bioeconomy Leadership Conference on Next-Gen Technologies and Markets (ABLC NEXT). ABLC NEXT is the premier national industry conference, consisting of seven conferences in one: The Advanced Biofuels Summit,…

Biobased Maine executive director Marina Bowie joined Sappi North America’s Donna Cassese and Tom Doak of Maine Woodland Owners on November 8 in Falmouth, Maine, for a FOR/Maine panel discussion on the current opportunities and challenges for Maine’s forest products industry, as part of the Land Conservation Assistance Network’s (LandCAN) event “May the Forests be…

While Maine and Finland are thousands of miles apart, our relative geographic locations and like climate mean that we can both boast enormous forest cover—Finland is about 80% forest, and Maine is 90% forest—and have therefore developed biomass-based industries in parallel. Our economic situations have also paralleled each other: As Finland began experiencing a decline…

Please join us in welcoming new Biobased Maine member True North Beauty! True North Beauty is a blossoming skincare and lifestyle brand with a mission of helping customers cultivate both the confidence and natural beauty that they carry within. Founded by Heather Lux in 2017 and based in northern Maine, True North is the only…

Over 2,000 bills were introduced to Maine’s 129th legislature this past spring. Of particular interest to Biobased Maine was LD 1698: An Act to Create Jobs and Slow Climate Change by Promoting the Production of Natural Resources Bioproducts. This bill, sponsored by Assistant Majority Leader Ryan Fecteau, offers a tax credit between ¢7 and ¢12…

It has been a busy spring at Biobased Maine! We’ve attended an international conference, a national conference, and a local conference in just two months, and we’re moving full steam ahead into summer. Early April saw Biobased Maine visit Amsterdam, the Netherlands for the World Bio Markets conference, and Washington, D.C for the Advanced Bioeconomy…

The Maine Legislature votes next week on LD 1698, a production tax credit for manufacturing biobased chemicals and products, which will create hundreds of high-paying jobs and revitalize rural Maine communities. Biobased Maine supports LD 1698, and hopes Maine legislators will enact the bill to position our state as a leader in the global bioeconomy.…

March saw Biobased Maine in Jacksonville, Florida for the Biorenewable Deployment Consortium’s (BDC) Spring Forum. BDC reported record attendance at their forum, including many important players from the forest products and biotechnology industries. Maine’s ND Paper, Sappi, and Verso all attended. Other notable national and international companies included Velocys, MetGen, Domtar Paper Company, Prisma Renewable…

Donna Cassese, who works at Sappi North America, a Biobased Maine member company, recently gave a truly engaging and enlightening TEDx Talk. This talk focused on the myriad uses of cellulose and Sappi’s role as a cellulose manipulator in advancing the bioeconomy. “almost anything that can be made from petroleum, can be made from wood. Bioplastics,…