28th Annual Maine International Trade Day

May 22, 2008 at the Holiday Inn By The Bay, Portland

Maine’s 2008 International Trade Award Winners

Maine’s Exporter of the Year for 2008 is The Baker Company of Sanford, Maine.  Recognized as the world leader in the design and manufacture of biological safety cabinets, clean benches and fume hoods, The Baker Company has developed a strong customer base in the U.S. and around the globe, including Europe, Asia and Africa.  Its products continue to set the industry standard for safety, performance, operating efficiencies and ergonomics through innovative research, meticulous engineering and ongoing testing.  The Baker Company is the only biological safety cabinet manufacturer to routinely subject its products to extensive microbiological aerosol testing over and above regulatory compliance levels.

Maine’s International Innovator of the Year for 2008 is Safe Handling, Inc. of Auburn.  Safe Handling is a leading provider of transportation and manufacturing solutions for prominent raw material suppliers to Maine industry and beyond.  The company is a full service bulk product handling and toll processing facility operator for international chemical and raw material producers.   Safe Handling also provides warehousing, tank truck and tote cleaning, and specialized railcar services on its 200 acre site.   Safe Handling’s innovations in transportation sustainability improvements recently earned it the top ranking in the Governor’s Carbon Challenge for emissions reductions.  Safe Handling imports virtually all of Maine’s biodiesel and operates the state’s only ethanol terminal.  Safe Handling services provide more effective inventory control, reduced lead times, local inventories, substantial transportation savings, and greatly reduced environmental impact for its customers and the end user.

Maine’s Service Provider of the Year for 2008 is Preti Flaherty Beliveau & Pachios LLP, a full service law firm with 90 attorneys and offices in Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts.  Preti Flaherty's dedicated and highly credentialed lawyers have helped some of Maine's most successful companies grow and thrive in the global economy.  In addition to serving the Maine business community, Preti Flaherty has emerged as an important international firm, with clients from Europe, Asia and elsewhere in the world.  Whether serving a small Maine manufacturer or a large South Korean multi-national, the firm's clients count on Preti Flaherty for a powerful, efficient approach to legal issues as they achieve their business goals.   

Maine’s Foreign Direct Investor of the Year for 2008 is Fontaine Inc. of Canada.  Fontaine is a family owned and operated business located in the heart of the northeastern forests. For more than 40 years, Fontaine has been recognized as a reliable source of quality lumber for clients all across the eastern United States and Canada.  In order to perform in today's competitive environment, Fontaine invests heavily in developing its human resources and appropriate proven new technology, including a recent multi-million dollar equipment upgrade at its lumber mill in Stratton, Maine.  In addition to Stratton Lumber, Fontaine also owns Timber Resource Group, a leading timber procurement company in Farmington, Maine.