In 2018, Maine companies exported goods and services to 169 countries around the globe. Kathie Leonard shipped to 38 of them.

The Maine International Trade Center on Tuesday named Leonard’s Auburn Manufacturing its Exporter of the Year in the 2019 International Trade and Investment Awards.

Auburn Manufacturing, in Auburn and Mechanic Falls, specializes in heat-resistant textiles.

“Not everyone is going to work in IT or science,” Leonard said in a press release. “Manufacturing jobs are good jobs. They pay a living wage with good benefits, and we need that for a lot of people in this country.”

MITC also named ND Paper/Nine Dragons Paper (Holdings) Limited its Foreign Direct Investor of the Year.

The Chinese company bought and invested in the Rumford paper mill last year and plans to reopen a paper mill in Old Town this summer.

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