Lewiston, Maine – Governor Janet Mills today visited Lewiston’s Bourgeois Guitars and Quody to learn how new economic recovery grants awarded through the Maine Jobs and Recovery Plan are helping two iconic Maine businesses thrive. I learned about how The governor accompanied Lewiston Mayor Karl Schrein during the visit.
Last month, Governor Mills announced that the Innovative Pandemic Recovery for Maine Economy (PRIME) Fund has selected 174 Maine businesses to receive more than $23 million in grants. This will help support economic recovery and drive growth in Maine’s target technology sectors, including precision manufacturing. .
Above: Bourgeois Guitar employees and Governor Mills. Below: Quoddy co-owners Kevin and Kirsten Shorey with him and Governor Mills.
Bourgeois, which manufactures steel-string guitars used by world-famous musicians, received a grant of $266,677. Quoddy, a historic Maine handcrafted footwear brand, received $190,000.
Many of Maine’s most innovative businesses have been unable to receive federal assistance during the worst of the pandemic. Managed by the Maine Technology Institute, the PRIME Fund helps bridge that gap, helping leading Maine companies invest in new products and lines of business, attract new customers and generate long-term economic growth. focus on doing.
“Small Maine businesses like Bourgeois and Quody put hard-working Maines into high-paying jobs and make iconic products used around the world.” Governor Janet Mills said. “The PRIME Fund makes strategic investments directly in innovative businesses like Bourjois and Quody to help Maine businesses not only bounce back from the pandemic, but thrive in Maine and global markets for years to come. increase.”
“The entire team at Bourgeois Guitars is grateful to the Governor for visiting our workshop today. Your support is important not only to the health of organizations like ours, but to the continued vibrancy of Maine’s brands.” Christopher Fleming, President and COO of Bourgeois Guitars, said: “The support we are receiving from the PRIME Fund will go a long way in helping us care for our employees, enhance our growth, and recover from the impact of the pandemic.”
“We are pleased that Governor Mills has taken time out of his busy schedule to visit small manufacturing companies and their employees here in Maine to benefit from programs like PRIME that have been launched during the pandemic. ” Quoddy co-owner Kevin Shorey said:.
Before visiting Bourgeois and Quady, the governor stopped at Simone’s Hot Dog Stand in Lewiston and had lunch with Auburn Mayor Jason Levesque and State Senator Ned Claxton at Auburn’s Gritty Macduff.
The PRIME Fund is the latest way Governor Mills is working to support small businesses in Maine. Since the outbreak of the pandemic, the Mills administration has allocated more than $288 million in aid to help Maine’s small businesses in various sectors of the economy.
Two more PRIME grants are planned for later this year. To be eligible for a PRIME grant, a company must be engaged in Maine’s designated technology sector through research, development, or innovation. He employs fewer than 250 full-time employees, indicating the business has been adversely affected by the pandemic.
Eligible uses of the grant include salaries, rent or mortgage payments for business facilities, purchases of business-related equipment, new program and/or new market launch costs that may require capital investment, etc. It is included.
The Maine Jobs & Recovery Plan is a governor’s plan approved by the state legislature to improve the lives of Maine’s people and families, support businesses, create high-paying jobs, and build the economy. Invest approximately $1 billion in the American Relief Plan Fund. Ready for future prosperity.
We’re taking the recommendations from the Governor’s Economic Recovery Commission and the state’s 10-Year Economic Development Strategy and turning them into practical actions to improve the lives of Maine’s people and strengthen our economy.
For more information on the Maine Jobs & Recovery Plan, visit maine.gov/jobsplan.