The Androscoggin Valley Pine Tree Zone includes the western Maine lakes and mountains region of Androscoggin, Oxford and Franklin counties. The region includes several vibrant communities and the twin cities of Lewiston and Auburn. The Zone is supported by University of Maine campuses in Farmington and Lewiston/Auburn, as well as Andover College, Bates College, Central Maine Community College and the Maine Quality Center program, a customized employee training and recruiting initiative offered at no cost to qualified companies. The Maine Turnpike and state highways serve population centers in the Zone. Lewiston/Auburn is emerging as a transportation hub and recently had acreage designated as a General Purpose Foreign Trade Zone. Auburn is home to a 35-acre double-stack intermodal facility allowing transfer of containers between trains and trucks. Service extends to Halifax, Nova Scotia and Chicago via the Canadian Railroad. A variety of industrial parks, incubator buildings and developable sites with services are available throughout the Zone.

Local and regional economic development organizations work with businesses and state agencies to secure tax increment financing, workforce training and development grants, and state-funded grant, loan and guarantee programs. In addition, there are several sources of subordinated debt at the local and regional level to provide gap financing.



Major industries: General manufacturing, natural resource-based industries, financial, insurance, health care, management services and logistics, warehousing and distribution.

Major employers: Formed Fibre Technologies, Geiger, General Electric, Panolam Industries, Nestle Waters Group, P&G/Tambrands, International Paper, NewPage Paper Co., TD BankNorth, L.L. Bean, Liberty Mutual, Per-Se Technologies, Bates College, Wal-Mart Distribution Center, Knight-Celotex, CitiStreet Financial.

Bordered to the east, west and north by Canada, Aroostook is Maine's northernmost Pine Tree Zone. The Zone is supported by two University of Maine campuses in Fort Kent and Presque Isle, Northern Maine Community College and the satellite campus of Husson, a private business college. Northern Maine Regional Airport in Central Aroostook provides daily non-stop flights to and from Boston's Logan Airport. Rail service and an intermodal facility in Presque Isle facilitate the movement of freight in and out of the region. Major seaports in Eastport, Searsport, St. John, New Brunswick, and Rivière du-Loup, Quebec, serve the county. Interstate 95 meets the Trans-Canada Highway and U.S. Route 1, the county's major north-south arterial, in the Southern Aroostook community of Houlton, the seat of county government. Just west of the New Brunswick border, Houlton is served by a general aviation airport, a regional hospital and a University of Maine outreach facility offering classroom and videolinked instruction. The Upper St. John Valley is home to the Allagash Wilderness Waterway and the St. John River, which forms the international boundary with Canada. Four-fifths of Aroostook's five million acres are forested.


Major industries: Paper manufacturing, agriculture, tourism and recreation, health services, information services.

Major employers: Fraser Papers Inc., The Aroostook Medical Center, Burrelle's/Luce, McCain Foods.

The Downeast Zone is the nearest neighbor to Atlantic Canada and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean, a tremendous source of natural resources. Dominated on the east by Maine's fabled rocky coast and the Atlantic Ocean, the Downeast Pine Tree Zone is bordered to the north by New Brunswick, Canada, and includes some of the most spectacular scenery on the East Coast. The Downeast Pine Tree Zone is home to Acadia National Park, Quoddy Head Light, Cadillac Mountain and acres upon acres of blueberry barrens, fishing villages, boat yards and aquaculture businesses. The southern portion of the zone includes Bar Harbor, which is home to the world-famous Jackson Labs and some of the finest boatbuilders in the world. To the east is Maine's Washington County, home to paper mills, fish processing and canning facilities and several aquaculture businesses.

The region is also home to the Port of Eastport, one of the fastest growing cargo ports in the United States, which features a deep-water port and 120,000 square feet of warehouse space. The region includes several small municipal airports, including those in Bar Harbor and Machias. The University of Maine at Machias, the College of the Atlantic and several community colleges and technical schools serve the area.


Major industries: Aquaculture, agriculture, paper manufacturing, tourism and recreation, health services, call-answering centers, boat building.

Major employers: Jackson Labs, Domtar Industries, Super Tech, Wyman's Blueberries, Hinckley Yachts.

Stretching across the heart of Maine, the Kennebec Valley Pine Tree Zone reaches from picturesque Wiscasset on the Lincoln County coast north to the woodlands communities of Jackman and Moose River near Quebec's border with northern Somerset County. The Zone includes Kennebec County and population centers along the I -95 corridor, including Gardiner in the south, to the state capital of Augusta and north to Waterville and Pittsfield. Scenic U.S. Route 201 leads to the Skowhegan-Madison area, a region known for forest products and high-tech agriculture, and beyond to a sporting paradise along the pristine upper Kennebec River. In Oakland, the FirstPark business center is supported collaboratively by 24 municipalities. It is attracting corporate offices, research and development, professional offices and light manufacturing uses. A biotechnology park in Fairfield offers laboratory space. Diverse sites and buildings throughout the Zone accommodate heavy and light manufacturing, as well as professional services. Madison Business Gateway, a multi-purpose business park, offers ready-to-build lots with low-cost electricity. The Zone is located strategically between international airports in Portland and Bangor with commuter service in Augusta and Waterville. Freight rail and an intermodal facility move products to and from the region efficiently. Educational opportunities abound with a University of Maine campus in Augusta, Colby and Thomas colleges in Waterville, Kennebec Valley Community College in Fairfield and Unity College in Unity.


Major industries: Paper, wood products, high-tech agriculture, health care, financial services, precision manufacturing, education and information technology.

Major employers: Cianbro Corporation, Colby College, Central Maine Power Co., Maine General Medical Center, SAPPI International, Madison Paper Industries, Huhtamaki, Edwards Systems Technology, New Balance Co., Hinckley Yachts, Backyard Farms.

Bordered on the east by the Atlantic Ocean, the Midcoast Pine Tree Zone is bisected north to south by U.S. Route 1. The Zone, which attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors each year, is one of Maine's most important tourism regions and features spectacular scenery and attractive coastal communities. The Zone is home to Mack Point, the Maine International Cargo Terminal, which is an intermodal truck-to-rail facility located on the ocean's edge. Several small- to mid-sized companies involved in aquaculture and maritime-related businesses are also found throughout the Zone, along with financial services, biotechnology and information services, and Bowdoin College in Brunswick. Located a short distance from one of Maine's major north-south highways, Route 295, the Midcoast Zone is an ideal location for businesses looking to locate close to both highways and seaways. Other major access routes include Route 1 from Portland and Route 3 from Augusta. Located about halfway between Portland's Jetport and Bangor's International Airport, the Midcoast Zone includes several smaller municipal airports, along with many deep-water ports to service and accommodate vessels of various types and sizes.


Major industries: Information technology, financial services, health services, tourism and recreation, aquaculture, boat building and marine services.

Major employers: Dragon Cement, Fisher Plow, Moss Inc., Knox Semiconductor, FMC Biopolymer, Hodgdon Yachts, Boothbay Harbor Shipyard, Southport Island Marine, Lyman-Morse Boatbuilding.

Bangor, at the heart of the Penobscot Valley Pine Tree Zone, serves as the “gateway” to Maine's northern woods. The largest city in the Zone, Bangor, is the commercial and cultural hub for eastern and northern Maine. The regional commute zone for the Bangor/Brewer area has a population in excess of 400,000. With its proximity to Atlantic Canada, businesses in the region benefit from many cross-border trading relationships. The northern portion of the Zone includes paper companies, miles of unspoiled forests and woodlands, several wood products companies and outdoor recreational activities in Maine's famous Baxter State Park. To the south, major employers are as diverse and important as General Electric and Old Town Canoe. The state's major highway, I-95, runs right through the heart of the Penobscot Valley Pine Tree Zone. Bangor International Airport has one of the longest runways in the United States. The Zone is also home to the University of Maine, Orono, the state's center for learning, discovery and service to the public. Kiplinger's ranks the university as one of the 100 Best Values in Public Colleges. The university also includes a Target Technology Center dedicated to information technology, an Advanced Engineered Wood Composites Center, an Aquaculture Research Center and the College of Natural Sciences, Forestry and Agriculture.


Major industries: Forest products, biotechnology, electronic equipment, automotive, paper products, information services, tourism and recreation.

Major employers: University of Maine, General Electric, Lemforder, Old Town Canoe, Katahdin Paper, Verso Paper Co.

The Penobscot/Piscataquis Pine Tree Zone (also known as PenQuis), is at the very heart of Maine. It begins off I-95 in the town of Newport and stretches northeast all the way to Greenville and Moosehead Lake, the largest freshwater lake in Maine. The region is best known for wood products companies, including Moosehead Furniture and Moosehead Cedar Log Homes. For that reason, a multi-purpose Composite Technology Center has been located in Greenville and is ready to provide technical and business assistance to companies involved in the emerging composite and advanced materials markets. The southern section of the Zone includes Newport, Dexter and Dover-Foxcroft. Each has a business park or industrial center, and many large manufacturing facilities are available in all three communities. Each is located on or near a major supply route and are just minutes away from I-95. The northern portion of the Zone contains millions of acres of fir, spruce and mixed hardwood forests, and serves as a nexus for wood and wood products. This includes Pride Manufacturing, a company that produces 90 percent of the world's golf tees. Several smaller airports service the Penobscot/Piscataquis Zone, the Bangor International Airport is only minutes away, and Maine's only direct east-west rail line passes through Greenville.


Major industries: Wood products, forest products, furniture, consumer goods and tourism and recreation.

Major employers: Pride Manufacturing, Hardwood Products Co., JSI Store Fixtures, Moosehead Manufacturing, Moosehead Cedar Log Homes, Interface Fabrics.

The Southern Maine Pine Tree Zone, including sites in York and Cumberland counties, is bordered by the Atlantic to the east and New Hampshire to the west and south. The region is served by the Maine Turnpike and I-95, the Portland International Jetport, municipal airports in Sanford and Biddeford, Amtrak passenger rail service to Boston, freight rail service and a major deepwater shipping and passenger port in Portland. The Zone is supported by the University of Southern Maine, with campuses in Portland and Gorham and several outreach centers, York County Community College, Southern Maine Community College, the University of New England in Biddeford and several private colleges. The region includes a network of incubators in advanced composites, information technology, small manufacturing, professional services, trades, agriculture, biotechnology and environmental technology. In addition, many anchor firms act as incubators to support entrepreneurs. An inventory of properties in the Southern Maine Pine Tree Zone is available to meet the small manufacturing needs of micro-enterprises created by the region's incubators. In addition to Zone benefits, financial incentives are available to expanding and relocating businesses in the form of tax increment financing, community development block grants and low-interest loans from several locally administered funds.


Major industries: Banking, insurance, health services, manufacturing, marine-related industries.

Major employers: Pratt & Whitney, L.L. Bean, UnumProvident, Fairchild Semiconductor, Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Verizon, Hannaford Bros., Hussey Seating, WestPoint Stevens.

The Military Redevelopment Zone (MRZ) was created in 2006 to increase and diversify economic opportunities in Midcoast Maine in preparation for the 2011 closure of the Brunswick Naval Air Station. The zone encompasses 16 municipalities located within the Brunswick Labor Market Area, which includes a workforce of more than 41,000.

The zone has a prime location on the beautiful coast of Maine. It is bordered on the east by the Atlantic Ocean and is adjacent to two major U.S. routes, I-295 and Route 1. Aviation needs can be met through the naval air station’s existing runway and flight tower, or the Portland International Jetport.

The area is approximately 2.5 hours north of Boston and 30 minutes north of Portland, Maine’s largest city. The MRZ is situated along the popular coastal route that annually attracts thousands of visitors and offers year-round recreational and cultural activities.

The zone is populated with a highly-skilled workforce that includes engineers, professionals, skilled production workers and retirees that contribute to a reliable supply of skilled employees.

The MRZ is supported by Bath Iron Works, a world leader in military vessel production, first-class medical facilities, Bowdoin College in Brunswick and the Maine Community College system.

Industrial parks in Bath, Brunswick and Topsham have lots available for commercial development and business support is available through several local economic development associations.

The total area for designation of the MRZ is 1,500 acres. 500 of these acres may be located outside the military facility boundaries but must be located within the Brunswick Labor Market Area; 1,000 acres will be available within the boundaries of the military facility upon closure of the base in 2011.


Major industries: Boat building, composite and marine services, tourism and recreation, commercial fishing and lobstering, health services and financial services.

Major employers: Brunswick Naval Air Station, Bath Iron Works, Bowdoin College, Parkview Adventist Medical Center, Mid Coast Hospital, Harry C. Crooker & Sons, Inc.

For more information on the Military Redevelopment Pine Tree Zone, contact Jeffrey Sneddon, executive director, Midcoast Council for Business Development & Planning, 7 Park St., Bath, Maine 04530, (207) 443-5790, jsneddon@mcbdp.org.