Hermon manufacturer prepares to expand, add jobs, according to LePage

Yesterday, Gov. Paul LePage’s office issued a news release to announce that Ntension, a Hermon-based manufacturer of tension-fabric structures, was expanding its space and workforce.

The company plans to move into a brand new 40,000-square-foot facility by May 2014 and add more than 20 jobs over the next few years, reaching a total estimated workforce of 80 to 90 people by 2017, according to the release.

The release said the company worked closely with the Maine Department of Economic and Community Development to access incentives — it didn’t say which ones, but I assume it was the Pine Tree Development Zone program — “to help make this expansion a reality.”

In a quote, LePage commended the company “on its continued growth and commitment to providing additional quality jobs to Maine people.”

Jaimie Logan, the DECD account executive who worked with the company, said “Ntension is bursting at the seams.”

“They’ve chosen not to advertise recently because they did not wish to recruit more business than they can adequately serve produce [sic] in a timely manner,” she said in a statement.

I’ve left multiple messages with Scott Bienh, Ntension’s president, to confirm the company’s expansion plans and gather some additional details. As soon as I hear back from, I’ll update the story.

In December, the Bangor Daily News reported that the company had signed a six-month lease with the City of Bangor for temporary space it needed to assemble its tension structures. At the time, Bienh said the company “is expanding dramatically” and that the manufacturing jobs his company creates “are the kinds of jobs we need here in Maine.”

Whit Richardson

About Whit Richardson

Whit Richardson is Business Editor at the Bangor Daily News. He blogs about Maine business, entrepreneurs and the economy.