Ceramic filter maker Cerahelix opening manufacturing site in Bangor
Courtesy / Susan MacKay
Susan MacKay, founder and CEO of Cerahelix Inc. in Orono, announced Friday that the maker of ceramic filters for a range of industries is scaling up and plans to open a manufacturing site at the Bangor Innovation Center.
Cerahelix, an Orono-based innovator of ceramic filters for a wide range of industries including mining, food and beverage and pharmaceuticals, is revving up for its next phase with the opening of a manufacturing site in Bangor.
The facility, at the Bangor Innovation Center, will be officially inaugurated at a Dec. 7 ribbon-cutting ceremony. Susan MacKay, who is the CEO, Karl Bishop and Donald MacKay founded the company in 2011.
“Bringing innovative products to market requires a strong team and the resources needed to transform scientific ideas into commercially successful products,” MacKay said Friday in a news release.
“After building a strong research and development base at the Upstart Center in Orono, we are now investing in our future growth with the opening of this new manufacturing facility at the Bangor Innovation Center,” she added.
MacKay told Mainebiz via email on Monday that the company currently employs nine people in Orono, two at the new Bangor facility, and two executives working remotely. MacKay added that another person will start Tuesday in Orono, bringing its total employee count to 14.
She said the Bangor facility is 1,500 square feet and that the company wanted a space that was temporary but also met its immediate needs for water, a loading dock and space for a clean room “as we determine how big we might need to go once we ramp up.”
She added that the company looked at several possible sites in both Bangor and Brewer before settling on the Bangor Innovation Center.
Bangor Innovation Center now at eight members
Stephen Bolduc, executive manager with the Bangor Innovation Center, told Mainebiz on Monday that Cerahelix’s arrival brings to eight the number of members at the Innovation Center.
“We are looking forward to the beginning of commercial production of Cerahelix’s filtration products,” he added. “We welcome interest from entrepreneurs and companies that want to grow in Bangor.”
MacKay, honored in 2010 among the Mainebiz Women to Watch, told Mainebiz earlier this year that she’s focused on growing Cerahelix and expanding its sales globally.
The company earlier this year raised $2 million in venture capital funding in a Series B round led by Pure Terra Ventures of Shanghai, China.
Cerahelix’s new manufacturing facility in Bangor includes a clean room and nano coating equipment to ensure the high-quality production of the PicoHelix, the world’s finest ceramic filter, the company said.
Cerahelix said having the new site sets it up to fill a growing global opportunity for technologies that promote the sustainable use of resources. Among other uses, its ceramic filters help purify wastewater and recover value-added products from waste.
“Our new manufacturing facility, situated in the Bangor Foreign Trade Zone and within close proximity to the airport, will allow Cerahelix to expand globally,” said James Hutchison, the company’s production manager, in the news release. “Our R&D department, located in Orono, will be able to focus on continually improving our filtration products to meet marret needs.”
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