For our focus on the midcoast and Downeast, Mainebiz found some old-school industries have come up with new ways of doing business. For years, the Whitney Corp. in Whitneyville, Washington County, has sold holiday wreaths and seasonal products, shipping them all over the country. A couple months ago David Whitney gave the Mainebiz offices a […]
For our focus on the midcoast and Downeast, Mainebiz found some old-school industries have come up with new ways of doing business.
For years, the Whitney Corp. in Whitneyville, Washington County, has sold holiday wreaths and seasonal products, shipping them all over the country.
A couple months ago David Whitney gave the Mainebiz offices a call and invited us to see how the company had expanded.
The basic issue was the company had great products and a stellar workforce, but its seasonal nature meant business was focused into the six weeks leading up to the holidays.
But all those years of shipping wreaths for clients like L.L.Bean taught the company some lessons about the packaging and shipping industry, so that the natural expansion was into packaging and fulfillment services. It is now working with Wyman’s of Maine and other brands.
Senior Writer Laurie Schreiber took Whitney up on the offer to tour the operations, and she came back with our cover story.
“One thing [Whitney] has done very well in his many years in the wreath business is that he’s figured out the right formula to get things out on time for a decent price. And he’s been able to do that very well,” Katie Bragg of Sunrise County Economic Council told Laurie.
Laurie’s story, “A year-round expansion for a Downeast company,” starts on Page 14.
Elsewhere in the issue, Senior Writer Renee Cordes checks in with several businesses and projects on the midcoast. She starts out by talking with the developers of the Rockport Harbor Hotel, which is set to open this winter. You read that right: The hotel is determined to bring in a year-round clientele. See “Turning over a new leaf,” which starts on Page 18.