GO Lab gets $2.4M in FAME financing and other funds for Madison plant

File Photo / Maureen Milliken GO Lab Inc. has received $2.4 million in financing to help with its purchase and retrofit of the former Madison Paper Industries mill.

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By Staff

GO Lab Inc., the Belfast building products manufacturer that last month closed on its purchase of the shuttered Madison Paper Industries mill, has received $2.4 million in financing to help with the deal and begin retrofitting the plant.

The funding package includes a $1.2 million loan underwritten by the Finance Authority of Maine, with partners Coastal Enterprises Inc., Maine Technology Institute and the Eastern Maine Development Corp., according to a news release Tuesday.

In addition, the Maine Maine Rural Development Authority has approved $500,000 in financing for the project, while the town of Madison has authorized a $400,000 loan, most of which will come from a Community Development Block Grant and will be used for engineering costs.

The Somerset Economic Development Corp. has also authorized a $300,000 loan for the project.

GO Lab plans to manufacture three wood-fiber insulation products at the 600,000-square-foot mill, which has been closed since 2016 and later listed for sale at $2.5 million. The company claims the new products, to be marketed under the name Timber Pure Technologies, will be more environmentally friendly, better performing and potentially less expensive than traditional types of insulation.

The mill must first be refurbished and equipment imported from Germany and installed. GO Lab expects to begin production in the second half of 2020, becoming the first U.S. producer of wood-fiber insulation and providing 100 well-paying jobs for Mainers.

"GO Lab’s innovative product line is a perfect fit for Somerset county in terms of available and capable workforce and the readily available raw material needed for production,” said SEDC Executive Director Christian Savage in the release. “The collaboration between several private and state agencies to make this project happen is a true testament of what doing business in Maine is all about.”

About FAME

The Finance Authority of Maine is a quasi-independent state agency that provides innovative financial solutions to help Maine citizens pursue business and educational opportunities. FAME helps to lead the creation of good paying jobs for Maine citizens by working at the nexus between economic and workforce development.

About Maine Technology Institute

The Maine Technology Institute offers grants, loans, equity investments, and services to support Maine’s innovation economy. MTI supports new ideas, products, or methods with the potential to grow and diversify Maine’s economy and increase the number of quality jobs throughout the state through direct support of innovators and through support of programs and infrastructure that encourage innovation.

About Coastal Enterprises Inc.

Coastal Enterprises Inc. integrates financing, business and industry expertise, and policy solutions to help grow good jobs, environmentally sustainable enterprises, and shared prosperity in Maine and other rural regions. CEI envisions a world in which communities are economically and environmentally healthy, enabling all people, especially those with low incomes, to reach their full potential.

About the Maine Rural Development Authority

The Maine Rural Development Authority was established by the Maine Legislature in 2002 to assist Maine communities in realizing their economic development goals. MRDA provides financial assistance to communities and their development partners to help develop speculative commercial and industrial buildings and to help develop/redevelop underutilized commercial industrial properties. The primary focus of MRDA’s activities is in the rural areas of Maine that have traditionally not experienced the same level of economic development success as other regions of the state, have experienced major economic losses such as plant closings and downsizings or are economically distressed.