“A lot has changed; a lot has stayed the same.” That was Peter Van Allen’s response to David Clough’s question in his introduction of our speaker, noting that Van Allen first addressed our club in 2015 just after he moved to Maine to assume his managing editor role at Mainebiz. “I’ve been on the road a lot,” he said. “From Kittery to Fort Kent, participating in Mainebiz events," some of them sponsored by our own Peter Moore.
He pointed to examples of changes around Portland: WEX’s announcement to move their corporate headquarters to the Portland waterfront; Tilson Tech’s new offices and the heavy condo development in the India Street area; and the growth of Maine’s craft beer industry. “Craft beer adds a lot of sizzle to the Maine economy, but it’s never going to replace the larger industries the state has lost like paper,” Van Allen cautioned. He also commented on the thriving real estate industry and the contributions to his understanding of it by experts like Justin Lamontagne. “The rest of the state, however, is clearly in a different situation,” he said. Invoking a metaphor attributed to the peripatetic editor Tony Ronzio, Van Allen pointed to the “Volvo Line” that tends to divide the states demographic makeup.
The best gauge of change Van Allen suggested was captured in the most recent issue of Mainebiz where five economists offered their prognostications about the state’s future growth, along with comments from four business leaders. “Most offer cautious optimism,” Van Allen reported. “But there are some warning bells about problems ahead. We want change, but not too much.” He quoted Jim Damicis, an economic consultant, who told the paper that “far too many projects take too long to come to fruition.” He said a good sign was that there are 600 more construction workers on the job now versus a year ago, and employers are continuing to look for people. “Maine Med is on the cusp of a $500-million expansion and is seeking 75 additional doctors.” But he pointed to Jeff Zauchau, President of Zauchau Construction, who warns that while he is “cautiously optimistic…I fully expect at some point [the economy] will turn again after a strong 2017.”
Van Allen shared a personal anecdote to indicate some of the pent-up demand in the economy. “We wanted to add another heat source to our house after the recent big storm, but we had to wait three weeks for someone to come out and look at the house, then another six weeks for installers to show up, but they wouldn’t go up on the roof in the ice. So, we waited another three weeks for another company to show up, and then they said all the stove companies were backed up until spring before they could make and deliver a new stove.” He said the state has shortages of installers and retailers, shortages of younger workers, and a need for younger people to become more involved in political leadership.
Peter also talked about some reorganization within Mainebiz to help the paper focus more on different geographical areas in Maine. He also touched on the two areas he sees that will continue to grow in the state: healthcare and marijuana. “We may not like it, but there it is.”
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