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By J.T. LEONARD, Special to the Maine Sunday Telegram Sunday, February 25, 2007

AUGUSTA - Kenway Corp.Õs history used to be measured in three- to-six-month blocks of work.

That was the amount of work that company founder Ken Priest liked to have lined up when he started Kenway Boats in Palermo in 1947. Any more led to too much pressure to finish quickly; any less was too much pressure to find more work.

Sixty years later, much of the companyÕs core has changed.

Kenway Corp.Õs primary business now is making industrial piping and storage components for customers throughout North America. The company bids on contracts worth millions of dollars, some of which extend as far as two years.

Its work force has doubled since 2003, from 30 employees to more than 60, and is poised to grow again, said Ian Kopp, vice president, general manager and the third generation of family ownership.

But boats, always a part of the companyÕs heritage, are poised to once again play a key role as Kenway embarks on its newest expansion plans.

Earlier this month, Kenway purchased Maritime Skiff, a Massachusetts-based line of small fiberglass pleasure boats, from owners Paul Hureau and Bev Brown. Since 2004, Kenway had been the contracted manufacturer for Maritime Skiff, which makes boats sold primarily along the Atlantic coast.

The business will be renamed Maritime Marine and operated as a sister company to Kenway Corp.

ÒIt took a while, but weÕve kind of come full-circle,Ó said Kopp, who declined to disclose the acquisition price.

Most Maritime Skiff boats already are turned out in KenwayÕs Riverside Drive plant, and some assembly is done in Pembroke, Mass. Kopp said that plant soon will close and all business will be consolidated in Augusta, creating an additional 25 to 30 jobs during the next year.

ÒWeÕll be leasing some space down the road, but eventually the whole operation will be under one roof,Ó Kopp said.

A 20,000-square-foot, $1.2 million expansion already is planned for the Riverside Drive plant, which would more than double the size of the current manufacturing facility. The size of the expansion hinges on whether the company receives a $400,000 Community Development Block Grant that it and the city of Augusta are pursuing.

ÒEither way, weÕre going to expand the building,Ó Kopp said. ÒBut if we donÕt get (the grant), the size of the expansion will have to be scaled back.Ó

Michael A. Duguay, the director of AugustaÕs Office of Economic and Community Development, has been working with Kenway on the grant application. He said KenwayÕs strengths are its adeptness, insightful management and dedicated and involved work force.

ÒWhat I see here is an extremely well-run, professionally managed company that started out in sort of an old industry,Ó said Duguay. ÒWhat you have is a technology company, and the value created is in the application of that technology.

ÒTheyÕve been very, very flexible in how they adapt technology. They understood the ebb and flow of larger industries, and youÕve got to give them a huge amount of credit for shifting paradigms quickly.Ó

Having a successful boat manufacturer in central Maine shifts the perception of what sorts of companies can succeed in that region, said Duguay.

Boat manufacturing and assembly account for about one-quarter of KenwayÕs revenue. The rest comes from manufacturing industry-specific components, such as pipes, storage tanks and covers. Everything is made for a specific job; there is no standardized piece or mold. Crews also embark on field service calls every spring and fall, when paper mills and power plants shut down for repairs and maintenance.

The fabrication process is called lamination, and is basically the same for both industrial and marine pieces. Sheets of fiberglass are layered, or laminated, on a shaped mold and soaked with liquid plastic resin. The resin is treated with a catalyst to make it harden into solid form.

Boats are made with polyester resin and layers of woven or chopped-strand fiberglass material. Pipes use a different type of resin, which is stronger and more resistant to the chemicals used to transform wood pulp into paper.

One side of the plant is designated for Maritime Skiff construction, the other for industrial fabrication. Separate crews, too, are dedicated either to industrial or boat construction.

Kopp says business is good, but tougher than it used to be.

ÒTen years ago, all of our business was based in Maine and New Hampshire,Ó Kopp said. ÒWeÕve had to look further out, because itÕs getting harder to compete with other manufacturers.Ó

ItÕs a question of geography and economy. Most of KenwayÕs competitors are in the southeastern and southwestern regions of the country, where wages, energy costs and costs of living are lower. Additionally, those regions are closer to urban-industrial centers and boating and fishing are year-round activities. That means rival boats are in use or on display year-round, plus pipes and people donÕt have to be shipped as far.

But Kopp says heÕs confident that his company and its workers can compete.

ÒOur customers donÕt care that weÕre little Kenway Corporation in Augusta, Maine. We need to have quality assurance, because thatÕs what our customers are looking for.Ó

Ð Staff Writer Matt Wickenheiser contributed to this report.