Molnlycke gains tax credit; decision nears on expansion
A tax credit that will help Wiscasset employer Molnlycke equip its Brunswick plant has no bearing on which of the two towns the company may expand in, a Molnlycke official said.
“It's totally separate, nothing to do with it,” James Detert, Molnlycke's business development director for the Americas, said August 28.
The state tax credit will have a net effect of giving the company back about $1.5 million on $35 million in equipment for the Brunswick plant, Detert said.
With that equipment, Molnlycke will no longer have to ship Wiscasset-made foam to Finland to get it into a wound care product. Completing production in Brunswick will save on shipping and reduce the company's carbon footprint, Detert said.
On July 30, Molnlycke announced Wiscasset is in the running for an expansion that could add 10 to 30 jobs and nearly double the size of its Rynel plant on Twin Rivers Drive. But the company is also looking at Brunswick, where it has the new plant at the former Brunswick Naval Air Station.
“Molnlycke is still in the assessment stage,” Detert said in the August 28 telephone interview.
Asked how the process is going in Wiscasset, Detert said: “The town's been great .... I'm very impressed with the interest Wiscasset is showing in this.”
Detert praised the efforts of Wiscasset selectmen, Town Manager Laurie Smith and Town Planner Misty Parker. “We're all working very hard,” he said.
Plans are still on track for a September decision by Molnlycke's board regarding the possible expansion, Detert said.
The Wiscasset plant employs about 70 people, about 1 percent of Molnlycke's workforce worldwide.
The Finance Authority of Maine (FAME) announced August 27 that its board has certified Molnlycke's application for the tax credit. FAME administers the Maine New Markets Capital Investment Program, in cooperation with Maine Revenue Services and the Maine Department of Economic and Community Development, according to the announcement on FAME's website, at www.famemaine.com.
Susan Johns can be reached at 207-844-4633 or susanjohns@wiscassetnewspaper.com
