New business under cultivation at BIA

A new business, International Courier Service, is being “incubated” in a city-owned building at Bangor International Airport.

The building, on Johnson Avenue, is home to the city’s free trade zone and the Enterprise Development Center. Kenneth Gibb, Bangor’s director of economic and community development, calls the development center an “incubator” of new businesses.

The center is operated by the city through two non-profit corporations, Airmark Inc. and Banair Corp., that were set up to promote economic development, especially at the airport.

Since it opened in 1981, about 10 companies have started. Some have failed, others have survived. My Maine Bag, now a big success, once was there. A trucking company failed. A solar energy firm thrived and moved to bigger quarters. Currently, MEPSCO, a high technology company that manufactures refrigeration units, is one of the bigger tenants in the old military building.

“The incubator provides low cost space so that new businesses don’t have to worry about the real estate end of the business,” Gibb said. The rent is individually negotiated with each new tenant.

Walter Watson, an Airmark employee, oversees day-to-day operation of the center. He says that it is ideal for businesses that don’t need a high profile area. Once on their feet, some companies might want to move to a more visible space.

Gibb says his office is looking into the possibility of expanding the incubator. And, he says, perhaps business counseling should be offered as an adjunct service.

The development director was particularly excited by International Courier Service because it represented an important service that could prompt more trade with Canada.

The courier service, which opened this week, provides next-day delivery of parcels weighing up to 200 pounds to any points in the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. It is an export company only, providing service from Maine to Canada.

Susan Corbett is the resident agent for the fledgling business. It is the Maine agent for Same Day Courier, a division of McCain Ltd. of New Brunswick. International Courier is owned by several Maine investors.

Each day, Same Day Courier will make a trip to Bangor to pick up parcels for delivery in Canada. Many of the parcels are expected to arrive in Bangor via UPS, Federal Express, the U.S. Postal Service, or by air freight services.

“We’re expecting a great deal of freight,” Corbett said. “But it’s hard to anticipate numbers because it’s a new service that has never been offered.”

According to Corbett, the by-ground delivery of parcels to Canada will cost about half as much as service by air.

Gibb is excited by the new venture because such enterprises are necessary if increased levels of trade to Canada are to be realized. And, after all, international trade is seen as one of the biggest potentials of BIA and the free trade zone.

Meanwhile, Gibb says that his office may come up with some official goals for the Enterprise Development Center. Maybe it should put more emphasis, in the wake of the U.S.-Canada Free Trade Agreement, on helping Canadian businesses get started in Maine. Maybe it should be enlarged.

If International Courier Service and more companies like it succeed at the center, it would provide more reason to expand the facility. After all, it isn’t always so easy to find a place to “incubate” a business.