FORT KENT – Like the infants and toddlers for whom Kent Inc. manufactures clothing, this northern Maine company is growing quickly.

Company officials said Thursday they plan to hire anywhere from 50 to 75 additional workers at their Fort Kent clothing plant this year as the result of a recently signed $2 million deal with Wal-Mart. Under the terms of the deal, to be formally presented to Kent Inc. employees Monday, the company will produce 500,000 of their blanket sleepers in the next five months for Wal-Mart’s 2,600 stores.

Mark Coburn, chief executive officer of Kent Inc., said Thursday that the company expects to remain partnered with Wal-Mart for years to come. Blanket sleepers are essentially fleece blankets fashioned in the form of a garment with a zippered front and fitted feet.

In addition, company officials are touting the pending completion of a deal with another major U.S. company that could result in as much as $5 million to $7 million in additional sales over the next two years.

Coburn said becoming a vendor to Wal-Mart is no easy task, but added that the accomplishment essentially ensures the employment of Kent’s current 151 employees and likely will mean that number will expand to as many as 225 employees. “Retailers are very reluctant to expand their vendor base,” Coburn said. “The fact that we’ve been added is a reflection of [Wal-Mart’s] opinion of Kent Inc.”

Kent Inc., by all accounts, is becoming the model to follow when a community loses a major employer.

The facility Kent Inc. now operates was once the site of Gerber Childrenswear. That company closed in September 1996 and laid off the company’s more than 140 workers. The Fort Kent Development Corp. negotiated with Gerber to buy the facility and, in turn, leased it to Kent Inc.

Kent Inc. did $2.5 million in sales the first year of its existence. Those figures steadily rose to $8.5 million in 1999 and $12.5 million in 2000. With the new deals, Coburn expects the company will see sales of $15 million or more in 2001.

Michael Gans, president of Kent Inc., said Thursday that the agreement with Wal-Mart provides the young company with an opportunity for more exposure of its products. “If you don’t stub your toes too badly, you’re favored with the same opportunity in future years,” Gans said. “Becoming a vendor opens up an opportunity to present our products in many environments.”

The sleepwear will be sold in Wal-Mart stores under a combination of Playskool, Kent Inc. and Wal-Mart brand names, Gans said. The new contract, Gans said, likely will be filled within the existing framework of the Kent Inc. facility, but an auxiliary site could be constructed in the area to meet orders if needed.

Gans said his company’s success is evidence that a well-managed manufacturing operation can base its operations in a rural area such as Fort Kent and still remain competitive with goods produced in other regions of the United States and the world.

“Aroostook County has a tremendous work ethic,” Gans said. “The people in Aroostook County will give you a day’s work for a day’s pay, and that’s not common in the rest of the country. I think that the work ethic of the people in Aroostook County should be rewarded with employment.”

Coburn said the global economy and the strong presence of international clothing manufacturers actually produced a situation whereby Kent Inc. can offer a competitive product regardless of being located in northern Maine. “If transportation costs are so crippling,” Coburn said of shipping goods from northern Maine, “how come Japanese firms can sell their products in the U.S.? If we can manufacture and ship to the customer more closely to the time of his point of sale, then our cost to him is less.”

Donald Guimond, Fort Kent town manager, said Thursday he was pleased with the announcement of 50 to 75 new jobs coming to Fort Kent. He also credited the efforts of everyone involved in retaining the clothing manufacturer in the town.

“It shows what can happen in a relatively short period of time,” Guimond said of Kent Inc.’s brief, four-year history. “It brought together parts of the town, state and the private sector. But, of course, the most important aspect is the payroll and the jobs in the community.”