New business? Expansion? Promotions? E-mail information to weekly@bangordailynews.net, or mail it to The Weekly, P.O. Box 1329, Bangor, ME 04402; or drop it off at the front desk of the Buck Street entrance of the Bangor Daily News, 491 Main St., Bangor.

Bangor

Ceramic studio

Kristine Welch has opened Welch Ceramic Studio at 9 Central St., Room 204. She holds a bachelor’s degree in ceramics from the Rhode Island School of Design. The studio offers classes in wheel thrown pottery.

Introduction to Pottery will be held 6-8 p.m. Tuesdays, beginning Sept. 30. Teen Wheel, for ages 13 and up, will be held 6-8 p.m. Thursdays, beginning Oct. 2. To obtain information, call 947-0043.

Silver Salesperson

Western Star Trucks has announced that Philip Pelletier of Bangor has been named a Silver Salesperson award-winner in the 2002 Western Star Sales Recognition Program designed to reward top sales performers in the United States and Canada.

Pelletier is one of nine Silver Salesperson award-winners chosen from 300 participants. He is a sales representative for Freightliner and Western Star of Maine.

Hometown Heroes

Unicel will hold its first annual Hometown Heroes community celebration 3-6 p.m. Friday, Sept. 19, on Telcom Drive in Bangor. Hometown Heroes pays tribute to the efforts of firefighters and emergency medical personnel. To obtain information, call RyannTash 974-0205.

Orono

Technology seed grants

Two eastern Maine companies recently a were warded Seed Grants from the Maine Technology Institute. They are:

. In Advanced Technology for Forestry and Agriculture, the University of Maine Consumer Testing Center in Orono, which will develop and conduct consumer testing on a shelf-stable salmon jerky snack.

. In Aquaculture and Marine Technology, Maine BioTek Inc. in Winterport, which will conduct market research analysis and development of a commercialization strategy for an infectious salmon anemia virus recombinant vaccine.

“The grants approved in this round of awards total more than $104,000,” said Dr. Janet Yancey-Wrona, director of the Maine Technology Institute. “The Seed Grant winners will match that figure with nearly $175,000 of their own funds. With their own strong financial backing, we are optimistic that the development and planning done by all of the winners will lead to bigger and better things for themselves and their industry.”

MTI Seed Grants may be from $1,000 to $10,000, and are offered on a competitive basis to Maine companies six times per year to support early activities for product development, commercialization or business planning and development. Each grant requires a 1:1 match consisting of actual cash, salaries, staff time or equipment directly attributable to the proposed project.

The application deadline for the next set of Seed Grants is Oct. 9, with grant awards to be announced Nov. 4. A complete list of Seed Grants awarded this round and program information is available at www.mainetechnology.org.

The MTI was created by the Legislature in 1999 to encourage, promote, stimulate and support research and development activity leading to the commercialization of new products and services in the state’s technology-intensive industrial sectors. Programs are designed to enhance the competitive position of those sectors and increase the likelihood that one or more of the sectors will support clusters of industrial activity and create new jobs.

The targeted technology sectors include advanced technologies for forestry and agriculture, aquaculture and marine technology, biotechnology, composite materials technology, environmental technology, information technology and precision manufacturing technology.