BAILEYVILLE – The proposal sounded just right for an economically depressed area – build manufactured structural insulated panels for commercial and residential buildings Down East.

But the project remains on hold for Insulated Component Structures of Maine Inc., company spokesman Damar Dore said Tuesday.

Last year, the company announced it would build a manufacturing plant in the town’s industrial park by using its own structural panel materials, but a bid that came in at more than $5 million put any hope of building the facility out of reach.

ICS planned to hire 75 people and be open by the end of 2007. The company even had begun taking applications.

“We are kind of in a holding pattern right now,” Dore said. “We have been unsuccessful at finding a location to put the building up.”

But ICS is not giving up. “We finished putting up our factory in Louisiana, but we are still looking to do something in Baileyville or somewhere near Baileyville,” he said. “We have decided to keep our eyes open for a piece of property that will suit our needs.”

Baileyville has experienced some changes since Dore first appeared before the Town Council more than a year ago.

Town Manager Scott Harriman left without giving a reason why, and Town Council Chairman Dottie Johnson has been handling his duties in the interim.

Johnson said Tuesday that she had not heard from ICS and didn’t know its plans.

It has been a tough few years for the community.

Last year, the Montreal-based Domtar Inc. shut down its paper mill, affecting 150 workers. And three years ago, Louisiana Pacific Corp. announced it was closing its oriented strand board mill for good.

Dore said after the industrial park plan fell through, he approached Louisiana Pacific about buying its building but negotiations have reached a stalemate.

“I have been dealing with Louisiana Pacific since September on that facility and I just can’t seem to go anywhere with them,” he said. As part of the deal, ICS wanted to start up the former mill’s boiler system to produce energy but Louisiana Pacific balked. The company doesn’t want ICS using wood from Washington County.

Louisiana Pacific company spokeswoman Mary Cohn confirmed Tuesday that the corporate giant was in negotiations with an interested party but declined to elaborate.

Addressing the issue of the boiler, Cohn said that Louisiana Pacific recently invested more than $100 million in its Houlton facility so the company could produce laminated strand lumber.

“To protect that investment in Houlton, we have to make sure we don’t do anything to hurt our raw material sourcing,” she said.

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