EASTPORT – A Kennebunk company announced this week that it plans to expand its operation to this seaside community.

Vicus Technologies LLC plans to open a plant in early February. There is no word yet on how many employees the company plans to hire other than a plant manager.

The southern Maine company has worked with Eastport City Manager George “Bud” Finch for more than a year to find a suitable location for the plant. Finch said Wednesday that the company was planning to set up operations in the former Guilford Mill, now home to Creative Apparel of Belfast and Tex Shield of Mount Laurel, N.J.

“The Eastport location … will provide assembly and light manufacturing services for a program for the U.S. Army,” the company said in its press release. “In addition, this location will continue the implementation of a research project that Vicus is currently working on with the Maine Department of Transportation.”

The company did not elaborate, and company president Paul Hurlburt did not return a telephone call Wednesday.

Finch said that the small light manufacturing plant was a good fit for the city.

“Economic development in rural Maine is always a challenge, one we undertake a single step at a time. Working in partnership with a company like Vicus is one of those steps,” he said. “We are very excited about the economic growth opportunity Vicus brings to our community and look forward to making them an integral part of our economic future.”

The company is in the final stages of a lease agreement and expects to hire a plant manager within the month.

“We hope to be fully operational by February,” Hurlburt said in the company release. “Our hope is to see our contract work for the Army grow and to bring more commercial business to our new Eastport location. The labor pool from Eastport and the surrounding areas offers a selection of diverse skills, and we’re excited about drawing from this pool to create jobs and grow a business base.”

Vicus Technologies LLC, according to its Web site, was established in January 2003. They also have an office in Summerfield, Fla.

The company’s primary business is engineering and program-project management services. It is currently working with the Maine Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration and the Department of Defense.

In addition, the company provides technical communications and training services for a variety of private industries, including financial services, manufacturing, and health services.

According to the company’s Web site, the state and Vicus are spearheading a cathodic protection demonstration project in partnership with the DOT and two other firms. The project involves the installation of a battery-powered cathodic protection system on the Masardis Aroostook River Bridge.

The purpose of the project is to test the effectiveness of using a battery powered, cathodic protection system on reinforced concrete bridge structures in a cold weather climate and to monitor the operation and lifetime of the battery packs that power the system.