The 25th Anniversary of Serving Innovative Business in Maine
- Evan Richert
- Feb 16
- 2 min read
This year marks the 25th anniversary of the UpStart Center for Entrepreneurship! In 2001, the nonprofit Bangor Target Area Development Corporation (BTADC) and the University of Maine partnered to build the Center on land donated by the Town of Orono in Maine Technology Park on Godfrey Drive. BTADC has operated the Center non-stop since, including through the Great Recession of 2008 and the pandemic of 2020-21.
Over its 25 years, the Center has adapted based on the needs of startup businesses and wild changes in technology:
In 2001, UMaine’s supercomputer occupied an area in the Center the size of a ranch house. Within 12 years, the same computational power could be fit into a single GPU slot. What to do with 1800 sq ft of suddenly empty space? With grant assistance from the Economic Development Administration and Maine Technology Institute, the Center in 2018 opened two state-of-the-art wet labs that have been occupied ever since.
At its inception, the Center had one of the fastest internet speeds in the Bangor region. That system has been continuously updated to take advantage of fiber and other technology.
The Town of Orono, recognizing that startup enterprises coming out of UMaine often rely on seed funds through the federal government’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program, and that applicants must have an off-campus location, created co-working space within the Center to accommodate such startups.
By design, companies have grown and graduated from the Center to other spaces. Examples of tenants that have moved on to become important parts of the Bangor Region’s economy:
AIT Composites, now located in Winterport, specializes in engineering and manufacturing composite Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FPR) bridges. AIT Composites uses technology developed at the University of Maine's Advanced Structures and Composites Center. There are currently 40 bridges across the United States that uses its systems.
Box of Maine, now located in Brewer, is an online mail-order business aimed especially at those with past Maine connections or who want to experience Maine through Maine-grown or created foods and crafts. Box of Maine assembles and ships gift boxes around the world.
SGC Engineering, now located in Augusta, is a multidisciplinary engineering firm serving clients in the northeastern region of the United States and Eastern Canada.
If you’d like to be part of the Center’s next era, look for available space.
