David Sharp

Associated Press

Expanding Opportunities for Minority and Women-Owned Businesses

Expanding Opportunities for Minority and Women-Owned Businesses

The Export-Import Bank of the United States offers a number of tools to assist all U.S. manufacturers, and works to ensure that these opportunities are readily available to businesses owned by minorities and women. Watch video to learn more.

A worker guides toilet paper on a conveyor belt at the Tissue Plus factory, Wednesday, March 18, 2020, in Bangor, Maine. The new company has been unexpectedly busy because of the shortage of toilet paper brought on by hoarders concerned about the coronavirus.

Humble Toilet Paper a Hot Commodity

The company launched toilet paper production a couple of weeks ago. It has been stressful.

This May 8, 2019, file photo shows a lobster atop others in Arundel, Maine. Maine's congressional delegation announced Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2020, that China is making U.S. lobster eligible for a tariff reduction. Starting the following week, Chinese businesses could apply for a tariff exemption that would let them buy U.S. lobster at a lower price, officials said.

US Lobstermen May See Tariff Relief

Lobster fishermen lost a key export market during trade hostilities.

In this Sept. 6, 2019 file photo, the U.S. Navy Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS Lassen (DDG-82) moors at Fort Trumbull State Park in New London, Conn. The Navy is proposing construction cutbacks and accelerated ship retirements that would delay, or sink, the Navy’s goal of a larger fleet — and potentially hurt shipyards, according to an initial proposal. The proposal would shrink the size of the fleet from today’s level of 293 ships to 287 ships, a far cry from the official goal of 355 ships established in the 2018 National Defense Authorization Act.

Navy Considers Shipbuilding Cuts

The cuts could sink the Navy’s goal of a larger fleet and potentially hurt shipyards.

This Wednesday, Nov. 24, 2004 file photo shows a selection of holiday season catalogs in Portland, Maine. Catalogs, those glossy paper-and-ink offerings of outdoor apparel, kitchenware and fruit baskets, are not yet headed for the recycling bin of history.

Are Paper Catalogs on the Rebound?

They are not yet headed for the recycling bin of history.

In this Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2019 photo provided by the University of Maine, a 25-foot, 5,000-pound patrol boat, center, that was produced using a large polymer 3D printer, behind left, rests on a trailer on the school's campus, in Orono, Maine. The boat was printed at the school's Composites Center on the world's largest polymer 3D printer.

World's Largest 3D Printed Boat

The 25-foot, 5,000-pound boat was produced using the world's largest 3D printer.

A new Trump administration order would allow e-bikes on every federal trail where a regular bike can go.

E-Bikes Humming Through National Parks

It's part of a new Trump administration order — hotly opposed by many outdoors groups.

In this June 8, 2019 photo, Gordon and Janice Goodwin show their electric-assist bicycles outside their home in Bar Harbor, Maine. The bikes are banned on carriage roads and bicycle paths in nearby Acadia National Park.

E-Bikes Encounter Rocky Road

In classifying them as motorized vehicles, agencies keep thousands of miles of trail off-limits to e-bikes.

Plastic Bottles

Poland Spring Using Recycled Plastic for All Bottles

The move comes as the bottled water industry faces continued criticism over its use of plastic

In this Monday, Dec. 17, 2018 photo, Nicole Sanborn stitches the upper section of a pair of athletic shoes designed for the military at a New Balance factory in Norridgewock, Maine. The first shipments of athletic shoes made for the U.S. Department of Defense are being shipped out. The new contract fulfills a federal law requiring the military to outfit new recruits with American-made apparel.

Military Shoes Now Made-in-USA

Last spring, a $17.3 million contract was awarded to New Balance.

In this Dec. 4, 2017 file photo, the future USS Michael Monsoor leaves Bath Iron Works for sea trials in Bath, Maine. The shipbuilder has replaced one of the massive turbines on the stealthy destroyer. It is scheduled to depart for San Diego in November.

Shipbuilders Replace Destroyer's 15-ton Turbine

The delicate operation involved lifting and maneuvering the 15-ton Rolls Royce marine turbine out of the ship.

This undated photo provided by Daniel Buck Auctions, of Lisbon Falls, Maine, shows a label on a pair of 125-year-old Levi Strauss & Co., denim blue jeans that sold for nearly $100,000 this in May 2018 to a buyer in Asia. The jeans were purchased in 1893 by a store keeper in the Arizona Territory and were in pristine condition because they were worn only a few times.

125-year-old Levis Sell for Nearly $100K

The blue jeans, which failed to sell at auction in 2016, now have a new owner somewhere in Southeast Asia.