NEW GLOUCESTER (NEWS CENTER Maine) — The Maine International Trade Center (MITC) is singling out four local companies for their commitment to growing their businesses in international markets.
Here are the four companies honored this year by MITC:
► Exporter of the Year: Maine Coast (York), a lobster exporting company in York
► Innovator of the Year: Fiber Materials, Inc. (Biddeford), a manufacturer that designs, develops and manufactures high-temperature composite materials for air, land, sea and space
► Direct Investor of the Year: St. Croix Tissue (Baileyville), a paper mill that's considered a bright spot for Maine’s paper industry
► Service Provider of the Year: Planson International (New Gloucester), a supplier of IT equipment and services to more than 150 countries around the globe
This work is important to Maine, considering that in 2017 the state's 2,262 companies exported $2.7 billion in goods and services overseas.
One of the companies, Planson International, is headed up by a single mother of five children. Connie Justice is CEO and runs Planson International off of a country road in New Gloucester.
"We keep a low profile," she said. "There’s really no need for us to have a big sign out front. We’re not attracting foot traffic."
Justice started Planson right out of her home. It is now a $52 million company, operating out of a big red barn. They supply IT equipment and services to more than 150 countries across the globe. Their most recent project in the Philippines, where they supplied computer labs to 900 high schools.
In a video supplied by Planson, the difficult journey from New Gloucester to hard-to-reach regions in the Philippines is chronicled as boxes are transferred from planes to trucks, to the waiting hands of volunteers who load them onto small boats, and finally install them in school buildings.
It’s all part of the $26 million contract Planson won to connect poor regions throughout the region with the rest of the world.
"Our customers work under really challenging circumstances. They are in the middle of civil war, and epidemics and hurricanes," Justice said. "When we hear of a natural disaster happening in the world we know that’s where we’re going to be working next."
"How are things going? Which project are you working on?" Nick Planson, Justice’s son and Planson’s sales director checks in frequently with pods of employees, housed in different areas around the building. They are working on different projects in many regions around the world.
"A cool project is in the Congo where we provided 4,000 tablets for their registration for their upcoming election," Planson said.
This group relies on their own French language skills, and the assistance of Arthur, a Planson employee who lives in Guadalajaro, Mexico, but is originally from the French-speaking African nation of Cameroon.
Planson’s 45 employees, including four of Connie Justice’s children, assist the United Nations and Humanitarian organizations; providing help with food security, health, education and emergency response.
Katya Planson, Justice’s daughter, is working on coordinating deliveries of solar power to the poor island nation of Dominica. The Caribbean island was ripped apart by the hurricane that hit in October.
"It’s rewarding to be in touch with people on the ground who've been devastated by these disasters and to be participating in meaningful change," Katya said.
Justice, who is a youthful 62, has run Planson for the past 27 years. Although she says she loves what she does, she won’t do it forever. In fact, she is working on a succession plan and exit strategy, so Planson can go on in the capable hands of a younger and, she says, too often mislabeled, generation.
"I listen to stereotype descriptions of millennials and I just say, 'What world do you come from?' Because I don’t see that. They are incredibly hard-working, excellent employees. I mean everybody in this company has a thinking job. Everybody questions the status quo, they come forward with suggestions, nobody will do something without knowing there’s a purpose to it."
Planson International ensures all hardware and software is configured to meet the customer’s needs before it’s shipped off to Dominica and other very needy regions.
"Right now, we’re uninstalling Microsoft Office 365," a Planson employee explains. He spends an average 35 minutes on each computer getting it just right for shipment.
Planson International is a young, local workforce supplying vital technology around the globe, from hardware to IT advice.
"We’re kind of like the Geek Squad. They can text us," Connie Justice explains, smiling. Her cell phone bings. It’s the warning sound of a truck backing up.
"The binging was WhatsApp. That was someone in South Africa, probably, trying to reach me for a project in Malawi so that we can make sure that we take care of our customers. So we really are a service provider, and so to be recognized for that is really gratifying."
Planson International, Maine Coast, Fiber Materials, Inc., and St. Croix Tissue will all officially be presented with their awards during Maine International Trade Day in Rockport, Maine on May 18.
The theme for Trade Day 2018 is Global Trade’s New Era: Accessing Asia.
Trade Day is Northern New England’s largest international business event.
For more information on Planson International, go to their website at www.plansonintl.com.
For information on this year’s Maine International Trade Day, go to www.mitc.com.