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U.S. Sen. Susan Collins hails Poland Spring success story after taking tour of Kingfield facility

By David F. Robinson drobinson@onlinesentinel.com
Staff Writer, Morning Sentinel

KINGFIELD -- After touring the Poland Spring plant Wednesday in Kingfield, U.S. Sen. Susan Collins praised the facility as a much-needed asset for Maine: a success story.

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THE PROCESS: Poland Spring plant manager Cameron Lorrain explains the water bottling process to U.S. Sen. Susan Collins during a tour Wednesday of the plant in Kingfield.

Staff photo by David Robinson

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In slightly more than two years since opening, the spring water plant has nearly doubled its work force, pumped millions of dollars into the state's economy and highlighted Maine's natural resources, she said.

"I think that a plant like this in rural Maine has the ripple effect," Collins said. "As I am talking to a company that is considering locating a plant in Maine, I always cite success stories like this."

The Republican senator toured the site in northern Franklin County as part of Poland Spring's parent company, Nestlé Waters North America, recognizing the Kingfield plant as its best factory in 2010, beating the company's 26 other plants.

Collins walked along the production line on the factory floor, stopping frequently to ask about the technology and talk with some of the 70 plant employees.

Watching hundreds of bottles of water shoot past, Collins said she couldn't believe how fast the bottled water is churned out, learning that about 70,000 cases of water come off the production line per day on average.

Away from the roar of the machines, however, plant manager Cameron Lorrain said the challenge when the plant opened in 2009 wasn't how fast it came off the line but how far the water had to travel.

"The distance to market is the biggest challenge," Lorrain said, referring to an average of 50 trucks having to travel long distances five days a week to reach large market centers.

Collins agreed that the biggest hurdle for attracting businesses to rural parts of Maine is the distance.

She said she is supporting efforts to preserve rail systems in northern Maine, and other projects to speed the delivery by letting large commercial trucks drive on federal interstate road systems.

The Kingfield plant had to become "smarter" and more efficient to compensate for the distance, Collins said. It relied on local contractors to build the facility, and it continues to get many of its supplies from companies in Maine, she said.

It's also the first manufacturing facility in Maine with U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Gold certification, Lorrain said, referring to the plant's recycling practices and energy-saving features.

The company had to overcome doubts about the plant's effect on local water sources. Residents feared the plant would ruin the town, according to Kingfield Selectmen Mervin Wilson.

"They thought that this big company was going to come in that would railroad us into something we didn't want," Wilson said, referring to town discussions before the plant was built.

Now most residents are happy to see the jobs being created, the partnership with the town, and regular reports on the environmental effect, Wilson said.

The need for jobs in the area was clear when more than 700 people applied for the plant's original 36 jobs, according to Lorrain.

Now the plant has grown to about 60 year-round employees, he said. Another 10 seasonal employees are hired during the peak spring and summer seasons, when the operation shifts from 18 hours per day to 24 hours.

If demand picks up in coming years, the plant also could add two production lines to reach its capacity of about 120 employees, Lorrain said. Two production lines are running now.

The Kingfield plant represents a $60 million investment by Poland Spring, which also operates bottling plants in Fryeburg and Hollis and maintains natural spring sources in other areas of Maine, according to a company news release.

Lorrain hopes the company can expand its operation in Kingfield to capacity when the economy picks up.

"We've handled the cost and the production. Now we're just waiting for the demand," he said.

David Robinson -- 861-9287

drobinson@centralmaine.com