Kestrel taking hard look at Berlin property

Kestrel Aircraft: Area's economic development director welcomes the news.

BERLIN - When advocates of a wood-to-energy plant in Berlin championed the project, they always made sure to mention the opportunities for other businesses to locate on the property.

Burning wood for energy produces hot water and steam, a valuable byproduct that can be useful in the manufacturing process.

A chief executive officer from a company interested in doing just that attended the Oct. 6 groundbreaking for Cate Street Capital's 75-megawatt Burgess BioPower plant to get a feel for the community and take a closer look at locating a facility at the Burgess site.

Alan Klapmeier, CEO of Kestrel Aircraft Company, said Wednesday that his company is interested in bringing some of its manufacturing to Berlin, as it works to complete the FAA certification and produce the Kestrel, its new composite turboprop aircraft. How much of the production of the airplane, and how many people the plant would employ is unknown.

Klapmeier said the aircraft would sell for about $2.8 million, with the expected market being small businesses, specifically entrepreneurs interested in flying their own plane.

In July 2010 the company announced that it would be leasing a 170,000-square-foot hanger at the decommissioned Naval Air Station

Brunswick, which is being redeveloped as Brunswick Landing by the Midcoast Regional Redevelopment Authority in Maine. The company is still working with MRRA.

"It became apparent it would be difficult to do it all in Brunswick," said Klapmeier, who in 1984 founded Cirrus Design and served as its chairman until 2009. Kestrel is considering splitting the manufacturing into two locations.

Klapmeier said he met John Hallé, head of Cate Street, several months ago through a mutual acquaintance. Hallé, he said is "an airplane nut." He told him he was considering splitting up the manufacturing. "When we said that," Klapmeier said, "he got all excited."

Berlin, Klapmeier said, is close enough to Brunswick to make sense. He said they are serious about considering Berlin, and that the decision will be made in the next couple of months.

Asked how many employees that could mean for Berlin, he answered, "We really aren't far enough in the process to know."

Klapmeier said environmental controls are important in the energy intensive manufacturing process, as temperature and humidity have to be kept constant in order for the composite parts to cure properly. The process also includes giant ovens for the parts.

Klapmeier said he is hoping that getting the necessary financing for the company start-up will be easier than was the case for the biomass "because everybody's been through it." That would include the use of new market tax credits, which he called an effective tool for economic development.

Max Makaitis, the area's economic development director, welcomed the news that Kestrel is looking at the former pulp mill site. "Burgess BioPower is like an anchor tenet. In addition to them, I'm sure there'll be other co-located businesses."

"We might be lined up for some good stuff because of the green synergies," Mark Belanger, director of the Employment Security office in Berlin.

At the groundbreaking, John Hallé said other companies could take advantage of the economic and energy synergies.

Jon Freeman, president of the Northern Communities Investment Corporation, said Tuesday,"We haven't been involved yet, but it's very exciting."