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One-on-One Business Counseling |
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 Quality business assistance is important to any business owner. At CEI, we know that, which is why we provide targeted support to many sectors in Maine, along with general business assistance for any small business in the state. The links on the left will provide you with more specific information about the services we offer. You will also find relevant contact information.
To keep you and your business in touch with the information age, we also offer website and e-commerce workshops. As always, you can receive general business counseling from any one of our Maine Small Business Development Centers located throughout the state.
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CEI IN THE NEWS! |
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U.S. Finance Expert Encourages Banking Investment in Maine Communities
At CEI's 32nd Annual Meeting, Ellen Seidman, Exec. VP of ShoreBank in Chicago, and Sr. Research Fellow with the New America Foundation in Washington, DC, urged Maine bankers and community activists to consider “greater community investment…meeting the actual needs of the community, not just counting dollars invested.” See full speech.
See annual meeting remarks by Ron Phillips, CEO, on triple bottom line investing and the next 5 years for CEI…
See the 12/14/09 article on CEI and the state of investing in communities. It’s where mission happens… CEI Receives $125 Million in NMTC Through its subsidiary, CEI Capital Management LLC, CEI will use the allocation to attract private capital investments for primarily rural economic development projects. See press release here.
CEI Receives Investment Funds
In partnership with Manufacturers Association of Maine, CEI will receive $765,000 over from the Federal Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Community Services (OCS), to finance several job-generating small-to-medium enterprises. This funding will create 78 full-time, year-round jobs. Read press release here. Bangor Savings Bank and CEI offer low-interest loans to small and medium-sized enterprises in disadvantaged areas in Maine. Read more here. |
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AM Wood Designs LLC - Finding the Right Help |
In Bingham, Maine, population 856, the forest products industry used to
be the major source of employment. But over the past two decades, the
community has seen jobs go oversees or vanish altogether. When Richard
Casey lost his job, he wanted to stay in Bingham, his home for
twenty-five years. 
In 2000, when he began looking for funds to start his own unfinished
pine furniture company, CEI was there to help pull together a loan
package with local banks and other economic development agencies.Casey
converted a vacant mill into a manufacturing plant, purchased equipment
and began operating. Later, when AM Wood Designs began to struggle with
low margins and inefficient production, CEI's PACT project helped pay
for extensive training in lean manufacturing. The training helped Casey
realize he'd have to remake the company in order to survive.
The Maine Small Business Development Center at CEI helped
Casey plan for change and better his chances of finding an investor. It
took three years, some hard choices, and the efforts of many, but AM
Wood Designs is turning around. Casey found Anania and Associates which
made major investments in operations and marketing. They dropped
unprofitable lines, added higher margin products, and are doing more
with the same number of employees. Now AM Wood Designs boasts a line of
charming cedar gazebos.
"Without PACT and CEI, we wouldn't be here", says Casey. At
every turn, CEI was there with the right resources - capital, training
grants, and management assistance.
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Business Advice and Training 
