Since MaineLine Graphics moved from Deering to Antrim in 2014, the company that specializes in sign systems for the housing industry has added five new positions, and growth is expected to continue, according to company officials.
“We are absolutely poised for growth in the next three to five years,” said Chief Executive Officer Kerri Mobile.
And thankfully they have access to some lean manufacturing training from the N.H. Manufacturing Extension Partnership that will ensure it is smart growth. The company was recently awarded nearly $9,000 in matching grant funds from the state’s Job Training Fund, which will allow 20 of its 24 workers to go through the training focused on cutting out waste.
“This program has put us in a position to do more training than we would have been able to do otherwise,” Mobile said. “We’re going to be able to emphasize the focus on eliminating waste, and learn new techniques.”
The company got its start in Deering in 1976. Mobile and her business partner Scott Jobe, who is also her brother-in-law, bought the company in 2010. They moved to Antrim for more space, purchasing the former Frameworks building at 1 High Street.
“We’re able to focus our entire operation in one building [now],” Mobile said, noting they have 47,000 square feet – about 20,000 more than they need at the moment. “We’re very specialized. We have a pretty specific niche market in residential sign systems.”
Working with senior, multi-family and apartment housing developments, MaineLine helps its clients brand a new community or re-brand signs for an existing one. It can also help match a sign system for a brand a client already has in mind.
“All of the work we do is custom. We don’t have any inventory of signs, so we don’t have a traditional [manufacturing] line,” Mobile explained. “It’s very design-intensive. I have a team of five designers.”
The company’s work is all over the country, but there’s a lot happening right now in Washington and Boston. MaineLine recently completed a project at the Watermark Seaport development in Boston.
“The focus is on new development,” Mobile said, especially here in the backyard of Boston, which is a hotbed of activity. “We are in a very good position to continue to grow.”
Companies interested in applying to the Job Training Fund should visit the fund’s website at www.nhjobtrainingfund.org.