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The city of Waterville, like many Maine towns, flourished around the saw and textile mills of the Industrial Age. When C.F. Hathaway Shirt Company, established in 1849 and the last formal dress shirt-making plant in America, closed its doors in 2002, it was a clear signal that the times had indeed changed. It became imperative that the community find innovative ways to bring new jobs and new industries to the area.

Intellectual capital is not something in short supply in Waterville, which has produced some of the brightest minds in recent Maine history. It was the home of Edmund Muskie (born in Rumford), the former Maine Governor, U.S. Senator and U.S. Secretary of State. It is also the birthplace and childhood home of George Mitchell, a former federal judge, U.S. Senator and Senate Majority Leader. Waterville also is home to Colby College and Thomas College, with Kennebec Valley Community College and the University of Maine at Augusta located only a few miles away in Fairfield and Augusta, respectively.

Tapping into “intellectual capital” became the mission of the Kennebec Regional Development Authority (KRDA), created by an act of the Maine Legislature in 1998 and funded by grants and tax dollars from 24 cities and towns in Kennebec and Somerset counties. What KRDA’s regional business leaders discovered was a demand for high-tech infrastructure that the area was not providing.  They set out to find a remedy, recognizing that tomorrow’s businesses sought locations where high-tech infrastructure was already in place in addition to an educated workforce.