community

Located just 40 minutes from Portland, Lewiston-Auburn is one of Maine’s thriving economic centers. A number of worldclass companies are located in Lewiston-Auburn, including a Wal-Mart Food Distribution Center, Procter & Gamble’s Tambrands facility, GE, and a Kellogg’s Snacks operation.

The Twin Cities are home to four colleges — including Bates College — two worldclass hospitals, the state’s second largest Chamber of Commerce, a U.S. Customs Port, and a Foreign Trade Zone.

The Twin Cities of Lewiston and Auburn have a rich history, including having served at one time as the shoe and textile capital of the Northeast, and a region that helped shape child labor laws.  It’s also the site of the historic Clay-Liston boxing match, providing Sports Illustrated with one of the world’s most popular and recognizable sports photographs.  (That fight helped cement Clay’s transition into the brazen Mohammad Ali that the world came to know.)

Several industries in Lewiston-Auburn continue to thrive and transform what was once a textile

and mill center into a modern business, commercial, and industrial powerhouse. Today, Lewiston-Auburn’s key industries include health care, high-precision manufacturing, transportation & logistics, and financial services. Retail, food and beverage production, and service industries are also in abundance.

Lewiston-Auburn’s workforce has been recognized nationally by Industry Week, Inc. Magazine and employers such as Procter & Gamble. Lewiston-Auburn is perfectly positioned geographically to tap labor pools in nearby areas including Oxford, Franklin, and Androscoggin counties, where unemployment is traditionally higher.

One high-profile project that illuminates how L-A is playing to its new strengths — and is attracting international attention in the process — is Lufthansa Technik’s historic Lockheed Constellation restoration project. Lufthansa’s non-profit foundation recently purchased three rare Lockheed L-1649A “Super Star” aircraft in a private sale in Auburn and is overseeing restoration of one aircraft that will be fully operational and built just as it would have come off the assembly line in the 1950s. Lufthansa Technik decided to undertake the project right in Auburn.

L-A has the right infrastructure to make business hum. From its multiple modes of transportation — including rail, air, and highway — to its statewide fiber-optic based telecommunications network with redundancy capabilities, Lewiston-Auburn is a business-friendly locale with worldclass offerings.

When it comes to quality of life, Lewiston-Auburn has much to offer as well. Rated one of the 100 best small arts communities in the country (John Muir Publications, 1996), L-A has a lively arts scene. Offerings by the Mid-Coast Symphony Orchestra, the Maine Chamber Ensemble, the Androscoggin Chorale, The Public Theatre, Community Little Theater, the Franco-American Heritage Center, and Bates College color L-A’s cultural landscape. Our Great Falls Balloon Festival has gained national attention as one of the best and largest in the northeast.

L-A is also home to a basilica, a nature sanctuary, and a network of hiking and biking trails. It is also one of the safest metropolitan areas in Maine based on the state’s Uniform Crime Report, and is home to Museum L-A, a small but growing museum of work and industry. The area also boasts some of the best restaurants and pubs in Central Maine.

Maine native and Hollywood mega-star Patrick Dempsey, who was born in Lewiston, recently launched the annual Dempsey Challenge, which draws thousands of participants who bike, run, or walk for cancer awareness. The event is the primary fundraiser for The Patrick Dempsey Center for Cancer Hope & Healing at Lewiston’s Central Maine Medical Center, which provides free support, education and wellness services to cancer patients and caregivers.