LEWISTON, ME – As part of a two-day tour of manufacturers across Maine this week, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) today toured and met with employees of FHC, Inc. in Bowdoin, Tex Tech Industries in Monmouth, and Jones & Vining in Lewiston. FHC, Inc. designs and manufactures microelectrodes used for brain surgery and produces medical research equipment. Tex Tech Industries manufactures engineered textiles, specializing in needle and woven felt since 1904, and Jones & Vining is an advanced composites manufacturer of industrial products and footwear components.

“This week I met with folks in Guilford, Bowdoin, Monmouth, and Lewiston who are working hard each and every day to make some of the most innovative, highest-quality products in America. And while each of those products is different in some way or another, what’s not different is the spirit of hard work and the commitment to excellence and innovation that has come define them and the outstanding work they do,” Senator King said. “There’s a lot of talk in Washington about what can be done to get the economy moving again, but it’s these men and women who are on the front lines getting the job done and they’re the ones I’ll be thinking about when I continue to push my colleagues to support policies that will help create and sustain good-paying manufacturing jobs here at home.”

At FHC, Inc., King met with employees on the floor, toured the 21,000 square foot facility, and applauded the company for designing and manufacturing more than 7,000 one-of-a-kind metal microelectrodes used in brain surgery and brain research as well as numerous other research and clinical products. Through their “Innovation Center,” FHC collaborates closely with their customers to create and manufacture new and unique product ideas. For more information on FHC, click HERE. 

At Tech Tex in Monmouth, King toured the factory floor and met with employees. The facility in Monmouth is the company’s flagship location and is home to their Technical and Research & Development Center. With locations around the world, Tex Tech manufactures a wide range of textile products including ballistic armor; woven and non-woven filtration fabrics; and aerospace products including burn-through insulation, over-the-frame blankets, thermal acoustic insulation and high-temperature ducting. By allowing Tex Tech to create advanced and specialty felts, the innovative research and development done at the Monmouth facility has helped the company become the world’s largest producer of tennis ball felt. For more information on Tex Tech, click HERE.

At Jones & Vining, King was briefed by the management team and led on a tour of the facility where he saw the wide array of advanced composites and footwear components that the company manufactures. Based in Lewiston with facilities around the country, Jones & Vining began producing footwear components in the 1930s, laying the groundwork for their industrial composites production. For more information about the company, click HERE. 

King is a cosponsor of the Revitalize American Manufacturing and Innovation Act of 2013, which would bring the business and academic communities together to leverage resources and promote manufacturing innovation. He recently called on Congress to increase its investment in manufacturing and has been critical of shortsighted trade policies that disadvantage American workers.

Yesterday, King toured Hardwood Products, a 95-year old family-owned business that produces medical, diagnostic, and industrial sample collection devices as well as high-quality woodenware for the foodservice and craft industries at its two facilities in Guilford.

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