October 17, 2014 — The proposed New England Ocean Cluster could make Portland the key point for North Atlantic nations that seek capital, partners, and markets in the U.S.
The Maine State Pier, once the epicenter in a battle for luxury hotels, is now the focus of negotiations to bring a marine-industries incubator to Portland’s waterfront.
Thor Sigfusson, an entrepreneur from Iceland, and Patrick Arnold, the owner of Soli DG Inc., a management and consulting firm in South Portland, are talking with city officials about leasing the top floor of the former municipal transit shed on the pier.
The two companies plan to model the new business after the Iceland Ocean Cluster, a privately owned business in Reykjavik, the island nation’s capital. That company works in collaboration with 40 other companies, many of them start-ups, in a converted warehouse on Reykjavik’s waterfront to explore ways to bring marine-related products to market.
Beyond setting up a similar complex in Maine for ocean-related businesses to share space and ideas, the effort could make Portland the beachhead for other North Atlantic nations that are seeking capital, partners and markets in the United States.
“It’s a dynamic embassy for Nordic countries,” Sigfusson said of the proposed incubator space.
He said many of the Reykjavik companies are seeking partners to help bring their products, such as technology that uses fish skin to treat chronic wounds, into the U.S. market. Some of those companies could set up offices in the planned incubator, which would be called the New England Ocean Cluster. They could use the facility as conference and meeting space even if they don’t become tenants, Sigfusson said.
Read the full story from the Portland Press Herald