Senators Collins, King Announce More than $600,000 in Innovation Awards to Support Maine’s Forest Economy

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Angus King (I-ME) applauded a U.S. Forest Service announcement that Avedis Zildjian Co., ND Paper, Inc., and Robbins Lumber East Baldwin, LLC. have been awarded a combined $622,999 through the U.S. Forest Service’s Wood Innovation Grant Program. These grants will support environmentally sustainable innovation and help expand markets for Maine’s forest products.

“Maine’s forest products industry is a vital part of our state’s economy, and it is

critical that this industry has the tools it needs to adapt to changing markets,” said Senators Collins and King. “This funding will help ND Paper, Robbins Lumber, and Avedis Zildjian as they develop cutting-edge products, creating new opportunities for the forest products industry while supporting the rural communities that rely on it. We remain committed to supporting efforts to help Maine’s forest economy continue to grow and thrive.”

Specifically, the funding has been allocated as follows:

1. ND Paper, Inc. – $300,000 to upgrade wood processing equipment to enhance production by 15,000 tons annually while supporting low-value wood markets.
2. Robbins Lumber East Baldwin, LLC. – $235,714 to upgrade sawmill processing technologies to improve operational efficiencies while supporting active forest management.
3. Avedis Zildjian Co. – $87,285 to develop a wood energy system at a manufacturing facility to increase low-value wood markets by 1,500 tons annually.

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Senators Collins and King have both long been supporters of Maine’s forest economy.

Since 2024, Senator Collins, Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, has secured $24 million through appropriations legislation to mitigate the spread of spruce budworm in Northern Maine. She has also ensured the inclusion of a provision recognizing biomass as carbon neutral across federal agencies in appropriations legislation for more than a decade. Last month, she announced a $20 million award to Maine’s Forest Bioproducts Advanced Manufacturing Tech Hub—a forest economy development initiative led by the University of Maine.

Senator King is seen as a national leader in efforts to support Maine’s forest products industry. King previously introduced the bipartisan Future Logging Careers Act to help train the next generation of Maine loggers and the bipartisan Timber Innovation for Building Rural Communities Act to improve forest health and support Maine’s rural economy. He also introduced legislation to establish a “Future of Forests” panel tasked with making recommendations to secure the health of America’s forests. Senators King was key in establishing the Forest Opportunity Roadmap Maine (FOR/ME) Initiative, a participant-led initiative that is helping to diversify the state’s wood products businesses, attract investments, support research and development, and develop greater economic prosperity for rural communities impacted by mill closures.