Clair Sceli, founder of Clamar Floats, recently announced the sale and upcoming relocation of Clamar’s manufacturing operations to Brunswick Executive Airport on the campus of Brunswick Landing.

Clamar Floats is a leading manufacturer of light-weight, high-performance composite floats oriented toward the experimental aviation market and located in London, Ontario. A Brunswick private equity group led the acquisition with support by Coastal Enterprises, Inc.

Clamar’s new manufacturing facility will leverage a recently commissioned, advanced composites manufacturing center which includes an environmentally controlled layup room, high temperature processing oven, paint booth and advanced machining suite, all located in the 95,000-square-foot TechPlace manufacturing center at Brunswick Landing.

TechPlace is attached to a newly renovated, 40,000-square-foot hangar upgraded with LED lighting, infrared heat, insulation and new doors leading directly to Brunswick Executive Airport’s 8,000-foot runway. The seaplane accessible Androscoggin River is less than two miles from the departure end of runway 01.

Brunswick Landing’s 3,500-acre campus is the former Brunswick Naval Air Station now operated by the Midcoast Regional Redevelopment Authority.

Paul Richards will head Clamar’s Brunswick Landing operation.

“I’ve been fascinated by water flying my entire life,” said Clair Sceli. “I’ve been flying for over 50 years and for the past 20 focused on designing and building the best composite floats in the world. It is gratifying to see my products on 28 different airframes and the Clamar brand has been so widely accepted that my current facility was bursting at the seams trying to keep up.

“Undertaking a capital expansion at my stage of life seemed like the wrong decision, so I sought out people who could support my customers from a world-class facility and was fortunate to partner with Paul Richards and the folks in Brunswick, Maine,” Sceli continued. “I am convinced Paul and his team are the right people and I’m pleased we could strike a deal.”

The Clamar product portfolio addresses applications ranging from LSAs (the 1400 series was designed for the Flight Design CTLS) to a 3500 class for heavy haulers, but the bulk of the sales fit into the 2200 and 2500 class and are common on airframes produced by Aircam, Glassair and Cubcrafters.

“Clamar’s performance matchup in terms of ruggedness, weight, style and strength made this deal very attractive,” said Richards. “I’ve known Clair Sceli for many years and his products are fantastic, but his attention to quality and customer service are just as important and we are excited to have Clair stay on in a senior consulting role to make sure we maintain his high standards. We’re also delighted to be able to offer additional services such as custom paint and rigging in our new world-class facility and welcome any existing or prospective customers to come visit.”

“Although aviation is not our only mission,” said MRRA Executive Director Steve Levesque, “the Navy left us a hugely valuable asset and we strive to attract companies like Clamar Floats to take advantage of the taxpayers’ investment. We have also invested heavily in infrastructure to support Maine’s high-tech composites industry and the intersection of aviation and composites which Clamar represents is a perfect fit for us.

“Our mission is to create an environment where high quality jobs are created for our local community and Clamar’s move to Brunswick could not be more perfectly matched to this mission,” Levesque added.

Maine’s aviation community has also gotten behind the project, according to Barry Valentine, chairman of the Maine Aviation Business Association, and as a former administrator of the FAA understands intimately the keys to success in aviation.

“MABA is all about helping Maine’s aviation industry succeed and we think this project has all the elements required for success. Maine has a storied history in water flying, having been home to the Lake Amphibian for decades and also one of the finest seaplane destinations in the world. Maine’s talented composites workforce, a world-class facility and Clamar’s industry-leading products make this transition a natural fit for all parties,” Valentine said.

The transition of production from Ontario to Brunswick has already begun and is planned to be completed before year’s end, according to Richards.

“Moving a manufacturing facility is never easy,” Richards said. “But since the infrastructure in all in place it drastically reduces the complexity. As another plus we have Southern Maine Community College’s Brunswick campus a few blocks away where they have a composites curriculum and the Composites Engineering Research Lab supported by the Maine Composites Alliance is in the same building — icing on the cake.”

Brunswick Growth Partners provided the equity funding through their BGP Launch Fund. The BGP Launch Fund is a specialized fund founded to support high quality manufacturing jobs in Maine by leveraging the state’s many assets while providing an outstanding return for investors and also takes advantage of Opportunity Zone tax incentives provided under the new 2018 tax laws.