During a ceremony this morning at the Blaine House, Governor Janet Mills presented Maine Beer Company, Sargent Corporation, Panolam Surface Systems, and WEX with the 2024 Governor's Award for Business Excellence (GABE).

Since its creation by former Governor McKernan in 1991, the prestigious annual GABE award has recognized and celebrated Maine businesses with a high level of commitment to their community, their employees, and to exemplary performance in the manufacturing or service professions.

This year, awards were given in celebration of Maine businesses that consistently strive for excellence, even during global challenges.

"It is my honor to present Maine Beer Company, Sargent Corporation, Panolam Surface Systems, and WEX with the 2024 Governor's Award for Business Excellence," said Governor Janet Mills. "These exceptional companies are driving innovation and opportunity that is creating good-paying jobs, revitalizing rural communities, diversifying our heritage industries, and helping Maine take on climate change. I thank them and their employees for their work to make Maine the best place in the nation to live, work, and raise a family."

"The Governor's Award for Business Excellence recognizes the many important contributions of Maine businesses to Maine people and our state's economy," said Heather Johnson, Commissioner of the Maine Department of Economic & Community Development. "I congratulate each of these recipients on receiving one of Maine's most prestigious business recognition awards. I look forward to following their continued success."

The 2024 Governor's Award for Business Excellence were presented in four categories:

• The Innovation Award, which celebrates and recognizes business excellence through entrepreneurship and innovation.
• The Rural Revitalization Award, which recognizes contributions to the revitalization and growth of Maine's rural regions.
• The Heritage Industry Award, which recognizes and celebrates business excellence in the agriculture, forestry, manufacturing, or marine sector.
• The Climate Leader Award, which recognizes business leadership, innovation, or excellence in mitigating climate risks or developing new technologies to combat climate change.

The 2024 Governor's Award for Business Excellence winners are:

Maine Beer Company, Innovation Award: Maine Beer Company, founded by brothers David and Daniel Kleban, is a Freeport-based beer manufacturer. It also operates an on-site taproom that specializes in brick-oven pizza, salads, and charcuterie that incorporate seasonal and local ingredients. The company is known for its commitment to environmental causes through membership in 1% for the Planet. One percent of gross annual sales are donated to environmental nonprofits, and all contributions made above and beyond the final checks in the Tasting Room are also donated to nonprofits. The company also made a $30,000 donation to Maine Coast Fisherman's Association for storm recovery, gave more than $12,000 to Freeport school district RSU5 to eliminate student breakfast and lunch debt, and donated more than $50,000 to local food pantries in 2023.

"At Maine Beer Company, our motto is 'Do what's right.' From the very beginning, this principle has guided our mission to support our community, protect our planet, and care for our employees," said Dan Kleban, Co-founder of Maine Beer Company. "Making a positive impact is its own reward, but being recognized with this award reinforces that we're on the right path. We hope it inspires other businesses to follow suit." - Dan Kleban, Co-Founder, Maine Beer Company

Sargent Corporation, Rural Revitalization Award: Sargent Corporation is a Maine-based 100 percent employee-owned general contractor, specializing in the construction of heavy civil utility and infrastructure projects. Sargent self-performs and manages subcontract work for projects in the following markets: highway, landfill, airport, underground utility (water, sewer, storm), commercial and institutional building sitework, site remediation, and renewable energy projects including wind power, solar power, and hydro power. The fabrication facility in Stillwater produces excavator attachments for Wimmer North America, and such items as dam gates for Brookfield. The asphalt plant in Hermon provides over 200,000 tons of product to the Bangor region annually.

"Sargent is proud to accept this award, and truly appreciates the recognition from Governor Mills. As Sargent enters our 99th year of business, we are a 100% Employee-Owned Company with over 350+ employee-owners in Maine, and another 175+ strong in the Mid-Atlantic and New Hampshire," said Eric Ritchie, President & COO of Sargent. "We strive every day to be the best company we can be for our people and we are proud to have our roots in Maine. We are the blocking and tackling of society -- building tough civil infrastructure projects with pride and perseverance across generations. Thank you, once again, Governor Mills for this prestigious recognition and for the continued support of our industry!"

Panolam Surface Systems, Heritage Industry Award: Panolam Surface Systems is one of the top producers of laminates within the United States. The Auburn plant produces 95% of the bowling lanes in the world. Their innovative solutions, including the introduction of new technologies and enhanced product designs, are tailored to meet customer needs. They prioritize sustainability through eco-friendly manufacturing processes and responsible sourcing of materials, aligning with the values of environmentally conscious consumers.

"We are honored and thankful for being selected. We are also grateful to the City of Auburn for nominating us," said John Eberly, Operations Manager for Panolam. "We are devoted to our employees, customers, and community. We value being good corporate citizens."

WEX, Climate Leader: Founded in South Portland, WEX has diversified from its nascency as a U.S.-based fleet card provider into a global B2B payments company offering enterprise solutions for corporate health benefits, corporate payments, and commercial fleet mobility. After more than 40 years in business, WEX remains proudly headquartered in Maine, with 2023 annual revenue topping $2.5 billion, a presence on five continents, more than 7,000 employees worldwide - and a unified purpose of "simplifying the business of running a business." As a global leader in commercial mobility with more than 600,000 fleet customers, representing an estimated 19.4 million commercial vehicles globally as of Q2 2024, WEX is committed to a long-term strategy that includes supporting its customers as they begin to migrate from internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles to electric vehicles (EVs) as part of a mixed-energy fleet amid the energy transition.

In July 2023, company leadership announced WEX Venture Capital with up to $100 million to invest through 2025 in predominantly early-stage companies focused on the energy transition, including areas such as fleet electrification, the EV charging ecosystem, energy management and optimization, and adjacent technology necessary to achieve widespread commercial EV adoption.

"At WEX, we believe strongly that one does not have to choose between doing what's right for business and what's right for the future," said Melissa Smith, WEX President & CEO. "WEX is honored to be recognized with the Governor's Award for Business Excellence for our efforts to make a meaningful difference in the global climate conversation, with a specific emphasis on the energy transition for commercial vehicles."

Nomination criteria for the 2025 awards will be released next fall.