MEDIA ROOM

Ultra Fine Line Carries on Family Tradition in Madison

Nathan Pease of Ultra Fine Line, Inc. (UFL) zips around his production facility about as fast as the spools of twine the company produces come off the production line. The constant, deafening sound of the machines overwhelms most visitors, but the 22-year old Pease finds it music to his ears.

“At the start, we sometimes had as many as three months worth of back orders,” Pease said. “There is never a dull moment keeping these machines running. I work six or seven days a week, but I love it.”

UFL now calls the town of Madison, Maine its home. The company was started by Nathan’s grandfather, Byron Crowe. This name is familiar to many Mainers. Crowe built the successful Crowe Rope, Inc. located in Warren, about 75 miles away from Madison. At its height, Crowe Rope employed about 500 workers. Crowe sold the company in 1994 to retire to Florida. While there, he started UFL as a small-scale side project to ‘keep him out of trouble.’

The twine the company manufactures is used by masons during construction. UFL also has recently started producing a separate type of twine used in the thin wires found in sparkplug cores. In addition to Pease, the company employs two full-time employees and a maintenance worker.

Pease began working with his grandfather at UFL as a teenager. During his summer vacations, Pease would travel down the coast to learn every facet of the business. Pease helped Crowe keep the machines running and keep orders filled.

In 2006, Crowe decided UFL needed to take a different direction. He kept up on the news of Maine and heard about the town of Madison’s low electric rates. He remembered the work ethic of his son and the people of central Maine – Crowe had problems with worker turnover at his Florida plant. In addition, Pease had just finished a tour in Iraq with the U.S. Army and needed a job.

He contacted Norman Dean, Town Manager of Madison, to see if he could find a place quickly to house all of UFL’s machinery. An unused warehouse near the center of town provided just enough space. In August, Pease traveled to Florida, helped Crowe pack everything up, and the two men began their journey home to Maine.

“I was pleased to hear Byron wanted to move his factory to central Maine to create an opportunity for his grandson,” Dean said. “Byron’s meant a lot to the people of this region, and now his grandson will carry on that manufacturing tradition in the same area. It’s a small operation now, but I think it has potential to grow given how busy they always are.”

UFL is part of a nationwide trend toward smaller manufacturing companies. According to the most recent Economic Census by the U.S. Census Bureau, approximately 58 percent of manufacturing businesses nationwide employ between 1-19 workers. In Maine, that number grows to 62 percent. Smaller manufacturing companies can respond faster to changes in industry trends and global competition. They also can integrate technology more quickly than larger companies with larger property, plant and equipment demands.

Crowe stayed in Maine through the fall to give Pease a hand. The 74-year-old spent nearly as much time as Pease during the first few months to bring operations back to full capacity. His hard work and experience gave his grandson a head start to success.

“If I were his age, I know I could build a good business here,” Crowe said. “I help him as much as I can – now it’ll be up to him to make this a success.”

Crowe returned to Florida in December to escape the cold weather for a few months, but Pease had no hesitations about running the business on his own.

“If I ever have any questions, I know where I can find him,” Pease said. “But I enjoy the challenge of running the business on my own. I’m going to try to let him have a peaceful winter vacation this year.”

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Photo Captions:

Top left: Ultra Fine Line produces mason twine used by bricklayers. Pictured is the finished product of one type of this twine.

Bottom right: One of the spinning machines at Ultra Fine Line. The machines run 24 hours a day to keep up with demand.

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