A commercial renovation company in Brunswick is growing to meet demand

A Brunswick-based company that makes temporary walls that can be used during renovation projects is building a new 85,000-square-foot building to accommodate its growing operations, with an expected move by fall of 2025.

STARC Systems first launched in 2015 at a business incubator in Brunswick Landing known as TechPlace . Nearly a decade later, the firm now has about 100 employees and is nearing $40 million in revenue, according to CEO Chris Vickers.

For now, STARC creates, assembles and distributes its reusable walls in a 45,000 square-foot manufacturing space in Brunswick Landing. The walls are made out of galvanized steel and aluminum, and are typically used to separate areas that are under construction in large spaces such as airports and hospitals. They generally consist of several panels that can fit together to keep out the dust and debris from construction.

But about six months ago, the company started discussing moving out of the current manufacturing building.

“[We] plan to double the business, so we knew that we needed to create a facility that could handle that and has the ability to expand more if we need to,” Vickers said.

Business has been booming over the past five years, Vickers said. The company now has customers in all 50 states and several different countries, and is planning to complete the new building in time to accommodate more projected growth.

A different company, Priority Group in Topsham, will be constructing the new building to meet STARC’s needs, Vickers said. Work is set to start before the end of the year near Flight Deck Brewing Co., and STARC will move its manufacturing operations and some office space from the current facility to the new one. It will also hold onto a smaller building that mostly serves as office space.

The current manufacturing facility hosts several machines that are used to create the walls, but STARC wants to continue updating its technology and make space for future product lines, Vickers said. It currently makes four different kinds of walls, as well as some custom ones made of glass or with windows.

Though STARC’s walls were some of the first of their kind on the market, competition has been increasing. Vickers said he wants to make production even more efficient, and he’s hoping to continue to hire more workers. The company has a new investor, North Branch Capital in Chicago, which is helping to drive the growth.

The challenge, Vickers said, is constructing a building that’s big enough for their future needs, but not too big. But, the plot the new building will be constructed on will have space to expand even further if necessary.

Jules Walkup is a Report for America corps member. Additional support for this reporting is provided by BDN readers.