U-Maine System Say They’re Not the Reason Northeast Pellets is Cutting Staff

ASHLAND, Maine (AP) — The University of Maine System disputes a claim by a wood pellet manufacturer that the company is cutting back operations in part because of the loss of University of Maine at Fort Kent as a client.

Northeast Pellets of Ashland makes pellets that are used as a heating source. The company has reduced operations from five to three days a week, and the company said that's partly because of the loss of the university as a client. Company President Matthew Bell also says retail sales have been down due to unseasonably warm weather.

A UMS spokesman says the Fort Kent campus was getting four shipments of pellets sourced from Northeast Pellets over the final two weeks of December.