Monolite Composites plans to have two facilities open in Maine soon.

BANGOR (AP) – A composite material company hopes to launch two operations with the potential for several hundred jobs down the road.

Oregon-based Monolite Composites is in the process of opening a research and development facility in Bath under the name Maine Monolite, and it hopes to employ more than 200 people at a separate manufacturing center in Millinocket.

The composite would be produced in Bath and made into products in Millinocket, according to Anthony Burich of Maine Monolite.

Lightweight and malleable, Monolite has ballistic capabilities, can withstand temperatures of up to 2,850 degrees and is broken down by ultraviolet rays at a much slower rate than plastic, according to its inventor, Ron Huegli, who works near Vancouver, Wash., for Monolite Composites.

Huegli sees great potential because the nonporous surface has more structural strength than fiberglass and can be formed into a variety of products.

The plan for the Millinocket plant is to use Monolite panels in a military vehicle prototype, Burich said. The company also wants to use composites to create a lightweight, fuel-efficent rotary engine to power the vehicle, he said.

AP-ES-04-26-04 1031EDT