News
Baker-Polito Administration Announces Grants to Boost Production of Personal Protective Equipment, Critical Supplies in Massachusetts to Support COVID-19 Response
BOSTON - May 21, 2020 —Today, the Baker-Polito Administration announced more than $9.5 million in grants to boost production of personal protective equipment (PPE) and other critical materials needed to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and the Reopening Massachusetts plan. The new awards were made through the Manufacturing Emergency Response Team (M-ERT) to 15 grantees, including Massachusetts manufacturers, that are producing needed items such as masks, gowns, ventilators, swabs, and testing materials, and the capacity to test them.
Read MoreNew Balance to Open “Factory of the Future” In Methuen
Apparel and footwear maker New Balance is building its first new factory in two decades in Methuen. The new 80,000 square foot facility will create at least 60 new jobs focused on advanced manufacturing techniques and research and development. According to The Boston Globe, the new factory will not be fully built out when it opens sometime this spring, leaving room for the company to grow into the space experiment while experimenting new technologies like sole injection molding, hot melt bonding technology and 3D manufacturing. The Salem News reported that permitting for the new project was completed in 2019.
Read MoreCard Maker LovePop Uses 3D Printers To Make Faceshields
By: Rowan Walrath
Greeting card manufacturer LovePop is ramping up production of plastic face shields for front line health care workers. Once their face shield production ramps up to capacity they plan to add hospital gowns to mix.
Read MoreGillette’s South Boston Plant Commits To Making 100,000 Face Shields
By: Jon Chesto
The P&G-owned company has committed to making at least 100,000 shields at the South Boston plant and donate them to health care organizations across the state as needed.
Read MoreNew Balance Shifts Production From Shoes To Medical Masks
By: Nicole Yang
New Balance worked closely with MIT and Mass General Hospital to develop a facemask out of existing sneaker materials that can be used by hospital workers treating COVID-19 patients and mass produced.
Read MoreMaximizing manufacturing opportunities on the North Shore
By: Stratton Lloyd
Conventional wisdom on manufacturing tells us that it is a declining industry with few pathways to lifelong, lucrative careers for young people making decisions about their futures. It’s time to seriously question that way of thinking.
Yes. The data tells us that manufacturing jobs have been on rapid decline since the 1980s. But according to the Department of Unemployment Assistance/Bureau of Labor Statistics, that decline is starting to slow and, in fact, in northeast Massachusetts, manufacturing jobs grew by 1% from 2016 to 2018. It also continues to be the second-largest industry employer in the northeast region (in Essex County alone, 41,361 people work in manufacturing) and paid the highest total wages in 2018: $1.4 billion.
Read MoreAvidia Bank recognized as top lender for manufacturing
By: Community Advocate Staff
Avidia Bank has been recognized by the Small Business Administration (SBA) for their outstanding performance as the most active Massachusetts Lender to Manufacturers in fiscal year 2019.
Read MoreUMass Medical, GE Healthcare establishing Worcester manufacturing facility
By: Grant Welker
UMass Medical School and GE Healthcare Life Sciences will open a new facility next year to manufacture material used in preclinical research.
The Worcester school and Marlborough firm announced the partnership Monday, saying the facility will help cut down on a backlog due to a lack of facilities able to manufacture large scale viral vectors, which deliver genetic material into cells in gene therapy. That wait can extend to 12 to 24 months for researchers to secure enough vector for their research, they said.
Read MoreWhittier Tech get $52K training grant for adults
By: Mike LaBella
HAVERHILL — Whittier Tech will use a $52,000 grant to create an Advanced Manufacturing Training Program for underemployed and unemployed area adults looking to begin or advance their career in advanced manufacturing.
The grant is part of the $2.5 million in Advanced Manufacturing Training Program grants recently awarded by the Baker-Polito administration to four consortiums. The money is targeted at ensuring students are well prepared for successful careers in the field and also training employees for an industry with a significant demand for more workers.
Read MoreBaker-Polito Administration Announces $2.5 Million for Advanced Manufacturing Training
ANDOVER — Today, Lt. Governor Karyn Polito and Secretary of Housing and Economic Development Mike Kennealy joined John Lavoie, Superintendent-Director of the Greater Lawrence Technical School, regional workforce leaders and state and local officials to announce $2.5 million to four regional consortiums. This funding is being awarded through the Advanced Manufacturing Training Program to address the skills gap by creating a fully coordinated manufacturing training system to connect residents to full-time employment and meet the needs of regional industry.
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