News

Avidia 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.

UMass 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.

Whittier 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.

Baker-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.

Yankee Candle opens $6.5M R&D lab in Deerfield, consolidates manufacturing in Franklin County

By: Jim Kinney

DEERFIELD — There was a warm, flickering glow Friday when lab technicians dimmed the lights in a burn room at the new Yankee Candle research and development laboratory.

After all, there were about 1,000 candles burning, all lined up on stainless-steel lab benches under the latest in climate-control and fire-suppression technology.

Public officials and executives from Yankee Candle owner Newell Brands who gathered for the ceremonial ribbon cutting described the facility as a beacon, showing that companies are growing, and adding jobs, in Western Massachusetts.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Opens $90 Million Manufacturing Site in Lexington

LEXINGTON, Mass.– Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. officially opened its new $90 million viral vector CDMO (contract development and manufacturing organization) site in Lexington, Mass.

The 50,000-square-foot facility will add more than 200 jobs and support the development, testing and manufacture of viral vectors, which are critical to advancing new life-saving gene and cell therapies globally.

AIS celebrated Manufacturing Month with events, educational sessions

LEOMINSTER — AIS, the largest manufacturer of commercial office furniture and seating in New England, celebrated Manufacturing Month with a number of events and educational sessions throughout October.

Events included visits by Gov. Charlie Baker and Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito, tours and discussions for local students, and an employee appreciation day.

Baker-Polito Administration, GE Foundation Announce $4.5 Million in Workforce Investments on the North Shore

LYNN, MA - Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker, Lt. Governor Karyn Polito, Housing and Economic Development Secretary Mike Kennealy, Labor and Workforce Secretary Rosalin Acosta, Congressman Seth Moulton, Lynn Mayor Thomas McGee, Senator Brendan Crighton, Representative Peter Capano, GE President of Global Government Affairs Mo Cowan, Lynn Public Schools Superintendent Patrick A. Tutweiler and other officials announced investments in the advanced manufacturing workforce on the North Shore during an event at Lynn Vocational Technical Institute (Lynn Tech).

WPI Program to Prepare Students for Advanced Manufacturing

A robotics program led by WPI will help prepare the next generation of advanced manufacturing employees with the skills they need through summer and after-school programs, giving them hands-on experience and training in collaborative robotics.

The program, geared for middle and high school students, integrates the fields of robotics, engineering and manufacturing with the cutting-edge work being done in the WPI Manufacturing Engineering Labs. WPI is offering the program, partnering with the Massachusetts Manufacturing Extension Partnership, Blackstone Valley Chamber of Commerce, Quinsigamond Community College, and Worcester-area public schools.

Amazon expanding robotics operation to Westborough

By: John Chesto and Tim Logan

The robots are coming. To Westborough.

Amazon on Wednesday will announce a big expansion of its robotics operation, leasing 350,000 square feet at a shuttered drug manufacturing plant in the MetroWest town. The company plans to spend $40 million upgrading a former AstraZeneca facility, where it expects to add about 200 workers over the next few years, designing, building, and testing robotics equipment.