Manufacturing News & Events

Manufacturing News & Events

  Worcester Business Journal Manufacturing Summit and Excellence Awards with Gear logo/backround Picture of Man using water-based manufacturing machinery for the aeropsace industry Massachusetts Manufacuturing Mash-Up Logo with Spark background
 

05.20.21

Awards Announced at Central Mass Manufacturing Summit

Worcester Business Journal announces annual winners

In May, the Worcester Business Journal hosted the Central Massachusetts Manufacturing Summit and during the event, announced the winners of their ‘2021 Manufacturing Excellence’ awards, an annual program they’ve run since 2016.

The 2021 event was sponsored by MassMEP and S&G Business Consultants and CPA's, and featured an accomplished group of honorees from across the Central Mass region.

Watch the livestream videos from the Manufacturing Summit and the awards event on the Journal’s website.

View event video here

05.24.21

The ‘EastWest Exchange’ Features WMass Manufacturers in the Defense & Aerospace Supply Chain

The ‘EastWest Exchange’ Features WMass Manufacturers in the Defense & Aerospace Supply Chain

The second EastWest Exchange virtual forum took place on May 24th, highlighting opportunities for small- and medium-sized manufacturing firms in Western Mass to engage with the supply chain for the aerospace and defense sectors.

The forum was headlined by Congressman Richard Neal and Massachusetts Housing and Economic Development Secretary Mike Kennealy, and featured executives from Raytheon and General Dynamics, as well as iRobot’s CEO and founder Colin Angle.  

As part of the event, one of the organizers, Western Mass Economic Development Council, produced a video that spotlights some of the Western Mass manufacturers that are in this supply chain.  Watch the Video here.

Watch the coverage of the event via Springfield’s WWLP 22News.

Learn more about the EastWest Exchange

 

09.28.21

The Massachusetts Manufacturing Mash-Up!

The Center for Advanced Manufacturing at MassTech (CAM), along with MassMEP, MassRobotics, FORGE, WPI, and MassHire, will host an exciting new conference - the “Massachusetts Manufacturing Mash-Up” - to kick-off manufacturing month in 2021.

The Mash-Up name inspires something innovative and unique. The place to see the “new face of manufacturing” in Massachusetts. The event will feature a mix of indoor and outdoor space at the new Polar Park in Worcester, the home of the WooSox, setting a new 'vibe' for manufacturing.

Join us on September 28, 2021, for a full day to:

  • Meet with new business opportunities or partners;

  • Find the resources to help manufacturers succeed;

  • Gain the knowledge to join the advanced manufacturing world in which we now operate;

  • Engage with state and local leaders interested in manufacturing, and

  • Network in a unique environment intended to inspire new connections and businesses!

This Mash-Up will be a platform for partners and industry to come together to help put the “advanced” in advanced manufacturing!

 Learn more about the Massachusetts Manufacturing Mash-Up!

 

News

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.

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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.

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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.

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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).

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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.

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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.

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The Next Draft: State’s Manufacturing Caucus continues honoring breweries for work as manufacturers

By: Matthew Tota

WORCESTER — Dave Richardson was dubious of a letter that arrived recently to his Park Avenue brewery informing him that Flying Dreams Brewing Co. would receive an award for manufacturing.

Richardson wondered whether the Legislature’s Manufacturing Caucus, which started giving out awards to different manufacturers in the state four years ago, had confused Flying Dreams with one of the larger breweries in Central Massachusetts.

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