Worcester Business Journal Special Editions

STUFF-2018 Central Mass. Edition

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18 S T U F F • 2 0 1 8 • StuffMadeinMA.com year-long instrument repair program at a tech school in Minnesota. Now, as a body maker at Acton flute manufacturer Wm. S. Haynes Co., she tackles the earliest steps in the production process, working on raw metal tubes with both small bench tools and powerful machines. "I really like working on machines," Smith says. "You have to be very focused. It brings you into this state of mind where you're really in the zone. I feel like I get my best work when I'm in that headspace." The bench work, meanwhile, is "kind of the same skill set as jewelry making." Indeed, the flutes are made with precious metals – silver, gold and even platinum – and the two brothers who founded the company, William and George Haynes, were originally jewelers. They built their first flute at the request of a member of the Boston Symphony in 1888, making Haynes the country's oldest flute maker. "It's really cool to be a part of American history and music history," Smith says. Starting in the basement SJC Custom Drums in Southbridge was also founded by a pair of brothers – a lot more recently. Scott and Mike Ciprari started building drums in 2000 as teenagers working out of their grandmother's basement. After high school, Mike went on tour with his band No Trigger, bringing the drum kit Scott had built for him on the road (and drumming up business). "Just by me being out there, kind of as a traveling salesman on the band's dime, I met a ton of drum- 22% Increase in the average annual pay of Worcester County manufacturing employees from 2007-2017 Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Katharine Smith, 28 Body maker Wm. S. Haynes Co., Acton Products: Flutes Education: Bachelor of arts in music education and a year-long technical program in band instrument repair Favorite band: "The Shins. I saw them last year in Boston, and it was so amazing." Average salary for her position*: $39,040 *Based on Bureau of Labor Statistics data Continued from page 17 P H O T O / D O U G L E V Y C O U R T E S Y W M . S . H A Y N E S F L U T E S

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