Issue link: https://nebusinessmedia.uberflip.com/i/1065164
14 2019 Economic Forecast • Worcester Business Journal • www.wbjournal.com Worcester-area residents have been entrusting Bartholomew & Company to guide their financial lives since 1994. As one of the region's premier wealth management firms, we offer time-honored investment strategies to address every element of your financial picture. For a personalized plan to help you achieve your vision for today and the future, partner with the experts who are right in your own community. Call us for a complimentary consultation at 508.753.8807, or visit www.bartandco.com. Wealth Planning to Enjoy Life's Finer Moments 370 Main Street, Suite 1000, Worcester, MA 01608 | 508.753.8807 Securities and advisory services offered through Commonwealth Financial Network, ® Member FINRA/SIPC, a Registered Investment Adviser. ant in the Biomanufacturing Park but instead purchased a 69,000-square-foot Hopkinton facility last December. The WuXi announcement comes on the heels of the 2018 BIO International Convention, a global conference of bio- tech and pharma leaders, which was held in Boston in June. WuXi brings a global biomanufac- turing expertise to help enhance the state's biopharma companies develop therapies more efficiently, said Travis McCready, president and CEO of MLSC. The company, which toured Worcester before committing to the site, looks to move quickly to join the state's growing biopharmaceutical industry. The site is expected to play a key role in the company's global net- work, Chairman Ge Li said. "Metropolitan Boston is acknowl- edged as a leader in the biopharmaceu- tical industry," Li said. "The new site plays a key role in WuXi Biologics' global bio-manufacturing network to ensure that biologics are manufactured at the highest quality." >> IPG Photonics' woes After losing $3 billion in value in July due to what the company calls international trade concerns amid President Donald Trump's disputes with trade partners in Europe and China, IPG Photonics' stock price never fully recovered. In the second quarter, the Oxford- based laser manufacturer made a profit of $121.6 million, a notable bump compared to the $104.1 million the company made in last year's second quarter. Quarterly revenues came in at $413.6 million compared to $369.4 million for the same period last year. Despite the strong marks for the quarter and first half of the year, CEO Valentin Gapontsev said IPG's full-year revenue growth will be in the range of 7 percent to 9 percent due to the uncertain macroeconomic trade and geopolitical environment. In October, the company's third- quarter revenues were even lower than expected, coming in at a 9 percent decrease from the year prior at $356.3 million. The stock market reflected the down quarter, resulting in a $800 million hit to the company's stock value. These tariff and trade-related head- winds were the primary driver of weaker than expected performance for our business in China and Europe, Gapontsev said, citing an ongoing trade dispute between the U.S. and some of its largest trade partners, including China. Despite the market concerns, IPG Photonics made several moves in 2018, including purchasing Iowa-based Genesis Systems Group for $115 mil- lion and obtaining approvals for a $70 million expansion of its Oxford head- quarters. >> Mass. recreational pot industry rolls out in Leicester It was all hands on deck in Leicester as marijuana dispensary Cultivate opened at 8 a.m. Nov. 20 to thousands of consumers who had been anticipat- ing the rollout of the Massachusetts recreational marijuana industry for more than two years. "We've done everything we can to be prepared for thousands," President Sam Barber said at a press conference in the dispensary one day before the opening. Cultivate and the Northampton dis- pensary New England Treatment Access both opened for recreational sales the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, becoming the first two east of the Mississippi River to jump into the rec- reational cannabis market. Tom Gilligan and his girlfriend Boudicca Arieli made a four-and-a-half hour drive from New Jersey. They stayed overnight in Southbridge to be in Leicester for the opening. "Four-and-a-half hours isn't that bad to be a part of history," Gilligan said. Barber and Leicester Police Chief Jim Hurley created a detailed plan for crowd control and parking including limiting the number of customers inside the building. Recreational cus- tomers were forced to park at Everlast Nursery, which is about half a mile from Cultivate. A shuttle bus brought customers to and from the retail loca- tion. Medical patients were still able to park at the dispensary as normal. Hurley reminded customers to not M a n u f a c t u r i n g Continued from Page 13 IPG CEO Valentin Gapontsev