Worcester Business Journal

12 Worcester Business Journal | April 1, 2019 | wbjournal.com The cornerstone of the Central Mass. economy e manufacturing industry contrib- uted $6.9 billion toward the Worcester metropolitan area economy in 2017, good for 16 percent of the region's total economic output, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. Com- bined, the healthcare and education industries totalled $6.1 billion in the region for 2017, or 14 percent of its economic output. is manufacturing economic impact comes before you factor in its outsized multiplier effect: Because the industry M A N U F A C T U R I N G A W A R D S F OC U S B ecause of its overabundance of colleges, hospitals and other healthcare facilities, it is easy to think Greater Worcester is reliant on an eds & meds econ- omy, but one industry has a greater impact on the Central Massachusetts business community: Manufacturing. uses a lot of raw materials, exports at a higher rate, tends to have higher wages, and has a lot of buying power, every $1 of final sales of manufactured product supports $1.33 in other sectors – the highest multiplier of any industry, ac- cording to BEA. Not to pick on them, but the multiplier from the healthcare and education industries is about half that. With a few exceptions, though, manu- facturers toil behind the scenes. Because they typically only have a handful of customers and aren't consumer-facing, they can go unnoticed as they quietly churn out goods for the world. is is why WBJ is happy to honor a handful of the more standout manufacturers in our region with the fourth annual Manufac- turing Excellence Awards. You have New England Optical Sys- tems helping the military see far away. ere's AIS, whose arrival in Leominster was a boon to the economy and com- munity. Acorn Deck House Co. creates sustainable living environments in a sustainable manufacturing environment. Carpe Diem is building its own nano- technology supply chain. Organomation has been rocking lab equipment for 60 years. Slideways continues to upskill its workforce. CPI Radant is bringing military technology to your in-flight entertainment. Aer you read the profiles on these outstanding companies, we invite you to come out to our Manufacturing Summit & Excellence Awards on April 18 at the College of the Holy Cross to both honor them and learn a little bit more about the cornerstone industry of Central Massachusetts. - Brad Kane, editor Manufacturing Excellence Award, LARGE COMPANY AIS Manufacturing Excellence Award, SMALL COMPANY Organomation Green Manufacturing Award Acorn Deck House Co. Rising Star Award New England Optical Systems, Inc. Product Design & Innovation Award CPI Radant Technologies Divison, Inc. Collaboration in Manufacturing Award Carpe Diem Technologies, Inc. Workplace Development & Productivity Award SLIDEWAYS, Inc. MANUFACTURING S U M M I T & EXCELLENCE AWARDS WBJ Worcester Business Journal

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