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8 S T U F F • 2 0 2 0 • StuffMadeinMA.com will require skills that younger generations are born into. "We'll need technically oriented people who have a real feel for the technical side of making things, building things and using automation and robots," Killam said. The quick, personal dessert Few products are as iconic to Worcester and Central Massachusetts as Table Talk Pies. If you've ever stepped foot in a grocery store and wandered over to the baked goods section, you've probably seen a snack-sized Table Talk pie, because the company sells its pies at nearly every major supermarket in New England and beyond. Table Talk has withstood the test of time and has been making fresh baked pies since 1924. Table Talk's four-inch snack pies are a New England staple, with flavors like apple, cherry, chocolate éclair, lemon, blueberry, peach, pecan, pineapple, pump- kin, sweet potato and wild blueberry. Table Talk continues to pump pies out of its Central Massachusetts factories to the tune of 240 million four-inch snack pies a year, according to the company's 2019 numbers. Now, Table Talk makes about four million pies a week, said President Harry Kokkinis. Table Talk continues to grow in popular- ity, and the company's pies can now be found in California, Oregon, Arizona and parts of the Midwest. That demand for its pies is leading to several new factories, including a 50,000-square-foot factory on Southgate Street opened in 2017, a cold storage freezer opened in 2019 and an upcoming 140,000-square-foot factory in Worcester's Main South neighborhood. The sound you hear at stadiums What starts with imported Baltic Birch plywood ends with a professional-grade loudspeaker capable of performing on some of the biggest stages. These loudspeakers from Whitinsville- based loudspeaker manufacturer Fulcrum Acoustic are bi-amplified two-way, high sensitivity arrayable coaxial horn systems designed for acoustically challenging spac- es and where high acoustic output and fidelity is necessary. The speaker can function on its own, in a distributed audio system, in a vertical instal- lation or horizontally for use in horizontal tight-packed speaker arrays. These speakers have been used in gymnasiums, football fields, and in Hong Kong's Times Square. Aside from those uses, Fulcrum Acoustic designs and manufacturers audio equipment for use in hospitality, houses of worship, concert venues, theme parks, sports stadiums and more. The company's speakers can be found at sports venues like McLane Stadium at Baylor University in Texas and the Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City; hospitality venues like Laugh Boston, The Encore at Wynn Las Vegas; and concert halls like the Dallas City Performance hall and New England Conservatory of Music. A 10,000-capacity stadium The $132-million Polar Park ballpark will be the home of the Worcester Red Sox, the top minor league affiliate of the Boston Red Sox after the team said in 2018 it was moving to Worcester from Pawtucket. Scheduled to open in April, the ballpark will have about 6,000 fixed seats and capacity for about 10,000 fans. The site is actually on land formerly owned by Wyman-Gordon, now a Houston, Texas- based manufacturer of forged metal com- ponents for the aerospace industry. The ballpark will be one of the most technically advanced minor parks, featur- ing innovative technology like artificial intelligence in a proposed market in left field to allow customers to shop and pay without scanning or waiting in line. The ballpark itself will sit on about six acres of land, but that won't be the only land touched. In addition to the ballpark, a private developer is working with the city to develop a larger parcel across the street 43% Percent more money in salary a construction worker in Worcester County makes vs. an employee in the education industry Continued from page 7 Product name: AH4 Higher-Output Coaxial Horn Company that makes it: Fulcrum Acoustic, in Whitinsville How long does it take to make it?: 4 weeks Retail price: $13,175 Loudspeakers 28% Percent more in salary Massachusetts manufacturing workers make vs. the national average Fulcrum Acoustic loudspeakers are used in stadiums and city centers. P H O T O | C O U RT E S Y O F F U L C R U M A C O U S T I C