Worcester Business Journal

26 Worcester Business Journal | October 12, 2020 | wbjournal.com M A N U F A C T U R I N G A W A R D S Product Design & Innovation Award W e b I n d u s t r i e s , I n c . Locations: Headquartered in Marlborough, with six other U.S. locations and three in Europe Industry subsectors: Medical, aerospace, personal & home care, and industrial Founded: 1969 Top executive: President & CEO Mark Pihl Primary service: Precision converting of flexible materials and outsource manufacturing of components and finished products Employee-owned: Web Industries is a 100% employee-owned company, achieving that status in 2000 after a 15-year unleveraged purchase process initiated by Founder Bob Fulton 50-year employee: CEO Mark Pihl started with Web in the early 1970s, during which he ran converting lines in addition to managing business operations for the company when they founded it. M arlborough contract manufacturing organi- zation Web Industries Inc. announced in June it would boost its COVID-19 test production equipment output by hiring 125 skilled equipment operators, engineering personnel, bio scientists, quality assurance, purchasing and inventory specialists at its Holliston facility, while also investing millions in lateral flow immunoassay product de- velopment and production equipment. In practice, the company has hired nearly 300 people over the course of nine weeks while entering commer- cial production for a leading medical technology company to produce anti- gen-based rapid tests for COVID-19, said CEO Mark Pihl. By the end of October, the company plans to produce a million tests a week. Fulfilling the needs of a nation When the U.S. needed it, Web Industries ramped up its personal protective equipment production, as pivoting has become second nature to the company BY MONICA BUSCH Worcester Business Journal Staff Writer at figure will rise to 2.2 million by the end of February. Although this growth was a direct response to the COVID-19 pandem- ic, it speaks to a momentum toward onshoring medical devices – a problem highlighted during a national shortage of imported personal protective equipment. While the pandemic will ostensibly end, Web Industries' expansion is expected to serve domestic medical manufacturers for years to come. is kind of investment is part and parcel to how Web Industries views its customers – not just as business oppor- tunities, but as chances to build long- term relationships, said Pihl. Notably, that kind of perspective is inherent in Web Industries business model: e 51-year-old company is employee owned. at structure makes a huge difference, said Pihl. "is is a well-known fact: ere's over 10,000 employee-owned companies in the United States [and] typically the pro- ductivity is on the border of 10 to 15% higher than publicly traded or private- ly-held companies," Pihl said. at kind of employee investment allows Web to pivot at the drop of a hat, like it did with its Holliston facility, while other sectors it works within were suffering. Since the pandemic, for exam- ple, Web's aerospace business decreased by half. "How do you stand up a business like that in 20 weeks? You draw on the pow- er of ownership, you draw on the power of the relationships that we built, and we say, 'Look, you can help. It's not over for the company. Let's go to [our medical operations] and apply the knowledge and skills that you have to bring this business to life,'" Pihl said. at kind of employee investment has produced, said Pihl, a workforce eager and willing to transfer where they are needed, with some traveling to Massa- chusetts from Atlanta and Texas. "You see it over and over again, people making huge sacrifices, because they believe in the company and they have a stake in the company," Pihl said. Web Industries adapated its operations in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Web Industries services a variety of industries, which diversifies its revenue streams. W PHOTOS | COURTESY OF WEB INDUSTRIES

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