Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | June 21, 2021 | Worcester Business Journal 7 Industrial manufacturing and distribution facilities, auto dealerships, medical offices, pre-engineered buildings, commercial buildouts, additions and renovations. Building Business. Building Excellence. COMMERCIAL/INDUSTRIAL BUILDING SERVICES Site selection | Design | Engineering | Construction | Renovations Balise Mazda Springfield, MA Under Construction Bloomfield, CT Associated Builders, Inc. 4 Industrial Dr. South Hadley, MA 01075 413.536.0021 www.abuilders.com B R I E FS 0 5% 10% 15% 20% Worcester area unemployment rate Leominster-Gardner unemployment rate Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May Jan. June July Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. 3.7% 4.1% 17.6% 14.7% 6.9% 6% Central Mass. unemployment rates Unemployment rates in the Worcester and Leominster-Gardner metropolitans have slowly recovered since the coronavirus pandemic hit the region in March 2020. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Bolton manufacturer reviving shuttered Leominster company Bolton winding machine manu- facturer Broomfield announced it had acquired and plans to revive the ermoplastics Engineering Corp., a wire and cable extruder manufacturer, in Leominster, which closed operations in 2019. As part of the acquisition, TEC's for- mer owner, Ernest Landry, will take on a consultative role. Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. Notably, Broomfield opted to pur- chase TEC aer viewing the Leominster property with the intention of poten- tially using the space to expand its own production facilities. When Broomfield leadership learned that TEC formerly occupied the space, they decided to explore purchasing the company altogether, according to the announcement. "Ernest [Landry] is an outstanding engineer with an incredible depth of knowledge in wire and cable extruder machine design," said Broomfield vice president Andrew Broomfield, in a statement. "We saw a lot of value in preserving that expertise and reinvig- orating a brand that has been a critical resource for so many organizations." Broomfield cast the connection and acquisition of TEC as a fated opportu- nity. Holy Cross professor to study Worcester, Finnish climate change A sociology pro- fessor at College of the Holy Cross in Worcester has re- ceived a Fulbright Scholar Award to study climate plan- ning in Worcester and Tampere, Finland. Selina Gal- lo-Cruz, an associ- ate professor in the department, will examine how the two cities are engaging with global models for dealing with climate change-related challenges, according to the College of the Holy Cross. e research will be jointly funded by Fulbright Finland Foundation and Tempere University. Gallo-Cruz is set to travel to Finland as part of the research project next month. Gallo-Cruz joined Holy Cross in 2013. She holds a bachelor's degree in sociology from Wellesley College in Massachusetts, as well as master's and Ph.D from Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. Selina Gallo-Cruz, associated professor at Holy Cross W

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