Worcester Business Journal

24 Worcester Business Journal | December 25, 2023 | wbjournal.com BY ERIC CASEY WBJ Staff Writer T he reverberations of the coronavirus pandemic's impact will continue to im- pact the manufacturing space in 2024, as companies face challenges in adapting to supply chain shortages in certain sectors like pharmaceuticals, worker shortages, increased costs, and changing consumer trends. Worker shortages continue e nationwide worker shortage won't go away in 2024. In fact, don't expect it to recede any time soon; the mass retirement of Baby Boomers has simply been impossible to compensate for. Immigration re- form could help fill the gap, but considering the fiery Manufacturing workforce problems to persist Breweries will need to change to a tightening market, while energy resilience becomes a larger issue in 2024 rhetoric surrounding the issue, don't get your hopes up. Manufacturers, who have struggled finding qualified workers for decades, will continue to find it difficult to fill open roles. Breweries need to adapt It once seemed like a new brewery was opening every other week, but rising production costs and changing consumer trends have put a damper on growth. While some have attempted to pivot to lower-calorie options like seltzer or focus more on turning their locations into event venues, others – like Milk Room Brewing in Rutland – have been forced to close. It's clear most breweries will need to evolve past being places where people only visit to have a beer if they want to survive the year. Alternative energy and resiliency e impacts of climate change isn't just resulting in businesses looking for cleaner sources of energy; companies are focusing on making energy infra- structure more resilient to weather and other poten- tial threats. Expect even more activity in this sector in 2024, with microgrids and geothermal projects at the forefront. Moderna expanding to Marlborough, investing $322M in biomanufacturing facility Cambridge-based drug manufacturer Moderna, Inc. has purchased a 140,000-square-foot bioman- ufacturing facility at 149 Hayes Memorial Drive in Marlborough. Moderna will build out the facility, anticipating it will complete construction in June 2024 with an anticipated opening in September 2024, according to a tax-increment financing application submitted to the Marlborough City Council on April 20. e project will add 60,000 square feet to the maximum build out and is expected to cost more than $322 million. e facility will house office and mRNA manufac- turing space. e buildout will include a full manu- facturing clean room environment, quality control lab space, a just-in-time satellite warehouse and offices, according to the application. e company indicated its intention to maintain a minimum of 200 permanent full-time jobs by 2026 at the facility, according to the application, which was first reported on by Community Advocate. Moderna requested a 20-year tax exemption in which it would pay no real property taxes until fiscal 2028 with the rate of exemption gradually decreasing over time. e TIF will be reviewed by the Marlbor- ough City Council Finance Committee at its April 24 meeting, according to Executive Director Meredith Harris of the Marlborough Economic Development Corp. e facility at 149 Hayes was developed by Toron- to-based Oxford Properties Group in partnership with e Gutierrez Co. of Burlington. e $91-million property sale was completed on April 27, according to the Middlesex South Registry of Deeds. National real estate firm JLL, which has a Boston office, represented the seller in the transaction. e undeveloped prop- erty was purchased by the developers in September 2021. Moderna is a biotechnology and pharmaceutical firm specializing in mRNA technology. It was one of the two main companies that created and distribut- ed a COVID-19 vaccine during the pandemic. e company employs 3,900 people worldwide and has Massachusetts locations in Cambridge, Norwood, and Burlington. Top manufacturing news from 2023 PHOTO | WBJ FILE W Workers assemble office furniture at Leominster manufacturer AIS. A rendering of the proposed Moderna facility in Marlborough PHOTO | COURTESY OF JLL

• Cover