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26 Worcester Business Journal • www.wbjournal.com 25 YEARS: IMPACTFUL COMPANIES WORCESTER 9 Beethoven's Symphony N0. Opening Night 2014-2015 Season Friday, Oct. 24 Mechanics Hall 8PM "Triple" Concerto Overture to Ruins of Athens The Worcester Chorus Arcadia Players Ian Watson, Conductor Guest Soloists Exceptional Performances Since 1858 MusicWorcester.org 508.754.3231 and WBJ half page#2 9-22-14..indd 1 9/22/2014 2:27:53 PM I n nearly any other Central Massachusetts community, L.S. Starrett would be considered a strug- gling company — hardly an influential one. But for Athol, the tool manufac- turer is its economic bedrock. Most of Starrett's precision tools con- tinue to be manufactured in Athol. There, according to the company, "it is not uncommon to see devoted genera- tions of toolmakers with 30 or more years of experience." Starrett saw its revenue fall more than 6 percent in its 2013 fiscal year, with a net loss of $162,000. The company took in $244 million, down from $260 mil- lion the year before. Its net loss marked a swing of more than $1 million, with the company having declared a net profit of nearly $900,000 in 2012. But in the first half of its current fiscal year, Starrett appeared to be rebound- ing. The publicly traded company, which employs about 1,800 worldwide, makes its products here and in seven other countries, notably China, Brazil, Germany and the United Kingdom. In 2013, 28 percent of the company's sales were done in Brazil. F LEXcon debuted in 1956 as a vision in the mind of its late founder, Myles McDonough. The still privately owned, family-operated company started as a two-person shop in his Spencer garage, producing plastic film laminates that were used on women's shoes and hand- bags. Today, FLEXcon — run by Myles' son Neil — is a global polymeric-coating resource with sales of $300 million annually and more than 1,000 employ- ees worldwide. Many of them work in Spencer — one of many New England communities that helped drive the Industrial Revolution. Through the decades, FLEXcon has expanded its capabilities and grown in ways that have made big, positive impacts on the company's bottom line and its community influence. For exam- ple, the firm's School Stock program donates outer wraps, end rolls and aged sample stock of its self-adhesive materi- al to teachers and members of nonprofit organizations. This keeps large amounts of material from being needlessly incin- erated. Since the 1960s, FLEXcon has regu- larly displayed its innovative DNA. In the '60s, the company added dyeing, brushing, embossing and top-coating to its capabilities. In the 1970s, with growth in sheet- and roll-form labeling, the firm added film products for prime labeling to its mix. And in the '80s, the L.S. Starrett President and CEO Douglas A. Starrett is overseeing a rebound at Athol-based precision toolmaker L.S. Starrett. FLEXcon 13 14