MetroWest495 Biz

We're looking for the most creative and innovative practices in three areas: 1. Benefit Programs 2. Employee Rewards & Recognition 3. Education, Training & Career Development QUALIFICATIONS • Organization must be headquartered in WBJ's distribution area (Central Mass and MetroWest/495). • Organization must be at least three years old. • Organization must complete one of the three category fields SPONSORSHIPS AVAILABLE NOW Don't miss this chance to get your company's message in front of the region's business leaders! Contact Mark Murray, Associate Publisher for more information at 508-755-8004 ext. 227 or mmurray@wbjournal.com This fall Worcester Business Journal will produce our 3rd Annual Central Mass Top Workplaces issue and awards event. This special focus section and event will recognize innovative policies and corporate cultures from leading firms throughout the region. We are currently seeking nominations from both for-profit and non profit organizations that have implemented programs or initiatives that contribute to the overall wellbeing of the employees and help create a positive internal culture. By highlighting organizations that are championing best practices, more will be encouraged to better serve their employees, which in turn can help the bottom line. To submit a nomination for your company go to: www.wbjournal.com/topworkplaces Questions - contact Rick Saia, Editor at rsaia@wbjournal.com Presenting Sponsor Corporate Sponsor ISSUE DATE: November 9, 2015 NOMINATION DEADLINE: September 18, 2015 EVENT DATE: December 2, 2015 2012TOP WORKPLACES Worcester Business Journal's Worcester Business Journal's 2015TOP WORKPLACES 2012TOP WORKPLACES Worcester Business Journal's 2012 Worcester Business Journal's Event Supporter tion and research and development from those smaller companies that are on the cutting edge." A sector snapshot A 2012 report written by the UMass Donahue Institute for the Defense Technology Initiative — an organiza- tion created by the Massachusetts High Technology Institute to support opportunities in the sector — found that almost 2,500 Massachusetts companies do work for the Department of Defense (DOD) or Department of Homeland Security. These companies, which sup - ported more than 130,000 jobs, won $13.9 billion in contracts from the two government agencies in 2011. One major Massachusetts customer within the DOD is Hanscom Air Force Base in Bedford. Hanscom spokesman Charles Paone said private companies provide three types of support for the base: basic support such as construc - tion and trash hauling, specialized expertise provided by contractors who work alongside Hanscom employees, and development contracts for military projects. Within that last category — the pro - duction of military equipment — Paone said most contracts go to big players like Raytheon or Lockheed Martin. But he said that's not always the case. In fact, he said, Hanscom has been working to expand the list of contractors it works with and add smaller businesses to the list. That's because a larger, healthier ecosystem of companies means more competition and more new ideas. "We are definitely looking to tap into the innovation economy that small busi - nesses are often setting the pace for," he said. Meanwhile, right in the heart of Me- troWest, Natick Soldier Systems Center is even more focused on supporting new technical innovations. Spokesman David Accetta said the Center not only contracts with small companies work - ing on new technologies but also offers assistance to startups with promising ideas and works collaboratively with them. Among a long list of cutting-edge technologies it's buying from Massachu - setts companies are anti-fog devices for goggles, wind energy systems for base camps, and antimicrobial coatings for medical shelters. "We do a lot of technology transfer both ways: inside the gate-out and out- in," Accetta said. There's an old stereotype of military contracts as a boondoggle for well- connected private companies, but John McDonald, CEO of JEM Electronics Inc. in Franklin said that's not at all what he sees when he does business with the DOD. "The days of the $250 hammer are over," he said. "The procurement specialists that we've dealt with at the government have all been good negotia - tors." JEM sells cable products and electro- mechanical assemblies to customers in various industries, and McDonald said defense contracts probably make up 10 to 15 percent of his business. He said working in the sector, both with large defense contractors and directly with government agencies, isn't as difficult as some small business owners think. When JEM first got into the defense world, he said, it spent thousands of dollars to get a GSA contract, a tool used to simplify contracting with the govern - ment. Afterwards, he realized they probably shouldn't have bothered. "It basically meant nothing," he said. DOD boosting underdogs? McDonald said the government agen- cies and defense contractors he works with are interested in doing business with companies that get certain prefer- ences under federal rules: small com- panies and those owned by minorities, women, and veterans. But he said the main thing they're looking for is what every customer wants: good products at competitive prices. FishEye Software Inc. in Maynard fills another specific niche for military customers. With complex equipment like radar systems or power generators generating streams of data, the com - pany's technology helps analyze the information in real time and provide useable information to the people who need it. FishEye spokesman John Crowley said that, in addition to selling to both commercial and military customers, it works with the DOD's Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) program and won a government grant to help pat - ent its technology. "SBIR is very helpful in supporting the development of leading edge tech- nology where the government is seeking solutions and where large defense contractors are looking for a market edge that their research and development investments won't fund," Crowley said MetroWest495 Biz | August 2015 19 Dan Carr of Reactive Innovations s page 22 Bonnie Biocchi, the outgoing president and CEO of the MetroWest Chamber of Commerce

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