Worcester Business Journal

Recruiting millennnials 37 Viewpoint columnist AiVi Nguyen advises compa- nies adjust their practices to fit the workforce of the future. WBJ >> To Subscribe Central Massachusetts' Source for Business News Janaury 18, 2016 Volume 27 Number 2 www.wbjournal.com $2.00 Local business leaders are wary of a pro- posed gender wage gap law they say doesn't fit the realities of the modern workplace. 10 Q&A with Roy Nascimento, president and CEO of the North Central Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce Shop Talk 8 Wage gap problems WBJ readers picked the 44 best businesses in Central Mass., ranging from best bank to best after-work bars to best waste removal company. See the full list starting on Page 12. Awards W o r ce s t e r B us i n e s s J o u r n a l 2016 B E S T O F B U S I N E S S Awards n e s s J ou r n a l 2015 S I N E S S Awards W o r ce s t e r B us i n e s s J ou r n a l 2015 B E S T O F B U S I N E S S Awards W o r ce s t e r B us i n e s s J ou r n a l 2015 B E S T O F B U S I N E S S Awards W o r ce s t e r B us i n e s s J ou r n a l 2015 B E S T O F B U S I N E S S W o r ce s t e r B us i n e s s J o u r n a l Solar without subsidy? National Grid says growth proves raising net-metering caps is unncessary A s Massachusetts lawmak- ers debate this month whether to raise the net- metering cap on solar, util- ity National Grid has thrown new evidence in the ring show- ing the solar industry may be ready to start standing on its own with fewer subsidies. Even though the net-metering cap in National Grid's territory was hit in April, the utility interconnected 138 projects subject to the cap from then through November, compared to 83 in 2014 when net metering was available. The utility received 12,000 applications for solar projects since reaching its cap, 435 of which may have been subject to the cap. It also interconnected more than 12,000 solar projects in 2015 -- more than the past four years combined. "The market is going gangbusters because people are interested in solar," said Amy Rabinowitz, vice president and deputy general counsel at National Grid. BY LAURA FINALDI Worcester Business Journal Staff Writer Lutco envisions expanded future BY LAURA FINALDI Worcester Business Journal Staff Writer W orcester manufacturer Lutco, Inc. spent $1.5 million with- out a specific idea of what to do with its new purchase. Donald "Dug" Stowe, the vice presi- dent of operations for the bearings manufacturer, helped facilitate the company's purchase of the facility adja- cent to its filled- t o - t h e - b r i m Cambridge Street operations in late December, with the idea it would expand its inter- national opera- tions further. "It's going to take a lot of investment to get to the point where we can even use it," Stowe said, but luckily, "we're not in a super, super hurry. We're not under any obligation to change it over by next week." It was Stowe's grandfather, actually, who built the Worcester manufacturer called Lundquist Tool and Manufacturing Company into Lutco, Inc., which today makes ball bearings for agricultural, lawn care and trucking customers, such as John Deere. Lutco does metal stamping for various markets, a practice it has maintained since it was founded in 1945. Back then, the company was a metal stamper for World War II military contracts, but it shifted its core business to deal with Donald "Dug" Stowe, vice president of operations, Lutco, Inc. >> Continued On Page 6 >> Continued On Page 28 Amy Rabinowitz, vice president and deputy general cousel at National Grid, stands in front of solar panels at her office in Waltham. National Grid had record solar interconnections last year and said solar in Massachusetts is here to stay. P H O T O / M A T T V O L P I N I

• Cover