Worcester Business Journal

28 Worcester Business Journal • Janauary 18, 2016 www.wbjournal.com declines in the New England manufac- turing base. The company moved to its plant at 677 Cambridge St. in 1957, and since then has opened two other plants in the city -- one on Grove Street and one in the Higgins Industrial Park. Last month, Lutco announced that it bought the 65,000-square-foot industri- al building at 70 Quinsigamond Ave., the former site of the Castle Metals industrial building for $1.5 million. The building shares a parking lot with its Cambridge Street facility. Another $200K in upgrades Buying the building, Dug Stowe said, was a no brainer. The new facility has 24-foot high ceil- ings and overhead cranes and is all on one level. Plus, it's higher above the ground than its neighboring building, which is important because Lutco's cur- rent plant has been known to flood dur- ing heavy rainstorms. Although Stowe has a vague idea of what he'd like to do with the new build- ing, he said it will be awhile before specif- ics are ironed out. The building needs an electrical upgrade, for starters, because right now it only has 400 amps, when it really needs about 3,000. Stowe estimates the company will have to invest over $200,000 in upgrades. Lutco has been on the lookout for more space for a while, Stowe said, because the current manufacturing floor is packed to the brim with machinery and inventory, with just one loading dock. Staying power Many manufacturers have come and gone since Lutco was established in the mid-20th century. Jack Healy, president of the Massachusetts Manufacturing Extension Partnership, said that tells him the companies that survived the industry's many changes have staying power. Lutco president and Dug's father John Stowe is a longtime board member at MassMEP and friend of Healy's. MANUFACTURING SUMMIT& Worcester Business Journal's Excellence Awards MANUFACTURING S U M M I T & Worcester Business Journal's EXCELLENCE AWARDS MANUFACTURING S U M M I T & Worcester Business Journal's EXCELLENCE AWARDS WE WILL BE RECOGNIZING MANUFACTURING COMPANIES IN THE FOLLOWING CATEGORIES: For questions, contact Brad Kane at bkane@wbjournal.com This spring the Worcester Business Journal will be recognizing some of the area's top manufacturing firms with our first ever Central Mass "Manufacturing Excellence Awards". Winners will be profiled in the special section on Manufacturing in our March 28 edition, and we'll hold the awards and recognition ceremony after a keynote address and panel discussion on manufacturing in mid April. NOMINATION DEADLINE: Friday, February 12, 2016 n GENERAL EXCELLENCE – C ompanies that are the best of the best. • Under 25 employees • 25 -99 employees • Over 100 employees n EMERGING MANUFACTURER n PRODUCT INNOVATION AND DESIGN n WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT & PRODUCTIVITY n SUSTAINABILITY/GREEN PRACTICES n COLLABORATION IN MANUFACTURING Visit www.wbjournal.com/manufacturing for full details and nomination form. Lutco envisions expanded future >> Continued From Page 1 Dug Stowe, vice president of operations at Worcester manufacturer Lutco, Inc., stands inside the company 's newest faciity at 70 Quinsigamond Ave. The company purchased the 65,000-square-foot building for $1.5 million in December and is in the process of figuring out what exactly to do with it. P H O T O / M A T T V O L P I N I

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