Worcester Business Journal

Opioid reaction 6 Central Mass. non- profits are revamping their models to deal with the drug crisis. WBJ >> To Subscribe Central Massachusetts' Source for Business News February 15, 2016 Volume 27 Number 4 www.wbjournal.com $2.00 Digital Federal Credit Union is gaining new business by serving Worcester's underserved. Q&A with Liora and Peter Stone, heads of Precision Engineering in Uxbridge Shop Talk 8 Serving the disadvantaged 10 Our annual look at stories of success and community engagement from the Central Massachusetts business scene. 2016 BUSINESS LEADERS O F T H E Y E A R P H O T O S / M A T T V O L P I N I Manufacturers helping to create statewide incubator S pencer manufacturer FLEXcon has the exclusive rights to polyimide aerogel – a thermal insulator that can be used in spacesuits – but since the material comes the form of a powder, the company didn't have any way to mold it into the right shape. That's where Somerville startup Voxel8 came in. Voxel8 has the ability to take almost any raw material and turn it into an ink suitable for 3D printing after being exposed to a physical or chemical change. Voxel8 did this with polyimide and is now exploring ways to see how FLEXcon's clients, like NASA, can use it. "It's a win-win for both companies. Our goal is to help [Voxel8] move to the next level and to become a more viable business," said Bill Sullivan, vice presi- dent of performance products at FLEXcon. "If they can hire more people and grow into a bigger company, that's a win-win for Massachusetts." The collaboration between FLEXCon and Voxel8 came through a bigger part- nership – this one between the Mass achus etts Manufac tur ing O n top of the millions he is per- sonally sinking into the ven- ture, the owner of Worcester's new hockey franchise needs at least $350,000 in corporate sponsorships in a year before the puck can drop on its first season in October 2017. The $350,000 in corporate sponsor- ships are in addition to the 1,500 season t ickets t hat Beverly business- man Cliff Rucker and his Worcester Pro Hockey HC must sell in order to gain final approval from its league – the ECHL – to begin play for the 2017-2018 season, according to the December minutes of the Worcester Civic Center Commission, when it approved Rucker's proposal to lease the DCU Center for his team's games. BY LAURA FINALDI Worcester Business Journal Staff Writer City paying $1.2M for new scoreboard BY LAURA FINALDI Worcester Business Journal Staff Writer >> Continued on Page 19 >> Continued on Page 20 Entrepreneurial Business Leader Michael Covino Corporate Citizen Fallon Health Nonprofit Business Leader Edward H. Moore Large Business Leader Elaine Osgood 16 14 12 13 Cliff Rucker, owner of Worcester Pro Hockey HC Worcester hockey needs $350K from corporations

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