Worcester Business Journal

16 Worcester Business Journal • March 28, 2016 www.wbjournal.com M A N U FAC T U R E R S << PLAN WISELY. INVEST CONSERVATIVELY. LIVE WELL. 370 MAIN STREET, SUITE 1000, WORCESTER, MA 01608 | 508.753.8807 Securities and advisory services offered through Commonwealth Financial Network ® , Member FINRA/SIPC, a Registered Investment Adviser. Worcester-area residents have been entrusting Bartholomew & Company to guide their financial lives since 1994. As one of the region's premier wealth management firms, our approach pairs a conservative investment philosophy with time-honored investment strategies to address every element of your financial picture. For a personalized plan to help you enrich your lifestyle and legacy, partner with the experts who are right in your own community. Call us for a complimentary consultation at 508.753.8807, or visit www.bartandco.com. A PERSONALIZED APPROACH TO MANAGING WEALTH Please join us for the 10th Annual 5-Minute Pitch Contest! Advance registration required. Visit www.theventureforum.org/event-1976774 Gold Sponsor We will have 10 of New England's finest pitching for you, the audience, and our team of 5 keen judges. In addition, the room will have approximately 20 other businesses presenting their ideas. With food, wine, coffee, and dessert, the atmosphere couldn't be better! Non-members – $35.00 Students – $10.00 College/University ID required at check-in. TVF Members – Free TUESDAY, APRIL 12, 2016 5:00 PM - 8:30 PM WPI Campus Center, Odeum (parking below) 8 Phillips Precision uses quick turnaround, experimentation Phillips Precision, Inc.: Manufacturing General Excellence Award, under 25 employees P hillips Precision in Boylston is a small manufacturer punching above its weight, not only deliver- ing short-run production and special- ized prototypes on tight schedules but creating its own products. The family-owned company started in 1997 is run by Cathy and Steve Phillips with Cathy bringing the business mind to Steve's engineering brain. Between the two of them, they have built a 12-person machine shop. While the company start- ed out and still does create for others, it also builds its own products designed to ease the process for manufacturers. "Both of us just got tired of working for big corporations and wanted to have some control," Cathy said. The company's first product was the Pitbull Clamp sold to manufacturers worldwide. That was followed by a num- ber of other products that most recently include the Arsenal line of grid plates to allow quick swapping of machinery to break up production bottlenecks. "Their concepts are very robust and help Central Massachusetts and Massachusetts manufacturers reduce their cost and, therefore, keep the cus- tomers and manufacturing in the United States while keeping the business vibrant," said Chip Emerson, president of Trade Winds Group, Inc. Emerson helps Phillips distribute its products, but this came about after he was contracted by another company to appraise a new product line. Upon see- ing the products coming out of Phillips, he knew he wanted to help sell them. Helping themselves Those products all came out of issues Phillips ran into on the work floor, said Steve Phillips. With the tools used to fill customer orders, the company could fabricate solutions to their own prob- lems. This has since extended to prob- lem solving for customers' needs. "We realized very early on that we had a high-tech prototyping facility at our fingertips. So any time we have an idea for something new… we can whip some- thing up really quick and go from there," he said. "Pitbull Clamp went from first design to prototype in an hour." These products are still produced in house, helping fill slower work cycles, said Cathy Phillips. Customers requiring a quick turnaround are prioritized amid Phillips' own production. The machinists the company has on hand are the kind of skilled hands that know how to program machines and attend to intricate orders, rather than just plugging in a program to a machine and sitting a warm body on it, said Steve. Between the company's extremely quick turnaround time and their preci- sion, they are able to secure a vast array of clients from an array of different industries. Table Talk Pies employs Phillips Precision to help keep the pro- duction line running, counting on them for the perfect crimp around the edge of their pies. When Bose needed compli- cated components made with a fast turnaround for Bill Belichick's headset, it turned to Phillips. n Location: Boylston Top executives: Steve E. Phillips, president and co-owner; Catherine M. Phillips, business manager and co-owner Full-time employees: 12 Founded: 1997 Signature product: Inspection Arsenal and Laser Arsenal AT A GLANCE: P H O T O / C O U R T E S Y Phillips Precision uses the equipment on its shop floor to not only serve clients' order but to come up with new products that can make manufacturing easier. BY SAM BONACCI Worcester Business Journal Digital Editor

• Cover