Worcester Business Journal

www.wbjournal.com March 28, 2016 • Worcester Business Journal 3 For a business journal in Central Massachusetts, you would think making manufacturing a primary area of our cov- erage would be a no-brainer. The industry is a top three employer in the region; has hundreds of companies ranging from mom-and-pops to global players; deals with products valued at millions of dollars; and is a central part of the plan to make high-tech the basis for the future economy. For the longest time, though, our cover- age of manufacturing was lacking. The dirty secret of journalism in these times of limited resources – WBJ has a four-person edito- rial team to cover the entire Central Mass. economy and put out our print and digital products – is you lean on the news right in front of you. This is why daily newspapers that fell on hard times pushed their crime and government/politics coverage, because police reports are easy to get and politicians are eager to return phone calls. For WBJ, this meant looking to the industries with the most marketing savvy. In Central Massachusetts, this typically is bank- ing, health care, real estate and higher education – all worthy industries, by the way. Manufacturers are less concerned about hiring marketers and putting out announcements because their core concerns are production and meeting customer demands on time. This doesn't mean, though, WBJ shouldn't strive to report all the news coming out of our manufacturing companies. Even though it meant devoting an outsized portion of resourc- es, WBJ is ramping up its manufacturing coverage. That started in December when Staff Writer Laura Finaldi made manufactur- ing one of her primary beats, and she has spent the last three months meeting all the key players in the industry. We take this commitment a step further with this issue, launching our inaugu- ral Manufacturing Excellence Awards and keeping the focus of this issue on manufacturing. Yet, this is only the beginning. -Brad Kane, editor This Week In The WBJ Worcester Business Journal (ISSN#1063-6595) is published bi-weeky, 24x per year, including 5 special issues in April, July, September, November and December, by New Engand Business Media. 172 Shrewsbury St., Worcester, MA 01604. Periodicals postage paid at Worcester, MA. Copyright 2015. All rights reserved. Postmaster: Please send address changes to: Worcester Business Journal, PO Box 330, Congers, NY 10920-9894. Subscriptions: Annual subscriptions are avail- able for $54.95. For more information, please emai l wbjour nal @ cambe y west. com or contact our circulation department at 845-267-3008. Fax: 845.267.3478 Advertising: For advertising information, please call Mark Murray at 508-755-8004 ext. 227. Fax: 508-755-8860. Worcester Business Journal accepts no responsi- bility for unsolicited manuscripts or materials and in general does not return them to the sender. Worcester Business Journal • 172 Shrewsbury Street • Worcester, MA 01604 • 508-755-8004 tel. • 508-755-8860 fax www.wbjournal.com A division of: A focus on manufacturing NEWS & ANALYSIS DEPARTMENTS 26 Accolades & Honors 4 Briefing 29 Editorial 28 Flash Poll 26 Fresh Beginnings 27 Incorporations 25 Knowhow 26 Movers & Shakers 27 Networking/Events 30 Photo Finish 5 Real Deal 8 Ticker 29 Viewpoint ISSUE HIGHLIGHTS Worcester Business Journal's eight Manufacturing Excellence Award winners are at the center of this issue. From honors for green manufacturing to collaboration to product innovation to general excellence, the eight companies from around Central Massachusetts highlight what is best about this cornerstone industry in Central Massachusetts. See page 12. From WBJournal.com to Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and LinkedIn, the Worcester Business Journal offers breaking news and thoughtful analysis throughout the Internet. Tweet of the week "We are all for the #ArtEconomy in #CentralMass" -Gallery Sitka (@GallerySitka) March 9, about Worcester joining a national arts economy study Top Facebook post "Listening to some great advice and honoring a terrific group of Business Leaders tonight! Special thanks to our presenting sponsor, Health New England. #WBJBizLeaders" - Worcester Business Journal, March 8, about the Business Leaders of the Year event Top Facebook comment "Looking forward to the revitalization of a great city." - Anver Corp, March 15, about the construction of a new $14-million Worcester visitor center Most read stories on WBJournal.com 1. Central Mass. brewery, restaurants on the move 2. Wormtown brewery grew 400% in first year on Shrewsbury Street 3. UMass Memorial decentralizing 4. Worcester medical marijuana dispensary to open 5. Construction underway at $14M visitors center Editor, Brad Kane, bkane@wjournal.com Digital Editor, Sam Bonacci, sbonacci@wbjournal.com (Real estate, construction, retail) Staff Writers Emily Micucci, emicucci@wbjournal.com (Health care, government) Laura Finaldi, lfinaldi@wbjournal.com (Manufacturing, energy, technology, higher education, finance, nonprofits) Contributors Susan Shalhoub, sshalhoub@wbjournal.com Livia Gershon Research Director, Stephanie Meagher, smeagher@nebusinessmedia.com Research Assistant, Heide Martin, hmartin@nebusinessmedia.com Production Director, Kira Beaudoin, kbeaudoin@wbjournal.com Associate Art Director, Mitchell Hayes, mhayes@wbjournal.com Manager of Video/Multimedia Services, Matthew Volpini, mvolpini@nebusinessmedia.com Senior Accounts Manager Matt Majikas, mmajikas@wbjournal.com Custom Publishing Project Manager Christine Juetten, cjuetten@wbjournal.com Account Manager Daniel Pelletier, dpelletier@wbjournal.com Marketing & Events Manager Kris Prosser, kprosser@wbjournal.com CFO, Mary Rogers, mrogers@nebusinessmedia.com Accounting Assistant, Valerie Clark, vclark@nebusinessmedia.com Collections Manager, Raki Zwiebel, rzwiebel@nebusinessmedia.com Human Resources, Kim Vautour, kvautour@nebusinessmedia.com Publisher, CEO, Peter Stanton pstanton@nebusinessmedia.com Associate Publisher, Mark Murray mmurray@wbjournal.com Group Publisher, Joseph Zwiebel jzwiebel@nebusinessmedia.com WBJournal .com Worcester Business Journal Online 21 Strategic partnership Rainmaker Columnist Ken Cook outlines the benefits and drawbacks of like-minded companies working together. 29 Gas leaks State Rep. Mary Keefe (D-Worcester) is pushing for the city to support two pieces of Massachusetts legislation meant to force utilities to deal with leaking gas pipes. Top social story Wormtown brewery grew 400% in first year on Shrewsbury Street WBJ Facebook post: How does 400-percent production growth in a year and plans for a 50,000-square-foot expansion sound? Congratulations to Wormtown Brewery! The story reached 2,200 people and was shared or liked 85 times on Facebook.

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