Worcester Business Journal

Biomedical engineers 20,890 $43.86 $91,230 2,530 $44.72 $93,020 70 $39.39 $81,930 Chemical engineers 32,230 $49.98 $103,960 920 $50.47 $104,980 50 $51.42 $106,950 Civil engineers 275,210 $42.28 $87,940 6,580 $43.63 $90,750 240 $35.75 $74,360 Computer hardware engineers 75,870 $55.27 $114,970 3,350 $54.72 $113,820 40 $52.63 $109,470 Electrical engineers 178,580 $46.80 $97,340 7,690 $51.84 $107,820 170 $46.38 $96,480 Electronics engineers, except computer 135,390 $49.23 $102,390 4,690 $51.76 $107,660 60 $44.28 $92,110 Environmental engineers 52,600 $42.33 $88,040 2,820 $41.67 $86,670 180 $36.58 $76,080 Industrial engineers 247,570 $41.82 $86,990 7,720 $46.10 $95,880 690 $39.02 $81,170 Materials engineers 27,040 $45.53 $94,690 1,190 $44.19 $91,920 50 $45.40 $94,430 Mechanical engineers 278,340 $42.40 $88,190 8,870 $43.88 $91,270 600 $38.68 $80,440 www.wbjournal.com • Worcester Business Journal • 2016 Central Mass By The Numbers 39 Manufacturing W est Boylston precision cutting tool manufacturer Emuge Corp. opened a new 21,000-square-foot technology center in October, so companies can test out con- cepts for cutting tools without having to invest in new machinery. This comes as the global company has been trying to open up new lines of business as its tra- ditional revenue streams have scaled back in the last few years. Emuge President Bob Hellinger, who took over in 2014, spoke about the issues impacting his company and the Central Massachusetts industry and his company's plans to grow over the long term. How has business been in the last year? Manufacturing in the U.S. and Canada has been in recession in the past year, but Emuge has been able to weather the downturn with the addi- tion of innovative new products that have opened new markets for our com- pany. You recently opened a new cutting facility. Why did you feel this was a good time and place for such an investment? Part of our expansion into new mar- kets includes a new manufacturing capability in the U.S. and specifically in West Boylston. We now provide our customers with a service that can recondition their worn cutting tools. Metalworking companies can now send us worn tooling which we recondi- tion back to a new tool state. Our parent company is located in Germany and having to send products back to Europe for this service is uneconomical. We saw a business opportunity to offer reconditioned tools produced in Massachusetts and decided to make it a reality. What is the No. 1 issue facing your company right now? The No. 1 issue facing Emuge and other manufacturers that are trying to grow and expand, is finding and devel- oping qualified employees. The ability to find and train skilled computer numeric control (CNC) machine oper- ators to operate our new machinery is a challenge. What is the future of the manufacturing industry in Massachusetts? Traditional, low-skilled manufactur- ing companies have been replaced by innovative, high technolo- gy manufacturing organi- zations using sophisticated computer-controlled machinery. This new gen- eration of modern manu- facturers employ a fraction of the people that were once needed to produce the same type of compo- nents. This allows these Massachusetts-based man- ufacturers to compete in a global mar- ket. Although manufacturing compa- nies in the state employ a lower per- centage of the workforce than they did 20 years ago, they still provide higher wages and stable career opportunities to their employees. Where are the most fertile markets for your products right now? Where will they be in five years? Emuge is a global company with manufacturing facilities in four conti- nents. We service all types of U.S. and Canadian metalworking manufactures in the automotive, aerospace, energy, medical and defense industries, from large manufacturers such as Ford & GM, Caterpillar and GE to small inde- pendent machine shops. We see the metalworking manufacturing market in North America as a growth oppor- tunity today and in years to come. Why do you do business here? Our North American headquarters were founded in the Worcester area over 30 years ago. The area has a long history with metalworking cutting tool manufacturing that dates back over a century. Emuge has been able to attract some experienced personnel in the area which have benefited our company. This interview was conducted and edited for length and clarity by Brad Kane, WBJ editor. Emuge looks to new revenue streams amid industry slowdown Engineers make some of the best money, with average pay getting into six figures Worcester Nationwide Hourly Annual MA statewide Hourly Annual metro area Hourly Annual Occupation Title employment mean mean employment mean mean employment mean mean Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics January 2016 February 2016 March 2016 Average Engineering occupation employment employment employment weekly wage Manufacturing is third best paying industry in Worcester County Private, financial activities 16,256 16,253 16,181 $1,752 Private, information 4,716 4,662 4,656 $1,653 Private, manufacturing 35,004 34,900 34,958 $1,506 Private, goods-producing 48,711 48,126 48,613 $1,397 Private, professional and business services 33,648 33,843 33,779 $1,279 Federal government 2,952 2,931 2,939 $1,259 State government 13,458 14,583 14,787 $1,155 Private, construction 12,996 12,531 12,917 $1,143 Local government 32,611 32,643 33,617 $955 Private, service-providing 235,077 234,027 234,684 $906 Private, education and health services 77,316 77,318 77,468 $887 Private, trade, transportation, and utilities 63,481 62,530 62,738 $774 Private, natural resources and mining 711 695 738 $654 Private, leisure and hospitality 29,803 29,588 29,914 $342 Total for all private industries 283,788 282,153 283,297 $990 Total for all industries and ownership types 332,809 332,310 334,640 $996 Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics W

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