Worcester Business Journal Special Editions

Worcester Business Journal • www.wbjournal.com • 2017 Economic Forecast 13 M A N U F A C T U R I N G & T E C H N O L O G Y Manufacturing optimism Despite concerns about changes to the export landscape, Central Massachusetts manufacturers see brighter days in 2017 M anufacturing got a lot of attention in this election year, and now that the results are in, many smaller companies are feeling cautiously optimistic about what the future holds. The potential for renegotiated trade deals from a Trump Administration could mean changes in export revenue for Massachusetts, which brings in bil- lions of dollars a year from overseas. On a more local level, years of talk of more biomanufacturing activity in Central Massachusetts could start to take off within the next year. Uncertain future for exports In 2015, Massachusetts ranked 18th in the nation for export revenue, bringing in about $25.2 billion from other coun- tries. Smaller companies, like many of the manu- facturers in Central Massachusetts, usually stand to benefit from free trade agreements, according to the Massachusetts Export Center. But now that Donald Trump has been elected presi- dent, the future is uncertain. Trump has promised to renegotiate trade deals to bring back some of the manufacturing jobs that were lost to companies overseas decades ago. Conversely, President Barack Obama has said pull- ing out of trade deals could cause worldwide disrup- tions. More biomanufacturing action In 2015, state officials singled out Central Massachusetts as the future Kendall Square of biomanu- facturing. That talk gained some traction this year when the state designated a future 500,000-square-foot bioman- ufacturing site in the city, and now a group of stake- holders are in talks with California-based LakePharma to persuade the company to become the site's first tenant. Further north, a recently rezoned parcel of land in Devens is rumored to be a future site for a large pharma employer. Earlier introduction It's not a secret that the manufacturing sector is facing a looming worker shortage because of the number of older workers set to retire in the coming years. In response, a lot of emphasis has been placed on vocational education, job training programs for inmates and workforce development through industry groups. School districts, including the Leominster Public Schools, are looking into ways to introduce manufac- turing as a career path to students as early as possible – even before high school – to give them positive per- ceptions of the industry. GE Healthcare announces $7M Westborough expansion GE Healthcare Life Sciences, which recently moved its U.S. headquarters to Marlborough, will expand its single-use technology manufacturing facility in Westborough, which GE said will triple clean room capacity. The expanded site -- a $7-million undertaking -- will triple the produc- tion-dedicated clean room capacity at Westborough and include installation of automated production lines. The expan- sion will also include training for 300 employees. The expansion is being undertaken to manufacture several single-use prod- ucts, including cell growth bags, based on a new film platform developed through a GE alliance with packager Sealed Air, according to a press release. Worldwide demand for single-use bioprocessing technologies was the driving factor behind the expansion, according to the release. The global market for these technolo- gies is expected to exceed $3 billion by 2020, according to GE Healthcare. P H O T O / C O U R T E S Y W Top manufacturing and technology stories of 2016 BY LAURA FINALDI Worcester Business Journal Staff Writer Machinery accounted for $3.2 billion in Massachusetts exports last year. An additional 33 acres has been added to the Devens enterprise zone to try to attract more large companies. Industry and education offi- cials are trying to get young people interested in manu- facturing sooner. Continued on Page 14 Kinefac Corp. employee Roger Harpin works on a Kine-Spin centrifugal cleaning machine. The Worcester manufacturer exports these machines, as well as metal formers and coilers. GE Healthcare's Marlborough facility have become the center- piece of a growing MetroWest biotech expansion.

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