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10 S T U F F • 2 0 1 7 Kyle Simmons, mechanic and department supervisor Age: 36 Company: JEN Manufacturing, Inc. Work location: Millbury Company's main product: Poly-Brush, used for painting, crafting and hobbies Annual salary (based on industry estimates): Between $49,000 and $90,000 Quotable: "I love to go fishing during my time off…and I actually catch some fish!" and then progressing up the ladder to a full-time position. She encourages her fellow employees to use the company's tuition reimbursement program to progress their careers. Creating works of art Owned by its employees, Worcester Manufacturing on the outskirts of the city uses nickel chrome plating and powder coating to make American-made steel products beautiful, said CEO Charles Flanagan, for use in school and office fur- niture and metal framing. Jaime Miknaitis, who has been with Worcester Manufacturing for one year, said the best part about doing her job is "being able to watch and create art everyday with her own hands." With past experience in welding, Miknaitis said she was self-taught and likes working with her hands, emphasizing quality over quantity. The space-age paint brush Millbury family-owned firm, JEN Manufacturing has become world-famous since its founding in 1957, once earning praise from NASA as manufac- turing the only disposal brush able to assemble parts of space crafts. The Poly-Brush – often imitated, including by one rival on Amazon calling itself the lower-case jen – is made using a special JEN formula and sold as a paint applicator at places like Walmart. Kyle Simmons, who has been with JEN for 16 years, said he always knew he was mechanically inclined and became supervisor by learning on the job. When he started working at JEN, he worked in quality control and worked his way up by "watching well-qualified people who know the business." Catching seafood and stopping bad guys The extremely durable and corrosion-resistant welded wire mesh made by Riverdale Mills in Northbridge is used to create seafood traps used to catch Maine lobster and security fencing for places like U.S. embassies and border fences. Sydrick Speight has worked for Riverdale Mills for 10 years and done almost every job at the com- pany with a hands-on approach. From pallet build- er to welder operator to drawing lead operator, Speight said he was particularly interested in working for Riverdale because the workplace changes every day. Speight said the coolest part about working at Riverdale Mills is watching the news and seeing the company's products and thinking, "I made this." S FACTOI D 26% Increase in the average annual salary nationally for manufacturing workers since 2007, outpacing growth in salary in the hospitality industry (21%). Continued from page 8 P H O T O / N A T H A N F I S K E