Worcester Business Journal

44 Worcester Business Journal | Fact Book 2017 | wbjournal.com BY ZACHARY COMEAU Worcester Business Journal Staff Writer From traditional to biotech manufacturing Innovation, technology and a huge demand for medical devices keeps manufacturing relevant in Central Massachusetts T he cleanrooms, hairnets and rubber gloves at MTD Micro Molding signal a marked shift from the com- pany's beginnings and the makeup of manufacturing in Central Massachusetts as a whole. Now, the Charlton company manu- factures tiny products for the medical device industry, including components for endoscopes and bioabsorbable mesh to repair hernias. What started in a Charlton basement as Miniature Tool & Die in 1972 has become one of the most well-known medical micro mold- ing companies in the area. MTD Micro Molding's transforma- tion mimicked the transformation of the state's manufacturing industry, said John Killam, president and CEO of MassMEP. "Massachusetts is really at an inflec- tion point of the next industrial revolu- tion of manufacturing," Killam said, "and it really could be around biotech." From electronics connectors to medical devices For years, the MTD's focus was mak- ing connector molds for the electronics industry, but the company began build- ing micro molds in the late 1990s and micro injection molding in the early 2000s. In 2001, shortly after moving into the new Charlton facility, the company began working with the medical device industry, but it still wasn't the compa- ny's focus. After landing some grant funding from the MassMEP for workforce train- ing, the company began to work closely with the agency to change its future. "Really, it was focused on taking some of the more critical work we were doing at that time and focus on the direction that we could expand the business into and allow us to get out of some of the traditional types of manu- facturing we were doing," MTD President Dennis Tully said. Now, the company has tripled its cleanroom space to allow for greater production of components for medical devices. "Once we began working with medi- cal companies, we had to hold our- selves to a new standard," Tully said. The company is planning for a 12,000-square-foot expansion, and in doing so, will nearly double the amount of cleanroom space again. A statewide trend Per the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, manufacturing jobs in Worcester County are rebounding after dropping to a 10-year low of 33,704 in 2012 from the 41,268 in 2007. Preliminary data for 2016 shows a job total of 35,086. Lean manufacturing, a focus on cost of products, quality of products and customer service, brought the industry to become more people-centric, Killam said. Massachusetts' transition into advanced and medical device manufac- turing began about 40 years ago when companies began to consider foreign competition, he said Killam detailed dozens of govern- ment investments into the biotech sec- tor, including $500 million over five years from Gov. Charlie Baker's admin- istration and technology institutes start- ed by former President Barack Obama (Left and right) Workers at MTD Micro Molding in Charlton make precision products for the medical device industry at the 45-year- old company. (Above) John Killam, CEO of MassMEP. (Right) A production worker at Modern Manufacturing in Worcester builds a glass door. M a n u f a c t u r i n g I N D U S T R I E S

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