Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | Fact Book 2017 | Worcester Business Journal 3 Editor, Brad Kane, bkane@wbjournal.com News Editor, Grant Welker, gwelker@wbjournal.com (Real estate, higher education) Staff Writers Zachary Comeau, zcomeau@wbjournal.com (Manufacturing) Emily Micucci, emicucci@wbjournal.com (Health care) Contributors Susan Shalhoub Livia Gershon Research Director, Stephanie Meagher, smeagher@nebusinessmedia.com Research Assistant, Heide Martin, hmartin@nebusinessmedia.com Production Director, Kira Beaudoin, kbeaudoin@wbjournal.com Art Director, Mitchell Hayes, mhayes@wbjournal.com Senior Accounts Manager Matt Majikas, mmajikas@wbjournal.com Custom Publishing Project Manager Christine Juetten, cjuetten@wbjournal.com Senior Special Accounts Manager Mary Lynn Bosiak, mlbosiak@wbjournal.com Marketing & Events Manager Kris Prosser, kprosser@wbjournal.com Events & Marketing Intern Megan Irish, events@wbjournal.com COO, Mary Rogers, mrogers@nebusinessmedia.com Accounting Manager, Valerie Clark, vclark@nebusinessmedia.com Accounting Assistant, Rae Rogers, rrogers@nebusinessmedia.com Collections Manager, Raki Zwiebel, rzwiebel@nebusinessmedia.com Human Resources, Jill Coran, jcoran@nebusinessmedia.com Publisher, CEO, Peter Stanton pstanton@nebusinessmedia.com Associate Publisher, Mark Murray mmurray@wbjournal.com President, Joseph Zwiebel jzwiebel@nebusinessmedia.com 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 2017. All rights reserved. Postmaster: Please send address changes to: Worcester Business Journal, PO Box 330, Congers, NY 10920-9894. Subscriptions: Annual subscriptions are available for $54.95. For more information, please email wbjournal@ cambeywest.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 responsibility 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: Worcester Business Journal WBJ T his first-time edition – Fact Book: Doing Business in Central Massachusetts – marks a departure for Worcester Business Journal. What had previously been the Central Mass. By The Numbers publication full of charts and data meant primarily for our core audience of regional business leaders has given way to this new Fact Book, written and pub- lished for people outside of Central Massachusetts – company leaders look- ing to expand or relocate their firms – to give an honest assessment of what it is like to do business in this region. Previously, like almost any market in New England – or really any market near any major hub – the argument for busi- nesses to set up shop in Central Massachusetts was always one of prox- imity. "Move your company here and be close to Boston." When I worked in Connecticut for the Hartford Business Journal, the business community's pitch was the same, although it touted its prox- imity to both Boston and New York City. The flaw inherent in this argument, of course, is if I wanted to locate my busi- ness in Boston or NYC, then I would just go directly to Boston or NYC. If your main argument is you are Boston- adjacent, then you are already admitting you are the inferior market in your own region. "We're not quite as good as that market you really want to be in, but we're near it" isn't a winning pitch. Fortunately, Worcester and the Central Massachusetts region has moved beyond this pitch. Sure, the region benefits from being 47 miles away from Boston, but that is no longer integral to the main argument for why companies should do business here: The workforce is educat- ed; the region has a long history of inno- vation; up-and-coming industries like biotechnology and health care are grow- ing; institutes of higher education are a cornerstone of the economy; and eco- nomic officials work tirelessly to help companies solve problems. The region's main negative is its underdeveloped transportation infrastructure; but the elaborate roadway system makes access to nearby airports and seaports easy, and business and government officials are working to enhance transit options for workers. The other pitch in favor of Central Massachusetts is affordability. Yes, the region is much more expensive than, say, Central Mass. becoming its own destination I N T H I S I S S U E Alabama or Indiana – particularly with property taxes and costs of workforce – but in the trade-off you get in skilled and educated employees plus an established business-and-research ecosystem, Central Massachusetts is the affordable innova- tion capital of New England. - Brad Kane, editor W R E G I O N S • Greater Worcester ......................................................... 4 • MetroWest ....................................................................... 8 • North County ................................................................ 14 • Blackstone Valley.......................................................... 18 • Central Mass. South ..................................................... 22 A S S E T S • Central Mass. workforce ............................................. 34 • Infrastructure ................................................................ 40 • Incubators ..................................................................... 42 I N D U S T R I E S • Manufacturing ...................................................................... 44 • Health care ............................................................................ 48 • Higher education ................................................................. 50 Business Resources ............................................................... 53 4 34 44

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