Editorial: Manufacturing’s steady excellence
Companies across many industries have had a tumultuous two years, facing shutdowns, labor shortages, and adjusting to remote work. Two industries that are pillars of the Central Massachusetts economy have largely bucked that trend, having their teams showing up at work day in and day out: the healthcare and manufacturing sectors.
Most manufacturers never got the slow down memo and have maintained a steady, or in many cases, increased output during the pandemic. While several manufacturers received attention for jumping into support the personal protective equipment pipeline, most have kept their heads down, adjusting and innovating fresh approaches to keep the trains, and our local economy, running steady. Our region has been a manufacturing stronghold for two centuries, and the industry’s resilience continues to shine.
This issue includes profiles of our annual Manufacturing Excellence Award winners, who are great examples of the spirit that fills the industry. Take for example, Catania Oils, the family-run Ayer company profiled on page 15. Over the course of 122 years, generations of the Basile family have taken Giuseppe Basile’s business selling olive oil door to door to become a $375-million business selling edible oils for many of New England’s best-known brands, such as Cape Cod potato chips and Ocean Spray cranberry products. The Basile family even baptizes new babies in the company’s special oils.
For decades, federal and state governments have tried to get Americans to drive more electric cars, with minimal success. Now, with the true price of carbon emissions coming to light, gasoline prices spiking, and automakers pushing hard to make the price of electric vehicles close to their gasoline-powered counterparts, mass EV adaptation doesn’t seem that far off. Enter Ascend Elements, the Westborough company profiled on page 18, which has found a way to effectively recycle electric vehicle batteries, further increasing their environmental appeal.
The current labor shortage has hit nearly every sector, and manufacturing is no exception, although the industry struggled for workers long before the pandemic reared its ugly head. Bristol Myers Squibb and Waters Corp. – international companies with significant presences in Central Mass., profiled on pages 17 and 19 – have innovated new ways to get new recruits into the workforce pipeline, by partnering with local agencies and schools. And they’re making it a point to reach students from disadvantaged backgrounds who might not have otherwise been exposed to a robust STEM curriculum.
Thousands of manufacturing companies dot the Central Mass. landscape, quietly and steadily generating $7 billion in collective output. The industry may be rooted in centuries-old tradition, but manufacturers are breaking new ground and adapting to the needs of the time. The vast majority do not have a marketing department extolling their contributions to society, but that does not mean their steady excellence isn’t a great strength to the region’s economy.
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