WBJ event: Manufacturers discuss meeting crises with innovation

Photo | Alexander MacDougall Christine Nolan speaks during the WBJ Central Mass Manufacturing Summit & Awards Event at College of the Holy Cross on Tuesday.

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By Alexander MacDougall

Central Massachusetts manufacturers must rise to meet demand and the challenges of the current crisis, using innovation and partners, according to a slate of experts at Worcester Business Journal's Central Mass Manufacturing Summit & Awards event Thursday at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester.

Christine Nolan, director of Center for Advanced Manufacturing, discussed in her keynote address how recent economic crises in the U.S., such as the pandemic, rising inflation, a strained supply chain, and mass resignations by employees presented manufacturers with a chance for new opportunities. Nolan compared the present day situation with the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941, and how manufacturers met the challenge of World War II by boosting productivity for the war effort.

“They came together around a disruptive event that resulted in a profound economic and technological transformation, and an event that inspired a generation created opportunity and resiliency,” Nolan said. “When we mobilize our ecosystem, we can solve any challenge.”

Nolan noted several grant programs that were in place in the state to help manufacturers get to the next wave of innovation, such as the Massachusetts Manufacturing Innovation Initiative, or M2I2, and the Massachusetts Manufacturing Accelerate Program. She noted how manufacturers could take advantage of the various educational institutions, such as Worcester Polytechnic Institute and various community colleges, to help supply the next generation of skilled workers in manufacturing.

“When I’m visiting our manufacturers, the No. 1 priority I’m hearing is finding talent. Manufacturers have plenty of business, but they don’t have the workforce they need to be at the top level,” said Nolan. “But we’re looking at this education system, and we’re hoping that we’re going to be able to deliver that talent.”

The keynote address was followed by a panel discussion with four key members of the Central Massachusetts manufacturing industry: Joseph Basile, president of Catania Oils in Ayer, Eric Gratz, co-founder of Ascend Elements in Westborough, Odile Smith, vice president of Bristol Myers Squibb in Devens, and Dan Welch, senior vice president of Waters Corp. in Milford. The panel was moderated by Jeannie Hebert, president and CEO of the Blackstone Valley Chamber of Commerce.

In discussing new opportunities in the manufacturing industry, Smith from Bristol Myers Squibb said how the pandemic had led to seismic changes in new technologies.

“For those of you vaccinated, you probably have a vaccine in your arm that is using technology that did not exist two years ago,” she said. “It has proven we can do things differently, safely, and I am convinced that we will continue to do that.”

For Welch from Waters, whose company also deals in manufacturing analytical products for the field of medicine, new advancements in cell and gene therapies also proved to show promise in new manufacturing.

“It’s a whole different field to develop analytical products in our case,” he said. “To be able to support the development of manufacturing, this is a very exciting time.”

CORRECTION: A previous version of this story had incorrectly named the keynote speaker of the Central Mass Manufacturing Summit & Awards as Kim Ingalls. The keynote speaker was Christine Nolan, director of the Center for Advanced Manufacturing.