Devens

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.

Worcester Business Journal began listing the most influential people in the Central Massachusetts economy in 2013, using various iterations of the concept to arrive at the Power 50, which started in 2018.

The Power 50 may not necessarily hold the most power in the region, but they are the people who most effectively wielded their power to have an outsized influence on the economy and the community within the last year.

Now, in its seventh year, the Manufacturing Excellence Awards seeks to accentuate the top performers in a highly complex and varied industry.

The Worcester Business Journal editorial staff is seeking readers' ideas for this year's Power 50, WBJ's annual list of the most influential professionals in Central Massachusetts.

Manufacturing is a $6.5-billion industry in Central Massachusetts, with multiple sectors experiencing upheaval in 2021. Here’s what is on tap for next year.

Biotechnology in Central Massachusetts is a rapidly growing industry, characterized as much by its big players as its nascent, up-and-coming companies. Together, players old and new stand to define what biotech in and around Worcester will look like for generations to come.

Red Tail Heights in Devens, a 26-acre parcel of land overlooking Red Tail Golf Club, was sold by MassDevelopment for more than $3 million in early November, according to the Worcester South District Registry of Deeds.

Commonwealth Fusion Systems, which is building a $300-million, 47-acre headquarters in Devens, announced on Wednesday it has closed on more than $1.8 billion in Series B funding to commercialize fusion energy.

United Kingdom manufacturer Watson-Marlow has broken ground on a new 150,000-square-foot facility in Devens, the company announced on Wednesday.