manufacturing

WESTBOROUGH — The Center for Advanced Manufacturing at MassTech Collaborative has launched the third round of its Massachusetts Manufacturing Accelerate Program (MMAP), which aims to co-invest in small- to medium-sized manufacturers across the state. MMAP aims to help manufacturers that are looking to increase their competitiveness, upskill their workforce and meet the demands of ‘Industry 4.0’ by incorporating innovation-driven technologies such as automation, robotics, and connected devices into their production lines.

On Friday, September 16th, the second Massachusetts Manufacturing Mash-Up attracted over 1,000 attendees to Polar Park, the home of the Worcester Red Sox, to celebrate the Commonwealth’s manufacturing sector. The day-long event featured hands-on STEM challenges for students, plus special sessions on robotics in manufacturing, award presentations, and a startup pitch competition.

LOWELL – Yesterday, the Baker-Polito Administration announced a new $2.3 million grant to Lowell-based composites manufacturer Specialty Materials, Inc., an award from the Commonwealth’s Massachusetts Manufacturing Innovation Initiative (M2I2). The award will support the expansion of Specialty’s production of its boron-based composite materials, materials widely used in aerospace, sporting goods, and industrial applications to strengthen products. The M2I2 grant will support a project that will nearly triple the size of the Specialty Material’s manufacturing capability, adding an additional 75 employees and $6 million per year of spending in Massachusetts.

BOSTON – During a meeting of the Commonwealth’s Advanced Manufacturing Collaborative (AMC) on Wednesday, the Baker-Polito Administration announced that Massachusetts has been awarded a new $3.2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Defense’s Manufacturing Technology Program (DoD ManTech) to develop a manufacturing technician training program that will serve as a national model. During the meeting, Housing and Economic Development Secretary Mike Kennealy, a co-chair of the AMC, announced the award, known as “MassBridge,” which will develop and test a state-based training and career pathway model for manufacturing technicians that meets the talent needs of the national Manufacturing USA Institutes and their members.

CHICOPEE — Today, the Baker-Polito Administration announced a new grant totaling approximately $2,581,109 from the Massachusetts Manufacturing Innovation Initiative (M2I2) to support the development of a new advanced manufacturing center at Convergent Photonics in Chicopee, which is partnering with Western New England University (WNE) on the new facility. Called a ‘Lab for Education and Application Prototyping, or LEAP, the lab will focus on product development, training, and research in the field of integrated photonics, and will be the fourth lab of its kind in the state.

On Friday, February 14th, leaders of the M2I2 program traveled to Westfield to tour Peerless Precision, a small, woman-owned company that has benefitted from the Commonwealth’s grant program for advanced manufacturers.

The visit to Peerless included State Senator Eric Lesser, co-chair of the Legislature’s Manufacturing Caucus; Carolyn Kirk, Executive Director of the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative; and M2I2 program managers Ira Moskowitz and Farhad Vazehgoo. The facility tour was led by Kristin Carlson, President of Peerless Precision, a 30-employee shop that manufactures precision machined parts for the aerospace, defense, and medical devices industries, serving clients such as FLIR Systems, Eaton Aerospace, Aircraft Component Design, Inc., Zygo Corporation, and others. Many of the components manufactured are used in advanced fuel and engine systems, as well as high-tech thermal imaging gear.