Bush, Amgen lead honorees at PBN Manufacturing Awards

TIA BUSH, vice president of site operations for Amgen Rhode Island, waits to address attendees at PBN's fifth Manufacturing Awards event, held at WaterFire Providence Thursday. / PBN PHOTO/RUPERT WHITELEY
TIA BUSH, vice president of site operations for Amgen Rhode Island, waits to address attendees at PBN's fifth Manufacturing Awards event, held at WaterFire Providence Thursday. / PBN PHOTO/RUPERT WHITELEY

PROVIDENCE – PBN’s fifth Manufacturing Awards event attracted 260 of the region’s leaders in industry Thursday to celebrate 13 companies and one individual for their achievements. Tia Bush, the vice president of site operations for Amgen Inc.’s West Greenwich and Woburn, Mass., facilities, took home the award for Leadership & Strategy, which was little surprise since the company also took top honors for Overall Excellence for a company with more than 500 employees.

During her brief remarks at the end of the awards presentation, held at WaterFire Providence’s headquarters, Bush returned again and again to praise the Amgen team. She said that at this stage in her career it is her job to give her staff the tools they need and the trust they require to execute on Amgen’s goal of “Serving every patient, every time,” the company mantra.

Prior to the presentation of awards, R.I. Commerce Secretary Stefan Pryor spoke to the audience. He took the opportunity to tout the state’s jobs recovery as well as praise the varied companies that garnered awards at the event. He took special care to identify the work that the Rhode Island Manufacturers Association was accomplishing in support of the state’s varied group of manufacturers, including helping them with job-specific training programs that the state is supporting.

R.I. COMMERCE SECRETARY Stefan Pryor speaks to the crowd at the fifth PBN Manufacturing Awards program, held Thursday at WaterFire Providence's headquarters in the city's Valley neighborhood. / PBN PHOTO/RUPERT WHITELEY
R.I. COMMERCE SECRETARY Stefan Pryor speaks to the crowd at the fifth PBN Manufacturing Awards program, held Thursday at WaterFire Providence’s headquarters in the city’s Valley neighborhood. / PBN PHOTO/RUPERT WHITELEY

Before Pryor, Polaris MEP Center Director Christian Cowan spoke to the crowd. He pointed out how many jobs were being created and profits increased through the programs Polaris runs, including innovation vouchers, cluster grants, and lean management and six sigma training programs.

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In addition to Bush and Amgen, the rest of the 2018 Manufacturing Awards honorees are:

  • AstroNova Inc., for Supply Chain Excellence
  • AVTECH Software Inc., for Exporting Excellence
  • Cooley Group, for Product Innovation and Design
  • Epec Engineered Technologies, for Overall Excellence – Mid-size Manufacturer
  • Goodwin-Bradley, for Overall Excellence – Small Manufacturer
  • igus, for Excellence in Safety Performance & Records
  • National Marker Co., for Green Manufacturing
  • The Original Bradford Soap Works Inc., for Overall Excellence – Large Manufacturer
  • Sons of Liberty Beer & Spirits Co., for Emerging Manufacturer
  • Toray Plastics (America) Inc., for Workforce Development & Productivity
  • The Town Dock, for Lean Management
  • William M. Davies Jr. Career & Technical High School, for Collaboration in Manufacturing

Presenting sponsor for the fifth PBN Manufacturing Awards program is Polaris MEP. Partner sponsors include Amgen, Bryant University, Cox Business, Gallo|Thomas Insurance and National Grid.

TWO HUNDRED AND SIXTY people attended the fifth PBN Manufacturing Awards program Thursday at WaterFire Providence. / PBN PHOTO/RUPERT WHITELEY
TWO HUNDRED AND SIXTY people attended the fifth PBN Manufacturing Awards program Thursday at WaterFire Providence. / PBN PHOTO/RUPERT WHITELEY

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