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    MANY USES: VR Industries Inc. CEO and President Brian Pestana, left, visits machine technician Brandon Roy on the factory floor of the Warwick-based electronic contract manufacturer, which focuses on making circuit boards for a variety of industries, including industrial, defense, medical and the blue economy. 
PBN PHOTO/RUPERT WHITELEY

    Meet the Makers: Adaptability, customer relationships key to VR Industries’ 40 years of success

    Business Services
    VR Industries Inc. has evolved significantly over its 40-year history. Founded in 1985 by Fred Pestana, the company transitioned from a relay business in...
    FAMILY TRADITION: Rudi Hauser Jr., owner and president of Hauser Chocolatier in Westerly, in the company’s retail shop. Hauser bought the company in 2008 from his mother and his father, Ruedi Hauser Sr., who started the company in 1985 in Connecticut after emigrating from Switzerland.
PBN PHOTO/ELIZABETH GRAHAM

    Meet the Makers: Hausers keep family tradition of Swiss chocolate making going strong in...

    Digital Special Editions
    At Hauser Chocolatier, Rudi Hauser has a sweet job. The 18,000-square-foot Westerly-based operation makes chocolates and truffles. Delicious aromas of cocoa fill the air...
    UNIQUE PROTECTION: Niurka Fernandez, production lead at G-Form LLC, works on the factory floor at the company’s Providence facility, where it makes protective gear for athletes, as well as the military and law enforcement, using SmartFlex technology.
PBN PHOTO/TRACY JENKINS

    G-Form Engineers the Future of Flexible, High-Impact Gear

    Industries
    PBN 2025 Manufacturing Awards PRODUCT INNOVATION & DESIGN: G-Form LLC For more than two decades, G-Form LLC, based in Providence, has been trailblazing a path in...
    TABLE GAMES: Tracey Beck, co-owner and chief operating officer of The Beck Cos., shows off a shuffleboard table and a pool table, both designed and built by Great American Recreation Equipment Inc., one of six companies under The Beck Cos. umbrella that produces its products at the manufacturer’s 85,000-square-foot facility in North Smithfield.
PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

    Meet the Makers: Cross-training key to success of The Beck Cos.

    Digital Special Editions
    For Tracey Beck, co-owner and chief operating officer of North Smithfield-based The Beck Cos., the workday is never 9-to-5. Always on the lookout for new...
    PROBLEM-SOLVER: Tom Lepovsky, vice president of manufacturing at plastics producer Teknor Apex Co. in Pawtucket, created a continuous improvement group that allows workers on the processing lines to make real-time decisions about quality and productivity using internal data.
PBN PHOTO/TRACY JENKINS

    People and plastics are the core of Lepovsky’s strategy at Teknor Apex

    Industries
    PBN 2025 Manufacturing Awards STRATEGIC LEADERSHIP: Tom Lepovsky, vice president of manufacturing, Teknor Apex Co. McDonald’s has been dubbed America’s best first job; Tom Lepovsky would...
    ON THE MOVE: Stephan Vaast, Comet’s head of manufacturing and design, says the company moved into its current location at Unity Park in Bristol just a few months ago. Boards had been made on the West Coast for years, but the COVID-19 pandemic pushed Comet to make a change. 
PBN PHOTO/TRACY JENKINS

    Meet the Makers: Bristol-based skateboard manufacturer is picking up momentum

    Digital Special Editions
    The air is thick with the smell of maple inside Comet Skateboards Inc.’s Bristol factory as Stephan Vaast oversees the pressing and cutting of...
    CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT: Amgen Rhode Island employees such as, from left, Kagan Littlefield and Gregory Van Dijk, both level 1 senior manufacturing associates; Hanna Rouillard, level 1 manufacturing associate; and Paul Trusler, level 2 senior manufacturing associate, are always looking for ways to operate more efficiently. They are pictured at the company’s West Greenwich campus.
PBN PHOTO/ELIZABETH GRAHAM

    Amgen Rhode Island a hub of innovation

    Industries
    PBN 2025 Manufacturing Awards OVERALL EXCELLENCE AT AN ENTERPRISE MANUFACTURER: Amgen Rhode Island Amgen Rhode Island combines biology and technology to increase the odds of patients...

    PBN Digital Issue – Manufacturing Awards 2025

    Open
    Are you viewing on mobile?  Click here. 
    DYNAMIC DUO: Haverhill Leach, right, founded jewelry maker Haverhill in 2013 and after meeting management consultant Andrej Strojin, left, on a dating app in 2018, the two were married four months later and Strojin joined Haverhill as CEO. The two are pictured at their manufacturing facility in Warren.
PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

    Meet the Makers: For Haverhill founder, jewelry was in the genes

    Meet the Makers
    Haverhill Leach was by birthright heir to a Rhode Island family jewelry-making dynasty spanning five generations. Her great-grandfather, Edwin Leach, founded Leach and Miller Co....
    TAKING STOCK: 
David Spencer, center, owner and CEO of Atlantic Paper & Supply, works 
with JC Lebarron, left, part of the operations team, and Ashley Femino, sales coordinator, at the company’s Pawtucket facility.
PBN PHOTO/JOSH EDENBAUM

    Inside the box: Atlantic Paper’s human touch fuels manufacturing success

    Industries
    PBN 2025 Manufacturing Awards MANUFACTURING CHAMPION: David Spencer, owner and CEO, Atlantic Paper & Supply Atlantic Paper & Supply CEO David Spencer estimates that the Pawtucket...
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