Meet the Makers

TRIAL AND ERROR: Alejandro Martinez, Mearthane Products Corp.’s marketing director, shows some experimental moldings in the company’s development lab inside its Cranston headquarters.  PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

Meet the Makers: Moment of ingenuity helped Mearthane to continue rolling

Meet the Makers 11/21/2025

In more ways than one, Cranston-based Mear-thane Products Corp. has proved to be the ultimate spinoff company over the last 60 years. The company was...

PRODUCT ASSESSMENT: Alice Nichols, left, founder and owner, and Donna Bodell, vice president and designer, look over some of the products on the factory floor at pet supply manufacturer Up Country in East Providence. PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

Meet the Makers: Determination pays off for pet apparel designer, with...

Meet the Makers 11/21/2025

When Alice Nichols launched her pet apparel company, Up Country, she knew her creatively designed collars would sell. More than 40 years later, that...

CONSTANT DIVERSIFICATION: Evelyn Gutierrez works on countertop rails for an American-made yacht with Chairman Thomas Tanury at Lincoln-based metal finishing company Tanury Industries. The company used to specialize in jewelry, but now the largest markets it serves are lighting, electronics, aerospace and giftware. PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

Meet the Makers: Tanury Industries stays on its toes to keep...

Meet the Makers 11/21/2025

Just about anything can shine at Tanury Industries. It’s hard to miss the reflections coming off all kinds of objects – from eyeglass frames...

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...

Meet the Makers 11/21/2025

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...

Meet the Makers 11/21/2025

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...

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.

Meet the Makers 11/21/2025

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...

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

Meet the Makers 11/21/2025

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...

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 11/21/2025

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....

FAMILY TIES: North East East Knitting Inc. co-founder and President Rosalie DaRosa, middle, is surrounded by, from left, her son Michael DaRosa; her grandson Marcus DaRosa, who now oversees the business; and her sons Alex and Eric DaRosa at the company’s manufacturing facility in Pawtucket. PBN PHOTO/TRACY JENKINS

Meet the Makers: DaRosas weaving an impactful legacy in Pawtucket

Meet the Makers 11/21/2025

Tucked in the heart of Pawtucket, once a national powerhouse of American textile production, a third-generation family business continues to spin its legacy in...

ATTENTION TO DETAIL: Gorilla Gaming co-owner Gretel McCrory works on the factory floor at the Warwick gaming table manufacturer. The company’s attention to detail has caught the eye of big players in the gambling industry, including signing a deal in 2017 to be the official poker table of the World Series of Poker PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

Meet the Makers: Warwick poker table maker has played its cards...

Meet the Makers 11/21/2025

Gorilla Gaming, based in Warwick, began manufacturing poker tables out of necessity. Founders Glenn and Gretel McCrory launched Eastern Poker LLC in 2005 and...

123...6 Page 2 of 6

- Featured Event -

Latest News

SUBSCRIBE TO

SIGN UP FOR

FOLLOW US

MOST POPULAR

OUR MISSION

ABOUT PBN