WARWICK - Tom Lepovsky recalls his children asking him if their family was in the witness protection program or the CIA, as they had to move so often.
“I told them no, no, we’re in manufacturing. We’re way cooler,” the vice president of Teknor Apex Co. said to the assembled guests and honorees during Providence Business News’ annual Manufacturing Awards program as he accepted the 2025 Strategic Leadership Award. “I say that to all of you, I think it’s really cool what we do and all that you do."
The latest challenge Lepovsky has confronted is a more mobile workforce, where long-term commitment to a single company is increasingly rare. “We’re learning to work in that environment, making machinery easier to operate, so people can learn jobs quicker,” he said. "It’s a global issue in manufacturing.”
David Spencer, owner and CEO of Atlantic Paper and Supply was named 2025 Manufacturing Champion. His company specializes in industrial packaging, shipping and maintenance supplies for other manufacturing companies. “Every day that I’m out there, I’m inspired by the ingenuity and the resilience of the Rhode Island manufacturing community,” he said in a video message.
Atlantic Paper displayed the same ingenuity during the pandemic when faced with supply chain problems involving Clorox disinfecting wipes. Pivoting to address the shortage by having wipes made for their customers, Atlantic Paper was able to find a local company to manufacture the wipes privately and found containers for them in China. They had labels made and sold thousands during the pandemic when it was impossible to obtain brand-name products, Spencer said.
“We just sat down and said, ‘Our customers need this. How do we provide it?’” he said.
Lepovsky and Spencer were among 21 total honorees – nine program honorees and 12 special “Meet the Makers” honorees – recognized Wednesday at the Crowne Plaza Providence-Warwick for their efforts in the manufacturing sector both in Rhode Island and southeastern Massachusetts.
The seven other companies honored Wednesday were:
- AVTECH SOFTWARE Inc. – Overall Excellence at a Small Manufacturer
- Groov-Pin Corp. - Overall Excellence at a Midsized Manufacturer
- AstroNova Inc. - Overall Excellence at a Large Manufacturer
- Amgen Rhode Island - Overall Excellence at an Enterprise Manufacturer
- G-Form LLC. – Product Innovation and Design
- Hawkins Machine Co. – Family-owned Manufacturer
- Renova Lighting Systems – Emerging Manufacturer
Also on Wednesday, the awards program honored 12 manufacturers in the “Meet the Makers” category, recognizing the companies’ in producing goods both locally and beyond.
The 12 honorees were:
- Blount Boats Inc.
- Comet Skateboards Inc.
- Gorilla Gaming
- Haverhill Jewelry
- Mearthane Product Corp.
- Moss Pure
- Hauser Chocolatier
- Tanury Industries
- The Beck Cos.
- Up Country
- VR Industries Inc.
- North East Knitting
Polaris MEP and Rhode Island Energy are the presenting sponsor for PBN’s 2025 Manufacturing Awards program. Amgen Rhode Island, Citrin Cooperman & Co. LP and Gallo | Thomas Insurance are the partner sponsors.
Veer Mudambi is the special projects editor at the Providence Business News. He can be reached at
mudambi@pbn.com.
