PROVIDENCE – A crowd of more than 320 manufacturing industry leaders attended Providence Business News’ sixth Manufacturing Awards program Wednesday at WaterFire Providence’s Valley neighborhood home.
The crowd was a record for the event, which honored individuals as well as enterprises of a variety of sizes in 16 categories.
Michael Brandmeier, the Toray Plastics (America) Inc. president and CEO, was recognized for his Leadership & Strategy. The company, which is the home base for the U.S. operations of Japan-based Toray Plastics, employs about 550 people at its North Kingstown plant. Brandmeier humbly credited the employees at Toray for his win, noting that by empowering them, he has been able to get them to perform at their full potential.
Dave Chenevert, the executive director of the Rhode Island Manufacturers Association, was honored as the Manufacturing Champion. Chenevert has energized the organization, growing membership and strengthening its connection to the state’s job-training programs, especially Real Jobs Rhode Island, one of Gov. Gina M. Raimondo’s signature programs, that helps match company workforce needs with state-supported worker training efforts.
As he did last year, R.I. Commerce Secretary Stefan Pryor gave opening remarks before the awards ceremony. He noted that the Raimondo administration has made supporting manufacturing a priority. He ended his remarks by reading a quotation from Samuel Slater, who noted that persistence was perhaps the most important variable for success.
In addition to Brandmeier and Chenevert, the rest of the 2019 Manufacturing Awards honorees are:
- North Atlantic Corp., for Excellence at an Enterprise Manufacturer
- Nye Lubricants Inc., for Excellence at a Large Manufacturer
- Edesia Inc., for Excellence at a Mid-Size Manufacturer
- Jade Manufacturing Co., for Excellence at a Small Manufacturer
- Chi Foods LLC, for Emerging Manufacturer
- Amerisewn, for Collaboration in Manufacturing
- International Packaging Corp., for Excellence in Lean Manufacturing
- Response Technologies LLC, for Product Innovation & Design
- Saint-Gobain SA, for Outstanding Safety Performance
- NFI Corp., for Excellence in Green Manufacturing
- VIBCO Inc., for Workforce Development & Productivity
- Amgen Rhode Island, for Excellence in Exporting
- Dean Warehouse Services Inc., for Supply Chain Management
- Blount Fine Foods Corp., for Family Owned Business
Presenting sponsor for the sixth PBN Manufacturing Awards program is Polaris MEP. Partner sponsors include Cox Business, blumshapiro, Gallo|Thomas Insurance, Amgen and Bryant University.
