Polaris Mep - Providence Business News

STRING SKILLS: Machine operator Maria Dacruz works on the production floor of Neocorp Inc., a standard and technical rope and bungee cord maker in Pawtucket. Neocorp is among the local manufacturers that have dealt with inflated tariffs in 2025.  PBN PHOTO/ MICHAEL SALERNO

THE TOLL OF TARIFFS: Factories under strain as they try to...

Cover Story 12/05/2025

If there was one thing Rose Wood had been able to count on as a buyer at Pawtucket manufacturer Neocorp Inc., it was that...

CELEBRATION OF CARING: Attendees are pictured at a previous Aldersbridge Communities fundraising gala. The organization’s annual “Adding Life to Years” gala this year will be held on Dec. 4 at the Crowne Plaza Providence-Warwick in Warwick.  COURTESY ALDERSBRIDGE COMMUNITIES

Editor’s Choice: Aldersbridge Communities to hold fundraising gala at Crowne Plaza

Print Edition 11/21/2025

EDITOR’S CHOICE Aldersbridge Communities to hold fundraising gala ALDERSBRIDGE COMMUNITIES will hold its annual “Adding Life to Years” fundraising gala, presented by Moss Home Solutions...

DISTINGUISHED LEADER: Lisa Raiola, founder and president of food incubator Hope & Main in Warren, will be featured as part of the Greater Newport Chamber of Commerce’s Conversations with Women of Distinction series on Nov. 20 at Innovate Newport.  COURTESY HOPE & MAIN

Editor’s Choice: Newport Chamber to welcome Raiola as part of speaker...

Print Edition 11/07/2025

EDITOR’S CHOICE Newport Chamber to welcome Raiola as part of speaker series THE GREATER NEWPORT Chamber of Commerce will hold a discussion as part of...

TEEING OFF: The Tri-Town Chamber of Commerce will hold its inaugural Average Joe’s Golf Classic at the Segregansett Country Club in Taunton to benefit the Joe Andruzzi Foundation on Oct. 27.  COURTESY SEGREGANSETT COUNTRY CLUB

Editor’s Choice: Segregansett Country Club to host Average Joe’s Golf Classic

Print Edition 10/24/2025

EDITOR’S CHOICE Segregansett Country Club to host Average Joe’s Golf Classic The Tri-Town Chamber of Commerce will hold its inaugural Average Joe’s Golf Classic at...

DRILLING DOWN: Mazinho Palencia, a Community College of Rhode Island graduate, works on a drill press in the school’s Advanced Manufacturing Lab in 2024. COURTESY COMMUNITY COLLEGE OF RHODE ISLAND

CRISIS OF INTEREST: Industry woos next-gen workers

Digital Special Editions 10/10/2025

With a rich industrial history – ranging from shipbuilding and textiles to jewelry, chemicals and metals – the Ocean State’s economy has always been...

TRAINING: Quiana Ferguson, left, and Glendale Perez, center, students in a Building Futures pre-apprenticeship class that was held earlier this year from May 5 to June 6, work with Building Futures training team instructor Brook Swanson, second from right, on an exercise designed to introduce techniques used by millwrights. Pictured at right foreground is an unidentified student. COURTESY BUILDING FUTURES

BUILDING SUPPORT: Women growing in the trades

Digital Special Editions 10/10/2025

Catherine Pena was working two jobswith three little boys at home trying to make ends meet when a friend suggested working in the trades....

Companies seek ‘next-generation’ makers at Manufacturing Day 2025

Manufacturing 10/08/2025

PROVIDENCE – As manufacturers navigate a year marked by turbulence and tariffs, a shortage of qualified workers remains a familiar concern. That's been the case...

Polaris MEP to hold 4th annual R.I. Manufacturing Day

Education 09/30/2025

PROVIDENCE – Local students and manufacturers will convene at Farm Fresh Rhode Island later this month at Polaris MEP’s Manufacturing Day. Now in its fourth...

STEELY GAZE: Noel Laflamme, a technician at metal fabricator Ward’s Manufacturing LLC in Warren, measures the thickness of a steel plate as he prepares for a job in the workshop.  PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

CRACKS IN THE METTLE | PBN survey: R.I. businesses remain resilient,...

Cover Story 09/26/2025

When siblings Kelly and Kiffin Ward co-founded their Warren metal fabrication business, Ward’s Manufacturing LLC, in early 2024, they set out with a vision...