‘You can come here and make a good living’: Schott in Southbridge searches wider for workers to make fiber optics
Schott North America grew its businesses here by 10 percent in 2017 and executives say the company could do the same in 2018. But Schott — which continues the pioneering work in fiber optic glass once done here by American Optical Co. — is having trouble trying to hire the people it needs to fill new…
Big Y looked around and chose Springfield as distribution hub for future growth
Big Y Foods Inc. hosted its Friday news conference announcing a major expansion of its Springfield distribution center in the morning because by the afternoon, the existing warehouse space would have been too full. “We wouldn’t be able to move,” said Vice President of Corporate Communications Claire D’Amour-Daley. Her brother, Big Y President and COO Charles…
United Personnel Wins Inavero’s 2018 Best of Staffing Awards
United Personnel announced it has won Inavero’s Best of Staffing Client and Talent Awards for providing superior service to clients and job seekers. Presented in partnership with CareerBuilder, Inavero’s Best of Staffing winners have proven to be industry leaders in service quality based entirely on ratings by their clients and the employees they have helped…
Community Music School Receives Grant from MDRT Foundation
The Million Dollar Round Table (MDRT) Foundation awarded a $5,000 grant to Community Music School of Springfield (CMSS) through its Quality of Life Grant Program in honor of Jeanmarie Deliso, CFP. Through its global grants programs, the MDRT Foundation is committed to building stronger families and communities around the globe. This year, the MDRT Foundation…
Big Y plans to double size of Springfield distribution hub, add over 30 new jobs with $35 million investment in city
Over the next 18 months, the family owned Big Y Foods Inc. will expand the distribution center at its Roosevelt Avenue headquarters with 232,000 square feet of additional space. Plans include an expansion in order to provide capacity for the next 20 years including 20 new supermarkets, Big Y said Friday. It’s a $35-million to…
Chicopee to spend $2.89 million to demolish 5 more Uniroyal buildings
The city will remove five of the largest buildings on the Uniroyal property this year but at a higher cost than was originally expected. The City Council voted 13-0 to allocate $2.89 million to tear down the five largest remaining buildings on the Uniroyal campus after learning the cost of demolition skyrocketed due to deterioration…
Long-time Northampton state representative Peter Kocot dies at 61 | masslive.com
Peter Kocot, a long-time state representative from Northampton, has died. Kocot has served in the state Legislature since 2002 representing the 1st Hampshire District. He was chairman of the Joint Committee on Health Care Financing. He was 61 years old. Kocot had been ill. House Speaker Robert DeLeo, D-Winthrop, emailed state representatives Thursday afternoon to…
Agawam considering tax breaks for targeted redevelopment zone near Big E | masslive.com
The city is working on creating a District Improvement Financing zone, or DIF, around the former Games & Lanes property, a longtime eyesore and bulwark to revitalizing the Walnut Street Extension business district. The formerly toxic Games & Lanes site has undergone extensive environmental remediation and the dilapidated building that long dominated the lot has…
Dress for Success, Thunderbirds Partner for Hockey ‘N Heels
Dress for Success of Western Massachusetts will host its second annual Hockey ‘N Heels night before the Springfield Thunderbirds game against the Utica Comets on Saturday, March 10 from 4 to 6 p.m. at the MassMutual Center in Springfield. Baystate Health and Health New England will sponsor “Pink in the Rink” as part of the…
Development of vacant Chicopee industrial parks could get a boost with state grants
The Chicopee River Business Park always seemed to be the perfect spot for new industry since it is situated just off the Massachusetts Turnpike and Interstate-291 and has a number of “shovel ready” parcels complete with roads and water and sewer connections. But for nearly three decades and through good and bad economic times few businesses…
Women in leadership speaker series offered by Holyoke Chamber of Commerce
The “Women in Leadership: Leadership in Your Future” speaker series by the Greater Holyoke Chamber of Commerce will begin March 7 and include four events. “We recognize the importance of creating local and affordable professional opportunities to help people grow professionally and personally,” said Christina Royal, president of Holyoke Community College, one of the speakers.…
‘A dream come true’: Springfield plans $12 million early education center aimed to serve…
Mary E. Walachy, executive director of the Irene E. & George A. Davis Foundation, said that $13.5 million has been raised in private funds for the center and its programs. That amount came from three donors — two anonymous contributors and the Davis Foundation. The Davis Foundation was the lead partner in pushing for the new…