2016 BIA NH Enterprise Magazine

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Annual Magazine of the Business & Industry Association — New Hampshire’s Statewide Chamber of Commerce • 2016

ENTERPRISE What’s Made Here? Manufacturing in the Granite State

EnergizeNH: Improving the bottom line Women leading the way Small business is big business


Lake Sunapee Bank provided reduced interest rates to help Skinny Pancake expand their business.

Skinny Pancake owners Jonny Adler and Benjy Adler skinnypancake.com

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Lake Sunapee Bank is proud to partner with the Federal Home Loan Bank and their Jobs for New England program.


Health care providers, insurers and members collaborating for better health outcomes and managed costs makes sense for New Hampshire and our employees.

Thomas E. Wilhelmsen, Jr., President and CEO Southern New Hampshire Health

Over 13,000 leading New Hampshire health care providers, workers, and their families are members of Tufts Health Freedom Plan. Find out why. DOES TUFTS HEALTH FREEDOM PLAN MAKE SENSE FOR YOUR BUSINESS? Ask your broker or go to thfp.com/findoutwhy to learn more.


BIA BOARD OF DIRECTORS

ENTERPRISE

CHAIR: Val Zanchuk Graphicast, Inc.

WELCOME

CHAIR-ELECT: Linda Fanaras Millennium Integrated Marketing PAST CHAIR: Sharron McCarthy McLean Communications

Message from the Chair On behalf of the Business and Industry Association, New Hampshire’s statewide chamber of commerce, I’d like to welcome you to Enterprise, our new annual magazine. Whether you represent a BIA member, or a future member, I hope you enjoy the content this magazine has to offer. Since BIA’s beginning, more than a century ago, we’ve been shaping public policy with the dual goals of improving the state’s climate for job creation and strengthening New Hampshire’s economy. Many of our members, and BIA’s professional staff, are heavily engaged in influencing state legislation and regulations that impact our members’ bottom line and their ability to compete in the state, national, and global marketplaces. As New Hampshire’s only statewide, broad-based business advocate, our public policy work on behalf of our members has resulted in remarkable successes! BIA members come in a variety of sizes, geographic locations, and product and service offerings. Not only do we represent many of New Hampshire’s largest employers in manufacturing, financial services and healthcare, we also represent small and medium-sized businesses like technology firms in computer hardware and software, advanced manufacturing, biotechnology, environmental and engineering consulting practices, legal and accounting firms, premier lodging and tourism establishments, and many other types of businesses and employers. And while we’re proud of our larger members, we’re also gratified that more than half of BIA members employ fewer than fifty people (including my own company). In totality, BIA

TREASURER: Karl Heafield Baker Newman Noyes SECRETARY: Scott Ellison Cook Little Rosenblatt and Manson PLLC PRESIDENT/CEO: Jim Roche Business & Industry Association of NH

members employ 86,000 people, or one out of every eight workers in the state. In addition to our public policy advocacy work, BIA creates outstanding forums and conferences throughout the year on substantive topics of interest and concern to our members — topics like taxes; energy costs; environmental compliance matters; labor regulations; healthcare quality, access and cost; workforce availability and skills; and much more. In turn, these events provide our members with exceptional occasions to engage in relationship building and networking with business and opinion leaders from throughout the state. Again, on behalf of the Business and Industry Association, I hope you enjoy this, our inaugural issue of Enterprise. We welcome your feedback. And if you’re not a BIA member, you should be! Warmly,

Val Zanchuk Chair, BIA Board of Directors President, Graphicast, Inc.

BIA staff members (left to right): Director of Communications & Public Policy Kevin Flynn, Administrative Assistant Lucie LaBambard, Manager of Administration & Executive Assistant to the President Shirley Streeter, Vice President of Public Policy Stefanie Lamb, Director of Finance & Human Resources Jane Tewksbury, Vice President of Member Development Christine Ducharme, Senior Vice President of Public Policy David Juvet, Events & Communications Manager Lora McMahon, President Jim Roche. (Photo by Amy Donle) 2 | ENTERPRISE 2016

DIRECTORS: Todd Black Unitil Joseph Carelli Citizens Bank Patrick Closson McLane Middleton, PA Cheryl Coletti Boston Asset Management Timothy Dining Sealite USA LLC Scott Filion Velcro Americas Douglas Folsom GE Aviation Suzanne Foster Medtronic Katherine Garfield Robert R. Keller & Associates, Inc. Bryan Granger C&S Wholesale Grocers Lisa Guertin Anthem Blue Cross & Blue Shield Pamela Hall Normandeau Associates, Inc. Randall Labnon Town & Country Inn and Resort Stephen Lawlor Nathan Wechsler & Co. Todd Leach University System of New Hampshire Stephen LeBlanc Dartmouth-Hitchcock Health Paul Markwardt BAE Systems/Electronic Systems Sector Peter Marsh Comcast Joseph Murray Fidelity Investments John Olson Whelen Engineering Company, Inc. William Quinlan Eversource Energy Timothy Sink Greater Concord Chamber of Commerce Steven Shawver Sig Sauer, Inc. Alexander Walker Catholic Medical Center Donald Welch Globe Manufacturing Co. Steven Webb TD Bank Thomas White New England Wire Technologies Corp. David Worthen Worthen Industries, Inc.


Where leadership plays a part in our community. Our Leaders (L-R): Chuck Withee - President and Chief Lending Officer; Anne Lapointe - EVP, Chief Administrative Officer; Dave Mansfield - CEO; Carol Houle - CFO

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CONTENTS

BOARD OF DIRECTORS. . .2

Annual Magazine of the Business & Industry Association — New Hampshire’s Statewide Chamber of Commerce • 2016

ENTERPRISE What’s Made Here?

BIA NETWORKING . . . . . . 6

Manufacturing in the Granite State

BIA EVENTS. . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 BIA’S HEALTHCARE EXCHANGE . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

EnergizeNH: Improving the bottom line

BECOME A MEMBER . . . 42

Women leading the way

MEMBERSHIP LIST . . . . . 42

Small business is big business

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ON THE COVER: Tim Dining, president of Tilton-basedSealite USA LLC. (Photo by Amy Donle)

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16 ... Small business plays a

122 North Main Street, Concord, NH 03301 603-224-5388 • www.biaofnh.com Jim Roche President Kevin Flynn Director of Communications & Public Policy

big role in NH’s vitality

Published by:

21 ... Women leading

the way

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28 ... Sounding the alarm

Sharron McCarthy President & Publisher Kimberly Lencki Advertising Sales Director Ronnie Schlender Sales Executive Jodie Hall Production Manager & Designer Bill Burke Managing Editor, Custom Publishing Mista McDonnell Office Manager

on high electric prices 34 ... Manufacturing drives

state’s economy 39 ... Manufacturing’s true value

©2016 Business and Industry Association of New Hampshire. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited. While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information obtained in this publication, BIA of NH will not be held responsible for any errors that occur.

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38 McLane Middleton attorneys were included in Best Lawyers in AmericaÂŽ for 2016

Peter Anderson

Alexandra Breed

Steven Burke

Patrick Closson

George Cushing

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Charles DeGrandpre

Michael Delaney

David DePuy

Beth Deragon

Denis Dillon

Bruce Felmly

Wilbur Glahn, III

Rolf Goodwin

Scott Harris

Thomas Hildreth

Ralph Holmes

John Hughes

Linda Johnson

Mary Susan Leahy

Jack Middleton

Barry Needleman

Daniel Norris

Jennifer Parent

Michael Quinn

John Rich, Jr.

Peter Rotch

Mark Rouvalis

Richard Samuels

Cameron Shilling

Gregory Smith

Jon Steffensen

Charla Stevens

Jeremy Walker

Mark Wright

William Zorn

McLane.com

Robert Wells

David Wolowitz

New Hampshire: Manchester | Concord | Portsmouth Massachusetts: Woburn | Boston


BIA NETWORKING

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Know-how gives your

business the leading edge. 1

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Among the VIPs at BIA’s Annual Dinner include [l to r] Lifetime Achievement winners Dick & Barbara Couch of Hypertherm and Brad Cook of Sheehan Phinney Bass + Green; BIA chair Sharron McCarthy of McLean Communications; and Steve Norton, executive director of the NH Center for Public Policy Studies, winner of BIA’s NH Advantage Award.

For over 170 years, People’s United Bank has begun every commercial relationship by taking the time to listen and learn about each business. We can provide you with everything from personal banking and savings to commercial loans and lines of credit to help grow your business.*

VISIT OR CALL OUR COMMERCIAL BANKING LEADERS AT OUR 27 LOCATIONS THROUGHOUT NEW HAMPSHIRE. Peter Giorno, SVP, Commerical Lending Manager • 603-226-3481 Mark Leonardi, SVP, Commercial Lending Manager • 603-334-6721

Tiffany Eddy of Focus First Communications, Kevin Flynn of BIA, and Todd Leach of the University System of NH are all smiles at BIA’s Annual Dinner. *Application and credit approval required. ©2016 People’s United Bank, N.A. | Member FDIC | Equal Opportunity Lender

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Kelli D’Amore and Muriel Schadee of Nathan Weschler & Company enjoy the reception prior to BIA’s Annual Dinner.

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Joining the crowd at BIA’s Annual Dinner are Harold Turner of the HL Turner Group and Susanna Fier of Elliot Health Sytem.

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At Meet the Commissioners, Patrick McDermott and Erin Vanden Borre of Hinkley Allen share a laugh with Employment Security Commissioner George Copadis.

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Executive Councilor Chris Sununu discusses current events with Safety Commissioner John Barthelmes at BIA’s Meet the Commissioners event.

ENTERPRISE 2016 | 7


BIA NETWORKING

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BIA President Jim Roche testifies at the State House on behalf of BIA members. BIA weighs in on dozens of policy issues each legislative session.

BIA’s annual Croissants and Crossover allows business leaders to hear from insiders about where key bills are heading at the legislative calendar’s half-way point. Here the crowd gets insight from NH Business Review’s Bob Sanders, the Concord Monitor’s Allison Morris, and the Union Leader’s Garry Rayno.

All members are invited to shape BIA legislative policy. Here, the Energy and Telecommunications Policy Committee listens to a presentation by representatives from regional electricity generators.

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Henry Veilleux of Sheehan Phinney Capitol Group and Mark Ciborowski of Ciborowski Realty Trust share some Christmas cheer at BIA’s Holiday Open House.

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BIA staff relaxes at the Holiday Open House. Pictured are Shirley Streeter, Lucie Labombard, Lora McMahon, Christine Ducharme, Jane Tewksbury, and Stefanie Lamb.

S T E B B I N S ,

L A Z O S

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Jeffrey Zellers of Annis & Zellers and Vanessa Stafford of the NH Hospital Association know there’s nothing like a good cup of coffee to complement Croissants and Crossover.

GROUP ENTERPRISE 2016 | 9


BIA NETWORKING

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Your customers are sharing their stories.

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Participants bring their concerns to the experts during the annual Water Resources Management Conference, presented by BIA and the Department of Environmental Services.

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Presenting financing options for small business owners are Greta Johansson from the SBA, Gary Barr from TD Bank, and John Hamilton from the Community Loan Fund, part of the Eleventh Annual BIA Small Business Day.

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MicroData’s Stephen Vorella and Elektrisola’s Laurie Harte and Leonel Klassen get a chance to network at BIA’s Small Business Day, a forum to help entrepreneurs grow their businesses.

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BIA’s Welcome Back Legislators event brings together state lawmakers and business leaders for an intimate networking experience. Here are Lincoln Financial’s Byron Champlin, NH Home Builders Association’s Kendall Buck, and Senate Democratic Leader Jeff Woodburn.

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Environmental Services Commissioner Tom Burack addresses the crowd at the Water Resources Management Conference, one of several BIA events focused on business regulatory issues throughout the year.

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BIA members can listen to a variety of presentations that affect their businesses. Here, documentarian Dan Habib shows a film clip to BIA’s Human Resources, Health Care, and Workforce Development Committee about the concept of inclusive workplaces.

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BIA EVENTS CALENDAR June 2

2016 NH Air Emissions Regulatory Conference Radisson Hotel, Manchester

June 13

21st Annual BIA Golf Classic Concord Country Club, Concord

Sept. 9

2016 BIA Forum on Workforce Housing in New Hampshire Radisson, Manchester

Oct.

2016 BIA Business Tax Forum Radisson, Manchester

Oct. 13

14th Annual Governor’s Advanced Manufacturing and High Technology Summit Grappone Center, Concord

Oct. 19

103rd Annual Dinner, Lifetime Achievement and NH Advantage Awards Celebration Radisson, Manchester

Nov. 13 & 14

NH Leadership Summit Mt. Washington Hotel, Bretton Woods

Dec.

Member Orientation BIA Office, Concord

Dec.

2016 NH Energy Symposium Radisson, Manchester

Dec.

Meet the Commissioners and Executive Councilors Holiday Inn, Concord

Jan.

Meet the Legislature Holiday Inn, Concord

Feb.

12th Annual Small Business Day Holiday Inn, Concord

Mar.

Croissants and Crossover Holiday Inn, Concord

May

BIA Annual Business Meeting & Member Reception Radisson, Manchester

All events and dates are subject to change or cancellation. For questions, contact Lora McMahon at 603.224.5388 x101 or go to BIAofNH.com and click on EVENTS. 12 | ENTERPRISE 2016

BIA offers special deal on Rhine River cruise BIA, in partnership with the Greater Concord Chamber of Commerce, is offering a special rate on a once-in-a-lifetime trip through the heart of Europe. This exclusively charted cruise will allow you to see Switzerland, France, Luxembourg, Germany, and Holland like you’ve never seen them before: from the banks of Rhine River. Visitors will spend seven nights aboard the five-star MS Charles Dickens. This trip includes roundtrip airfare from Boston, luxurious dining for all meals, and the services of an English speaking cruise director. There are eight city tours available, including Cologne, Lucerne, Volendam, and Basel. There is also an optional two-night, pre-cruise stay in Amsterdam. Book through BIA for packages starting at $3,699 per person. This incredible Rhine River cruise gets underway on October 19, 2016. For further details, contact Christine Ducharme at (603) 224-5388 x113.


LiveHealth Online Video visits with doctors 24/7

Now when your employees have health questions or are under the weather, they can have private video visits with board-certified doctors on a smartphone, tablet or computer with a webcam.

Talk about convenient. Here’s what LiveHealth Online offers:1 Help for nonurgent health issues like cold and flu symptoms, sinus infections, etc. And online doctors can prescribe basic medicine, when needed.2

There’s LiveHealth Online Psychology, too

Lower costs for Anthem members. Depending on the plan, LiveHealth Online costs the same as a standard office visit or at most, $49.

Employees just log on, select LiveHealth Online Psychology and choose a therapist. Or call LiveHealth Online at 1-844-784-8409 from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. to make an appointment.4

See a therapist within four days or less.3

Connections to participating local providers, with a specific log on code.

To find out more about LiveHealth Online, contact your producer or Anthem Sales representative or visit livehealthonline.com.

Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield is the trade name of Anthem Health Plans of New Hampshire, Inc. HMO plans are administered by Anthem Health Plans of New Hampshire, Inc. and underwritten by Matthew Thornton Health Plan, Inc. Independent licensees of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. ANTHEM is a registered trademark of Anthem Insurance Companies, Inc. The Blue Cross and Blue Shield names and symbols are registered marks of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. 58831NHEENABS 02/16

1 LiveHealth Online does not offer emergency services. 2 Prescription availability is defined by physician judgment and state regulations. 3 Appointments subject to availability of a therapist. 4 Depending on coverage, costs may be similar to an in-person behavioral health visit. Users must be at least 18 years old to see a therapist online.


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RESOURCES

TO YOUR HEALTH BIA’s new healthcare exchange brings more than just medical insurance to the table

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Navigating today’s complex world of health insurance can be confusing for business owners and HR managers. Brokers do a good job of assembling a variety of benefit packages for employers to select from; nevertheless, deciding which plan best suits your needs can also be frustrating. BIA has launched a new, private healthcare exchange. Through NHHealthBenefits. net, brokers and businesses of all sizes have access to a wide variety of insurance products, including many ancillary benefits others don’t offer. NHHealthBenefits.net, powered by nationwide healthcare payment and benefit technology leader CieloStar, features more than 30 major medical insurance plans from leading providers such as Anthem, Minuteman, and Tufts Health Freedom Plan. Dental insurance is available through Northeast Delta Dental. What makes this exchange unique is that in addition to health coverage, NHHealthBenefits.net lets employees select from an à

la carte menu of different, affordable guaranteed issue benefits. These include products like accident prevention insurance, ID theft protection, and access to telemedicine services. Other offerings include legal protection coverage, a retail rewards program, and a discount pharmacy plan. NHHealthBenefits.net makes it easy for employers to manage their plans. Employees log in at the website, the click on whichever products they want to put into their baskets. There are no minimum requirements and coverage for the ancillary products is guaranteed. Even if everyone in the office has a different combination of coverages, employers get one consolidated bill. Better yet, if you’re happy with your current health insurance plan, you can still enroll your business for just the suite of ancillary coverages for an affordable cost. NHHealthBenefits.net is broker-friendly. If your broker hasn’t made you aware of NHHealthBenefits.net, ask him or her about it. Or check it out for yourself at www.NHHealthBenefits.net. ENTERPRISE 2016 | 15


SUCCESS STORIES

SMALL BUSINESS plays a big role in NH’s vitality Sometimes business owner Michael Fairbrother gets pressed into service. The bottle filling operation of his New Hampshire-crafted meads and ciders doesn’t resemble those at major factories. You won’t see hundreds of thousands of cans speed by on conveyor belts. At Moonlight Meadery in Londonderry, it takes an entire minute to fill a 12-bottle case. That’s because each 375 mL bottle is filled by hand – and sometimes those hands belong to Fairbrother. Fairbrother, like so many New Hampshire entrepreneurs, took a chance on something at which he felt he could succeed. Moonlight Meadery is just one example of a small business receiving value from membership in the Business

Photo by Kevin Flynn 16 | ENTERPRISE 2016

and Industry Association of New Hampshire. In 2012, the U.S. Censure Bureau found that New Hampshire’s small businesses employ over half of the state’s private workforce, nearly 285,000 people. While the BIA is comprised of many of the state’s largest employers, 55 percent of its members employ fewer than 50 people, and 35 percent employ fewer than ten.

TAKING THE PULSE OF THE INDUSTRY Michael Degnan runs a modest office out of Concord. The staff size is small but Helms & Company’s impact on healthcare is undeniable. The consulting and management firm has been in the BIA since their creation in 1983, a perfect example of the many professional service organizations that flourish in the Granite State. “We have been very fortunate to be in an environment in New Hampshire that has been conducive to the quality of life we all wanted and the work environment we were looking for,” said Degnan. “We were looking for exciting work opportunities and we found it.” After a long career in public health in New Hampshire, Degnan and his original partner (former NH Health and Human Services Commissioner Ned Helms) brought their considerable insight to the challenges and opportunities facing hospitals and other care providers in Northern New England. These have included issues such as strategic planning, regulatory assistance, and payer contract negotiations. Helms & Company has leveraged its strong reputation and long-term relationships with New Hampshire healthcare leaders. “Bringing together healthcare providers and stakeholders who are traditionally competitive for a common purpose – that’s a lot of it,” said Senior Consultant and Principal Roland Lamy, Jr. The organization continues its involvement in public and private health initiatives, such as managing the New Hampshire Health

Michael Degnan and Roland Lamy of Helms & Company In their Concord office. They have been BIA members since the firm’s founding in 1983.


Courtesy photos

Photographer Mallory Parkington, at left, has taken many executive head shots as well as found a niche market for beauty portrait sessions which include wardrobe and make-up services.

Plan, New Hampshire Imaging Services, the New Hampshire Community Behavioral Health Association, and the Rural Home Care Network. For BIA member consulting firms – operating in fields such as engineering, education, accounting, energy, marketing, and public policy – being located in New Hampshire provides unique opportunities that operating in major markets may not. “Those that seek consultative support the most are probably the ones that are more rural,” said Lamy. “If we did this and moved to a larger city, I’m sure there would be work, but I don’t think it would be as relationship-focused as it is here.”

MUCH TO SMILE ABOUT Some small business owners create their own opportunities. When Mallory Parkington of Portsmouth was considering her next career move, her mind kept wandering back to her

love of taking pictures as an amateur photographer. She decided to follow her passion. “Every new change comes with a bit of fear,” she said, but confidence that she could deliver a unique product and make a living inspired her to open Parkington Photography. She is among the growing number of women-owned businesses in New Hampshire, which have jumped 49 percent since 1997, according the U.S. Census Bureau. The Census also found that among self-employed individuals in the state, like Parkington, nearly one-third are women. Parkington found a niche market among women and teens, focusing on unique beauty portrait sessions. Clients get a three-hour high-fashion session, complete with wardrobe and make-up artists. The result is a professional looking portfolio and the memory of being a cover girl for a day. “Even though I’m a photographer and I’m trying to sell the photos, what else I’m doing is trying to sell an experience.” While she’s known for “playtime,” Parkington is active as a “worktime” photographer too. She’s had many assignments doing executive headshots, jobs she sometimes gets through her relationship with other BIA members. “I’ve been doing a lot of lawyers lately,” Parkington mused. A growing part of her business includes com-

mercial images for ads and catalogues. Recent clients include a cake baker and a nail salon. “You always have to adapt your business,” she said.

I’LL DRINK TO THAT Fairbrother’s Moonlight Meadery continues to adapt to a market largely unfamiliar or mistaken about his product. Mead can best be described as a distant cousin to wine, a fermented beverage made from honey, sometimes flavored with fruit or spices. “In 1995 I got into home brewing, and that’s when I discovered mead.” This was when he had a day job as the chief operating officer at a software company, before striking out on his own a decade later. “Brewing mead was how I was moonlighting and that’s where the name comes from,” Fairbrother said. His brew is among the best. After winning three consecutive Mead Maker of the Year honor and several gold medals for his concoctions, Fairbrother began brewing commercially out of his garage in 2010. Moving operations to a permanent facility, he’s created jobs for nine people. Now Fairbrother is expanding his product line to include ciders and other beverages. All of these small business owners say they find value in their BIA membership. Among the ENTERPRISE 2016 | 17


Courtesy photo

greatest benefit is the organization’s advocacy at the statehouse. As the voice of New Hampshire’s business community, BIA is always at the forefront of letting lawmakers know how proposed legislation and regulations will impact the state’s employers. Another member benefit is the great programming put on by BIA. Throughout the year, BIA offers access to forums and conferences where business and opinion leaders discuss topics of concern to employers of all sizes. Subjects include environmental and labor regulations, tax issues, healthcare costs, workforce housing, and more. BIA also organizes outstanding networking opportunities throughout the year. These provide members an unprecedented opportunity to build relationships with other business leaders and policy makers from across the 18 | ENTERPRISE 2016

state. Events of this nature include “Meet the Legislature,” the must-attend BIA Annual Dinner, and forums on energy, small business issues, state budget, and dozens more. Small businesses that join the BIA also have access to a suite of affinity programs that they may not otherwise be able to provide employees. These include the NH Rx Card, a free discount prescription drug card. There are competitive rates available through NHHealthBenefits.net for major medical, dental, and other ancillary insurance plans [see page 15]. Employees can access affordable selected degree programs through Southern New Hampshire University’s College for America. “The weekly Legislative Review email is very helpful for staying current for what’s going on at the statehouse,” said Degnan. “It doesn’t require us to be there, but gives me an update

Owner Michael Fairbrother, stands in the tasting room at Moonlight Meadery in Londonderry, which started production in 2010.

on a real, regular basis of what’s going on.” Parkington agreed. “I really do benefit from the newsletters, the printed one [BIA Report] and the online version [E-Brief ]. I always read that. I think it’s really informative...I definitely love having that.” Fairbrother said he appreciates the time BIA puts into public policy advocacy and its other programming. Time is a commodity not to be wasted by the brewer. There are books to balance, trade shows to attend, marketing plans to implement, and a tasting room to staff. Every minute is valuable. Because every minute represents another case of twelve bottles to fill. n


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WOMEN leading the way

Leadership advice can come in many forms. For some of the Business and Industry Association’s leaders, it quite often comes in the form of action. Gerardine Ferlins provides her company’s employees 30 hours of pay annually so they can participate in community outreach efforts. Suzanne Foster takes part in a Women’s Network Resource group in her Portsmouth office. Pam Hall promotes social responsibility by stepping up to initiatives where the government is stepping out. These women don’t just talk a good game – they set an example for others to emulate. In some cases, they’ve taken an opportunity and run with it, creating thriving, successful businesses. In others, they break new ground by helping maintain an open and diverse workplace. And some work through personal challenges to forge new perspectives on leadership. Women help drive the state’s economy and some of

the most accomplished are leaders in the Business and Industry Association. They exemplify a work ethic that leads to success and they share their expertise and insight readily with fellow members. Three standout women of the BIA shared information about their respective companies, their industry and some of what being a business leader in New Hampshire entails. Gerardine Ferlins, president and CEO of Cirtronics, of Milford; Pam Hall, president and CEO of Normandeau Associates, of Bedford; and Suzanne Foster, vice president and general manager of the Advanced Energy Division of Medtronic, in Portsmouth, are valued members of the Business and Industry Association – as well as strong leaders in their respective industries. These women have taken the time to provide some insight about what it means to lead and how doing business in New Hampshire is both unique and beneficial. >

ENTERPRISE 2016 | 21


Loyalty, dedication part of the mission at Cirtronics Gerardine Ferlins, Cirtronics, Milford

Early in her career, Gerardine Ferlins was provided an opportunity by a mentor that led to the founding of Cirtronics – a Milfordbased contract manufacturer invested in all stages of the product life cycle. It’s a gesture she’s paid forward and made part of the company’s mission. Cirtronics operates under an Employee Stock Ownership Program, and is deeply invested in community outreach – setting aside 30 hours of pay annually for employees to participate in local voluntary activities, and striving to donate 10 percent of its profits to charity. It’s all central to how Ferlins leads the company. Press her for personal insight on the company’s success, and she’ll deflect the spotlight, falling back on the value of her team and the importance of everyone at Cirtronics. It started in 1979, when Ferlins worked for Worcester Controls. When the company was sold, she was given an opportunity to start a manufacturing operation. Today that company, Cirtronics, is involved in the Electronic Manufacturing Services (EMS) industry, providing services from product conception, integration and reverse logistics. 22 | ENTERPRISE 2016

Q. What prompted you to structure the Cirtronics hierarchy in the way it exists? We wanted to provide an environment for high performing work teams to succeed. Each team has a “lead,” but the lead’s role is about facilitation, not supervision. Each leader understands the strengths of the individual team members, and helps them develop their potential and contribute their best to achieve the mission. As we’ve grown over the years, we’ve adopted some traditional titles, but we all recognize our responsibility to foster both individual and organizational potential. Collaboration is really at the core of our company, and it works very well. Q. What role does social responsibility play in the way Cirtronics operates? Every person has a basic need to contribute, not only to their work life, but to society in general. Early on, before the term “social responsibility” was incorporated into the business lexicon, Cirtronics created vehicles to give back to both the local and wider community through our community outreach program and our environmental stewardship program. It’s Cirtronics’ mission to serve our customers, our corporation, our suppliers, our employee-owners, our community and our environment. We call this the “6 we serve.” It’s absolutely core to who we are; it’s embedded in our DNA.

Q. How has ESOP affected the culture at Cirtronics? We all know the adage “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” But, no one ever asks, “Who owns the boat?” Although we had participatory management and strong profit sharing programs from the start, we knew we needed to share ownership. The Employee Stock Ownership Program is structured under the Federal ERISA law, allowing employees to participate in ownership of a privately held company. Our ESOP has added so much strength to our organization. Our people really are vested in the success of our company – they are dedicated to creating a stronger company, and they know they will realize the fruits of their labor should everything go well. The amazing thing is that even through tough times, the owners retained their loyalty and dedication to our company. That’s what ownership is all about. Q. In what way can companies recruit and keep talented women in management positions? [Companies can] embrace the different approaches and perspectives that women bring to the table. Invite their participation in strategic decisions. Recognize that women often navigate by heart as well as mind, creating and facilitating connection, cooperation, and understanding. And there is so much strength in that. Allow them to impact both the mission and the solutions. Remember that there is data that may not always be easy to quantify –


and great managers, men or women, know when to rely on their gut, or the gut feeling of one of their team.

Q. In what ways did a mentor or role model help you prepare for your professional career? Back in 1979, my mentor, Robert C. McCray, saw in me strengths and abilities that I did not even know I had. He provided the opportunity to start Cirtronics and allowed me the freedom to find my way. Surely, my upbringing was critically important as well. My 16 years of education from the Sisters of St. Joseph provided a foundational belief that we are all here for a purpose and it is our responsibility to both find that purpose and use our talents towards that end. This belief fuels me to this day. Q. In what ways is Cirtronics involved in community outreach programs? Our C-corp’s mission is to donate time, funds and space to serve our youth. Cirtronics provides 30 hours of pay annually for our

employees to participate in local voluntary activities. We strive to donate 10 percent of profit. The local organizations we regularly support include: Boys & Girls Club, Nashua Children’s Home, Child & Family Services (Camp Spaulding), NH Food Bank, Share, and Nashua Soup Kitchen.

tion works to help businesses through its legislative and regulatory advocacy. The NH Manufacturing Extension Partnership offers training and support. And our local educational institutions are sensitive to the need to prepare their students for the future high technology demands.

Q. What benefits are there to basing the company in New Hampshire? The strong work ethic of our people. The beautiful environment. Access to government officials and the collaboration with the private sector. We are close enough to metropolitan areas in both New Hampshire and Massachusetts for easy travel and access, while being able to enjoy the true beauty of Southern New Hampshire.

Q. What advice would you give to women pursuing leadership positions in New Hampshire? My advice is to all potential leaders. I think there is often a misconception that in order to lead you have to conform to some external blueprint of what a leader is supposed to be like. But here’s what I feel to be the true keys to successful leadership: Be yourself. Have confidence in your strengths, and celebrate your special gifts. Be aware of the need for different viewpoints, and surround yourself with smart, creative people who are willing to tell you the truth. Leadership is a collaborative relationship, after all. It is not about dictating; it is about facilitating, empowering, and enjoying what we can create when we work together. n

Q. In what ways is New Hampshire particularly supportive of manufacturing? There is an astute recognition, among various constituents, of the importance of manufacturing both to our region and the nation. The Business and Industry Associa-

ENTERPRISE 2016 | 23


Blazing a trail Pam Hall, Normandeau Associates, Bedford

Photo by John W. Hession

Pam Hall, president and CEO of Bedfordbased Normandeau Associates, began her career there in 1971 as a marine scientist at the natural resources management firm. She became its president in 1987 when it was a division of a large publicly held company. And when that company decided to divest Normandeau – one of the largest science-based environmental consulting firms in the U.S. – Hall led the charge to buy it and turn it into an employeeowned company in 2000. It’s a move she cites as one of the reasons the company thrived during a period of economic instability. Since becoming an employee-owned firm, annual sales have nearly tripled, it established a dozen and a half offices nationwide and has grown to employ about 250 people. Hall was one of the few women at the firm when she started in the ‘70s, and the only woman in senior management in the ‘80s. Today, women make up half of Normandeau’s management team and 45 percent of its professional staff. 24 | ENTERPRISE 2016

Q. What led to the decision to buy

Q. What advice would you give to women

out the company in 2000? In professional services companies, employees are the assets. We were founded in 1970 and had been bought and sold a couple of times by 2000. The company employed many talented and dedicated employees who had “weathered the storms” so to speak and had worked very hard to make and keep this company successful. I felt strongly that we should own the company ourselves; have a broad ownership structure open to all regular employees as every employee contributes to the success of the company; and have control over our future. I met with the senior management team several times, consulted with outside advisors, and we decided to “go for it.”

pursuing leadership positions in New Hampshire? I would advise women to: 1) set reasonable but aggressive goals and remember that one is usually more successful if there is a good match between professional interests and personal interests; 2) have the confidence that such goals can be achieved and that one learns from one’s mistakes – fear of failure can prevent one from growing and achieving one’s potential; 3) acquire basic management and leadership training early in your career so that as opportunities arise you already have many of the skills needed and have also demonstrated considerable interest and initiative; 4) recognize that management skills and leadership skills are not necessarily the same (there are some very good managers who are not good leaders; 5) be somewhat patient with yourself and others and promote yourself and your accomplishments and aspirations, when appropriate; 6) recognize that it still can be frustrating at times for women as it’s not an equal playing field.

Q. In what ways has an employeeowned structure benefitted Normandeau Associates? We are a private, 100 percent employee-owned company and we accomplished this through an ESOP (Employee Stock Ownership Plan) Trust. ESOPs distribute company shares to employee accounts in the trust; employees do not have to buy shares so shares are available to all who qualify under the plan. Our shares are distributed based on compensation level and years of service, thus they are widely distributed with approximately 200 employees having shares in the trust at this time. Because of this, employees consider Normandeau Associates “their company,” and this certainly helps to create a culture of excellence in our work and with client service. Also, it is the hard work of these employees that makes the company successful and the continued success of the company creates long term shared value for all of these employees, so it’s a win/win for all. There is evidence in the ESOP literature that ESOP companies perform somewhat better than other companies and I think that is the case. Over the 15-plus years in which we have been employee-owned, we have weathered the economic and business downturns well in comparison to many firms.

Q. What resources in New Hampshire would you recommend women take advantage of as they progress through their careers? There are numerous resources available to women. Several universities and colleges offer degrees in business on a full time or part time basis. I highly recommend some basic business courses. Many have 1-2 day management, leadership and financial seminars. There are also many online courses. UNH, the Community College System and Granite State College offer such programs. This is very relevant to the emerging job markets in technology and advanced manufacturing. Southern New Hampshire University has a Center for Women’s Business Advancement. There are several CEO Forums including one at UNH run by Barbara Draper, and also many networking groups for women in business. It’s important for women to take advantage of these learning and training opportunities and not wait – get the training early before you need it, so that when the opportunities occur, you already have many of the credentials and have demonstrated your interest, drive and commitment.


Q. In what way can companies recruit and

Q. Given the recent company expansion

funding for many, much needed programs drastically decrease, businesses need to step in and take a lead role, and more and more are doing just that. Employees just entering the workforce also have expectations of their employers as far as community service. Our senior corporate officers volunteer for non-profit boards and committees, as do many of our employees. I have volunteered my time on many nonprofit charitable organization boards over the past 30-plus years. For the past several years I have been Chair of Volunteer NH, a 501(c)(3) established by the State of New Hampshire, to promote volunteerism and community service in the state. This nonprofit administers the State AmeriCorps Programs such as City Year and AmeriCorps Victims Assistance Program (AVAP), hosts both the Governor’s Conference on Volunteerism and the Spirit of New Hampshire Awards Celebration, helps to organize volunteer efforts during disasters, and assists with matching volunteer interests with volunteer needs. Volunteer NH and another very key nonprofit, New Hampshire Businesses for Social Responsibility (NHBSR), are working together to help businesses with their volunteer and community service programs in an effort to more effectively engage more businesses in community service.

keep talented women in management positions? For companies like Normandeau Associates, Inc., where there are several women in management positions, I think’s easier to recruit very talented and smart women as they see opportunities for involvement and advancement and the company has demonstrated this through its hiring practices and promotions over many years. There are some companies, however, that don’t have women, or many women, in management and leadership roles, particularly in top corporate roles. Such companies need to demonstrate that they will give women equal pay, equal voice, equal responsibilities and authority, equal respect and equal chances for advancement.

Q. What role does community involvement play in Normandeau Associates? Community involvement/volunteerism is one of our Company Core Values, established by senior management when we bought the company in 2000. As examples, the company engages in fund raisers, food drives, and the United Way Day of Caring in addition to its numerous donations. In many cases, our ESOP Advisory Committee organizes these company initiatives. As federal and state

to California and Florida, what are the benefits to keeping the headquarters in New Hampshire? Normandeau Associates, Inc. is a “home grown” New Hampshire corporation and we have been headquartered here since 1970. For many, many years, we have worked on projects throughout the U.S. and in some cases, internationally, and have established offices where we needed to do so. In New Hampshire, many think of us as a local, small company, but we are in the top twenty companies nationally when it comes to our specialty science based consulting. Bedford, New Hampshire may not be the most centrally located region geographically, but many of our key employees live here or close by in neighboring states. Travel to and from Bedford is very easy and convenient because of Manchester-Boston Regional Airport. Quality of life is very important to our employees and you can’t beat New Hampshire In most parts of the state, cost of living is also reasonable compared to many Northeast states. In addition, New Hampshire is a small state with a population of about 1.3 million. As a result, many people know each other and this forms a very effective informal network for working together and getting things accomplished. Larger states don’t have this advantage. n

Normandeau Associates, Inc. supports the Business and Industry Association of New Hampshire

Delivering Innovative Scientific Solutions and Services to Clients Nationwide.

NORMANDEAU ASSOCIATES Environmental Consultants

www.normandeau.com

• • • • •

Environmental Permitting Wetlands Assessment and Mitigation Stormwater Management NEPA Studies and Reviews Plant and Wildlife Surveys

• • • •

Water Resources and Water Quality Technical Assistance, Planning and GIS Landfill and Infrastructure Monitoring Phase I & II Environmental Site Assessments ENTERPRISE 2016 | 25


Leading and living in the moment Suzanne Foster, Medtronic, Portsmouth Q. What path led you to your posi-

Medtronic develops technology at the forefront of the healthcare industry. Suzanne Foster, vice president and general manager of the Advanced Energy Division, could not have foreseen that she would personally be facing an issue her company is deeply involved with. A year and a half ago, Foster was diagnosed with breast cancer. Facing it head-on, however, has given this leader a new perspective on her personal and professional life. “It’s part of who I am now,” Foster says. “Getting through it has made me stronger.” Founded in 1949 as a medical repair company, Medtronic is among the world’s largest medical technology companies, employing more than 85,000 people worldwide and serving doctors, hospitals, and patients in more than 160 countries.

26 | ENTERPRISE 2016

tion at Medtronic Advanced Energy? I started my professional career as a clinical social worker at an inpatient psychiatric hospital. While in that position, I decided to pursue a law degree with plans to work in healthcare. For several years after law school, I worked as an attorney at two different law firms and for the Elliot Health System. Around the time my two sons were 8 and 9, I made an important decision to move from attorney-for-hire to the corporate sector, looking for an opportunity that would keep me closer to home with a less demanding work schedule. I took a position at Salient Surgical, where I was initially hired to manage their legal affairs. After the acquisition of Salient by Medtronic, I was asked to be the VP and GM of what had become known as Medtronic Advanced Energy. I’ve been in this role for almost five years now.

Q. In what ways did your breast cancer diagnosis provide a different perspective about what MAE does? As the leader of a medical device business, I’ve found it important to always keep patients at the center of everything we do. But when you become a patient yourself, you realize the real impact that companies like Medtronic have on real lives – how we can impact what happens to someone along their journey. It suddenly becomes a lot more real. When I think about our mission of restoring health, alleviating pain and extending life, I now see real people who are mothers, fathers, and sisters.

Q. How did your insight into the health care industry help? When I was first diagnosed, I did not turn to the internet for information. I was fortunate enough to have doctors that we work with at MAE on my speed dial. I trusted them every step of the way to tell me what I needed to do and know. I wish every patient could have that experience.

MAE’s products are used in lots of different specialties, so I’m familiar with a broad spectrum of surgical procedures, including breast cancer treatment. Being focused on the specifics of my own treatment helped me see firsthand that the care pathway for breast cancer is far from optimal. One of our biggest goals at MAE now is to improve the breast cancer care pathway as much as we possibly can by introducing new surgical solutions.

Q. How did your breast cancer diagnosis change your approach to leadership? Like most people say when they survive a disease like cancer, one of the first things you experience is a renewed perspective on the things that are truly important. You appreciate the important moments, and your connection to other people in general, a whole lot more. I find myself so much more present now, and devoting my full attention to the people and moment that I am in.

Q. What has been the most rewarding part of leading at MAE? I say this all the time, and I believe 100 percent that it’s true – we have something very unique at MAE. People who visit us see it immediately. It doesn’t take long for new employees to appreciate it and become part of it.

Q. In what ways is the culture at MAE supportive of women leaders? There is a concerted effort to significantly increase the number of women in leadership positions. The Medtronic Women’s Network is an Employee Resource Group with more than 6,000 members – the largest of its kind in the company. We have our own group at MAE in the Portsmouth office that provides development opportunities to all employees (men are invited to participate as well) and addresses specific issues related to women employees in an effort to raise awareness and foster change from a grass roots level. The most recent example is our wellness room, which we specially designed to include a nursing mothers’ component for their comfort and privacy.


Q. Was there a mentor or role model in your life that helped you prepare for your professional career, and if so, how? Absolutely. I have an entire group of people that I have reached out to over the years for their help with things that I might be going through. I refer to them as my personal Board of Directors. For me, it’s always started with my husband, Steve, and my two sons, who are both teenagers now. They always give it to me straight with no filter. Outside of them, there are people who have made a significant difference in my life at various points in my career, and I never miss an opportunity to ask them for advice, counsel and guidance. I could not have gotten this far without this group.

Q. What are some of the most important skills women can develop when preparing to lead, especially in manufacturing? When it comes to describing women in the corporate world, a metaphor I use a lot is a game board. We are moving in the right direction now where women are being given a lot more opportunity than we’ve had before, but the game is still being played on a board (i.e., the rules) that developed over time and which naturally favor men. Women are way too often given advice to be different than they are. For example: less emotional, speak

up more, be assertive, etc. Women should discover their own unique strengths and play to them. Then collectively, women need to work on implementing changes that result in a better game board – one that allows women and men to thrive in the workplace and care for their families. My most important piece of advice to women is to never turn down an opportunity. If someone is offering you a chance to do something new, it’s because they believe in your ability, and they trust in you, and in a lot of cases, they might even be taking a chance on you. Don’t be afraid to take your career in a little bit different direction than what you may have had in mind. Things have a way of working themselves out, and I’ve never taken on a new role or opportunity that didn’t make me a better person in the end.

Q. What benefits are there to basing your division in New Hampshire? New Hampshire is a beautiful state, and in particular, Portsmouth and the Seacoast area can’t be topped when it comes to quality of life, access to culture and entertainment, and convenience to travel outlets with Manchester and Logan both a short drive away. It’s also nice to entertain new hires, customers and other guests in downtown Portsmouth

without making the hour drive to Boston. And for most non-New Englanders who visit our facility, Portsmouth is a brand new place to them. It’s definitely a hidden gem.

Q. In what ways has being a member of the BIA benefitted you? The BIA gives me the opportunity to see challenges that are affecting businesses all over New Hampshire. Through this lens, I can view my own organization to make connections and vice versa. One of the issues we’re addressing that’s important to me is the development of New Hampshire’s future workforce, including increased awareness about careers in industries like ours. We often find it challenging to recruit the right talent, and raising awareness of opportunities in high technology and health care organizations will allow us to more quickly reach potential future employees.

Q. What advice would you give to women pursuing leadership positions in New Hampshire? New Hampshire is a community that’s small enough for you to develop a broad network in a huge variety of industries. Get involved in statewide initiatives and organizations. You can get so much done here, especially from a career standpoint. n

Building New Hampshire’s Workforce ENTERPRISE 2016 | 27


SOUNDING THE ALARM High electric prices in NH are hurting businesses and homeowners alike “There’s a real concern about the cost of electricity.” When Don Welch walks the floor of Globe Manufacturing Company, a business that’s been in his family for four generations and is the largest employer in Pittsfield, he’s surrounded by reminders of heroism. For 125

28 | ENTERPRISE 2016

years, Globe has been making turnout gear for firefighters – people who hear an alarm and rush toward a crisis. Don is among many New Hampshire business leaders sounding their own alarm about the exorbitant cost of electricity in the Granite State. These prices affect all ratepay-

ers, but large-scale users are most susceptible because power is a major component to the manufacturing process. In the 1880s, firefighter coats at Globe were cut and stitched by hand. Making today’s high-tech protective turnout gear requires modern machines to complete the job.


“If there continues to be an estimate that costs are going to go up and not go down, that’s a huge negative to expanding in New Hampshire.” – Don Welch, Globe Manufacturing Company, Pittsfield

Recognizing what has been a growing energy crisis, the Business and Industry Association began a public awareness campaign in late 2015. EnergizeNH is shining a light on the problem of the high cost of electricity in the state – a problem which particularly affects manufacturers like Globe.

The latest report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration shows New England continues to have the highest commercial, industrial, and residential energy prices among the contiguous states. The latest data shows electric prices in New Hampshire are consistently 55

percent over the national average. Globe has smaller facilities in Maine, Virginia, and Oklahoma, so Don knows precisely how different the price of power is around the country. “We could save about half on our electricity costs by being in Oklahoma,” he says.

ENTERPRISE 2016 | 29


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LEARN MORE! Visit ccsnh.edu/WorkReadyNH or call (603) 230-3534 30 | ENTERPRISE 2016


“The monthly electric bill for my family’s business is $40,000. If our businesses were located in Virginia or North Carolina, our bill would be up to 45% less. High electricity prices make it difficult to compete and grow our business in New Hampshire.” – Kathy Garfield, Keller Companies, Manchester

While Don is adamant there are no plans to move any of the 350 jobs out of New Hampshire, there is a calculation to be made when evaluating business growth. Should the opportunity come to build a new product line, for example, management would have to weigh whether it makes sense to create those jobs in the Granite State when other regions are so much more affordable. It’s not only cost. Reliability is also a concern. “We’ve had brown-outs here,” Don says. “It damages our equipment. We can’t shut down. We can’t meet delivery schedules for our customers. You can’t imagine in this day and age that we have to worry about our supply of electricity.” Kathy Garfield, corporate treasurer of Keller Companies, knows this story all too well. Among their manufactured products are energy efficient structural building panels, pre-engineered buildings, extruded plastics and molded wood cylinders (used primarily in furniture and in musical drum shells). The electricity costs at their facilities in Manchester and Bow are more than $40,000 a month, money that could easily be put toward expanding their workforce. “Our mission is and has been to provide stable employment in the Manchester area,” Kathy says about the company that her grandfather founded right after World War II. “My grandfather wanted that. He’s a product of the Great Depression. He started these businesses when there were lines out

the door of people looking for jobs and he always said, ‘I want stable employment in Manchester.’” But it can be hard maintaining stable employment when you can’t rely on stable electricity. Kathy says frequent power surges wreak havoc with their facilities. The same flicker that may cause a homeowner’s microwave clock to reset to “12:00” can shut down an entire manufacturing line. “All the product that’s stuck in the machine is now scrap,” she says. One reason for the rising cost of electricity in New Hampshire is the region’s increasing reliance on natural gas for residential heating and electrical generation. Several power plants that feed the region are slated for retirement soon and there’s not enough infrastructure in place to bring to New England all of the energy it will soon require. ISO-New England, the independent organization that manages the region’s electrical grid, recently reported that by 2019, 4,200 megawatts of electricity generation will retire, with another 6,000 at risk of retirement by 2020. This represents nearly one-third of the region’s electricity supply. Currently, several large-scale infrastructure project are on the drawing board awaiting regulatory approval. While BIA does not support or oppose any particular proposal, it does recognize the need for additional energy infrastructure as a key component in stabilizing and lowering electric energy costs in New Hampshire. As the statewide chamENTERPRISE 2016 | 31


“My family follows all the tips on energy conservation, but our annual electric bill is over $1,300 a year, and we don’t even heat with electricity! If we lived in Virginia, our electric bill would be about $800. That’s nearly $500 less!” – Jane Tewksbury, Concord resident

32 | ENTERPRISE 2016

ber of commerce, BIA has been advocating for fair siting rules and regulatory processes, and against legislation and regulation that put undue burdens on development of new energy projects. “New Hampshire and New England policymakers need to allow for development of energy infrastructure projects while working through local concerns,” BIA President Jim Roche wrote in a September 2015 op-ed. “With New Hampshire’s and the region’s economies at stake, the time for action is now. Lack of urgent attention may well lead to job losses and a lagging economy for decades to come.” In addition to its EnergizeNH public awareness campaign, BIA also has resources members can use to reduce electric expenses. Through the BIA Energy Buying Group, powered by Usource, large and small BIA members have saved hundreds of thousands of dollars. “The BIA Energy Buying Group is a natural collaboration,” says Scott MacDonald, managing director of Usource. “With Usource, BIA members have a trusted expert to deliver energy cost management solutions in their businesses. Through BIA’s activities like the EnergizeNH campaign, members have an effective way to advocate for constructive energy policy in the state. New Hampshire companies need to be engaging on both fronts – public policy advocacy and energy management solutions – to ensure longterm competitiveness.”

It’s not just New Hampshire companies feeling the squeeze of rising prices. Homeowners are affected too. Concord resident Jane Tewksbury is BIA’s director of finance and human resources. At work, Jane has her eye on expenses all day long. At home, she sees her electric bills climb over the amount she’s budgeted each month. “My family follows all the tips on energy conservation, but our electric bill is still over $1,300 a year,” she says. According to the most recent data from the US Energy Information Administration, if Jane’s family lived in Virginia they’d only be paying about $800 annually, a savings of nearly $500. “I’m a single mother. That’s money I could be using on my kids,” she says. The difference in savings for a manufacturer like Globe is even more staggering. Don says, “It’s significant. It’s hundreds of thousands of dollars a year” that could be going back into the bottom line. Don knows there is no quick and easy fix. He prefers to take the long view. He says he needs to maintain optimism that we’re going to find some relief. “If there are solutions I believe are going to help bring the costs down, that’s the hope that I need for planning,” he says. “If there continues to be disarray, uncertainty, an estimate that costs are going to continue to go up and not go down, that’s a huge negative to expanding in New Hampshire.” And that’s something that’s truly alarming. n


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THRIVING IN NH

MANUFACTURING DRIVES STATE’S ECONOMY Innovation and success in the Granite State By Michael McCord

There’s been no shortage of economic and political attention on the decline of the manufacturing sector in the United States over the past few decades. What’s less appreciated is that American manufacturing innovation is alive and thriving in New Hampshire. The “Smart Manufacturing and High Technology” report by the New Hampshire Center for Public Policy Studies, commissioned by the Business and Industry Association, highlighted one of the Granite State’s strengths that emerged after the recession of 2008-2009: “Look beyond the reports of lost manufacturing jobs, and you find an industrial sector that is a still-powerful engine of economic growth in New Hampshire.” The Smart Manufacturing/High Technology (SMHT) sector has more than 3,700 companies that account for almost onefifth (19 percent) of the state’s economy. SMHT companies are found everywhere in New Hampshire and employ one of six private sector workers. The sector paid out more than $6.4 billion in wages in 2009 (up from $3.7 billion in 1990), an impact that has continued to grow in the succeeding years. The SMHT report also found a strong multiplier effect: “Not surprisingly, there is a significant economic impact associated with the creation of SMHT jobs. Economic impact models suggest that the creation of 100 new manufacturing jobs in New Hampshire will create as many as 138 additional jobs in the rest of the state economy, add $11 million in earnings, $18 million in GDP, and generate $1.2 million in state and local tax revenue.” Here, Enterprise examines three diverse and dynamic companies that have taken SMHT to the next level and prove that industry continues to be the driver of New Hampshire’s economy.

NEW ENGLAND WIRE TECHNOLOGIES

At top: A custom multi-conductor cable manufactured by New England Wire Technologies to their customer’s exact specification. Above: A custom hybrid cable, incorporating multi-conductor cables, coaxes, tubes, and various other components. 34 | ENTERPRISE 2016

Founded in 1898, New England Wire Technologies in Lisbon has made technological innovation into art form – and it’s still keeping true to its legacy almost 120 years later. “We are basically a niche company,” said company President Tom White. “We don’t make commodity products. Every cable and wire product we make is designed for specific uses by our clients.” Those uses are many, and in multiple markets ranging from the medical industry sector to the international ITER nuclear fusion project in France. The company manufactures an exten extensive range of sophisticated and all custom-made wire and cable


Alfred Kabura of Index Packaging resaws lumber on the Baker resaw to be used later in manufacturing custom packaging. (Photo by Amy Donle)

products – multi-conductor, superconductor, coaxial cable, Litz wire, braids, coiled cords, fine-wired strands, and flexible interconnects. Among the many aspects that separates New England Wire Technologies from many manufacturing companies, White explained, is that the company has remade itself a few times over and vertically integrated almost every manufacturing process step from design to final assembly at its more than 385,000 square feet of manufacturing, quality/testing, tooling/ machine fabrication, and office space. “We are probably unique in the U.S. and the world to vertically integrate as we have. But that philosophy of doing it all in one place has served our customers and us well,” White said. The institutional knowledge and expertise is another one of the company’s foundations. White has been with the company for 35 years; semi-retired Vice President of Engineering Robert Meserve has served for almost 50 years; and Executive Vice President Rick Jesseman

has been with the company for 30 years. White said that Meserve and Board Chairman Wendell Jesseman made the critical business and technically focused decisions that propelled the company into the future. One of the critical business decisions was to share the company’s success with workers. Beginning in 1985, more than 30 percent of the company’s private shares were set aside for employees. At that time, the company had about 150 employees – the number has grown dramatically to 385 employees who work three shifts, five days a week. As is befitting of the longest continuing manufacturing company along the Ammonoosuc River, White said New England Wire is just as embedded in the close-knit communities of Lisbon, Landaff, and Lyman as they are in the global marketplace.

INDEX PACKAGING In the early 1990s, Index Packaging in Milton had reached a crossroads.

The privately-held company founded by Bruce and Connie Lander had prospered since the creation of shipping indicators that show if a box has been tipped or dropped in transit. When current company President Michael Wiles joined Index Packaging in 1994, the operation was beginning to establish itself as a specialty industrial packager for all sorts of industries. At the time Index employed 30 people with around $2 million in sales. More than two decades later, Index Packaging has grown to more than 150 employees and $21 million in sales by continuing to innovate and provide a superior level of service to customers in Northern New England. “Our main focus is on specialty manufactured packaging. Consumers won’t see the packaging we custom make because we work with other manufacturers to help ship their products safely,” said Wiles, who served in multiple capacities until becoming president in 2014. “We serve the aerospace, ENTERPRISE 2016 | 35


medical, food service, and printing industries to name a few. If there’s a mother board or a restaurant fryer to ship, we make the packaging that gets it safely to its next destination.” Each order is tailor-made for a specific product with custom wood, foam, or corrugated options. Wiles said that the company has built-in flexibility and can handle any size account. The 120,000-square-foot facility is outfitted with manufacturing equipment and warehouse space to handle quick-turn, VMI, or standard customer lead times. “There’s a lot more to packaging than most people think,” Wiles said. The engineering staff solves problems and creates unique products that may only be used once. “We tend to get the actual item forwarded to us and we create the packaging around the product so it’s properly done,” he said. The company also has its own trucking department with more than 20 trucks and 120 trailers making daily deliveries throughout northern New England. In addition to keeping its market focus on northern New England, Wiles said another company attribute is financial discipline. “We have zero debt and a philosophy of no financing,” Wiles said. That Yankee frugality and reinvesting has led to millions of dollars of property and trucking that is all company owned. “If we need something but can’t pay for it through cash flow, then we don’t get it until we can,” Wiles said.

SEALITE USA There aren’t many companies in New Hampshire whose customer list includes the Chilean Navy, U.S. Coast Guard and City of St. Angelo, Texas. But Sealite USA LLC, the Tilton-based American subsidiary of its Australian parent company, has taken its first growing steps from being a Western Hemisphere distributor to a manufacturer of marine lighting that provides safer navigation. Sealite USA President Tim Dining said the company began to rethink its American operations after a few years of success as a distributor of marine products made elsewhere. “They began to realize that it might be better to manufacture some of the

36 | ENTERPRISE 2016

Photos by Amy Donle

Sealite USA produces state-of-the-art navigational aids such as solar airfield lights for runways (top) and taxiways (middle), and lighted marker buoys for marine applications.

products closer to the markets we serve,” said Dining, who has led various manufacturing companies in New Hampshire for three decades. “Overall, Sealite believes that technology improves navigation safety and that’s the mission and vision that drives what we produce.” After four years of warehousing and distribution, in 2014 Sealite began to produce state-of-the-art solar powered buoys and other navigational aids. These are shipped directly to a wide range of customers in the Americas. “We manufacture for clients located in New Hampshire to as far away as the tip of southern Chile,” Dining said. “I really love manufacturing. When I started, I was a sailor but really knew nothing about this industry. We have begun to design and produce power supplies for our products.” Despite typical ebbs and flows in global markets, Dining is excited about the company’s growth potential to create good paying jobs in New Hampshire and to spread the wealth. “Since we’ve started manufacturing we’ve started on-shoring as much as 50 percent of our sourcing needs to American manufacturers,” he said. “We’re still a start-up manufacturer but we can all make a difference to stop the offshoring of manufacturing jobs.” The company had only a few employees when it was formed in 2010 and nine in 2014. Dining said the company now has 17 employees, and that included hiring its first engineer. Sealite USA buoys can be found in diverse locales off both Atlantic and Pacific Ocean coasts in North and South America, inland waterways from the Gulf of Mexico to the Port of Houston, or used by engineering firms to light barges on projects such as the Tappan Zee Bridge project on the Hudson River in New York. Like Tom White at New England Wire Technologies and Michael Wiles at Index Packaging, Sealite’s Tim Dining strongly supports the Business and Industry Association of New Hampshire. “My interest in volunteering as a board member is because BIA effectively promotes a healthy business environment in New Hampshire,” he said. “BIA understands the benefit of manufacturing to the state’s economy.” n


grow Graphicast and the New Hampshire “To economy, we need graduates with the

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4/7/16 12:59 AM


E C O N O M I C I M PA C T

A new method to measure

MANUFACTURING’S TRUE VALUE By Michael McCord A ground-breaking new study has shown that the economic impact of American manufacturing is much stronger than initially thought. The study conducted by the Manufacturers Alliance for Productivity and Innovation (MAPI), The Manufacturing Value Chain is Much Bigger Than You Think!, says that it’s time to recalculate the real impact of manufacturing’s economic activity. MAPI Foundation vice president and chief economist Daniel Meckstroth’s research challenges economic conventional measuring wisdom about the “footprint” of the manufacturing sector. The more traditional measuring parameters mostly discounted the downstream impact of manufacturing after products leave the factory loading dock. “The narrow definition of manufacturing industries in national statistics implies that the sector is of only minor importance to economic activity,” Meckstroth says in the February report. “The traditional finding is that manufacturers’ proportion of gross domestic product (GDP) is only about 11 percent and manufacturing’s share of economy-wide full-time equivalent employment is just 9 percent.” Meckstroth believes this traditional data compilation ignores vital core functions of manufacturing activities. “Since this excludes manufacturing activities such as research and development, corporate management, logistics operations, and advertising and branding, those figures are merely the tip of the iceberg,” he says. When reconfigured to include the massive breadth and depth of manufacturing value in the United States, a new total emerges: about 34 percent, or a little more than one-third, of the nation’s GDP and employment is tied directly or indirectly to manufacturing activity. “Manufacturing’s footprint is much larger than merely the value-added at the factory loading dock. Manufacturing plant activities

MANUFACTURING ENCOMPASSES MORE THAN JUST FACTORIES: Coal mined for making domestic steel Electricity, water, and gas used by manufacturing and distribution facilities

Sheet steel manufactured for auto production Foreign steel imported

Transport costs for shipping coal, steel, etc.

Fuel used for transporting vehicles to wholesale and retail

Outsourced professional services for manufacturers and distributors

Corporate and contract R&D facilities Corporate headquarters (manufacturer)

Corporate headquarters for auto dealer chain

Click to edit Master title style

Manufacturing: auto plant production of finished vehicles Imports of finished motor vehicles

Truck and rail to transport autos from factory or port to market

Retail auto dealers Wholesale warehousing operations

Aftermarket auto leasing and rentals, vehicle maintenance, and repair services

ENTERPRISE 2016 | 39


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lie near the center of a substantial and complex value chain that is composed of an upstream supply chain that gathers materials and services and a downstream sales chain that moves goods to market and sells and services goods. Manufactured goods are also intermediate inputs in nonmanufacturing industries’ supply chains.” The research’s major findings also include: • The domestic manufacturing value-added multiplier is 3.6, which is much higher than conventional calculations. For every dollar of domestic manufacturing value-added destined for manufactured goods for final demand, another $3.60 of value-added is generated elsewhere. • For each full-time equivalent job in manufacturing dedicated to producing value for final demand, there are 3.4 full-time equivalent jobs created in nonmanufacturing industries. • Most (54 percent) of the value-added in manufactured goods destined for final demand is from the downstream sales chain; the upstream supply chain accounts for the remaining 46 percent. • Domestic manufacturing accounts for 22 percent of the value chain of manufactured goods for final demand. Nonmanufacturing value-added is 53 percent and imports are another 25 percent. • About 60 percent of manufacturing imports, or around $1 trillion, are final goods; these directly enter the downstream sales chain. The other $694 billion of manufacturing imports enter the value stream in the upstream supply chain of domestic manufacturing. • Relative to other industries, manufacturing is efficient in delivering value-added. It takes about 5.8 full-time equivalent manufacturing jobs to achieve $1 million in value-added, compared with 7.7 for both transportation and services and 16.9 for retail trade. The study also shows the multiplier effect of spending for manufactured products on nonmanufacturing industries is also much higher than conventionally measured. The more inclusive valuation shows that one dollar of domestic manufacturing downstream sales for final demand (the producers’ value at the factory loading dock) drives another $2.70 of supply transactions elsewhere in the economy. By comparison, the outdated valuation shows $1.40 of impact per one dollar on nonmanufacturing industries. Read the entire report at: http://mapi. net/forecasts-data/manufacturing-value-chain-much-bigger-you-think n



MEMBERSHIP

GOOD FOR BUSINESS Become a BIA member today! If you or your colleagues want to impact state laws and regulations that affect your business, join the BIA! The Business and Industry Association is New Hampshire’s statewide chamber of commerce and the only broad-based business advocate representing leading employers in every corner of the state. For over a century, we’ve been shaping public policy that’s good for business. Our members also take advantage of programming we produce throughout the year on important issues like taxes, energy cost and reliability, workforce development, environmental and labor regulations, healthcare cost and quality, workforce housing, and dozens of other challenges facing employers, large and small. Finally, if you’re interested in developing a stronger network of business

contacts and forging new relationships with other business and opinion leaders, we create numerous opportunities to do just that. Becoming a BIA member is easy. Christine Ducharme, vice president of membership development, is happy to help you at (603) 224.5388 x113. Or feel free to log on to our website, www.BIAofNH.com, and go to MEM-

BERSHIP. From there, click JOIN BIA and fill out your info. You can also fill out the application on paper and mail it in to us: BIA, 122 North Main Street, Concord, NH 03301. Take an active role in helping advance our mission: promoting a healthy climate for job creation and a strong New Hampshire economy. Join BIA today! n

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ATC Group Services LLC Auto & Truck Recyclers Association of NH Automotive Supply Associates, Inc Axsess Energy Group, LLC BAE Systems Baker Newman Noyes Bank of America Bank of New Hampshire The Barley House BCM Environmental & Land Law, PLLC BEI Net.works Bernstein Shur Berry Dunn Bi-State Primary Care Association Bigelow & Company, CPA, PC Boston Asset Management Brady Sullivan Properties Breathe New Hampshire Brookstone Company Inc C&S Wholesale Grocers, Inc Candia Vineyards Case Investment Management, LLC Casella Resource Solutions Catholic Medical Center

CCA CCA Global Partners Central Paper Products Company CGI Business Solutions Central New Hampshire Chamber of Commerce Chartwell Hotels, LLC Checkmate Workforce Solutions Ciborowski Realty Trust Cirtronics Corporation Citizens Bank City of Claremont City of Portsmouth Clean Energy Cleveland, Waters and Bass, PA CMH Wealth Management, LLC The College Board Colliers International Comcast Community College System of NH Community Support Network Inc Computac, Inc Concord Chamber of Commerce, Gtr. Constitution Pipeline, LLC Consulate General of Canada



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Gilbane Building Company Global Partners LP Global Technical Talent Global-threat Research, LLP Globe Manufacturing Company, LLC Golder Associates Inc Granite Edge Consulting, LLC Granite Healthcare Network Granite Ridge Energy Granite State College Granite State Hydropower Association Granite State Independent Living Graphicast, Inc Grappone Conference Center Green Mountain Communications, Inc Greenerd Press & Machine GZA GeoEnvironmental, Inc The H.L. Turner Group Inc Hampton Area Chamber of Commerce Hampshire Fire Protection Co, LLC The Hanover Insurance Group Harrington and Reeves Harrington Consulting Energy & Regulatory Consulting Harvard Pilgrim Health Care of New England HCA Health Services of NH Hellenic American University Helms & Company, Inc High Liner Foods (USA) Inc Hillsborough Chamber of Commerce, Gtr. Hilltop Public Solutions Hinckley Allen Hitachi Cable America, Inc Hitchiner Manufacturing Company, Inc Hologic Inc Home Care Association of NH HotZero, LLC HQ Energy Services HR State Council of NH Hudson Chamber of Commerce, Gtr. Hudson Group Investments (HGI) Hypertherm, Inc Index Packaging Inc International Cars Ltd Jackson & Lewis PC Janco Electronics, Inc Jarvis Cutting Tools, Inc Johnson & Johnson The Jordan Institute Keene Chamber of Commerce, Gtr. Keene State College The Keeney Manufacturing Company Kentek Corporation Kimball Physics, Inc Kinder Morgan Energy Partners Lake Sunapee Bank, fsb

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BIA MEMBERS Lake Sunapee Region Chamber of Commerce Lakes Region Chamber of Commerce Law Logistics The Lawson Group LDI Corporation Lebanon Area Chamber of Commerce Leddy Group Liberty Mutual Group Liberty Mutual Insurance Company Liberty Utilities LighTec, Inc Lincoln Financial Group Lindt & SprĂźngli (USA) Inc Littleton Area Chamber of Commerce Littleton Coin Company Louis Karno & Company LRS Technology Services Lydall Performance Materials Mainstay Technologies Make-A-Wish NH Mallory Parkington Photography, LLC Maloney & Kennedy, PLLC Manchester Area Human Resources Association Manchester-Boston Regional Airport Manchester Chamber of Commerce, Gtr. Mary Hitchcock Memorial Hospital Mason + Rich CPAs Mather Associates LLC McLane Middleton McLean Communications MCPHS University Medtronic Advanced Energy Merrimack Chamber of Commerce Milestone Engineering & Construction, Inc Millennium Integrated Marketing Minuteman Health Inc MNR Technology, Inc Monadnock Paper Mills, Inc Montagne Communications, LLC; Moonlight Meadery Mount Sunapee Resort Mount Washington Summit Road Company Mount Washington Valley Chamber of Commerce The Mountain Club on Loon Mountain View Grand Resort & Spa NAI Norwood Group, Inc Nathan Wechsler & Company, PA Navitas Durham, LLC NBT Bank NeighborWorks Southern New Hampshire New Castle Investment Advisors, LLC New England Backflow, Inc New England Business Media, LLC New England Employee Benefits Company, Inc New England Power Generators Association 46 | ENTERPRISE 2016


M B B E EM I A N BE EF R IT

New England Ratepayers Association New England Wire Technologies Corp New England Wood Pellet, LLC New Futures NH Association of Insurance Agents NH Association of Realtors, Inc NH Association of School Principals NH Automobile Dealers Association NH Ball Bearings, Inc NH Business Sales NH Catholic Charities NH Center for Nonprofits NH Center for Public Policy Studies NH Charitable Foundation NH CleanTech Council NH College and University Council NH Community Development Finance Authority NH Dept. of Health & Human Services NH Dept. of Resources and Economic Development NH Electric Cooperative, Inc NH Fiscal Policy Institute NH Fisher Cats NH Health Care Association NH Healthy Families NH Builders Association NH Community Loan Fund NH Hospital Association NH Housing Finance Authority The NH Institute of Politics & Political Library at Saint Anselm College NH Lodging & Restaurant Association NH Manufacturing Extension Partnership NH Medical Society NH Motor Speedway NH Optical Systems, Inc NH Public Television NH Public Utilities Commission NH Society of Certified Public Accountants NH Voices for Health New Sky Productions Newport Area Chamber of Commerce NextEra Energy Seabrook Station NG Advantage LLC NMB (USA) Inc Nobis Engineering, Inc Normandeau Associates, Inc North American Equipment Upfitters, Inc North American Specialty Insurance Company North Country Chamber of Commerce Northeast Clean Energy Council Northeast Delta Dental Northeast Resource Recovery Association Northland Forest Products Northwestern Mutual Financial Network Novo Nordisk US Bio Production, Inc

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Rapid Sheet Metal, Inc Rath Young and Pignatelli, PA Reaching Higher New Hampshire ReEnergy Gateway Resource Management, Inc RiverStone Resources LLC Robert R. Keller & Associates, Inc Robin Hill Farm, Inc Rochester Economic Development Commission The Rowley Agency, Inc RPF Environmental, Inc Salem Chamber of Commerce, Gtr. Sanborn, Head & Associates, Inc Schooley Mitchell Consultants Sealite USA LLC Serlin Haley LLP Sheehan Phinney Bass + Green Sheehan Phinney Capitol Group Sig Sauer, Inc Signature Flight Support - MHT Ski New Hampshire The Smart Associates, Environmental Consultants, Inc Snowden Associates Sojourn Partners Souhegan Valley Chamber of Commerce Southern New Hampshire University

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