Joint Press Release

Econocorp Inc. Randolph, MA and Package Machinery Co. Inc. West Springfield, MA

Two Massachusetts companies, both members of the Packaging Machinery Manufacturers Institute, were awarded training grants by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts for lean education. Econocorp, Inc and Package Machinery Company, Inc. were recently awarded $50,000 and $20,000 respectively from the State to support a comprehensive lean training program.

“Both our companies will be using the grants for a lean manufacturing training program to eliminate waste in our respective production efforts,” notes Mark Jacobson, vice president of Econocorp Inc. “We’ll have our own tailored training program to meet our unique manufacturing needs.” Katherine Putnam, President of Package Machinery Company Inc of West Springfield adds, “And we can send our employees to each other’s sites since our training will be complementary.

Econocorp and Package Machinery will be working with the Greater Boston Manufacturing Partnership (GBMP), a Massachusetts-based program that is based at U-Mass Boston, to deliver a full array of lean enterprise training to all employees of both companies. “GBMP made the grant application process simple and convenient,” says Jacobson.

“GBMP is walking us through all aspects of lean manufacturing including helping us focus our efforts on areas that will benefit each of us most, as well as training our people,” adds Putnam. “They have a strong process that will keep us on track as we tackle the opportunity of changing how we produce our machines and create cost savings from our current processes.”

To support this effort, both companies applied for grants through the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is a matching fund grant. The match is made in terms of the employees’ time and normal compensation and the grant must be used over a period of two years.

“The single most important advice I can impart to any company looking to do something similar is this: DO IT!” exclaims Jacobson.

“I learned about the GBMP from work we’ve done in the past with the New England Trade Adjustment Assistance Center,” adds Putnam. ” I really respect how helpful and thorough GBMP has been throughout the process. Last year, we were approved through NETAAC to receive grant money in support of some product development, process improvement and marketing efforts we needed to help us improve our competitive position. We will be working with the NETAAC grant, which matches every dollar we spend, for the rest of this year and into 2007. This has been a great start for any company looking for both state and Federal programs to help it develop and be more competitive.”

Econocorp Inc of Randolph MA is a recognized worldwide leader in cartoning and casepacking for moderate and lower production volumes.

Package Machinery of West Springfield MA is a manufacturer of custom wrapping machinery for consumer products companies. Having been first to market with an all servo wrapping machine, it is a global leader in wrapping technology and is certified as women-owned by WBENC.

To learn more about these companies, contact:
Mark Jacobson at 781.986.7500 mark@econocorp.com, or
Katherine Putnam at 413.732.4000 kputnam@packagemachinery.com