At the 11th annual “Made in NJ” Manufacturing Day celebration and conference held at iPlay America in Freehold on Friday, the New Jersey Manufacturing Extension Program awarded three businesses in the state with its annual Manufacturer of the Year Award.
The awards showcase businesses that: demonstrate leadership or innovation within their industry; demonstrate success through growth in revenues or profits; and are committed to the growth and development of their employees and community.
- L-E-M Plastics & Supply Inc. won the award in the Small Business category (1-50 employees);
- Bestwork Industries for the Blind Inc. won in the medium-size business category (51-250 employees);
- Nipro Pharmapackaging Americas Corp. won in the large-size business category (251 or more employees).
Other honors that were bestowed on companies and industry professionals include:
- Case Medical Inc.: Innovator of the Year award;
- Weiss-Aug Group: Leader in Life Sciences.
- Micaela Alvarez, director of operations and engineering at Universal Nutrition Inc., received the Rising Star in Manufacturing Award.
Read more from ROI-NJ:
- Role models on a mission: Women in manufacturing aim to increase the number of females in field
- At Manufacturing Day, a new take on attraction and retention (hint: Employers need to change)
Additionally, NJMEP presented the Made in NJ Honor Roll awards to nonmanufacturers who have had a positive impact on the industry. This year’s honorees are:
- Pravina Raghavan, director, Hollings Manufacturing Extension Program;
- Christina Renna, CEO & president, Chamber of Commerce Southern New Jersey;
- State Sen. Michael Testa (R-Vineland);
- Dr. Anthony Iacono, president, County College of Morris;
- Aaron Fichtner, president, New Jersey Council of County Colleges;
- Steven Gerber, NJMEP secretary emeritus;
- Robert Loderstat, NJMEP CEO emeritus.
