How Standards and Testing Will Help Keep Self-Driving Vehicles Moving Safely on the Road The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is helping chart the path to safe, trusted self-driving cars by focusing on rigorous measurement science and shared...
AI in Manufacturing: What's Now—and What's Next? NIST engineers have introduced five new ways to connect precast concrete components that significantly enhance building resilience. Precast concrete, produced in factories and then assembled on construction...
How Do Recycling Facilities Sort Different Kinds of Plastic? Recycling facilities handle a wide variety of plastics that often look similar as they move quickly along sorting lines, making it challenging to keep material streams clean and high value. NIST’s “How Do...
On Tuesday, December 9, 2025, various manufacturers gathered at the Cooley Group’s Pawtucket headquarters for a stimulating conversation on the current state of Rhode Island manufacturing. The Pawtucket Manufacturers’ Forum, presented by Polaris MEP and the Pawtucket...
How Can Companies Improve Sustainability Efforts? Supply chain sustainability is quickly moving from “nice to have” to “must have” for manufacturers that want to stay on preferred supplier lists. In a feature for Material Handling & Logistics, Indrani de Silva...
The Toll of Tariffs In 2025, factories and manufacturers were hit with the sudden and unexpected expense of higher tariffs. For many, this threw businesses into turmoil as they struggled to find materials, which in turn caused supply chain disruptions, and increased...
By Melissa Burant, Supply Chain Project Manager, and Marc Schneider of CIRAS (Iowa MEP) Polaris MEP is the Rhode Island Center for the MEP National NetworkTM, whose mission it is to strengthen and empower small and medium-sized manufacturing companies in the United...
Better Product, Better Results No manufacturer sets out to have quality issues, but the reality is that, over time, quality and process controls can erode. And it often takes only a few mistakes to kick off a serious decline, wreaking havoc on your reputation and...
Optimize Your Workflow to Improve Your Bottom Line Rising costs have taken a toll on all businesses in the last decade. But the good news is, opportunities to reduce expenses can be found at each step of your manufacturing flow! Wasted movements, suboptimal layouts,...
The Best Product Is Only the Beginning Having a great product doesn’t guarantee sales. Waste, non-compliance, lack of R&D, dated marketing and sales techniques are just a few of the barriers to sales. Finding it challenging to scale? Instilling a lean culture can...
Looking for ways to grow sales, reduce expenses, improve quality, or all of the above? Schedule an assessment with the Polaris MEP team today!
