Standing Still Is Falling Behind
Whether you’re manufacturing candles, cup cakes, or car parts, there will always be someone nipping at your heels.
- Are you up to date on your certifications?
- Have you invested in R&D?
- Are you hiring enough?
- Can you afford to hire the best?
- Are you cyber secure?
The questions that keep you up at night are also motivating your competitors to push the envelope.
Polaris MEP can help you take an holistic look at your organization’s position in the market. You may be surprised at where you stand. With objective, outside perspective from our seasoned manufacturing experts, you can position your company for continued success.
The Polaris MEP Manufacturing Innovation Challenge was an exceptional opportunity to look at our business from industry experts. It led to an internal discussion to clarify who our customer is, and to create processes to help end users pull products through the distributor channel—this is creating a lift in business.
Michael Black
President, National Marker
Solutions To Your Challenges
Technology Acceleration
Facility Layout
Lean Manufacturing
How We Help
STRATEGIC ASSESSMENTS
Polaris MEP can match your company with subject matter experts with deep industry knowledge to conduct a strategic review of your business.
Working with your leadership, the process brings greater visibility to strengths, weaknesses and opportunities. Insights and related recommendations empower you to refocus resources strategically.
PROCESS IMPROVEMENT
A staggeringly large percentage of daily job activity does not deliver value to end customers. Polaris MEP will aid you in pursuit of a lean enterprise, increasing value to customers and reducing waste within your internal processes. The results?
- Increased quality,
- Lower costs,
- Imprved delivery times,
- Improved safety,
- Improved customer and worker satisfaction, and
- A more competitive organization.
R&D RESOURCES
No matter what size your company, R&D can make the difference between dominating your industry and getting left behind.
Polaris MEP assists the small- and medium-sized manufacturing companies in our state in creating strategic R&D plans that minimize risk.
We leverage the URI Research Foundation “family” as well as the NIST Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) National Network to connect Rhode Island manufacturers to government equipment, programs, incentives and expertise.
BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
You may have the better product, but in order to be successful, you’ll need to compete in the business development arena.
Polaris MEP has you covered!
Whether you need marketing or sales augmentation, Polaris MEP can help. We’ve got a host of resources to upgrade your business and turn it into a business development powerhouse.
Compete & Win
- Get an objective determination of your competitiveness through the Manufacturing Innovation Challenge
- Minimize waste, improve process efficiency, and deliver safer, higher quality products to your clients faster
- Tell your story better with new marketing and sales techniques that close more business
Related
Rhode Island Manufacturers: Claim Tariff Refunds—But Stay Alert to Scams
Rhode Island Manufacturers: Claim Tariff Refunds—But Stay Alert to Scams Rhode Island’s manufacturing community—made up largely of small and mid-sized businesses—is no stranger to navigating rising costs and global trade challenges. Now, there’s a potential...
Let Polaris MEP Help You with Registered Apprenticeships
Let Polaris MEP Help You with Registered Apprenticeships In recognition of last week's National Apprenticeship Week, Polaris MEP is excited to spotlight new opportunities for manufacturers to strengthen their workforce through Registered Apprenticeships. With...
The Importance of Apprenticeships
The Importance of Apprenticeships In today’s rapidly evolving manufacturing landscape, one challenge continues to rise above the rest: the growing skills gap. As experienced workers retire and technology reshapes production floors, manufacturers are searching for...
As a small business owner, you can’t do marketing yourself, if you truly want to grow. And you can’t afford a large team in-house. Spend the money on someone who understands it. Working with Polaris MEP and Sidewalk Branding seemed seamless. Now, we are seeing benefits we would never have imagined.
Roger Hultquist
CEO, Co-Owner, Orbetron LLC
Category: Market Competitiveness
Polaris MEP Releases 2025 State of Manufacturing Report for Rhode Island
The 2025 report combines multiple sources, including industry trend analysis, the Voice of Manufacturing Survey (VOMS), and insights from manufacturers, policymakers, and community leaders.
Integrated Operational Excellence
This integrated solution helps manufacturers achieve measurable and sustainable improvements in productivity, quality, and workforce effectiveness by addressing both the technical and human sides of operations.
Safety Consulting
Our safety programs are designed for small-to-medium manufacturers in Rhode Island and focus on the most common types of incidents and OSHA violations.
Nterprisers Develops New Marketplace with Polaris MEP Project Manager’s Help
Chris Cinieri, Polaris MEP Project Manager, helped Nterprisers develop their new Marketplace to help meet manufacturers’s needs.
Ascendium Education Group Awards $2.45 Million Grant to Polaris MEP
The project responds to Rhode Island’s acute manufacturing workforce shortage by strengthening the talent pipeline while opening access to high-wage, high-demand careers for individuals who have been historically excluded from opportunity.
Space: The Final Frontier for Standards
By standardizing how biological and chemical changes are measured in space, the mission supports recent U.S. policy goals to strengthen leadership in the space sector and opens the door for more reliable, data-driven innovation in areas like pharmaceuticals, climate science, and advanced materials.
Request for Proposals: Job Training & Support Services, Spring
Polaris MEP seeks proposals from training providers for job training and support services targeting adults seeking full-time, livable-wage employment in the Advanced Manufacturing, Marine Trades, and Blue Economy sectors.
Request for Proposals: Job Training & Support Services, Spring
Polaris MEP seeks proposals from training providers for job training and support services targeting adults seeking full-time, livable-wage employment in the Advanced Manufacturing, Marine Trades, and Blue Economy sectors.
Checkup Time! How Measurement Science Keeps You Healthy
NIST helps the health care system deliver safer procedures, better diagnoses and more trustworthy data for clinicians and patients alike.
Polaris Announces Rebrand to Strengthen Support for Rhode Island Manufacturers and Tech Companies
Polaris is a nonprofit dedicated to driving business growth, innovation, and job creation in Rhode Island. It is a new organization created to unify its services under a single, accessible name that signifies its role as a trusted advisor and community partner.



