Toray Plastics (America), Inc.’s (www.toraytpa.com), training and career-advancement programs have been recognized as the best among Rhode Island manufacturers’ by the Providence Business News (www.pbn.com). Mike Brandmeier, president and CEO and Lisa Ahart, VP of corporate human resources and environmental health and safety at Toray, accepted PBN’s Workforce Development & Productivity Award from Christian Cowan, Polaris MEP Center Director, at the awards dinner, held on March 8 at the WaterFire Arts Center in Providence, Rhode Island. Toray employs 600 people at its headquarters in North Kingstown, Rhode Island, and another 125 at its Front Royal, Virginia, facility. The company also helps cultivate business leaders in the Rhode Island community and is a lead partner in the Real Jobs Rhode Island grant program. The PBN Manufacturing Awards are designed to identify and celebrate the region’s best manufacturers, large or small, focused or diversified.

“All manufacturers understand that their success depends on the skills and motivation of their workforce, but few invest in their workers the way that Toray Plastics (America) does,” says Mark S. Murphy, editor, Providence Business News. “From training the next generation of leaders to developing more highly skilled workers to helping all staff improve themselves, TPA’s program stands out as a well-conceived, fully realized workforce development approach, one that many Rhode Island employers would be well served to emulate.”

 “We are extremely honored to receive PBN’s Workforce Development & Productivity Award,” says Brandmeier. “The heart and soul of Toray are our employees. They support our mission and drive our business, working hard every day to ensure that our customers’ needs are met or exceeded, and that the company maintains its leadership position in its core markets. I’m especially grateful to Lisa Ahart for her commitment to the development of Toray’s workforce.”