Coghlin Companies Blog

Have you heard about Conflict Minerals? If you’re a manufacturer or contract manufacturer and use the following materials (Tantalum, Tin, Tungsten or gold) within the assemblies that you manufacture either through the components used in the build or within the build process itself, then you will soon hear about this topic if you haven’t yet.

Conflict Minerals, sometimes called “3TG” for Tantalum, Tin, Tungsten and Gold, are minerals that are mined in conditions of armed conflict and human rights abuses, originating from the eastern provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, by the Congolese National Army and various armed rebel groups in this region.

The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and the SEC require that all publicly traded companies report and make public the use of these conflict minerals from the Democratic Republic of the Congo or adjourning countries in their products. The requirements will also affect companies not publicly traded as well, as these requirements will be pushed down through the entire supply chain.

Companies will need to file Conflict Minerals Reports on an SD Form by May 31st of each year reporting data from January to December, with the first report due on May 31, 2014 covering January– December 2013.

Contract manufacturers like Columbia Tech will be required to support their customers in this Conflict Minerals reporting effort by informing their suppliers of this requirement, if they have not already been informed, and requiring its suppliers to report to Columbia Tech if the products they supply us include minerals from the conflict region and, in turn, we will need to report these findings to our customers.

Columbia Tech strives to be ahead of the curve on all new requirements in the industry in an effort to be compliant and fully support our customers and the products we provide them.

More detailed information, and the latest information regarding the requirements for Conflict Minerals, can be found through several websites; two are listed below for your reference.

http://www.sec.gov

www.ipc.org/conflict-minerals

Eric Skoglund
Quality Control Manager/Management Rep
Columbia Tech

An opportunity to manufacture a medical device currently being built in Singapore by a Fortune 500 company recently required a colleague and me to travel to the vibrant city.  We were hosted by a talented team and received training and certification on two medical device product lines for manufacturing operations to be performed in Massachusetts by Cogmedix in the near future.  Our Director of Quality and Compliance and I were selected to go and bring back this wealth of knowledge.  To say that our time across the world was well spent would be an understatement.  For four straight days we went from board room to production floor, tackling everything from the manufacturing and quality plans to physically assembling product on the floor.  In total, I earned five certifications, covering the build, testing, and packaging of two medical device product lines that I can now extend to our medical device manufacturing team in Massachusetts.  We also had some time to take in the beautiful city of Singapore and try local foods, but the time spent in the office and with the team there was an experience I will take with me forever.

Cogmedix is growing fast and always looking for medical contract manufacturing opportunities with innovative medical device companies around the globe, from start-ups to Fortune 500 companies.  A leader in medical device contract manufacturing, servicing, and order fulfillment services, Cogmedix assists companies with the production of Class I and Class II medical devices.  With decades of experience, and an experienced world class staff, the Cogmedix team always strives for excellence, ultimately supplying the medical field with high quality, compliant medical device contract manufacturing services.

Joshua Paquette
Director of Program Operations, Cogmedix

The Coghlin Companies have a long history of giving back to the communities in which we live and work.   For over 100 years, our Companies have supported health, education, and social service programs.  One notable example is our support of Worcester Technical High School.

Worcester Technical High School (WTHS) opened in 2006, replacing the old Worcester Vocational High School that dated back to 1909.  Once considered the lowest performing high school in the city, today the school boasts a 96 percent graduation rate.  Math proficiency has soared from 4 percent to 74 percent.  Seventy-seven percent of students go on to college.  Much of the funding for this $90M school was raised through private contributions from the local business community under the leadership of Ted Coghlin with support from the Coghlin family.

Today, Columbia Tech is proud to support the senior co-op program at WTHS.  This has been a remarkable success with benefits accruing to the company as much as it benefits the students involved.  Two students, Natalie and Jason of the Electromechanical Technology / Engineering Technology Program are the charter members of the WTHS co-op program at Columbia Tech.  They work alternate weeks in our Manufacturing Engineering Department.  We are amazed how quickly they have become fully contributing members of the Department.  They perform a broad range of tasks from helping process engineering change orders to writing manufacturing work instructions.  We are impressed by their technical knowledge and how quickly they have learned the tasks they have been asked to perform.  They have even become proficient on our new Enterprise Resource Planning System that was just implemented this summer.  Their skills are a testament to the quality of education at WTHS under the leadership of many people like Michael Meagher, the Head of the Electromechanical Engineering Department.  We look forward to seeing Natalie and Jason move on to college and hope they will return to Columbia Tech as engineers!

- Randy Ziffer
Sr. VP Manufacturing Operations

The Coghlin Companies family lost a co-worker and friend.  Phil Boisseau, one of our drivers and a Coghlin associate since 2004, passed away in his sleep Wednesday night. Below are some wonderful quotes about Phil from his friends and co-workers.

The Coghlin Companies are successful because of 4 Groups of people:
CARING ASSOCIATES
LOYAL CUSTOMERS
RELIABLE SUPPLIERS
SIGNIFICANT STRATEGIC ALLIANCES
Phil Boisseau was the Model Caring Associate. A Man with Integrity, a strong work ethic, a Team Player and a person who genuinely CARED for his fellow man and particularly for his fellow associates here at the Coghlin Companies. Personally I feel Blessed to have Been a Teammate with Phil.
May Phil’s Memory Be Eternal
May God Be Good To Phil
May Phil Rest In Peace!
- Jim Coghlin Sr

Phil was a caring associate whom we loved and respected so much.  He embodied the words WHATEVER IT TAKES … a very helpful and caring human being with a very positive attitude. We will miss him dearly.
- Chris Coghlin

Phil was a man of high integrity, a huge heart and always eager to please… whenever we looked for an extra hand at the Coghlin Companies or within the 15-40 Connection, Phil was always the first to volunteer, and with enthusiasm.  He will be sorely missed.
- Jim Coghlin

Phil was one of those rare individuals you meet that seemed to be here to help; help  anyone and everyone with whatever it was they needed help with. He always had a smile and met a challenging request with a positive attitude.  Phil will be missed by all who had the pleasure to work with him.
- Bob Brunelle

He was always smiling, optimistic and just ready and available to help.
- Eugenia Stein

Phil always had a smile on his face and a nice word to say!  A genuine good guy you liked to be around.  Our Coghlin “family” was lucky to have him in our lives. He will be gone, but not forgotten.
- Nora Leonard

Also known as Uncle Phil. He was loved by all of us and very passionate about his job here.  I will miss him a whole bunch – he was my bud!
- Melissa Fox

I referred to him as Uncle Phil. He was such a sweet guy who always made sure my day was going well whenever I saw him. He was such a hard worker and great friend! He will be greatly missed!
- Ashley Mitchell

Phil had a great sense of humor, and was always asking if his co-workers and company were doing well.
- Pete Zinkus

Phil was a great man who was dedicated to his job and loved his family. He will be missed and my heart goes out to his family.
- Ken Baldez

I am so lucky to have known a man as kind and wonderful as Phil. The times we spent together at the warehouse on month end was always filled with lots of laughter and usually included Phil going back out to the trucks one more time to check for a missing packing slip or two. (Even when he wasn’t asked to and well after everyone else had gone home.) That’s just the kind of guy Phil was; always willing to lend a hand to others; no matter what. I no longer go there for month end so seeing each other at building 17 on occasion had become a very special treat for both of us; I will sincerely miss these surprise visits. The company trucks will never be the same without the friendly smile, wave and occasional beep of the horn from Phil. CT is more than a place to work; it’s a place you meet family members God forgot to give you at birth!  Rest in Peace Little Phil; you will be missed.
- Holly Corliss

Phil was a nice, nice man.  He worked hard, was reliable as the day is long, and was always willing to do “whatever it took.”  He was a great help during preparations for the Mark & David Ungerer Charity Golf Tournament, volunteering his off-work hours to help out.  “Just call me, tell me what you need.” I somehow think the world is a little less good today but Heaven is a whole lot better.
- Susan Cyr

My limited exposure to him was that he was incredible kind and thoughtful and a bit of a ‘jokester’.  He was involved with the Ungerer Tournment…helped us with the goody bag pallets.  What a loss for his family and friends…my sympathies.
- Kathleen Dunlee

I saw Phil smiling all the time and was a man who was always willing to help, in or out of work.
He will be missed.
- Gerry St. Jean

I worked with him at the warehouse for a few years.  He was very good to us and a very good father to his children. He also talked to us about his grandson – he was so happy to have him in his life. I will miss him a lot.
- Zhaneta Celo

If I had to describe Phil with only a few words in terms of what he meant to us here at the warehouse, it would be that he was the glue that held us together because he was always here for everyone, and that he cared so much both professionally and personally for the entire team.  He will be greatly missed and fondly remembered.
- Denis Fiorentino

I worked with Phil for a very long time at the warehouse.  We talked about our families, his daughters, grandson and granddaughter.  He had just started taking his grandson fishing and had good quality time with him. He was a very proud family man.  He was such a gentleman with the women at the warehouse. He was always the last to leave if a woman was waiting for her ride home – he made sure they stayed safe until they were picked up.
- Kathy Cenko

It was always a pleasure to work with Phil. He always had a sense of humor that even though he would be asked to make a delivery late in the  day, he would show up with a smile and ask if we needed anything else before he leaves for the day. He was very dedicated. He will be missed by all of us.
-Bob Lopriore

Rest in Peace Phil

From all your friends at

Coghlin Companies

October 5, 2012

Worcester’s universities are back in session.  Supporting higher education, Coghlin Companies recently hosted some of the budding entrepreneurs from Clark University led by Bill Laursen, VP of Sales and Strategy.

Professor Steven Rothschild and students in his Innovations and Entrepreneurship capstone course toured Columbia Tech, DCI Engineering and Cogmedix.  The students tour was quite informative in that they learned about DCI’s contract engineering and product development, Columbia Tech’s contract manufacturing, and Cogmedix’s medical device manufacturing.  They also heard all about first generation founder and CEO of the company, John P. Coghlin who was an engineer, manufacturer and entrepreneur in the late 1800s and whose innovations and inventions were some of the first industrial uses of electricity.

Beyond historical aspects, students learned that working with contract manufacturing and engineering companies like DCI Engineering, Columbia Tech and Cogmedix enables entrepreneurs to design and manufacture technologically advanced products without having their own engineers and without owning their own facilities.   As Bill Laursen explained so well to the students, the beauty of Coghlin Companies is that if one month a client has no sales and the next month that same client has booming sales, they can easily account for these variations in demand.  At the beginning of the month, or sales cycle, the client works with Coghlin Companies to determine how many units need to be manufactured based on orders they’ve received.  Coghlin Companies takes it from there.

The students were very excited to have the opportunity to learn about Coghlin Companies and tour the facilities.  The tour gave the class a firsthand look at the myriad of manufacturing spaces and types of products currently being worked on.  Students were left with a sense of awe at the efficiency and capabilities of the different Coghlin Companies business units.  They went back to their classroom having learned more about innovation and entrepreneurship, and ready to start building their own businesses.

At Coghlin Companies, giving back to the community is a top priority. We pride ourselves on being engaged in service and saw United Way’s Day of Caring as another great opportunity to become involved with an organization that does so much for people in need. For four generations, including three generations of chairs for the annual campaign, Coghlin Companies has been long term supporters of United Way.

This will be Coghlin Companies’ fifth year participating in The Day of Caring. This event, held once a year, is dedicated to bettering the community through service projects at various local agencies. The projects are determined by the agencies in advance to ensure efficient use of volunteers’ time and effort for maximum results.

This year we are sending four of our employees to participate in the event. They will be working on a project with one of the local agencies who partner with the United Way. In the past, Coghlin Companies has volunteered with Green Island Residents Group, HMEA, the Worcester Housing Authority, and Pernet Family Health Services on a variety of projects that included painting, scraping, cleaning, gardening, and raking.

This year our volunteers will work at a store recently opened by Habitat for Humanity called ReStore.  This retail outlet provides building supplies and home improvement items and is where our volunteers will spend their Day of Caring organizing and assisting customers.

Every year the volunteers from Coghlin Companies enjoy participating in this great event. We already have employees asking to help next year, and they can rest assured they will get the chance to help and give back to our community. In addition to participating in The Day of Caring event, Coghlin Companies’ employee base supports the United Way through an annual drive.

If you would like to get involved, please contact the United Way at www.unitedway.org.

Donna Mazialnik

Executive Assistant