In an effort to grow the composite manufacturing cluster in Rhode Island, a $125,000 federal grant was recently given by the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) to the Rhode Island Marine Traders Association.

"Environmentally friendly” can mean many different things. For Emerald Performance Materials—a mid-sized specialty chemicals company with four business groups, eight manufacturing operations and sales to more than 70 countries across the globe—it has meant making a concerted effort to reduce emissions and consider ways to improve the chemical composition and volatile organic compound (VOC) levels of products.