Small Business Manufacturer of the Year

“Successful deployment is the ultimate quality metric in the defense industry”

Founded in 1945 by Arthur Boyle, Jade Manufacturing Company began as a traditional machine shop serving a variety of industries. In the late 1970’s Arthur’s son, Don Boyle took over as Jade’s President. Don recognized the vibrant manufacturing environment in Rhode Island, and began outsourcing some of his production demands to local businesses to expand both Jade’s capacity and capabilities. With new found production avenues and an ever watchful eye on quality, Jade focused on supplying the growing yet demanding defense/aerospace industry. Utilizing an extensive supply chain of local manufacturers, Jade expanded services offered to include not only precision machined components, but also plating, anodizing, painting, welding, fabricating heat-treating, and Mil-Spec hardware. These additional services enabled Jade to compete for more challenging projects and concentrate on building complete assemblies rather than just individual components. Don’s vision of expanding Jade’s production beyond his in-house capabilities resulted in significant sales growth for both his own company and also those local businesses who’d joined his
supply chain.

Don feels strongly that, “Supplying products to U.S. warfighters is a noble effort and requires
manufacturing at the highest quality possible.” Production tolerance demands to 10,000 th of an inch and rigorous inspection/certification requirements are daily challenges met by the team at Jade. Don takes great pride in his products being deployed around the world by the U.S. military. “Successful deployment is the ultimate quality metric in the defense industry. We’ve consistently achieved that standard of excellence.” Their consistent delivery of deployable product has led to their inclusion on a multitude of high-profile projects, mostly in the radar and missile detection arenas. Boyle specifically highlighted their continual work on the Patriot and Aegis systems; The Patriot program is a ballistic missile defense system used since the first Gulf war and is currently used by 14 NATO nations as their primary missile defense system, while Aegis is a radar platform used extensively in the U.S. Navy fleet. Jade also contributes work to “next generation” programs like the Air and Missile Defense Radar (AMDR) and Zumwalt Class Destroyer; AMDR is considered to be the heir apparent to AEGIS and while the Zumwalt is merging the B2 stealth bomber technology with surface ships to create a radar resistant vessel.

As Jade continues to grow its reach they look for partners to help with the burden that comes
with expansion. Through Polaris MEP and the Chafee Center for International Business – the Rhode Island State Trade Expansion Program Grantee – Jade was supplied with extensive market research, identifying eight potential new companies that they could attain in the coming year. The Chafee Center has also connected Jade Manufacturing with potential new customers in Dubai, Jerusalem, and Canada. For his demonstrated success and longevity, continued manufacturing excellence, and potential for future growth, the U.S. Small Business Administration is pleased to honor Donald J. Boyle, President of Jade Manufacturing Company, as the 2018 Rhode Island Small Business Manufacturer of the Year.

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