Home Care In Ashland, MA

Rep. Lewis Nominates Ashland-based company, BioSurfaces, for the MA Legislature's Manufacturing Caucus 8th Annual Manufacturing Awards.

Boston, MA –The Massachusetts Legislature’s Manufacturing Caucus hosted its 8th Annual Manufacturing Award Ceremony on September 19. The ceremony honored manufacturers from across the Commonwealth, showcasing their innovative and revolutionary manufacturing capabilities and products.

Ashland-based BioSurfaces, LLC (BioSurfaces) was nominated by Representative Jack Patrick Lewis (Framingham) this year. Founded in 2003, BioSurfaces employs 12 people. The company also serves to train the future life science and medical device workforce through the Internship Challenge Program offered by the Massachusetts Life Science Center.

“It was an honor to nominate BioSurfaces as a Manufacturer of the Year,” Representative Lewis noted. “BioSurfaces is a beacon in the Ashland community, applying an innovative approach to life science that pushes the boundaries of what is possible.”

“Small businesses are the heartbeat of our state’s economy,” said Senate President Karen E. Spilka (D-Ashland). “Representative Lewis made a great selection in his nominee, and I look forward to seeing BioSurfaces, along with the other nominees, get the recognition they deserve for being an important part of our community.”

BioSurfaces is a life science company with deep leadership and a diverse team of specialists. The company’s proprietary electrospinning technology creates product solutions by engineering biology with synthetic cellular matrices for applications ranging from In Vitro Research Tools (IVRT) and delivery of bioactive therapeutics to medical devices and consumer health products. BioSurfaces’s manufacturing process also allows the incorporation of drugs or other bioactive agents directly into the company’s nanofibers for localized release if that is required. BioSurfaces’s technology has been validated by leading organizations in pharmaceuticals, medical devices, life science research tools, and consumer products.

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“It’s an honor for BioSurfaces to be nominated for the Manufacturer of the Year Award,” said Matthew Phaneuf, Co-Founder, President and CTO of BioSurfaces. “Over 20 years ago, my wife Tina and I started BioSurfaces focusing primarily on developing an artificial artery for patients with arterial disease. Over this time period, the company’s platform technology has added applications in a variety of areas such as IVRT, cell delivery, and medical devices. We have grown from a company doing solely research and development into a company that continues to perform cutting-edge research and development plus pilot manufacturing for several of our products. We look forward to working with Representative Lewis and the various state programs to see what programs can assist us in bringing full-scale manufacturing of our products to Massachusetts.”

Bio-Spun™ materials have substantial benefits over current commercially available technologies, with their flexibility, drug and bioactive loading capabilities, and greatly improved healing. The improved healing occurs as a result of the nanofibrous structure of the Bio-Spun™ materials as compared to other highly porous biomaterials. Bio-Spun™ materials can be made to form a variety of unusual and difficult-to-manufacture shapes while also demonstrating improved biocompatibility over other textile-based materials. For example, they can be stretched and twisted to make sutures, their tubes can be crimped to make kink-resistant artificial blood vessels or multiple layers can be fused to encapsulate internal structures. BioSurfaces’s various medical device products made from Bio-Spun™ materials can be used to treat diseases of the arteries, kidneys, and heart. Bio-Spun™ materials have also been used to deliver cells, act as a wound dressing component, or serve as a delivery vehicle for cosmetic active agents.

Most recently, Bio-Spun™ scaffolds have been used to grow various tissues at the benchtop, part of the company’s rapidly growing IVRT product line. This 3D scaffold provides a superior alternative to outdated animal-based products. In June 2023, BioSurfaces was the recipient of a $1.72 million Small Business Innovation Research Direct Phase II grant from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), one of the 27 institutes and centers comprising the National Institutes of Health. This grant’s funds are for the development and commercialization of the company’s Bio-Spun™ scaffold for tissue culture inserts for organotypic culture models that have improved physiological relevance and functionality compared to currently available models. The models developed by BioSurfaces under the grant will be independently validated by our collaborator, the Institute for In Vitro Services.

Formed in August 2014, the Manufacturing Caucus includes 70 legislators from around the Commonwealth. Lawmakers focus on training for manufacturing employees, encouraging innovation by helping start-ups access resources and expanding apprenticeship opportunities in key manufacturing sectors.

Helping people love their homes again

Founded in 1998, United Home Experts of Ashland, Massachusetts, is a family-owned exterior home and building improvement company celebrating their 25th anniversary.

John Dudley, owner, and president, said it all started back in his college days at Bentley. He’d been working for a student painting franchise during the summers and decided to branch out on his own when that went out of business. Together with John’s father, a former engineer, the journey began.

John’s father took on the sales role, and Dudley combined his general construction and painting knowledge to form United Home Experts. Over the years, more family has joined the fold, including John’s brother Michael, sister Molly, and wife Lorri. Today, their niche is long-term, low-maintenance roofing, siding, windows, doors, and painting solutions.

“Our passion is creating a company people love to work for, and customers are proud to refer,” Dudley said. “And our number one goal and company slogan is to help you love your home again.”

Dudley explained that he has always been one to learn from others, and over the past 25 years, the growth that United Home Experts has experienced is attributed to learning and looking. The learning aspect comes from his continuous involvement with trade associations, forums, industry experts, books, and anything else he could access. The customer is the other guiding force. United Home Experts is always looking to the customer. What do they want? What are they asking for? What colors, styles, trends, etc.…do they want? And United Home Experts can make that happen.

“We take all of this information,” Dudley said, “and for each project, we are continually asking ourselves ‘Can we do this well, safely, and profitably?’ and then we repeat.”

The proof is in the pudding with United Home Experts having won many awards, including “Best in MetroWest” for siding, roofing, and windows, a local competition from the MetroWest Daily News and local residents not once, but four years running.

Success has not come without obstacles to overcome. Dudley explained two main hurdles in the home/building improvement industry. External or uncontrollable forces include weather, the September 11th, 2001 attack, the COVID pandemic, government regulations, the economy, and internal forces like workforce, health, and hiring.

“We have a great group of people who love their craft, producing quality products using innovative technology, at fair pricing, and in a community that supports us,” Dudley said. “At the end of the day, that’s what you wish for when running a business.”

Speaking of community, United Home Experts is committed to strengthening their Ashland community through strategic philanthropy, volunteerism, and furthering the health and well-being of our employees and their families.

“On any given week,” Dudley explained, “you’ll find United members dedicating their lives to causes for the goodwill of humanity ranging from supporting local education initiatives like the Ashland Education Foundation, donating to emergency funds and health services, to providing materials for building charity homes with Habitat for Humanity. Our cause is to bring a greater future for the generations to come.”

United Home Experts currently services Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Northern Connecticut, and Southern New Hampshire.

For more information on United Home Experts, check out their BBB Business Profile. To learn more about BBB and read more stories like this, visit Behind the Business Stories with BBB in Eastern MA, ME, RI & VT.

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ASHLAND, Mass. —

An Ashland, Massachusetts, woman who lost her son to a rare cancer caused by an infamous superfund site in town says she is happy about the cleanup progress at the property.

"I'm an old person, and I can die happily now – and I mean that," Ashland's Marie Kane said.

Her son, Kevin, died in 1998 of cancer. A subsequent study confirmed that Kevin's case was part of a cluster of rare cancers in young people in Ashland caused by chemicals released by the Nyanza Chemical Dye Co., which operated in Ashland from 1965 to 1978.

"In recent years, a very complex and concerted effort has been to clean up the Nyanza site and remediate the damage caused by those decades of pollution," Ashland Town Manager Michael Herbert said.

Study links childhood cancer cluster to contaminated water, superfund site

But there is more work to be done to eradicate the contaminated soil, and water – at least $20 million worth, and on Monday, the EPA, along with elected leaders and officials, announced more money to continue the groundwater cleanup of the superfund site.

"This announcement of funds to expedite cleanup and Nyanza is a direct result of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law," said U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern.

"Superfund cleanups – they transform these properties, creating jobs in overburdened communities, repurposing these sites to be reused," said Environmental Protection Agency Regional Administrator David Cash.

EPA to present new cleanup plan for Ashland Superfund site

For Kane, the infusion of more federal money, and the promise of cleaner water and soil, is the culmination of the fight she started when her son lost his battle with cancer at 26.

"This has been a dream of mine for these past 25 years that this would come to fruition – the town would be further cleaned than it was at the time, and that my son's work – he didn't die in vain," she said.

In addition to the cleanup work in Ashland, federal funds will also go to superfund projects in Attleboro and Danvers.

ASHLAND, Mass. — A Massachusetts mother and her young daughter who were trapped in war-torn Sudan have since been safely evacuated from that country, her family said Tuesday.

Trillian Clifford, a native of Ashland, works as a teacher at an international school in Sudan’s capital city of Khartoum. Her sister-in-law, Rebecca Winter, said in a statement that Clifford and her daughter are among several foreign nationals who have been evacuated.

“We are thrilled to share that today Trillian and her baby, Alma, have safely crossed the border out of Sudan,” Winter said. “Trillian, Alma, and all of the foreign nationals from her school are traveling together as private citizens. It will still be several days before we expect she will reach US soil.”

(Rebecca Winter)

Winter said Clifford and her 18-month-old daughter, Alma, had been hiding out for about 10 days as Sudanese armed forces and the rival paramilitary force continue to clash in Khartoum.

Sudan has been in a political crisis since its long-serving ruler was overthrown in April 2019, the BBC reported. In 2021, rival generals joined forces to seize power in a coup, the Associated Press reported.

The AP reported that foreign governments have been airlifting hundreds of their diplomats and other citizens to safety.

(Rebecca Winter)

Winter said the family is grateful for the outpouring of support during this chaotic time.

“We want to express extreme gratitude to Trillian’s school for organizing this evacuation, and for the help that Elizabeth Warren and Maura Healey’s offices have provided along with the local embassies,” Winter said. “We are also incredibly grateful for the respectful way the media has handled our story, and for the outpouring of support we have received from family, friends and commenters on social media.”

(Rebecca Winter)

She said Winter and her daughter are among the lucky ones to evacuate from the war zone.

“While we are relieved that Trillian is finally making progress on her journey back home, we want to acknowledge there are millions of people still suffering through this conflict in Sudan and many foreign nationals still trying to evacuate,” Winter said. “We extend our deepest concern for the innocent citizens of Sudan, including Trillian’s young students.”

For security reasons, Winter said she could not share specifics about their journey home, but added that Clifford is grateful to be safe.

“Trillian has been in touch today, and she also extends her gratitude for all of the aid and support she has received,” Winter said.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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ASHLAND, Mass. —

A Massachusetts mother and her 18-month-old baby girl are in fear for their lives overseas, taking desperate measures to survive escalating military fighting in Sudan.

Trillian Clifford, of Ashland, moved to Sudan less than a year ago to teach at a school in the capital of Khartoum.

Civil war is now raging through the country and her family is desperate to get her and her daughter, Alma, back home to Massachusetts.

“It’s just scary seeing that she’s in a situation where I don’t see any recourse for her,” said her younger brother, Tim Winter.

The Biden administration said they are working towards evacuating U.S. Embassy staff still stranded in the country – but say it's not "standard procedure" to evacuate citizens living abroad.

Winter, who lives in Acton with his wife Rebecca, mother and two young children, is disheartened by the lack of movement to get more Americans out of the country.

“I’m very frustrated because as a U.S. citizen who works abroad, she’s always been told the U.S. embassy has her back and it’s very clear that they don’t,” said Rebecca Winter, Clifford’s sister-in-law.

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Clifford has spent the last ten years teaching abroad, having stints in Cairo, Egypt and Mumbai, India, prior to moving to Khartoum, Sudan.

"She really loves the idea of getting out and teaching where there is a true need,” said Rebecca Winter.

Tim Winter says she had taught in Massachusetts before moving abroad – and that part of her decision to do so was rooted in financial scarcity.

“She always had trouble making ends meet even when she taught in downtown Cambridge. She worked two or three jobs,” he said.

Now living in Sudan, reminders of war have been woven into Clifford and her 18-month-old daughters’ daily life.

She’s had to make a pseudo shelter out of mattresses and tables. Listen as shell casing ring out from just half a mile away. She has even reverse-weaned her daughter to ensure there’s enough for her to eat.

Her one wish now is to get out of this nightmare 6,000 miles away from home.

“They’re just told 'sit tight,'” said Rebecca Winter. “Wait it out. How do you wait out a war.”