My father purchased Peerless Precision, Inc. in 1997. He was a serial entrepreneur with an MBA in Management and Finance. At the time, the founder of Peerless was looking to retire, and my father was looking to purchase an established company instead of starting one from scratch again. He was looking for a company that had a good reputation and room to grow. When he happened upon the opportunity to buy Peerless, he couldn’t pass it up!

While his background in Manufacturing was minimal at that point (he had worked at a casket manufacturer outside of Boston after receiving his MBA), he had always had a passion for manufacturing. He was an advocate for advanced manufacturing, especially when it came to workforce development and changing the narrative that has encompassed manufacturing for decades. He was involved in the Governor’s STEM Council during the Patrick Administration that was designed to increase education and training opportunities for careers in STEM Fields and one of the most outspoken members of that council. It was Larry’s idea to have a bus full of manufacturing equipment travel to schools so that children could get a first hand look at what manufacturing was in Massachusetts. Additionally, he was also a Board Member of the NDIA. In 2006, Larry started the Annual Mainline Drive Pig Roast which served as a fun, summer, networking event for other manufacturers in our region, local legislators, supporting industries, friends and family. Larry was heavily involved in the Western Mass Chapter of the National Tooling & Machining Association (WMNTMA) and served as President of the Board.

Upon his passing in 2012, it was suggested that a Memorial Education Fund in his name be started and that moving forward, all the proceeds gained from the Annual Pig Roast would go directly to benefit the Larry A Maier Memorial Education Fund which is used to help promote and support training and careers in Manufacturing in the Lower Pioneer Valley. The Board of the WMNTMA voted unanimously in favor of this and since 2013, the Pig Roast Larry started as a fun networking event has grown every year in sponsorships and attendance and serves as the primary fundraiser for the “Larry Fund.” While he is no longer with us, his memory lives on in that fund, the WMNTMA and Peerless Precision, Inc.