Berkshire County Arc Hires Director of Brain Injury Services

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Berkshire County Arc has hired a new director of Brain Injury Services, Amber Steele.

Steele has been with BCArc since 2011. She has worked in a variety of capacities within BCArc, including as site manager and as a senior site Manager. Most recently, she worked as a residential supervisor in the Brain Injury Services Department. Prior to arriving in the Berkshires, she worked as a residential coordinator at CapeAbilities in Hyannis, Mass.

Amber holds a certificate in Quality Management from the National Graduate School of Quality Management and will be completing her bachelor's degree from Springfield College, School of Human Services this fall.

"This is such an exciting time to be working in the human services field, especially with all the expansion of services for people with brain injury. There are more opportunities now than ever for people to find their new forever homes in the community," Steele said. "Having had the pleasure of working at BCArc for the past six years, as a part of this amazing, highly dedicated team of professionals, I can honestly say that the future for those we support looks very bright."

Lenco Celebrates $5M in Capital Investments

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
05:34AM / Tuesday, December 16, 2025

Executive Vice President Lenny Light says it's not the equipment but the staff that gives Lenco its competitive advantage. 

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Lenco Armored Vehicles has embarked on a $5 million capital investment project for faster, better manufacturing. 

 

A ribbon was cut on Monday in front of the company's new Trumpf TruLaser 3080, a machine designed to cut extra-large sheets of metal. This will increase the efficiency of building armored tactical vehicles, such as the BearCat, by about 40 percent. 

 

Executive Vice President Lenny Light recalled the Lenco's beginnings in 1981, when it operated out of 3,000 square feet on Merrill Road with 15 employees.  Today, Lenco has 170,000 square feet of manufacturing space and nearly 150 employees. 

 

"The work that we do here in Pittsfield contributes to millions of dollars being put back into our local economy. We're the largest commercial armored rescue vehicle manufacturer in the United States. We're one of the most respected brands locally. We also now own the largest fiber laser in the United States. It's the only one of its kind in the Northeast," he said, motioning to the massive, modern machinery. 

 

"But the equipment that we have is not our competitive advantage — our welders, our forklifts, our cranes — any company can buy this same exact equipment." 

 

Rather than the equipment, he said, it's the staff who shows up every day with a can-do attitude that gives Lenco its competitive advantage. 

 

Planning for the industrial cutter began 18 months ago, when the company needed to decide if it was the right equipment for the future. Trumpf, named for its founder, is a German-headquartered global manufacturer of high-end metal processing (computer numerical control) machines, including laser technology. The TruLaser 3080 uses a high-intensity laser beam to cut through metals with speed and accuracy.