40 Under Forty 2025: Joseph Heelan
Photo | Erika Sidor
Joseph Heelan
Photo | Edd Cote
WBJ 40 Under Forty winners (from left) Kaleigh Maio, Bill Spencer, Joseph Heelan, and Danielle Teixeira at Wachusett Dam & Wachusett Dam Reservoir in Clinton
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Joseph Heelan has scaled Powders on Demand from zero revenue to $5+ million annually in under five years while establishing the company as a key supplier for additive manufacturing and cold spray technologies.
He has engineered and commercialized 50+ novel metal and ceramic-based powders crucial to the defense, energy, and aerospace sectors. His leadership has grown the team to approximately 15 individuals while maintaining a commitment to innovation and higher-performance development.
Heelan's expertise in engineering powders at the particle level to enhance critical application characteristics stems from his background as a materials engineer in the aerospace industry and his graduate research at WPI. His foundational work focused on developing novel processes to synthesize high-performance cathode powders from recycled lithium-ion battery materials, addressing sustainability challenges within the energy sector. As a guest speaker at his alma mater and participant in events like the Massachusetts Manufacturing Mash-Up, he bridges the gap between education and industry. He is pursuing the goal of hiking all 48 of New Hampshire's 4,000-foot peaks with his wife and children.
What movie best describes your life journey? “Ford v Ferrari” – hands-on grit, relentless problem-solving, and a deep obsession with materials and performance
Favorite Central Mass. community? The entrepreneurial and manufacturing community of Worcester led by key organizations like Solvus Global, MassTech Collaborative, and WPI.
Who helped you in your professional journey? Two people really stand out: my father, Peter Heelan, and my grad school mentor, Diran Apelian.
Proudest moment? The birth of my 3 kids
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