Connecticut Manufacturing Keeps Moving Forward

Manufacturing in Connecticut remains strong, but faces new opportunities and challenges as the market continues to change rapidly.

That was the theme of CBIA Foundation’s third annual Manufacturing Bus Tour, which criss-crossed the state for five days from Oct.12 through Oct. 16.

Tour participants had the opportunity to visit 15 different manufacturers from a wide variety of sectors, as well as five workforce development and education partners training the next generation of manufacturers. 

At 3.7% year-over-year growth through September, manufacturing is the state’s fastest growing employment sector.

While many may think of the state’s defense industry, what became apparent as we visited each shop floor is how diversified Connecticut’s growth has become.

Demand Drives Opportunities

From submarines, to AI, to medical devices, some of the most advanced products are made right here in Connecticut.

However, as the industry grows, employers are finding workers in short supply.

With more than 8,000 job openings in manufacturing as of September, that demand is leading to unique opportunities for young people to find rewarding, high-paying opportunities across the state. 

It’s hard to avoid conversation about AI these days, and it’s no different in the manufacturing world.

However, it’s not just how employers are deploying AI in their workplace, but also how they are meeting the demand of a rapidly growing tech industry. 

There is much focus on GPUs and memory chips for the AI buildout, but data centers also rely heavily on many products we don’t often think about.

Companies like ebm-pabst for example, long in the business of making cooling fans for a myriad of applications, have seen huge new demand for their products as data centers are built across the country.

Meanwhile, others, like Sound Manufacturing in Old Saybrook, step in making components for the racks where chips will sit.

Growth Drivers

Across multiple stops on the tour, the AI buildout was clearly being felt on the shop floor. 

It’s not just AI driving growth though.

Medical devices remain a key piece of the state’s manufacturing ecosystem, anchored by major OEMs like Medtronic.

Its North Haven facility is churning out billions of dollars worth of life-saving products, driven by over 1,500 workers on their campus.

At the same time, they would not be able to succeed without their in-state supply chain of companies like AVNA in Berlin, another stop on this year’s tour. 

Connecticut’s manufacturing expertise also reaches well beyond Earth.

At Birk Manufacturing in East Lyme, heating systems help protect critical satellite and spacecraft components from the extreme temperatures of space, keeping batteries, electronics, and propulsion systems operating reliably.

It’s another example of the often-overlooked components that make space missions possible—a theme also reflected in this year’s Coolest Thing Made in Connecticut winner, The Lee Company’s Satellite Propellant Isolation Valve.

From managing temperatures to controlling propellant, Connecticut manufacturers are making critical precision components for those missions depend. 

Defense Demand 

While new markets are creating opportunities for Connecticut manufacturers, defense remains a major driver of growth.

Demand from General Dynamics Electric Boat, RTX Pratt & Whitney, and Sikorsky reaches well beyond their own facilities, supporting suppliers across the state.

Those companies are investing in equipment and expanding their capabilities, but meeting that demand also requires people. 

That was a recurring challenge on the tour.

Connecticut’s labor force has shrunk by roughly 50,000 people over the past year, even as manufacturers have more than 8,000 positions to fill.

Across the defense supply chain, employers are competing for talent.

Across the defense supply chain, employers are competing for talent—including with the large manufacturers they supply. 

For workers, that competition creates opportunity.

At Chapco, we heard about how welding can provide a path into manufacturing straight out of high school, as well as opportunities to build skills that lead to well-paying jobs at Electric Boat.

For a supplier, losing an experienced employee is a real challenge. For that employee, the move can represent an important step forward in their career. 

That tension makes workforce development essential. Employers need ways to bring new people into manufacturing, help them build skills, and give them reasons to stay.

For young people considering their next step, it means there are companies across Connecticut ready to invest in their potential. 

More Than One Path

Fortunately, across our workforce development stops, we saw folks working to connect people with these opportunities.

What stood out was the variety of approaches, each reflecting the needs of the students and communities they serve. 

Derby High School is partnering with Housatonic Community College to give students manufacturing experience while earning college credit.

Westbrook High School’s career academies introduce students to welding, fabrication, and robotics, helping them get an appreciation for these industries and the careers available to them.

At Oliver Wolcott Technical High School in Torrington, we saw how the state’s technical high schools are preparing students to move directly into skilled jobs. 

These programs give students a clear next step. We heard time and time again that students completing their training are often immediately connected with good-paying jobs, including at some of the state’s largest manufacturers.

Just as importantly, those jobs offer a path to higher wages as workers gain experience and build their skills, giving young people an opportunity to stay in Connecticut and thrive. 

Of course, getting trained takes time and resources that many people cannot easily spare.

At MATCH in New Haven, participants are paid while they train, helping bridge that gap and making it possible for more people to take advantage of manufacturing opportunities.  

There is no single approach that will meet every employer’s needs or work for every student. But across these stops, we saw how schools and training providers are building different paths toward the same outcome: a good job with room to grow. 

Innovation Is Essential 

Across all these industries, continued success requires continued innovation.

Connecticut is an expensive place to do business, something we heard time and time again on the tour. Manufacturers have to keep finding ways to work more efficiently, improve their products, and build new capabilities if they are going to compete. 

We saw that work across our stops, from Ulbrich Stainless Steels & Special Metals in Wallingford to Click Bond in Watertown and Commercial Sewing.

At Farmington-based TRUMPF, we also saw how Connecticut manufacturers help other companies innovate, supplying the cutting-edge machines that businesses need to improve production and sustain our advanced manufacturing economy.

We have to make sure that companies that want to be here can afford to stay, invest, and expand.

Investing in those tools, and the people who operate them, is essential to keeping Connecticut competitive. 

At Commercial Sewing, one speaker made the stakes particularly clear: his love of Connecticut was a major reason for staying, despite the challenges of doing business here.

That quality of life matters. But we also have to make sure that companies that want to be here can afford to stay, invest, and expand. 

That was ultimately what this tour brought home. Connecticut has manufacturers doing extraordinary work, and people eager to build careers with them.

Keeping those opportunities here means making sure companies can continue to invest, innovate, and grow. If they cannot compete here, we risk losing both the businesses and the careers they make possible. 

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About the author: Dustin Nord is the director of the CBIA Foundation for Economic Growth & Opportunity.