Manufacturing Tour Highlights Sector’s Impact, Diversity

What will you make? Those powerful words were a sight to see on Connecticut’s highways and back roads this week.

Covered from front to back with industry widgets and a huge Made in Connecticut stamp, the manufacturing tour bus celebrated the state’s robust industry and world-class, highly skilled workforce.

Dozens of business leaders climbed aboard Oct. 14 through Oct. 18 for the inaugural manufacturing tour, produced by the CBIA Foundation in collaboration with the Connecticut Office of Manufacturing and CBIA affiliate CONNSTEP.

“The importance of the manufacturing industry in Connecticut cannot be understated,” said CBIA president and CEO Chris DiPentima.

Chief manufacturing officer Paul Lavoie called the tour, part of National Manufacturing Month, “a fantastic example of the collaboration and partnership that exist in Connecticut’s manufacturing sector.” 

“This bus tour is a great way to show Connecticut residents the diversity of our state’s manufacturing sector,” added CONNSTEP president and CEO Beatriz Gutierrez.

Monday, Oct. 14

Triumph Systems, Electronics, and Controls has been in business in Connecticut since 1943. 

The West Hartford facility employs about 550 people and makes fuel pumps, fuel metering units, electronic engine controls, and environmental cooling systems. 

“Connecticut is a family friendly state that has some of the best public school systems, technical schools, and universities in our country, which provides a unique resource talent pool for TRIUMPH’s highly technical engineered design, development, and product production,” said company president Justin Wolfanger. 

New England Airfoil Products has operated in Connecticut since 1955. Pietro Rosa TBM Company acquired the company in 2016.

The company manufactures cold section airfoils for gas turbines for use in the air, sea and on land.

 “The Aerospace ecosystem in Connecticut is perfectly aligned with our manufacturing needs in North America,” said Pietro Rosa Group president and CEO Mauro Fioretti.

Mott Corporation has called Connecticut home for 65 years, making filtration and flow control products and systems that solve complex, mission-critical problems. 

Mott has more than 400 employees worldwide, with 240 spread between three sites in Connecticut. 

The company’s third Connecticut manufacturing site in Farmington officially opened this fall with 65,000 square feet of space designed to support a growing clean energy business.

“When combined with our recent $10 million grant from the Department of Energy, this expansion will allow us to quadruple our production capacity and serve more customers in the rapidly growing green hydrogen industry,” said Mott president Boris Levin.

“We could not have gotten here without our tremendously committed employees, who produce world-class technology and go above and beyond for our customers every day.”

The University of Hartford began as a commuter school during the post-World War II boom.

The university’s College of Engineering, Technology, and Architecture offers programs in manufacturing processes and process controls.  

UHart established the Center for Manufacturing and Metrology in 2012 to assist the industry in workforce development and with developing innovative projects.

Tuesday, Oct. 15

Founded in Bridgeport in 1903, Siemon, which today is based in Watertown and employs more than 200 employees in Connecticut and 700 across the globe, has undergone several expansions. 

Siemon manufactures copper and fiber optic cabling and connectivity that is used in data centers, office buildings, and campus environments such as universities and hospitals.

“As a manufacturer, we have built a network of partners across the state that are a critical part of the products we develop and services we deliver to our customers across the globe,” said president and CEO Henry Siemon.

Founded in Danbury in 1969, FuelCell Energy develops environmentally responsible distributed baseload power solutions through its proprietary fuel cell technology. 

The fuel cells have a seven-year life cycle. FuelCell Energy is working to develop cells with a 10-year life cycle.

The team is also developing a system to capture, filter, and supply carbon dioxide for the food and beverage industry.

Fascia’s Chocolates started in John and Helen Fascia’s basement in 1964, making and selling chocolates for 14 years from the family home.

In 1985, manufacturing finally moved to a large facility in Waterbury, producing everything from boxed assortments of chocolates to dipped, coated, and molded treats and specialized in personalized and custom packaging. 

The company employs 40 employees in Connecticut at the 19,000 square foot facility.

“Our loyal customers are here and with the retail and event components of our business, we have no choice but to stay local,” said company president Carmen Romeo. “That said, it is our home and we love the quality of life here.”

The Manufacturing Alliance Service Corporation was established as a training center in Waterbury in 1996, providing in-demand, high-quality programs based on input from employers. 

The organization moved the program from the city’s continuing education department to the Department of Higher Education in Connecticut in 2017. 

MASC has grown remarkably since the pandemic by streamlining learning paths and adding more focused training opportunities.

Leaders are currently working to expand training in several growing areas and focusing on getting students from classroom to career in as little as 10 weeks.

Wednesday, Oct. 16

Orange Research started in a Connecticut basement in 1963, later moving to a barn, and eventually a building a decade later.

The third-generation family-owned business manufactures differential pressure gauges and flow instrumentation. 

Orange Research employs more than 40 people in Connecticut, with an average tenure of 15-and-a-half years.

Bead Electronics is one of two divisions of Bead Industries and manufactures custom connector pins used in automotive, industrial, communications, aerospace, lighting, and medical applications.

The family-owned business employs more than 40 employees in at its Milford facility.

“We’ve been operating our manufacturing business in Connecticut for 110 years,” said CEO Jill Mayer. “Our talented employees—their values and their work ethic—are the reason we stay.”

PEZ Candy has operated in Connecticut since 1973 and the facility in Orange is the only U.S. location that makes the iconic candy.

The company added a large 6,500-pallet location warehouse to the facility in Orange 2008 and the visitor center in 2011.

PEZ Candy employs more than 60 people in Connecticut. 

“Since establishing our Connecticut corporate office in November 1973, we’ve thrived in one of the East Coast’s most strategic and welcoming locations,”  said president and CEO Christian Jegen.

Goodwin University has served students in Connecticut for more than 20 years. 

The manufacturing program began in 2012, offering a bachelor’s degree in manufacturing management and CPT and CLT credentials, later adding associates degrees in CNC machining and quality systems management, as well as additional certifications.

Goodwin opened the Harrison Steans Advanced Manufacturing Center a year ago on the University of Bridgeport campus.

This fall, the program created an associate’s degree in manufacturing engineering technology.

Thursday, Oct. 17 

Connecticut State Community College’s Housatonic Advanced Manufacturing Technology Center opened in 2012.

The center offers two-semester training programs with opportunities for hands-on experience with manual machining, CNC machining, blueprint reading, inspection, and more. 

The program has trained more than 350 students since its inception and secured 10 new CNC machines this year thanks to a community projects grant. 

GE Appliances, a Haier company, manufactures home, kitchen, and laundry appliances and solutions. 

GE Appliances broke ground on CoCreate in Stamford in 2021, producing the Monogram Hearth Oven and Profile Smart Stand Mixer. 

Established and start-up businesses use the space for prototyping and small volume production.

“Investing in Connecticut provides us with a unique opportunity to do what we love most: open our doors and engage with a vibrant and innovative community,” said president and CEO Kevin Nolan.

Ruth Campbell Bigelow started Bigelow Tea in 1945 in her New York apartment before opening a small factory in Norwalk in 1950. 

Bigelow manufactures a wide variety of specialty teas, including 10.5 billion bags annually of the signature Constant Comment brand.

Now a third-generation family owned business, Fairfield-based Bigelow employs more than 100 people in Connecticut. 

“We feel incredibly grateful for the invaluable relationships we’ve cultivated within the manufacturing ecosystem, as well as for the generous support and resources offered by the state of Connecticut to its manufacturers,” senior director of manufacturing Jim Gildea said. 

Paragon Medical‘s (formerly Lacey Manufacturing) roots go back to 1918, when Fred Lacey opened a stamping tool shop in Bridgeport.

Paragon offers advanced medical manufacturing and design for medical devices, components, and products.

The global company has two facilities in Connecticut, including its innovation center, with Paragon Medical Bridgeport employing more than 300 people. 

Friday, Oct. 18

Leggett & Platt Aerospace began as Pegasus Manufacturing in Connecticut in 1989. 

The company, which employs more than 70 people in Connecticut, produces fabricated assemblies for the aerospace industry as well as machine components for the defense industry. 

The Lee Company, which today employs more than 1,000 people, was founded in Connecticut in 1948. 

With two facilities in Westbrook and Essex, the family-owned business manufactures miniature, precision fluid control components. 

Over the last 75 years, The Lee Company has worked closely with customers to develop new, innovative products that solve specific fluid control problems in a variety of industries.

“Connecticut’s central location and accessibility to major cities, coupled with its vibrant sense of community and beautiful shoreline, makes it a great place to live and work,” said president and CEO Marietta Lee.

“We are very supportive of the important work CBIA and state government are doing to improve the business environment in Connecticut.” 

Originally founded as Jayfro, Jaypro Sports’ history in Connecticut dates back to 1953. In 1986, Bob Ferrara purchased the company and renamed it Jaypro, marking a new chapter in its history.

The Waterford-based company employs more than 100 people, producing high-quality sports equipment for a variety of facilities. 

“Connecticut’s highly regarded educational system provides a strong pool of professional talent and skilled labor, which is crucial to our operations,” CEO Michael Ferrara said.

The Manufacturing Apprenticeship Center, which has operated inside Ella T. Grasso Technical High School in Groton since 2019, has served the industry for nine years. 

Training programs, including machinist, design, engineering, shipfitting, and welding are offered based on industry demand.

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The 2024 Manufacturing Tour was made possible through the generous support of the Connecticut Office of Manufacturing, CONNSTEP, Connecticut State Community College, Vancord, and Marcum, with additional support from Mercer, Mott, Corporation, USI FutureComp, Fascia’s Chocolates, Niagara, and Severance Foods.

The CBIA Foundation is now accepting applications for the 2025 Manufacturing Tour.