Made in Connecticut: Kongsberg Automotive
Each month, we profile a Connecticut manufacturer, showcasing the ingenuity and innovation driving the state’s economy. For June we spoke with Kongsberg Automotive in Suffield.
When was your company founded?
Kongsberg Automotive has its origins in Kongsberg Våpenfabrikk Norway in 1957 as a defense and weaponry company. It began producing brakes and driveshafts for Volvo in the late 1950s.
Since then Kongsberg Automotive has developed from a Scandinavian automotive parts supplier to become a global leader in one of the most competitive and complex industries in the world.
How many employees work for your company?
220.
What products does your company manufacture? Who are your customers?
Suffield’s core competencies include paste extrusion, stainless steel braiding, melt extruded products, convoluted tape wrap product lines, and assembly.
The facility is approximately 91,000 square feet. Manufacturing operations run four-shifts, seven days a week.
Comprehensive manufacturing, global engineering, and next generation and product innovation capabilities make us the key solution to customers in the industrial, tier I truck/bus, and tier II automotive markets.
Why did you choose manufacturing?
Kongsberg Automotive in Suffield has been supplying PTFE/Nylon media transfer solutions since 1979 and is still serving its chosen markets with innovative and competitive products.
With over 30 years experience, we take pride in all our product lines and we are a leading global manufacturer in PTFE hoses.
What makes your company unique?
Kongsberg Automotive has a strong business culture and clearly defined values. Ever since we produced our first components in 1957, the Kongsberg Automotive story has been of creating sustainable business against all odds.
More than 60 years later, approximately 5,500 employees across the globe continue to write new chapters. We work hard every day as one global team to provide world class products to the global vehicle industry.
The story of our business is fundamentally a story of ordinary people creating an extraordinary company.
The most important part of Kongsberg Automotive is the way our employees have put shared goals ahead of personal ones. And those goals have been ambitious.
Our values have been the basis of our achievements and will continue to carry us into the future.
Why did you choose Connecticut?
Connecticut’s workforce is among the nation’s most highly skilled—and highly productive.
So whether you’re looking to staff your company with top talent or simply want to work alongside those you can respect and learn from, Connecticut is a great place for good people.
What is the greatest advantage to operating in Connecticut?
Long known as a leader in advanced manufacturing, aerospace, finance, and insurance, Connecticut is also home to thriving sectors in bioscience, green energy, technology, and digital media.
This array of rapidly advancing industries positions the state for continued growth.
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