Hartford Business Journal

www.HartfordBusiness.com • August 20, 2018 • Hartford Business Journal 15 said he still has an eye on the alumi- num tariff. His company orders plenty of aluminum for its engine-related work, and the Midwestern mill that supplies it has been slammed with more orders since the tariffs took effect. For now, the aluminum prices ACMT pays are protected by a multi- year contract — a benefit that Gibbs said it does not have — but Polo said if conditions persist that could change. With its materials costs steady for now, ACMT's near-term concern is potential delivery delays. The aeroparts maker has started to order full truckloads of aluminum to ensure it gets prioritized on the earliest possible delivery schedule, stockpiling the additional material in a recently constructed 53,000-square-foot build- ing down the street from its headquar- ters on Manchester's Progress Drive. "It places some financial burden on us," Polo said of the bigger orders. "But we decided that was an invest- ment in the future." He hopes the bigger orders might also stave off or lessen future materi- als price increases. Polo said the tariffs haven't hit his bottom line yet, thanks in part to the company's recent rapid growth. ACMT has ramped up from 48 em- ployees to 144 workers over the past two years, Polo said. Acme Monaco leader puts tariffs in broader context At Acme Monaco, which has about 120 employees at its New Britain headquarters, co-President Lucas Karabin said the company has seen brisk increases in materials prices this year, as well as some delays in materials shipments. It's had to pass on some of those costs to customers. However, all things considered, Karabin says the impact on Acme Monaco — maker of medical and orthodontic guidewires, as well as springs, metal stampings and snap rings for bearings — has been "rela- tively constrained." But that doesn't mean there aren't challenges ahead if conditions hold. Some bigger orders the company accepted before the tariffs could see their profit margins shrink. "That's the hardest part about it," Karabin said. "You have orders on the books that you already acknowl- edged at a certain price." "You could try to fight the custom- er, and some will play ball and some won't because they are getting hit on all sides as well," he added. Acme execs have decided not to stockpile materials because they worry it could backfire if the tariffs are lifted. Karabin says tariffs provide an extra challenge for his company and he hopes they're repealed, but he also tries to put them in context. Materi- als costs have already been rising in recent years and foreign competi- tors are a big challenge, tariffs or not. Meanwhile, Acme Monaco and many other manufacturers are desperate for talent to fill open jobs. "Shortage of labor scares me more than tariffs do," Karabin said. Movers & Shakers Janet Hundley was named vice president of news at West Hartford- based NBC Connecticut/WVIT. Hundley last worked as news director at WTMJ in Milwaukee, where she built an investigative team that focused on community and accountability journalism. Jay McGuinness has joined Chelsea Groton Bank's Glastonbury office as vice president, commercial loan officer. In his new position, McGuinness will work to develop commercial loan and commercial mortgage relationships with centers of influence in the Greater Hartford and Greater New Haven market areas. Most recently, McGuinness was a vice president/commercial loan officer at First Niagara/Key Bank. Marty Rotblatt was hired as a board leadership and development specialist at Harvest Development Group, a Middletown-based consultancy firm that works in partnership with nonprofits. Rotblatt will lead a new division at Harvest called, "The Boardroom." This division is a concierge-level service for nonprofit board members and chief executives that helps with board leadership, board development, assessments and training. In the last six years, he held the role of president and CEO of Association Resources, an association management company. Nicholas Herrel has joined intellectual property law firm Cantor Colburn LLP as an associate in the firm's Hartford office. Herrel will focus on domestic and foreign patent preparation, prosecution and counseling in the life science and chemical arts. He previously worked as General Electric's patent counsel, and last worked for Locke Lord LLP. The Governor's Prevention Partnership, a nonprofit public-private partnership aimed at keeping youths off drugs, tapped Veronica DeLandro to lead its statewide community engagement efforts. DeLandro first joined the Partnership in 2005 to help launch and spearhead the Connecticut Mentoring Partnership's Urban Mentoring Initiative in Hartford, Waterbury, Norwich, Bridgeport, New Haven, Willimantic and New Britain. She is currently involved with Hartford Foundation for Public Giving's Black Giving Circle and the New Britain branch of the NAACP. Katharine Schramm has been appointed director of the Hartford- based Connecticut Historical Society's Connecticut Cultural Heritage Arts Program. Schramm previously worked at Indiana University Press as assistant acquisitions editor. She has many years of experience as a folklorist and in museum curation. The Boys & Girls Club of Hartford appointed six new members to the nonprofit's board of trustees. New board members include Matthew Carbray, managing partner of Ridgeline Financial Partners in Avon; Sonserae Cicero, human resources manager for Walgreens Distribution Service in Hartford; Jacqueline Pagan John, executive assistant to United Healthcare's chief executive; Lori M. Budnick, partner at BlumShapiro, a West Hartford certified public accounting firm; Grace Figueredo of Bloomfield; and John Gallagher, head basketball coach at the University of Hartford. Laura Weintraub Beck has been appointed chair of the private client's group at Cummings & Lockwood, a law firm with offices in Connecticut and Florida. Weintraub Beck currently works as a principal in Cummings & Lockwood's private clients group. She first joined the firm in 2002. Michael Soares was hired as a wetlands scientist for the Water & Natural Resources Department of Fuss & O'Neill Inc., a Manchester civil and environmental engineering consulting firm. At Fuss & O'Neill, Soares will perform wetland and watercourse delineations, vegetation surveys and ecological surveys. He previously worked for the Eastern Connecticut Conservation District. Donovan Powell has been named chief operating officer of Hartford Athletic, Hartford's new professional soccer team. Powell previously worked as general manager of sports properties at Drexel University and Learfield Sports. As COO for Hartford Athletic, Powell will oversee all business operations. Jessica Beganski has been named office leader of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices New England Properties' Farmington office. Beganski has worked in the real estate industry for 14 years. Prior to working in real estate, Beganski worked for 10 years in corporate marketing. Jay McGuinness Laura Weintraub Beck Nicholas Herrel Donovan Powell Tariffs tied to falling U.S. manufacturer confidence levels Following optimism tied to federal tax cuts, U.S. manufacturers' confidence levels have fallen 34 points since January, according to monthly member surveys by the Precision Metalforming Association. As of July, just 24 percent felt economic conditions would improve over the next three months. 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Sept. 2017 Oct. 2017 Nov. 2017 Dec. 2017 Jan. 2018 Feb. 2018 Mar. 2018 Apr. 2018 May 2018 Jun. 2018 Jul. 2018 Source: Precision Metalforming Association ACMT employee Joel Maldonado working on the shop floor. HBJ PHOTO | STEVE LASCHEVER

• Cover