Issue link: https://nebusinessmedia.uberflip.com/i/1382333
3 HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | JUNE 14, 2021 BIZ BRIEFS 107 Old Windsor Road, Bloomfield, CT 06002 | 860.242.8586 | Fax: 860.242.8587 pdsec.com THINK • PLAN • BUILD Another Successful Project by PDS WALLINGFORD TRUCK STORAGE FACILITY | WALLINGORD, CT The new DPW facility for the Town of Wallingford is a 10,740 square foot pre- engineered metal building. The project included 10 truck bays with overhead doors, 4' high concrete kicker wall, clear span, office space, lockers, restrooms, training room, mechanical room, tool storage, wash bay and a mezzanine. SPOTLIGHT ON: MUNICIPAL TOTAL PROJECT SIZE: 10,740 SF PHOTO | HBJ FILE PHOTO | COSTAR PHOTO | CONTRIBUTED 300 Connecticut Blvd. in East Hartford, owned by the chairman of Gengras Motor Cars, could soon be sold to Tesla. Bloomfield-based Cigna ranked No. 13 on the most recent Fortune 500 list. Aerospace products, such as Kaman Corp.'s K-MAX heavy-lift helicopters, have traditionally been among the state's top exports, but the COVID-19 pandemic greatly disrupted the sector. competition. CT exports fell 15% in 2020 amid pandemic Connecticut exports fell 15% last year to $13.8 billion, according to the Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD), largely due to pandemic-related disruptions. DECD reported in its latest publication of the Connecticut Economic Digest that uncertainty surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic led consumers to hold off on buying big-ticket items. Additionally, lockdown measures and border closings slowed deliveries, disrupted supply chains and increased trade costs, DECD reported. The pandemic had particularly deleterious effects on product exports in the commercial aviation industry, DECD reported. "Much of this is related to COVID- 19's reverberations throughout the aviation industry, travel limits and global border shutdowns," the report said. Hoffman Auto Group sues Tesla, East Hartford over showroom plans Hoffman Auto Group, an East Hartford-based car dealer with operations across the state, is suing electric vehicle maker Tesla, East Hartford's Planning and Zoning Commission and a development firm in a bid to block a planned Tesla showroom and service center in town, arguing the proposal violates a state law barring car manufacturers from selling directly to consumers. According to a complaint filed in Hartford Superior Court by Hoffman lawyer Richard P. Weinstein, East Hartford's Planning and Zoning Commission made procedural mistakes in granting a special use permit and site plan modification for a property at 300 Connecticut Blvd. to Insite Development Services, which is acting on Tesla's behalf. The complaint alleges that Tesla would be violating a state law barring automobile manufacturers from selling directly to buyers if it followed through on plans to set up operations in East Hartford. 14 CT companies make 2021 Fortune 500 Fourteen companies based in Connecticut made the 2021 Fortune 500 list, with Bloomfield health insurer Cigna leading the pack and holding steady from last year at No. 13. This year's edition of the famous list — which organizes U.S. corporations by total revenue — featured 13 Connecticut repeats and one newcomer, elevator and escalator manufacturer Otis Worldwide, which spun off from the former United Technologies Corp. — now Raytheon Technologies Corp. — in 2020. Farmington-based Otis ranked No. 236, with revenue of $12.7 billion, according to Fortune's analysis. Cigna remained the highest- earning company in the state, at least in terms of total revenue, which amounted to $160.4 billion. Other Greater Hartford companies on the list included: The Hartford (No. 142); New Britain tools and hardware maker Stanley Black & Decker (No. 209); construction services firm EMCOR Group (No. 344); and Wallingford-based cable and fiber optic systems producer Amphenol (No. 349).