Issue link: https://nebusinessmedia.uberflip.com/i/1491440
10 HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | FEBRUARY 6, 2022 Laser Focus From dirty radiator shop to 78K-sq.-ft. newly acquired industrial space, Joining Industries rose from humble beginnings By Michael Puffer mpuffer@hartfordbusiness.com M ichael Francoeur launched his high-tech industrial welding business in 1985 with $5,000 in savings and a refurbished electron beam welding machine rescued from a scrap pile. Long before Francoeur launched Joining Industries, he started Dynamic Electron Beam in a two-bay former radiator shop tucked behind a duplex on South Main Street in Waterbury. The once-prosperous city was in decline and Francoeur could find cheap rent on an apartment and his shop. The property owner offered Fran- coeur, then 25, six months of free rent if he would clean out the filthy building. "I was scraping and brushing and removing years of materials that were stripped away from radiators, then slapped on coats of paint," Francoeur recalled. "That was the humble beginning." Last year, Joining Industries — the parent of three separate companies — bought two buildings with more than 78,000 square feet of combined space to house a growing workforce of 110 employees. Joining Industries paid $3 million in April for a 45,110-square-foot East Granby property that has hosted the bulk of its operations since 1998. Purchasing its former leased space gave the company elbow room and options for growth. Joining Industries followed up in December with a $1.6-million purchase of a 33,364-square-foot Windsor building that previously served as lab space for The Travelers Cos. Joining Technologies — the legacy arm of the business — performs a series of laser manufacturing processes for a wide range of indus- tries, including defense, cosmetics, medical, aerospace, automotive and more. It uses lasers for scribing, cutting, drilling, ablation, stripping, forming and cleaning. "We have drilled holes in concrete for the military," Francoeur said. Greg Miller, president of Joining Technologies, said his arm of the business employs about 80 people. That includes staff from American Cladding Technologies, a branch that is being reabsorbed into Joining Technologies at its East Granby address, just west of Bradley International Airport. The fastest-growing arm of Fran- coeur's company is JT Automation, spun off in 2016. The company designs and builds automated laser manufacturing machines tailored to specific clients' needs, with prices ranging from $500,000 to $2.3 million. It took two years to design and produce one multimillion-dollar machine that uses lasers to trim false eyelashes. It was built for a cosmetics company in Vietnam, Francoeur said. In 2019, JT Automation had 10 employees. Today, it has 30. JT Automation President Ryan Lombardini said he expects to hire another eight to 10 people by the close of the second quarter. The company is offering salaries between $80,000 to $150,000 for skilled tradespersons, including mechan- ical, manufacturing, controls and electrical engineers. "Word is getting out," Lombardini said of rising demand. "We are really getting our name out there. We are becoming a lot better known in the industry. We are trusted by a lot of larger organizations. That's what's led to our growth." External factors have helped. "I think it is a combination of a young company hitting its stride, laser technology becoming more ubiqui- tous in manufacturing and the effects of the last two to three years in the labor market driving more automation initiatives," said Joining Industries CEO David Hudson. Pent-up demand JT Automation will exit East Granby for the Windsor building this spring, following $250,000 in renovations. The move will free up about 10,000 square feet in East Granby, allowing Joining Technologies to add equip- ment and expand capabilities there. The additions will include a modern electron beam machine being imported from Germany. "I have machines on order that I have no place to put until (JT Auto- mation) moves out," said Miller, the Joining Technologies president. Miller said manufacturers are reshoring more work due to instability in overseas labor and supply chains. Another factor in current growth is pent-up demand following a slow- down at the outset of the pandemic, Miller said. The company performs welds on sensors used in the manufacture of semiconductors, which have seen a boom in domestic production lately. Francoeur said last year's real estate purchases are part of a long-term strategy of "scaling up," that he is pursuing with Hudson's corporate know-how. "Dave and I have vastly different backgrounds," Francoeur said. "I am entrepreneurial with knowledge of metals and fusion welding. Dave has operated large corporations where he scaled up their capital equipment. … What you see now is the result of us scaling up and our combined unique skills allowed us to do that." Don't I know you? Francoeur and Hudson seem almost fated to work together. After graduating from Agawam High School in 1976, Francoeur went right GROWING FOOTPRINT Joining Industries is the parent company of three high-tech manufacturers employing 110 people in East Granby. A portion of the company is expanding into a newly acquired Windsor building. The companies include: Joining Technologies, East Granby JT Automation, East Granby (planned spring move to Windsor) American Cladding Technologies, East Granby (planned reabsorption into Joining Technologies). Joining Industries President and CEO David Hudson (left) and Michael Francoeur, founder and chairman, now co-own the high-tech manufacturing company. HBJ PHOTO | STEVE LASCHEVER