Hartford Business Journal

26 HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | MAY 15, 2023 With workforce development, industry collaboration focus, Marion Manufacturing's Johnson emerges as leader of CT's small manufacturers By Norman Bell Hartford Business Journal Contributor I t's been a few years, but Douglas Johnson still bristles when he thinks of the day former Gov. Dannel P. Malloy got it so wrong. Addressing a crowd of small manufacturers, Malloy proclaimed Connecticut doesn't make widgets anymore. Johnson, owner of Marion Manu- facturing in Cheshire, looked around and saw lots of people like him — all Connecticut widget makers. Today, leadership has changed at the Capitol and Johnson is having quite a year as the de facto face of the state's widget makers. A few weeks ago, Johnson was presented an innovation and leader- ship award by the American Manu- facturing Hall of Fame. He said he's honored, but "I don't consider myself an innovator." And, at the end of March, Johnson wrapped up his term as board chair of the national Precision Metal- forming Association (PMA). He traveled the country and was "a great ambassador" for the industry and association, said PMA President David Klotz. Johnson's message included a hearty endorsement of workforce development, a pressing issue for the industry, Klotz said. Companies — particularly automo- tive-parts suppliers — are eager to bring work back from China but are being stymied by a labor shortage. The jobs may end up going to Mexico unless something changes soon, Klotz said. Johnson urges a new generation to consider work in the trades and embrace education. Each is an issue that has played a special role in Johnson's career. As he tells the story, his career took off after an encounter with the head of a metal-stamping firm where Johnson was a young employee. The boss asked him about his career goals. "I brashly told him I wanted his job," Johnson recalls. "The boss said, 'follow my instructions and you'll have a shot.'" Those instructions included going back to school to learn about business and management. So, by day, he worked in metal stamping, and by night, he became a student at Worcester Polytechnic Institute's School of Industrial Management. Eventually, he got the job and learned a new lesson: When a company is sold, the boss is often the first one out the door. When he had the opportunity to join Marion Manufacturing as vice pres- Focus: Small Business Douglas Johnson, owner and president of Marion Manufacturing, stands on the Cheshire company's shop floor. PHOTO | CONTRIBUTED DOUGLAS JOHNSON Owner Marion Manufacturing Education: Bachelor's degree in industrial management, Worcester Polytechnic Institute Age: 57 ident of operations, he covered that contingency by negotiating a deal that allowed him to buy the company if it was ever put up for sale. And that's just what happened in 2015. Diversification play Marion Manufacturing got its start in 1946 when Scovill, overrun by orders in the post-war economy, started outsourcing work to its own employees. For one family, that was a life-changing opportunity. The Cramers started manufacturing clock hands for IBM in the basement of the family home on Marion Street in Cheshire. The Marion name stuck as the family business grew into a metal- stamping power, serving the booming automotive industry. But, by the time Johnson arrived in 2010, Marion had fallen on hard times. Supplying the automotive sector was 85% of its business and the market had become more competitive. Johnson, whose background was in supplying precision metal parts for the medical industries around Boston, saw the need to diversify, and he reached out to some old contacts. Work in telecommunications and aerospace followed, and soon Marion Manufacturing was back. Today, Marion does small-batch precision work for Collins Aero- space's guidance systems, Johnson said. But the sweet spot for the company is in high-volume, high- speed metal stamping. At one point, Marion was turning out 10 million parts a week for a telecommunica- tions company. But for a contract supplier, customers come and go. Structural challenges don't go away. Marion's workforce was aging and Johnson needed to find a new gener- ation of skilled workers. He turned to programs like Naugatuck Valley Community College's Advanced Manufacturing Technology Center. Soon, he had a line on new talent. He proudly said the average age of his two dozen employees — once 62 — is now 32. Experience has been replaced with energy and a thirst for technology. Two of the people Johnson hired are his children. His son heads the machining and tooling operation, while his daughter handles marketing and social media from her home in North Carolina. Marion Manufacturing has always been a family business, Johnson said, and he's proud to continue the tradition.

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