Hartford Business Journal

12 HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | JULY 14, 2025 Paul Henney (left) and Antonio Occhialini standing on the table of one of TM's two extra-large diameter Scheiss Mill/Turn machines. HBJ Photo | Steve Laschever 'The Big Stuff' Here's why two Greater Hartford large-scale parts manufacturers have joined forces now. They're looking for that vendor that can provide that additional capabilities and capacity." "When you think about the support that we are providing for the coun- try's defense, the sky is the limit in terms of growth," Henney added. Vertical integration TM was Reno's first acquisition since it bought Canton-based engineering services firm Design Company in 2010. Occhialini sees the now-expanded company as strategically placed in central Connecticut, within easy reach of most of its biggest customers. With the addition of TM, Reno Machine says it expects revenue growth of 30% in the next 12 months, and an additional 30% the year after. The other side of this transaction is Manchester's Pursuit Aerospace, the private equity-backed group formed in 2023 by the merger of Connecticut manufacturers Whit- craft Group and Paradigm Precision. Pursuit — which is backed by New York City-based Clayton, Dubilier & Rice and Greenbriar Equity Group of Greenwich — is taking its portfolio in the opposite direction. "Submarine parts is not really core to Pursuit's trajectory," said Jacque- line Gallo, executive vice president of operations at the group. "And so, although we love (TM Industries) — people are great, they have a lot of great capabilities — it's not a site that we felt was in our long-term growth strategy." Gallo said the company is not looking to sell off any more of its operations, but is focused on growing its core business. "We're in a big growth trajectory," she said. "The Berlin sale allows us to take our resources and focus on the other shops in Connecticut that are doing aerospace-only work." She said Pursuit will do that through several strategies, including investing in new technology and acquiring businesses that help its vertical integration. "We are very active in acquisitions. We have lots of acquisition targets, (in) Connecticut, the U.S. and across the globe," Gallo said. Pursuit's strategy — special- izing and vertically integrating the services it offers to original equip- ment manufacturers through invest- ment and acquisition — represents a major recent trend that is reshaping Connecticut's supply chain industry, experts say. Historically made up of small, independently owned and highly specialized shops, the supply chain landscape is experiencing signifi- cant consolidation through private equity investment. New York-based investment firm Jahani and Associates recently reported that private equity firms invested around $262 billion in manufacturing companies nation- ally between 2020 and 2024, and Connecticut has been at the fore- front of that trend. It's partly a function of the huge By Harriet Jones hjones@hartfordbusiness.com A n East Berlin machine shop that makes massive milled parts for the submarine industry changed hands in May, part of the reshaping of Connecticut's defense supply chain that's acceler- ated in recent years. Sold off by the otherwise rapidly expanding Pursuit Aerospace, TM Industries was bought by Newing- ton-based Reno Machine. And the move turned out to be a return to its roots. TM Industries has existed since 1962, founded by Tony Miccaci. "Tony was Reno's first employee, and I guess he saw the opportunity to start somewhat of a similar kind of business," said TM's General Manager Paul Henney. The two do indeed have many synergies. "We do a lot of large-diameter turning, manufacturing on a very large scale," said Antonio Occhi- alini, vice president of operations at Reno Machine, and grandson of the company's founder. "For a very long time, we really thought of ourselves as kind of (one) of the biggest in the game." That is, until they took a look at TM Industries' 55,000-square-foot East Berlin facility, at 128 Old Brick- yard Lane, which specializes in the development and production of large power-generation components for customers that include BAE Systems, GE Aerospace and General Dynamics Electric Boat. "Folks down here at TM have some giant equipment that can really handle some incredibly large parts and tools if needed," Occhialini said. "They have overhead crane capacity up to 60 tons. It's a fantastic addition to what Reno was already trying to accomplish in a large-format machining space." That reflects the clients that TM has been serving in marine systems, principally Groton shipyard Electric Boat. Reno, by contrast, has histor- ically catered to the aerospace industry players in Connecticut, including Pratt & Whitney, Sikorsky and Collins Aerospace, using its five- axis CNC milling machines to make large-scale parts like rotor blades or heat exchangers. "We at Reno came from the aero- space world. We were trying to get into the marine systems world as well," Occhialini said. "These folks happen to have a real lock step in with the marine system world. So, their operators and machinists here, there was no grace period where we had to catch them up. They already knew exactly what they needed to do." TM's Henney is equally enthusiastic. "This acquisition has brought to the table great opportunities for growth," he said. "It's in the news every day as it relates to Electric Boat and what their supply chain is demanding right AT A GLANCE Reno Machine Industry: Manufacturing Top Executives: Mark Occhialini, President; Antonio Occhialini, Vice President of Operations HQ: 170 Pane Road, Newington Employees: 79 Website: reno-machine.com Contact: 860-666-5641

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