Hartford Business Journal

34 Hartford Business Journal • December 22, 2014 www.HartfordBusiness.com Industry Focus E c o n o m i c F o r E c a s t YEar in rEviEW November 24 UTC's Chenevert retires; CFo tapped as new Ceo In a surprising move, United Technologies Corp. CEO and Chairman Louis R. Chenevert abruptly resigned in late November. Chenevert was replaced by UTC Chief Financial Officer Gregory J. Hayes on a permanent basis. In a press release, UTC said Chenevert told the board of directors that he was retiring. "The appointment of Greg Hayes to succeed Louis Chen- evert continues the excellent leadership UTC has enjoyed for the past half century," said Edward A. Kangas, who has been tapped at UTC's new non-executive chairman. "The Board thanks Mr. Chenevert for his 22 years of service to UTC, his leadership over the last six years and for his many contribu- tions and important transformational initiatives during his tenure. Greg is highly re- garded by the board and by UTC employees, customers and shareowners. We are confident Greg will lead UTC to increasing profitability and shareowner returns." Hayes, 54, is a 25-year veteran of UTC who has served for the last six years as the company's senior vice president and CFO. In addition to his other responsibilities as CFO, Hayes has directed communications and interactions between UTC's board of directors and the investor community. July 21 Korean firm buys Clearedge for $32M South Korean conglomerate Doosan Corp. agreed in July to buy shuttered South Windsor fuel cell manufacturer ClearEdge Power for $32.4 million. ClearEdge abruptly closed down in late April, laying off 300 workers without warn- ing, and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on May 1. The company launched an auction on July 9 to sell off its assets, in order to repay some of the company's creditors. ClearEdge was headquartered in Sunnyvale, Calif., but its largest manufacturing operations were in South Windsor. The Connecticut portion of the operations was acquired by ClearEdge in February 2013, after Hartford conglomerate United Tech- nologies Corp. unloaded the then-named UTC Power. February 26 Pratt, UTC pledge $4.5B to stay in CT Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and United Technologies Chairman & CEO Louis Chenevert announced in February an agreement under which UTC will invest up to $500 mil- lion to upgrade and expand its aerospace research, development and manufacturing facilities over the next five years. During the same time period, UTC expects to invest up to $4 billion in research and other capital expenditures in the state. The agreement is expected to have an impact on more than 75,000 jobs in the state. In exchange, UTC will be able to offset future income and sales tax obligations using income tax credits from previous research and development. UTC can use up to $400 million in tax credits over the next 15 years if it keeps its end of the agreement. November 18 STR stockholders approve Chinese sale STR Holdings' shareholders in No- vember approved a 51 percent sale of the company to a Chinese solar farm developer. The Enfield solar-panel maker's stockholders voted to sell a majority stake to China solar developer Zhenfa Energy Group for $21.7 million. As part of the deal, Zhenfa will provide STR with a manufacturing facility in China. The Connecticut firm, which will remain headquartered in Enfield, recently sold its East Windsor manufacturing facility. august 5 nRG invests $75M in FuelCell New Jersey conglomerate NRG Energy, which operates nine power plants in Connecti- cut, has invested $75 million in Danbury clean power manufacturer FuelCell Energy. NRG agreed to buy 14.6 million shares of FuelCell stock for $35 million. FuelCell plans to use the money for project development. The agreement gives NRG the option to buy an additional 2 million shares of stock for $6.7 million. NRG also created a $40 million revolv- ing loan fund for FuelCell's project devel- opment. The New Jersey company said dis- tributed power generation from fuel cells will be an important technology as the country pushes for cleaner energy. may 30 CBIA: Manufacturers continue to face skills shortage A lack of key skillsets and the perception of waning youth interest in manufacturing careers are among the top concerns of Connecticut manufacturers this year, according to a survey by the Connecticut Business & Industry Association and several other entities. The survey's 246 respondents said they hope to fill 3,762 jobs this year. The challenge of finding the right candidates for manufacturing jobs is no secret in Con- necticut and beyond. Companies said they're having the most difficulty finding tool and die makers, fol- lowed by CNC programmers. More than half said that math is the skillset in shortest supply, followed by writing and reading. JuNe 24 For $280M, CT's Zygo now in Ametek's fold Zygo Corp., the technology maker founded in Middlefield 44 years ago with a stake from nearby Wesleyan University, is now a division of rival Pennsylvania elec- tronic-instruments maker Ametek Inc. Manufacturing Louis R. Chenevert, former Ceo and Chairman, United Technologies Corp. Kent McCord has worked at the South Windsor fuel cell facility since it was owned by United Technologies and later when Clearedge went bankrupt, leaving Doosan to take over. P H O T O | H B J F i l e P H O T O | H B J F i l e STR Ceo Robert Yorgensen Workers at FuelCell's Torrington facility assemble power plants. P H O T O | H B J F i l e

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