Hartford Business Journal

8 Hartford Business Journal • May 25, 2015 www.HartfordBusiness.com FOCUS MANUFACTURING Q&A Federal funds to help Lean out CT manufacturers Q&A talks with Bonnie Del Conte, president of CONNSTEP, a Rocky Hill-based manufacturing consultant that recently secured federal funding to expand its lean training programs to more Connecticut companies. Q: CONNSTEP recently announced the award of a new five-year cooperative agreement from the U.S. Commerce Department's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to manage the Hol- lings Manufactur- ing Extension Part- nership (MEP) in Connecticut. What will this federal funding be used for? A: The five-year agreement brings $7.4 million of federal sup- port into the state to promote the growth of Connecticut manu- facturing companies. CONNSTEP is the Manufacturing Exten- sion Partnership Center for Con- necticut, which allows us access to federal funding to assist small- and mid-size manufacturers to foster job growth, increase profits, and gain new clients by streamlining their production processes. The program funding helps defray costs for development and labor. Our consulting services to manufac- turers helps them eliminate waste and improve quality and productiv- ity. This translates into gains, both cash and excess capacity, enabling business growth in current sales and new market expansion. We provide assistance in these areas for growing the top-line. Q: What are some of the advantages of being a Manu- facturing Extension Partner- ship Center? A: As part of the MEP system, CONNSTEP has access to more than 1,600 subject-matter experts in all manufacturing sectors. Their areas of expertise are focused on both operational excellence and strategic growth. Because we are part of the MEP national system, if opportunities exist for projects with specific industry require - ments, we can leverage expertise from outside of the state from our MEP partners. This makes us a lean and efficient program nationwide. Q: What are some of the spe- cific steps CONNSTEP plans to take over the next 5 years of the grant to benefit Connecti- cut manufacturers? A: Because roughly 85 percent of Connecticut manufacturers have fewer than 50 employees and own- ers wear many hats, implementing change is difficult. Meeting current demand leaves little time devoted to developing business strategies for today's market. However, it is a critical pain point that needs to be addressed. Change is rapid, whether it be in new equipment and technology, sales and marketing, or hiring the appropriate skillsets in their workforce. CONNSTEP is addressing these areas of concern with business leaders to help them form strong leadership teams in their companies and stress the importance of strategic planning. Q: What trends are you seeing among manufac- turers right now in terms of strategies for improving oper- ations? Is there sufficient private capital in addition to public funding? A: Recent reports show an uptick in capital invest- ment funding. As manufactur- ers become focused on the need for speed to market, there is an increase in spend for upgrading plant, equipment, and technolo- gies. Through the slow economic recovery, this is the logical first step for many as they replace and upgrade in these areas. Private capital may be more available as investors have been holding off for better opportu- nities but still want to invest in companies that have the ability to grow and operate strategically. So even if the capital is available, the challenge still rests with the business owner to drive results. Probably the most important trend of all is recognizing the need to think and run the busi- ness differently than in the past. Q: Not related to the federal grant, but how is CONNSTEP helping aerospace component makers prepare for the huge increased workload from Pratt & Whitney's geared tur- bofan engine? A: CONNSTEP has several programs and methodologies that address suppliers in the aerospace sector, as well as other industries. Major factors are always consis- tent with customer needs, those being on-time delivery and supe- rior quality. When demand is high, being able to produce even more within these standards is very critical, considering that you need to be profitable. Working with the BONNIE DEL CONTE President, CONNSTEP Report: CT ranks in bottom half of aerospace manufacturing attractiveness By John Stearns jstearns@HartfordBusiness.com C onnecticut ranks 33rd in a new report measuring states' attractiveness for aerospace manufactur- ing — a mixed-bag position weighed down by the Nutmeg State's high wages, energy costs, and taxes, but bolstered by a strong supplier and skilled-labor base. Connecticut ranked dead last out of 50 states in operating costs and placed 32nd in overall tax burden in the "2015 Aerospace Manufacturing Attractiveness Rankings" produced by accounting and consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). The state fared better with its industry size and education rank coming in 19th and 14th, respectively. The report reflects much of what many Connecticut man- ufacturers already know: The state has quality talent and innovation, but high costs are detrimental to the industry's growth prospects, says Scott Thompson, partner and U.S. aerospace and defense assurance leader at PwC. The state has more ability to influence costs like taxes, but wages tend to be more regional and harder to control, he says. "If I were selling Connecticut … or if I were selling to other companies about Connecticut's value, it would be around the employment base and the skills that the aero- space workers in Connecticut have," Thompson says. Indeed, talent was a top concern for aerospace execu- tives PwC interviewed as part of a national research paper it released in 2013 called "Aviation's Second Golden Age: Can the U.S. Aircraft Industry Maintain Leadership?" That report contained PwC's initial aerospace manufac- turing attractiveness index, which ranked Connecticut No. 14. The ranking methodologies, however, changed in the latest report to separate and better reflect the state's tax burdens and operating costs, meaning the two rank- ings are not an apples-to-apples comparison. "By far and away, they were much more concerned about the availability of talent than the cost of the tal- ent," Thompson said of executives interviewed in the 2013 report. "They're finding it challenging to get engi- neers as well as skilled manufacturers." Bruce Fiedorowicz, director of sales for GKN Aero- space Engine Systems in Newington and past president of Aerospace Components Manufacturers, a nonprofit network of Connecticut and southwestern Massachu- setts aerospace companies, believes the industry is Aerospace Attractiveness Rankings Connecticut numbers: Tax rank: 32nd Operating cost rank: 50th Industry rank: 19th Education rank: 14th Overall state rank: 33rd I N D E X B A S E D O N W E I G H T E D A V E R A G E O F T A X E S ; O P E R A T I N G C O S T S ( I N D U S - T R Y A N D O V E R A L L W A G E R A T E S , B U S I N E S S C L I M A T E , E N E R G Y C O S T S ) ; I N D U S - T R Y S I Z E ( E X I S T I N G S U P P L I E R S A N D S U P P L Y / G R O W T H O F W O R K F O R C E , I N C L U D I N G A V A I L A B L E A E R O S P A C E T E C H N I C I A N S , E N G I N E E R S , M E C H A N I C S ) ; A N D E D U C A T I O N A L A T T A I N M E N T . Other numbers in the report Top 10 states by overall rank: 1. Florida 2. Michigan 3. Ohio 4. Utah 5. Virginia 6. Georgia 7. New York 8. Texas 9. Missouri 10. North Carolina Top 10 countries by overall rank: 1. U.S. 2. Singapore 3. Hong Kong SAR, China 4. Switzerland 5. United Kingdom 6. Canada 7. Qatar 8. United Arab Emirates 9. Luxembourg 10. Ireland S O U R C E : " 2 0 1 5 A E R O S P A C E M A N U F A C T U R I N G A T T R A C T I V E N E S S R A N K I N G S , " B Y P W C . Bruce Fiedorowicz, director of sales for GKN Aerospace Engine Systems, stands next to a forward fan case for the GE Aviation CF6 engine in GKN's Newington manufacturing plant. The CF6 engine powers the Boeing 767 and Airbus A330 wide-body aircraft. In the background are GE GEnx fan cases that will go on GEnx engines that power both the Boeing 787 Dreamliner and Boeing 747-800. Continued Pg. 10 H B J P H O T O | J O H N S T E A R N S

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