Hartford Business Journal

4 Hartford Business Journal • February 22, 2016 www.HartfordBusiness.com w w w. H a r t f o r d B u s i n e s s . c o m (860) 236-9998 E D I T O R I A L Greg Bordonaro Editor, ext. 139 gbordonaro@HartfordBusiness.com Gregory Seay News Editor, ext. 144 gseay@HartfordBusiness.com Matt Pilon News Editor, ext. 143 mpilon@HartfordBusiness.com John Stearns Staff Writer, ext. 145 jstearns@HartfordBusiness.com Keith Griffin Digital Producer/Reporter, ext. 127 kgriffin@HartfordBusiness.com Stephanie Meagher Research Director Heide Martin Research Assistant B U S I N E S S Joe Zwiebel President and Publisher, ext. 132 jzwiebel@HartfordBusiness.com Donna Collins Associate Publisher, ext. 121 dcollins@HartfordBusiness.com Jessica Baker Office Manager, ext. 122 jbaker@HartfordBusiness.com Kristine Donahue Administrative Coordinator, Ext. 137 kdonahue@hartfordbusiness.com Amy Orsini Events Manager, ext. 134 aorsini@HartfordBusiness.com Christian J. Renstrom Advertising Director, ext. 126 crenstrom@HartfordBusiness.com David Hartley Sr. Accounts Manager, ext. 130 dhartley@HartfordBusiness.com William C. Lambot Sr. Accounts Manager, ext. 128 wlambot@HartfordBusiness.com John Vuillemot Sr. Accounts Manager, ext. 133 jvuillemot@hartfordbusiness.com Raki Zwiebel Credit and Collections Manager Valerie Clark Accounting Assistant/Office Manager Gail Lebert Chair, Executive Advisory Board P R O D U C T I O N Lynn Mika Production Director/Marketing Coordinator, ext. 140 lmika@HartfordBusiness.com Christopher Wallace Art Director, ext. 147 cwallace@HartfordBusiness.com Peter Stanton CEO pstanton@nebusinessmedia.com Joseph Zwiebel President & Group Publisher, ext. 132 jzwiebel@HartfordBusiness.com Mary Rogers Chief Financial Officer/Interim HR Director; mrogers@nebusinessmedia.com Subscriptions: Annual subscriptions are $84.95. To subscribe, visit HartfordBusiness.com, email hartfordbusiness@ cambeywest.com, or call (845) 267-3008. Advertising: For advertising information, please call (860) 236-9998. Please address all correspondence to: Hartford Business Journal, 15 Lewis Street, Suite 200, Hart ford CT 06103. News Department: If you have a news item: Call us at (860) 236-9998, fax us at (860) 570-2493, or e-mail us at news@HartfordBusiness.com Hartford Business Journal accepts no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts or materials and in general does not return them to the sender. Hartford Business Journal (ISSN 1083-5245) is published weekly, 52 x per year — including two special issues in December — by New England Business Media LLC, 15 Lewis Street, Suite 200, Hartford CT 06103. Periodicals postage paid at Hartford, CT. Tel: (860) 236-9998 • Fax (860) 570-2493 Copyright 2016. All rights reserved. Postmaster: Please send address changes to: Hartford Business Journal P.O. Box 330, Congers, NY 10920-9894 www.copyright.com Stanadyne MURTHA CULLINA LLP ATTORNEYS AT LAW MURTHALAW.COM BOSTON HARTFORD NEW HAVEN STAMFORD WHITE PLAINS WOBURN 515 data breach notifications affecting 2.5 million Connecticut residents were made to the Connecticut Attorney General's Office during the last fiscal year. Our speakers will provide a glimpse of what is happening in the world of security and privacy and will discuss current cyber risks, and what they and you can do about them. Murtha Cullina Invites You to a Cyber Security Half-Day Conference PROTECTING YOUR DIGITAL ASSETS: GOVERNMENT, INDUSTRY AND LEGAL PERSPECTIVES Friday, March 4 8:30 a.m. – Noon Quinnipiac University North Haven Campus - School of Law 370 Bassett Road North Haven, CT 06473 There is no cost to attend, but registration is required. R.S.V.P. Jackie Rowe at jrowe@murthalaw.com or 860.240.6140 GUEST SPEAKERS INCLUDE: Matthew F. Fitzsimmons CT Assistant Attorney General, Privacy and Data Security Department Head Rob Howley Senior Director, Law & Policy, Cox Communications David C. Gardner, Jr. Cyber Intelligence Analyst, FBI New Haven factories. That's why we've been able to win these very large contracts recently.'' According to Pinson, that mystery fuel- pump buyer claimed that Stanadyne's had the highest quality and lowest defect rate it had ever seen. "It's a full, state- of-the-art metallur- gical laboratory,'' Pinson said. And Stanadyne appears bent on keep- ing it in Connecticut, at least for the time being. The company, Pinson said, recently applied to the state Department of Eco- nomic and Commu- nity Development (DECD) for "First Five''- type assistance that will enable it to retain and expand operations. Such aid typically requires recipients to add or retain jobs. Pinson declined to elaborate on the amount or kind of assistance it seeks. A DECD spokesman, citing confidentiality guidelines, too declined comment. Of Stanadyne's 192 Windsor employees, nine out of 10 are engineers, said engineer- ing-services director Russell Otten, adding the company competes directly with East Hartford jet-engine builder Pratt & Whitney for engineering talent. Worldwide, Stanadyne has about 1,300 workers. The inclination of manufacturers to embrace the integrated product development model to distill out the relatively more efficient, less expensive innovation process from the more costly production aspect concerns some Con- necticut policymakers and industry experts. Hartford economist Peter Gioia, of the Connecticut Business & Industry Association, said this state's relatively high labor costs and taxes "makes it very expensive to do man- ufacturing here," giving companies greater incentive to move that work out of state, even if they retain R&D here. Jerry Clupper, executive director of the New Haven M a n u f a c t u r e r s Association, said all Connecticut manu- facturers need to do more R&D and product and process development, adding, "it's not unique to those who are just outsourcing their manufacturing.'' Eco-friendly Begun in the 1876 as the Hartford Machine Screw Co. — later known as the Standard Screw Co. before embracing the name Stana- dyne Automotive Co. in 1970 — Stanadyne for decades was a major source of summer employment for high school and college pupils. Also, more than a few immigrants found work and raised families on pay from Stanadyne. Today, Stanadyne is one of a number of private portfolio companies owned by New York equity firm Kohlberg & Co. that in 2004 bought it for a combination of equity and debt totaling about $330 million. Kohlberg declined to comment about Stanadyne. Stanadyne views itself as a "green'' com- pany, said Pinson, whose products enable makers of automobiles and off-road vehicles, such as farm tractors, meet engine emissions standards in the U.S. and overseas. Moreover, the ever-tightening nature of emissions rules virtually assures Stanadyne that enhancements to its fuel-system prod- ucts that satisfy them will be embraced by its customers. "That's what gets me up in the morning … ,' Pinson said. "We spend a lot of time developing technology and processes to make us better and faster to market. It's certainly the most challeng- ing assignment I've ever had.'' Pinson, a mechanical engineer who has both doctoral and MBA degrees, spent 14 years at U.S. auto giant General Motors, working in R&D, including in diesel-engine development. He also worked on GM's engine joint venture with rival Fiat Chrysler in Italy. According to Stanadyne's latest 10-K fil- ings, GM and farm- and garden-tractor maker John Deere combined for about half of Stana- dyne's 2013 net sales of $268 million. Sales were $252 million in 2012, and $246 million in 2011. Its operating profit each of those years, respectively was $21 million, $23 million, and $11 million. In particular, GM has previously employed Stanadyne's high-pressure fuel pumps in its vehicles. GM confirms Stanadyne is currently a fuel-pump supplier, but declined comment on its future supply deals. Asked whether GM ordered another 3.8 million pumps, Pinson was coy. "We work,'' Pinson said, "with all the major [original equipment manufacturers].'' n Peter Gioia, economist, Connecticut Business & Industry Association John A. Pinson, Stanadyne president and chief technology officer

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