Issue link: https://nebusinessmedia.uberflip.com/i/688926
2016 | Doing Business in Connecticut 57 By Taryn Plumb H andcraed right here in Connecticut, they've been plucked and strummed by the likes of Paul McCartney, Mick Jagger and Eddie Van Halen — and Darren Wallace couldn't stand to watch that legacy simply fade away. So over a period of a few months, the 23- year employee of Ovation Guitars spent a few hours before work here, a weekend morning there, re-setting equipment and machines in the legendary brand's shuttered New Hartford plant. Although some thought he was being foolish — or just plain wasting his time — he was unflagging in his belief that, if he could just re-set equipment that had been haphazardly and randomly stacked when operations were ceased, he could present the factory as viable and, ultimately, convince Ovation's new owners to resume manufacturing at the longtime site. "Everything was just in place and arranged and cleaned up so you could see that this was a real shop, that we could make guitars," Wallace, a Louisiana native, musician and luthier (guitar builder), explained. "I wanted to stay in the original facility because it's very important to have the whole history and legacy of this facility as part of the brand." It was a bold and dubious move — but it paid off. Founded in 1966 by prolific engineer and inventor Charlie Kaman, Ovation Guitars is once again up and run- ning in New Hartford under its new owner Drum Workshop Inc. "It's an iconic American brand that deserves to continue on," said Wallace. "We've got a huge fan base of people who love our guitars." Sour notes Former parent company Fender closed Ovation's longstanding factory in April 2014 — maintaining a skeleton crew service center and laying off 40-plus workers — before selling the guitar company to California-based Drum Workshop, eight months later. Wallace was one of just a handful who remained employed with Ovation during that period, and he recalled regular calls from customers who were "irate" about the closure. Aer spending "quite a bit of time" rearranging the former factory space, he described Drum Workshop President and CEO Chris Lombardi and COO John Bagan as "shocked and happy" at seeing the mocked-up factory. ey were eager and excited, he said, about the prospect of resuming manufacturing there. Today, Ovation operates out of a fraction of its former space — 18,000 square feet compared to nearly 80,000 square feet — and is putting out two to three guitars a day, compared to 80 or more before, according to Wallace, who now serves as operations manager. Meanwhile, three former employees have been hired back, he said, a trend he hopes to continue as the company slowly ramps up business. Celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, Ovation has developed six new gui- tar models, and the plan is to do a run of 50 of each. Eventually, Wallace said, they'd like to offer custom work, bolster service offerings, and foster tinkering and innova- tion, ultimately creating a sort of "R&D skunkworks" for future makes and models. Although he's humble about his role in the company's successful resurrection, he acknowledges that it was the result of perseverance and faith in an American brand. "I had people tell me that it wasn't going to happen. e thing is, in a situation like that, you can't just give up," he said. "If you've got any way to make a difference, you've got to keep that drive going." ❑ Darren Wallace according to Dean Louis Manzione. "It has helped us determine, 'What are the needs of manufacturers in the state?'" he explained. e university recently bolstered that effort by announcing that the Barney School of Business was being brought in on the collaboration. According to Roth, that will involve developing a program that addresses management and leadership needs in ad- vanced manufacturing settings. "We've become increasingly aware of the need in Connecticut to help companies with great technology and manufacturing assets le- verage them better, and grow," said Roth, not- ing that the effort is merging "what's happen- ing in the business space and what's happening from a manufacturing standpoint." Meanwhile, companies are under- taking their own initiatives. In October, TRUMPF Inc. in Farmington, for example, was approved to train veterans on its equip- ment by the State of Connecticut. rough the program, eligible veterans are trained anywhere from 35 to 220 hours on operat- ing and maintaining TRUMPF's advanced laser cutters. "We sometimes have problems finding suitable employees," said TRUMPF train- ing manager Christine Benz. "We feel that veterans have a skill set and knowledge base that fits our needs very well." In addition, the company rolled out an industrial-machine technician apprentice- ship program in 2012 that trains two full- time apprentices at a time over the course of four semesters. e effort came about because "it's hard for us to find service tech- nicians to install, maintain and repair our high-technology machines," Benz said. Del Conte agreed on that point, describing a "new industrial revolution of manufactur- ing," that will increasingly be made up of smart factories and a different type of skillset. Particularly important is addressing the needs of supply-chain companies, said Man- zione, for which the time is "critical" due to developments such as ramped-up of hiring at Electric Boat. "e surge in Connecticut will draw in competitors from around the world," he said, stressing that proximity is not the advantage that it once was. "Supply-chain companies have to compete on advanced technology." And, in turn, invest in workers experi- enced in that technology. "We all need to do a better job of at- tracting young people into careers in manu- facturing," he said. ❑ CHORD PROGRESSIONS Ovation Guitars Gets a Second Life in CT PHOTO/PABLO ROBLES PROFILE