Hartford Business Journal Special Editions

42 Hartford Business Journal • July 25, 2016 www.HartfordBusiness.com Gail Audibert Joe Barber Michael Beecher C. Timothy Branner, II Lori Budnick R. Leon Churchill Jr. Alex Corl Don Courtemanche Edward Danek Jr. Sonja "Sonny" Dean Carlos Espinosa Christopher Fedina Marjorie Feldman Peter Gailey Curt Gemme Timothy Gifford Deirdre Goodrich Matt Guyer Todd Habersang W. Reggie Hales Louis Hernandez, Jr. Bill Kenney Dennis Kerrigan Jr. Stacey Kivel K. Annette Liseno Scott Livingston Craig Millard Paul Millard Nancy Aborn-Patton Shannon Perry Alice Pritchard Kristine Ragaglia Kenneth Reiss Jose Reategui Grace Simpson Kelly Smith Anastasia Streich Benjamin Samuel Todd Alicia Townsend Beckie Sue Turner Todd Walles David Welch Nadine West Chris White 2001 Winner List: Past Classes: 2001 The 2001 cover design featured a Blues theme and was shot on Pratt Street in downtown Hartford. Livingston grooms next-generation manufacturing workforce By John A. Lahtinen Special to the Hartford Business Journal P erhaps not surprisingly, a lot has happened in Scott Livingston's life — both personally and professionally — since he was named a 40 Under Forty winner 15 years ago. Livingston, president and CEO of precision man- ufacturer Horst Engineering in East Hartford, got married, celebrated the births of two children, built a new home, and even found the time to start a blog. The family-owned and operated Horst Engi- neering underwent a transition back in 2001 when Livingston took over the company's reins from his father, mother and uncle — all of whom still work there. Today, Horst operates two plant sites in Con- necticut and one in Massachusetts. The company made headlines in 2015, when it announced it was closing its Mexico plant and mov- ing that work to its New England facilities, reshor- ing its operations from abroad. "We have grown," Livingston said. "We devel- oped our management teams, increased our organic sales, expanded plants, implemented major sys- tems, made acquisitions, invested in new manufac- turing technology and done many other projects. Our family business has tripled in size." Livingston is heading up the development of leadership and management teams for Horst's vari- ous products for the aerospace, military, medical, motorsports, cycling and industrial marketplaces. "Nothing is more important than developing peo- ple," Livingston said. "Strengthening our teamwork will lead to the development of the next-generation manufacturing workforce, which is critical for our business, our industry, and our economy." Horst is also implementing a new enterprise resource planning system that Livingston says will modernize the company and put all its plants on the same platform. In 2014, the company began direct marketing its Horst Spikes product line of high-end bicycle com- ponents and launched www.cross-spikes.com. Outside of the office, Livingston stays busy. He's completed more than 500 endurance sports races (cycling, running, triathlon) over the past 15 years, including multiple Ironman's and the 2010 Ironman World Championship. He and his kids also support his wife Debbie as she has run more than 75 ultra- marathon trail races around the world. In addition to traveling extensively for work, community service and fun, Livingston and his wife have hiked the Long Trail in Vermont and climbed all of the 4,000-foot mountains in New England. In fact, Livingston is director of both the Connecticut Forest & Park Association and the Appalachian Mountain Club. At Horst, Livings- ton is always envi- sioning ways to better the company and has plans to develop an education program so Horst can develop peo- ple with the manufac- turing skills necessary to sustain the business for the long term. "Goal setting is a never ending process for me," he said. "We are constantly trying to improve the operations of our businesses. We would like to expand the physical plant of our Massachusetts opera- tion and create new capacity for growth." Strengthening our teamwork will lead to the development of the next- generation manufacturing workforce, which is critical for our business, our industry, and our economy. Now Title: President and CEO Company: Horst Engineering & Manufacturing Co., East Hartford Age: 43 Then Title: Managing Director Company: Horst Engineering & Manufacturing Co., East Hartford Age: 28 PROFILE: Scott Livingston Livingston, 2001 Livingston, today The 2001 40 Under Forty class celebrated with a networking event held at Black Eyed Sally's Restaurant in downtown Hartford. Over 300 attended. Past Party Pics: On the Cover:

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