Hartford Business Journal

www.HartfordBusiness.com October 3, 2016 • Hartford Business Journal 3 A century later, Bristol's Bauer still growing By Gregory Seay gseay@HartfordBusiness.com L ong before "pivot'' and "innovation'' became buzzwords in the business lexi- con, Bristol manufacturer Bauer Inc. had achieved both. Bauer was an established Hartford ven- dor of heating and refrigeration equipment and services when, according to company lore, Pratt & Whitney Co., then a fledgling aircraft-engine maker, approached founder Frank Bauer about designing analog pres- sure gauges for testing Pratt's engines. The relationship exposed Bauer as an innovator and proved so lucrative that it eventually shed its previous business model to focus solely on designing testing equip- ment and stations from manufacturers in the U.S. and abroad. Today, East Hartford-based Pratt remains a valued Bauer customer, along with Pratt's sis- ter aerospace affiliate, United Technologies Aerospace Systems (UTAS) in Windsor Locks. "It's an interesting business,'' said Louis "Lou" Auletta Jr., Bauer's president/CEO and sole owner. "It's a very dynamic business. Seventy percent of our sales are from over- seas. … We're basically supporting all the western [original equipment manufacturers]'' in the U.S. and Europe. Bauer's annual revenues are around $20 mil- lion, with a quarter of that coming from Pratt, Auletta said. It also has a direct relationship with jet engine-build- er General Electric, as well as an indirect one with European airframe giant Air- bus. Airlines' engine repair and overhaul shops at home and abroad also rely on Bauer test equipment. "We've doubled our business in the last five years,'' he said. "And it's our intent to double that over the next five years.'' Bauer's history and role in Connecticut's manufacturing economy were recognized recently during its 100th anniversary celebra- tion, when Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and other state and Bristol officials personally were on hand to pay tribute at the company's facilities located, fittingly, at 175 Century Drive. Much of the technology Bauer hones into testing hardware for clients is proprietary, so the company is limited in what it can show and tell about it. What Auletta, a Burlington resi- dent, will say about his products is that they are primarily one-off designs for specialized testing applications for such aerospace com- ponents as fuel meters, electronic jet-engine controls and electro-mechanical controllers for in-flight use of wing flaps and tail rudders. Given its specialized niche for which there is only one other U.S. competitor of note, Aulet- ta says almost every jet-propulsion or airframe maker on the planet has come to Bauer at one time or another to acquire its products and ser- vices. Recently, engineers from one unidenti- fied Chinese company were at Bauer for a pre- delivery inspection of a custom-built test rig. "We think of ourselves as systems integra- tors,'' Auletta said. "We're designing [test rigs] with commercially available components. The way we put the systems together is the value that we're creating.'' It never builds two test rigs or stations the same, he said, because the uses for each usu- ally are so different. On the shop floor sits a test rig the size of a panel delivery truck and chock full of electronic gauges and sensors. It was designed and built to test fuel meters for Pratt & Whitney's PurePower geared turbofan engines, Auletta said. Once Bauer is satisfied the rig is working properly, it will be disassembled, shipped and reassembled on site, he said. Bauer's Bristol roots Auletta joined Bauer as an engineer right out of college. His late father, Lou Sr., headed the company at the time. Located in Bristol's 229 Technology Park, in the shadow of ESPN, Bauer is the benefi- ciary of the city's efforts to sustain its com- mercial tax base. Bristol wooed the company with a package of incentives that included a now-expired, five-year, 80 percent property- tax abatement, a $100,000 grant, and access to 6 1/2 acres on which Bauer in 2000 erected its 50,000-square-foot Century Drive head- quarters-production facility. Auletta said there's plenty of space and land at its present Bristol home to accommo- date its expectations for growth. "We really look at them as one of the anchors in that park," said Justin Malley, executive director of the Bristol Development Authority, which oversees the tech park. Malley says executives from companies Bristol hopes to recruit are brought to Bauer, to see its facilities and talk to Bauer executives. In return, Bauer officials have integrated into the wider Bristol community, Malley said. Many of its workers live there. Some Continued Cybersecurity is hard. Defend Forward is easy. One monthly subscription puts the technology, training and expertise in place to defend your company's information, reputation, and future. Your Allies Against Crippling Cyber Attacks www.kelsercorp.com/DefendForward www.kelsercorp.com 111 Roberts St, Suite D East Hartford, CT 06108 860 610 2200 In the left photo, Bauer Inc. founder Frank Bauer (right) with an unidentified assembler in the company's then Hartford location. In the right photo, Bauer CEO/owner Lou Auletta Jr. with design lead Lio Gervasi at Bauer's Bristol campus. Bauer Inc. built its Bristol headquarters at 175 Century Drive in 2002. P H O T O S | C O N T R I B U T E D

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