Hartford Business Journal

8 Hartford Business Journal • May 8, 2017 www.HartfordBusiness.com REPORTER'S NOTEBOOK Manufacturing exec: CT unaffordable for young workers Capping a week in which the state's pro- jected two-year defi- cit jumped from $3.6 billion to around $5 billion — raising con- cerns that the legisla- ture may raise income taxes — a senior executive at Farm- ington manufacturer Trumpf Inc. delivered what could only be seen as a strong mes- sage to Connecticut lawmakers. The cost of liv- ing in Connecticut, Burke Doar told a Connecticut Business and Industry Asso- ciation audience in a packed room April 28 in Southington, is too high for many young- er skilled workers to stick around. Trumpf, a $6 billion German toolmaker with a North American base in Farmington that employs 500 people, has competitive products that sell at a premium to manufacturers, said Doar, the company's senior vice president. But being a profitable, innovative company some- times isn't enough to retain valued workers. Recent college graduates (100 of Trumpf's local workers are engineers) can sometimes find better take-home pay and cost of living in southern states, or even Vermont, Doar said. "So then some people say 'then just raise the salaries,' " Doar said. "Go from $45 million to $60 million [in total local payroll and benefits.]" "The problem with that," he contin- ued, "is I've got to raise the price of my machines," making them less competitive in the marketplace. Despite the fact that Trumpf's local operations produce 20 percent of its Ger- man parent's revenue with only 10 percent of its total workforce, there is "very formi- dable" competition in Japan, Switzerland and other places, he said. Trumpf says its customers include Pratt & Whitney, Legrand, Whitcraft, ebm-papst and others in Connecticut. "Trumpf and these companies are all will- ing to grow here in Connecticut with the right economic environment, and that will do a lot to solve some of our economic problems in Hartford," Doar said. "I'm a big believer we need more taxpayers and not more taxes." Economic development officials from many states often contact and court Trumpf, Doar said. "I can tell you I don't know how some people know my phone number," he said. In recent years, Trumpf has made deci- sions to expand in customer-heavy Illinois and New Jersey. Doar said it will be crucial for Connecticut to come up with ways to woo companies that are adapting to evolving technologies that make manufacturing more economical in small batches. Such shifts have resulted in modest "re-shoring," includ- ing by Crowmwell-based Carey Manufactur- ing, one of Trumpf's Connecticut customers. – Matt Pilon Maffucci's newest downtown restaurant due May 15 Celebrity chef-entrepreneur Rob Maffuc- ci is preparing to debut his new downtown Hartford restaurant concept just blocks from his former Vito's By The Park eatery. V's Trattoria is set to open May 15 at 3 p.m. in 3,800 square feet on the ground floor of One Commercial Plaza, 280 Trumbull St., where Vito's To Go Cafe — a quick-service eatery — has been operating since late last year. Grunberg Realty is landlord. For two decades, Maffuci's Vito's By The Park restaurant, which closed in November, anchored 6,500 square feet in the Essex Building, the 26 Trumbull St./15 Lewis St. headquarters for LAZ Parking and Hartford Business Journal. Maffucci says V's is convenient for theater-goers to Hartford Stage, Yard Goats baseball fans as well as XL Center concertgoers, and supporters of UConn men's and women's basketball and Wolf Pack hockey. V's will employ some 30 work- ers, with another 10 in the cafe. V's menu will include brick oven pizza, fresh pasta, along with farm-to-table Italian- style dishes, and craft cocktails. Smaller than Maffucci's other restaurants in Wethersfield, Windsor and South Windsor, V's will seat 68 in the dining room and 40 in the bar-lounge. Fewer seats, Maffucci said, will allow a more tailored gourmet dining experience for customers. Dining hours are Monday-Thurs- day, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Fri. and Sat., 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.; Sun., 11 a.m.- 9 p.m. "Having a blank canvas to work from is really an exciting thing," Maffucci said of his new space. – Gregory Seay Burke Doar stands next to Trumpf Inc.'s fiber-cutting machine in the company's Farmington campus showroom. 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