Hartford Business Journal

www.HartfordBusiness.com • September 4, 2017 • Hartford Business Journal 11 Reporter's Notebook Gregory Seay | gseay@HartfordBusiness.com Real Estate, Economic Development/Construction, Banking & Finance and Manufacturing MANUFACTURING Joining Technologies' CT roots run deep T hree-and-a-half decades ago, Michael Francouer, a Massachusetts-born industrial entrepreneur, chose Con- necticut to harness technology for precisely fusing exotic and fragile metals for jet engines and other hardware for the aerospace, healthcare and defense sectors. Electron-beam welding (EB), the automat- ed welding technology introduced in the late 1950s and embraced early on by United Technologies Corp.'s (UTC) then Hamilton Standard division, was revolutionary in its day, says Francoeur. But only a handful of companies, UTC included, were marketing the technology to customers who, even after purchasing, often found early versions of the powerful EB machines expensive, bulky and difficult to master. Then a 20-year-old, Francouer's first job in 1977 in his hometown of Agawam, Mass., was with a company struggling to figure out how to deploy its newly acquired EB welder. Lacking college or technical training, but relying on his affinity for music and desire to be a sound engineer, he said he helped himself and his employer, EBTEC Corp., sort out the machine. Along the way, EBTEC and Francoeur built a reputation in Connecticut/ Massachusetts manufacturing circles for their prowess with EB technology. Those skills proved invaluable later on, he says, once smaller, fast-cycle versions of EB welders were introduced. By that time, Francoeur says he "got the entrepreneurial bug,'' and in 1985, launched, with partners, his own company, Dynamic Electron Beam Welding, with a handful of employees inside a commercial garage in Waterbury. Today, Francouer's latest industrial ven- ture, closely held Joining Technologies, 17 Connecticut South Drive, in East Granby, is celebrating 25 years. It now consists of four divisions and has 114 employees. It still does EB welding, but also has embraced the more widely used laser-welding technology. "There's only a few of us remaining,'' said Francouer, 59, semi-retired to a Rhode Island beachfront but still Joining's chair- man. He says he has a strategic-planning role in the company, while David Hudson, who met Francoueur when both worked at EBTEC and later formed a band for which Francouer volunteered as sound engineer, oversees the day-to-day as CEO and is a co-investor. Francouer infused Joining Technologies with his "entrepreneurial vision, creativ- ity, his love for the journey more than the destination,'' said Hudson, 56, who lives in Southwick, Mass. "He created an environ- ment for people to succeed.'' Francouer and Hudson are tight-lipped about their company's financials. However, Hudson says they target $50 million in yearly sales by the end of the decade, and that Joining is profitable. Throughout Joining's early struggles to win market acceptance and customers, including Trumpf Inc. and the Defense Department, and internal disputes with ex-partners over the company's direc- tion, Francouer says he always considered Connecticut as Joining's home. Yet two years ago, he says Joining spent $15,000 on consultants who investigated a number of potential relocation sites, among them Florida, Kentucky, New York, Tennessee and Texas. He chose to stay. "We decided that we could really never recover from the move,'' he said. "We would never have had access to the resources we have [in Connecticut].'' Being apart from skilled talent, related suppliers, not to mention the greater distance from not just its Connecticut/ New England customer base, but also losing EB-welding's "institutional memory'' made moving impractical, Francoeur said. Moreover, Connecticut and New England, he says, are on the cusp of an economic and industrial resurgence as a result of roots laid as far back as the 18th century. "The industrial revolution started here,'' Francoeur said. "So it's no surprise to me that 200 years later, after the industrial revolution, that we're left standing in the ruins of our infrastructure.'' DEAL WATCH Connecticut DSS leases Willimantic offices The state of Connecticut has leased 10,752 square feet of office space in Windham's Willimantic section for the Department of Social Services (DSS). The 10-year lease covers space in Tyler Square, 1320 Main St., that DSS will use as administrative offices and for client interactions, according to sole broker Lyman Real Estate Brokerage & Development. The state Department of Administrative Services negotiated on DSS' behalf with landlord Roy Lyman. With the DSS lease, there remains 3,185 square feet of space available in the building, Lyman Real Estate, said. West Hartford price cut The unsold 1.81-acre West Hartford tract formerly home to an auto-parts store and repair garage on New Park Avenue has a lower asking price. The new quote of $1.39 million is about 21 percent below the initial asking price for the triangular parcel at 540 New Park Ave., at the corner of Oakwood Avenue, directly across the road from gunmaker Colt's, said listing broker Reno Properties Group Inc. The site also has a 22,000-square-foot building that previously was an Acme Auto Parts store. Previously, it housed an auto-repair operation. Since owner The Grody Co. of West Hartford initially offered the property for sale in spring 2015 at $1.77 million, commercial development has continued on both sides of New Park Avenue, the de facto divider between Hartford and West Hartford. Its potential for retail development has only increased since then, Reno officials said. Last February, Georgia fast-food franchisor Chick- fil-A opened a store adjacent to Aldi's supermarket in the retail plaza that also houses BJ's Wholesale and Home Depot. About a quarter-mile south on New Park, the West Hartford Housing Authority is erecting a mixed- income apartment building, adjacent to the CTfastrak station at New Britain Avenue. 1320 Main St., Willimantic section of Windham. 430 New Park Ave., West Hartford. PHOTO | CONTRIBUTED PHOTO | HBJ FILE Largest Downtown Hartford Office Leases — First Half 2017 Address/complex Tenant Size (sq. ft.) Lease type 10 Columbus Blvd. CT Children's Medical Center 111,600 New 225 Asylum St. United Bank 68,800 New 755 Main St. Conning & Co. 46,700 Renewal Address/complex Tenant Size (sq. ft.) Lease type 755 Main St. Reid & Riege 29,700 Renewal 90 State House Square Axxin Velrop & Harkrider 25,500 Renewal Source: Avison Young Joining Technologies founder Michael Francouer built his reputation and his company by mastering the intricacies of electron-beam and laser welding. PHOTO | CONTRIBUTED 10 Columbus Blvd. PHOTO | HBJ FILE

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