Hartford Business Journal

4 Hartford Business Journal • January 8, 2018 • www.HartfordBusiness.com Briefs CT firms give bonuses, raise starting pay Three more Connecticut employers are granting workers one-time bonuses and raising starting pay in the wake of the recent federal tax reform. Windsor Federal Savings said each of its workers, except senior managers, will collect a $250 bonus. In addition, President/CEO George Hermann announced that starting pay for the thrift's full-time workers will rise to $15 per hour. Insurer Travelers Cos. announced recently that it too will pay one-time, $1,000 bonuses to employees whose annual pay is $75,000 or less, plus raise minimum pay to $15 an hour for its workers who earn less than that. Citizens Financial Group, with bank branches in Connecticut and Rhode Island, announced that 12,500 employees, or about 70 percent of its workforce, will get a $1,000 bonus. In addition, Citizens said it is contributing $10 million to its Citizens Charitable Foundation to benefit communities that it serves. Nationwide, a number of employers announced bonuses and higher starting pay after Congress in late December voted for a $1.5 trillion tax-reform package that lowered tax rates for corporations and individuals. "The relief that this tax bill provides to business should help to spur our economy, and is important to building meaningful, long- term growth in Connecticut, and beyond," Hermann said in a statement. BlumShapiro merges with Marlborough accounting firm West Hartford accounting firm BlumShapiro said it has merged with Premier Accounting Group of Marlborough, and anticipates expanding its employee base to more than 500 people. Financial terms were not disclosed, but the deal became effective Jan.1. In addition to its headquarters in West Hartford, BlumShapiro has offices in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, said BlumShapiro CEO Joseph A. Kask. Premier will adopt the BlumShapiro name and will remain based out of its existing offices in Marlborough, he said. Founded in 2011, Premier specializes in outsourced accounting and bookkeeping services. Pharma exec Cox to leave Protein Sciences following Sanofi takeover Manon Cox, former CEO of Meriden-based Protein Sciences, which was acquired last summer by pharmaceutical giant Sanofi, is leaving the company, officials confirmed to the Hartford Business Journal. In an emailed statement, Sanofi Pasteur, a division of Sanofi based in Swiftwater, Pa., confirmed Cox's imminent departure from Protein Sciences, though its spokesperson would not say if it is a voluntary decision. "Sanofi Pasteur confirms that Manon Cox will leave Protein Sciences to pursue other opportunities," the company said. "Protein Sciences has been successfully and fully integrated into Sanofi Pasteur and, as such, there is no role of CEO for Protein Sciences. Separation has been done in compliance with Manon Cox's existing working contract." Cox, who joined Protein Sciences in 1998 as director of business development, was most recently president and CEO since April 2010, and a director since 2008. Her profile remains on the company website with the title "transition task force leader" under her photograph. A voicemail left at her office was not returned. Sanofi acquired the company in late August 2017 in a deal worth up to $750 Week in Review TOP STORY Out-of-state partnership chosen to redevelop Hartford waste facility S tate energy officials have selected a $229 million proposal from two major construction firms to redevelop Hartford's trash-to-energy plant, which processes about one-third of Connecticut's garbage, generating enough electricity to power 35,000 homes a year. A proposal from a partnership called the Sacyr Rooney Development Team — made up of Spain-based Sacyr and New York-based Manhattan Construction Group (owned by Florida's Rooney Holdings) — bested two other bidders, Covanta and Mustang Renewable Power Ventures, the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection announced. Sacyr Rooney's plan includes refurbishing the Mid-Connecticut Project trash-to-energy plant's existing resource recovery facility, extracting recyclables from solid waste through new sorting processes and extracting organic materials to send to anaerobic digesters. The project would also include upgrading the plant's recycling facility to add an advanced glass recovery system or mixed-waste processing facility. Its plan would use most of the existing site, which has some space allotted for potential industrial use. The aging trash-to-energy plant is currently operated by the quasi-public Materials Innovation and Recycling Authority (MIRA), formerly called the Connecticut Resources Recovery Authority. "The facility's aging equipment is prone to unplanned outages and MIRA had warned state officials that it would be unable to bear the cost of needed upgrades," DEEP Commissioner Robert Klee said in a statement. "The Sacyr Rooney concept has the potential to provide significant environmental and economic benefits to the State, as well as significant improvements in host community impacts compared with the present state." Sacyr Rooney has said the plant will be able to recover more materials from the waste stream, ultimately cutting in half the amount of waste burned at the plant — incineration that results in air pollution. Crucial for municipalities that contract with the plant is the fact that DEEP projects the redevelopment will keep tipping fees stable, even lowering them for some customers. There will be negotiations between the company, MIRA and Hartford that aim to reach a final development deal by this summer. Mayor Luke Bronin said that he was disappointed with DEEP's selection, saying he wanted the plant to move away from a model largely based on burning garbage Assuming a contract is reached this year, there would be three years of planning, permitting and construction before the new facility is fully online. BY THE NUMBERS 324 The number of new housing permits is- sued in Connecticut in November, which was up from 209 in the year-ago period, according to state and federal data. $229M The amount an out-of-state develop- ment group wants to spend to rede- velop Hartford's trash-to-energy plant, which processes about one-third of Connecticut's garbage. 15 The number of Connecticut hospitals that will lose some of their Medicare payments in 2018 for having relatively high rates of patients with hospital- acquired infections or injuries. 14% The percentage of Connecticut residents who say they do not plan to live in Connecticut after they retire, according to a recent survey by Essex Financial. TOP 5 MOST READ On HartfordBusiness.com • 1. BlumShapiro merges with Marlborough accounting firm • 2. XL Center happy hour aims to whet appetites for hockey • 3. CT firms give bonuses, raise starting pay • 4. Out-of-state partnership chosen to redevelop Hartford waste facility • 5. Pharma exec Cox to leave Protein Sciences following Sanofi takeover STAY CONNECTED For breaking and daily Greater Hartford business news go to www.HartfordBusiness.com HBJ on Twitter: @HartfordBiz HBJ on Facebook: www.facebook.com/HartfordBiz HBJ on Linkedln: www.linkedin.com/company/ the-Hartford-Business-Journal Daily e-newsletters: HBJ Today, CT Morning Blend www.HartfordBusiness.com/ subscribe Weekly e-newsletters: CT Green Guide Weekly, CT Health Care Weekly www.HartfordBusiness.com/ subscribe Hartford's trash-to-energy plant (above) is slated to be redeveloped. Manon Cox is leaving Protein Sciences. PHOTO | HBJ FILE PHOTO | HBJ FILE

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