Hartford Business Journal

8 Hartford Business Journal • May 7, 2018 • www.HartfordBusiness.com Reporter's Notebook Gregory Seay | gseay@HartfordBusiness.com Real Estate, Economic Development/Construction, Banking & Finance and Manufacturing MANUFACTURING CT's fiscal woes test its commitment to manufacturing-skills training S tanding at the rostrum in the soaring, light-filled classroom building at Farmington's Tunxis Community College, Mark Oja- kian put on his best face. A day earlier, the head of the Con- necticut State Colleges and Universi- ties system had publicly disclosed that a key education accrediting body had balked at the state's plan to consolidate its 12 community colleges into a single institution, to reap $28 million in sav- ings amid the state's budget crisis. Ojakian, who was the governor's longtime chief of staff before taking his latest post, had a message for the dozens of diverse manufacturing own- ers/executives and prospective hires present on April 25 to learn more about Tunxis' Advanced Manufacturing Tech- nology Center that launches in August. He urged them to press their state lawmakers to continue funding for the state's network of technical high schools, plus various manufacturing- training programs and other initiatives aimed at sustaining one of Connecti- cut's most lucrative economic engines. "We have some challenges ahead, as many of you know," Ojakian said, referencing state lawmakers' efforts to craft a balanced budget that provides adequate funding to the state's educa- tion institutions. Despite the concerns, the focus of Ojakian's remarks was on Tunxis' new, $750,000 Advanced Manufac- turing Technology Center (AMTC), which opens this fall to train the next generation of technologists skilled in additive manufacturing, 3-D print- ing, computer numerically controlled machine programming and metrology, involving quality checks of finished parts to very fine tolerances. Tunxis will become the eighth state community college with an AMTC. The others are in Enfield, Bridgeport, Danielson, Manchester, Middletown, Norwich and Waterbury. Connecticut has invested significantly in manufacturing education and skills training-certification in recent years to meet the hiring demands of small and big employers, including Pratt & Whit- ney, which said it will need thousands of new engineers in coming years to devise next-generation jet-engine technologies. Electric Boat in Groton and Sikorsky Aircraft in Stratford, too, are ramping up hiring and engaging in-state suppli- ers and subcontractors to satisfy their billion-dollar U.S. defense contracts for submarines and helicopters. But manufacturers say they are already experiencing a gap in skills and experience between entry-level workers and veterans. They are look- ing to community colleges to supply them with "middle-skill'' workers, those with an engineering-technology degree, and perhaps a management certification, that would move them up the career ladder, said Karen Wosczyna-Birch, state director for the Connecticut College of Technology. Moreover, many of the state's manu- facturing workers are nearing retire- ment — many of them at small ma- chine shops — and must be replaced. For the April pre-launch session, Tunxis invited more than 60 area manufacturing owners and executives and top administrators from Enfield's Asnuntuck Community College, which was the first to open its AMTC. After hearing from Ojakian, James Lombella, president of both Tunxis and Asnuntuck, and three current and former Tunxis manufacturing students who aspire to be engineers, attendees broke into three working groups — wire manufacturing, aerospace produc- tion and general manufacturing — to share with Tunxis instructors and administrators what attributes and skills they want from new hires. Chief among them, most manufac- turers said, are workers who are reli- able and susceptible to what one manu- facturing executive described as hiring on a "WHIM." Referencing a book by the same title, the acronym stands for "work ethic, humility, integrity, maturity,'' which embodies unteachable personal traits that employers say they often look for first in job candidates. Earlier, Lombella told manufactur- ers that Tunxis and the other advanced manufacturing training centers in the state are eager to partner with them not only to provide a jobs conduit for graduates, but to help craft and refine the centers' manufacturing-technology curricula. DEAL WATCH $925K Cheshire sale A 33,000-square-foot Cheshire manufacturing-warehouse recently sold for $925,000, brokers say. DRC Properties LLC sold the industrial condominium unit at 210 Realty Drive to pavement-coatings maker-distributor Dalton Enterprises, according to seller's broker Drubner Commercial. Godin Property Brokers represented Dalton. Wethersfield pet-daycare The former 3,800-square-foot Wethersfield home to an animal hospital recently sold for $525,000 to operators planning a pet-daycare facility, brokers say. Zenu Realty LLC bought the 31-year- old building at 60 Beaver Road from seller Patrick Hallisey LLC, according to seller's Rocky Hill broker O,R&L Commercial LLC. Berkshire Hathaway New England represented Zenu. Zenu's owners are converting the space to a Doggy Day Care, expected to open in May or June, O,R&L broker Luke Massirio said. Built in 1987, 60 Beaver Road previously housed Beaver Brook Animal Hospital and Veterinary Office, which relocated to larger quarters in town at 434 Silas Deane Highway, brokers said. $550K Hartford office sale Connecticut Fair Housing Center has purchased an 83-year-old office building in Hartford's South End for $550,000 as its new home, brokers say. Offices Associates LLC sold the approximately 6,902-square-foot building at 60 Popieluszko Court that was built in 1935 and substantially rehabilitated in 2005, according to seller's broker O,R&L Commercial. Avison Young represented the buyer. Brokers said the building was the final piece of a realty portfolio sold off by Office Associates, also doing business as Sovereign Asset Management and Sovereign Trading, of Norwich. Connecticut Fair Housing, currently at 221 Main St., sought larger space for its expanding offices, brokers said. 60 Beaver Road, Wethersfield. PHOTO | CONTRIBUTED 60 Popieluszko Court, Hartford. PHOTO | CONTRIBUTED Dozens of Connecticut manufacturers recently visited Tunxis Community College's new Advanced Manufacturing Technology Center in Farmington. PHOTO | CONTRIBUTED

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