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65 | DOING BUSINESS IN CONNECTICUT | 2018 2018 | DOING BUSINESS IN CONNECTICUT | 65 center and production plants for the company's beauty care and laundry and home care divisions. There is cause for continued optimism among Connecticut manufacturers this year and beyond. East Hartford-based Pratt & Whitney, for instance, announced in March it landed a $239.7-million defense contract from the U.S. Department of Defense to make 137 military fighter jets. Most of the work will be done at the company's East Hartford headquarters, according to officials. Meanwhile, General Dynamics Electric Boat, based in Groton, announced in early May that it will spend $852 million to upgrade its manufacturing facility as part of its plan to build a fleet of Columbia- class nuclear-powered submarines for the Navy, at an estimated cost of $7.3 billion apiece. Through a partnership with the state's Department of Economic and Community Development, Electric Boat plans to buy new machinery, build a third dry dock and manufacturing superstructure, and double its spending on parts and materials from its Connecticut- based suppliers to more than $500 million annually. The partnership agreement, which includes a $35-million forgivable loan, will help the company to expand its workforce by almost 1,900 jobs by 2034. The state will also provide $8 million for dredging of the Thames River, allowing submarines to be launched from the new dry dock. Manufacturers have the potential to continue adding a sizeable number of jobs in the state this year and beyond. A survey last year produced by CBIA and the National Science Foundation Regional Center for Next Generation Manufacturing found Connecticut manufacturers expected they would need to fill 13,600 job positions by this year – and a growing number of programs statewide aim to fill the pipeline with future manufacturing workers. Connecticut Spring & Stamping, a Farmington-based manufacturer of precision springs and metal shaped solutions, has been an international supplier of custom springs, progressive stampings, fineblanked stampings, machined components and assemblies for almost eight decades. MANUFACTURING Connecticut is home to 4,011 manufacturing firms that: » Represent a number of key industries, including transportation equipment (primarily aerospace, submarines and automotive), chemicals, fabricated metals, electrical equipment, computer and electronic products, machinery, pharmaceutical and medical, and plastics » Employ more than 159,000 workers in the state, representing 9.5% of all nonfarm jobs » Pay $12.6 billion in wages to workers, with an average annual wage of $95,118 » Pay $118 million in corporate business taxes » Contribute $189.7 million in sales and use taxes to the state » Export $13.47 billion in products » Bring in $11.8 billion in defense contracts » Generate an additional $1.35 of economic activity for every $1 spent in manufacturing » Add $42.7 billion to Connecticut's gross state product (2016) Source: 2017 Survey of Connecticut Manufacturing Needs, CBIA