Manufacturing

The importance of manufacturing in this state is crucial to the overall wellbeing of our economy, and Middlesex County is among some of the counties in Connecticut that has had a net increase in manufacturing jobs over the past few years. Collectively, manufacturers make up some of the largest employers in Middlesex County.   Through our Manufacturer’s Council, the Chamber has acted as a leader in supporting the industry.  With a strong working relationship with our elected officials, the Chamber continues to have a voice at the State Capitol in order to build upon our strong manufacturing tradition. As we build upon this tradition, I was so pleased at the turnout of our last Manufacturer’s Council meeting at Pegasus Manufacturing, Inc. in Middletown.  At the meeting, members were joined by Rich Steel of the Connecticut State Technical High School System and Maureen Wagner of the State Department of Education.  The topics discussed were incumbent worker training; how the state’s technical high schools can better connect to Connecticut’s Manufacturers through training programs, apprenticeships and direct hires; and how adult education providers can offer customized basic skills and English language instruction in the workplace. Pegasus is a first generation, family owned business founded in 1989. Through the years, they have experienced tremendous growth through expansion and acquisition. Their success is attributed to Pegasus’ dedication to both customer & employee and they continue to reinvest in the company by purchasing capital equipment, education and internal improvements. At Pegasus Manufacturing Inc., traditional skilled craftsmanship is combined with leading-edge technology to serve complete metal forming and fabrication needs. They are a one-stop-shop, highly diversified contract manufacturer with a multitude of in house capabilities combined with extensive knowledge. The combination of skills, abilities and state of the art equipment gives Pegasus the most complete job shop in the Northeastern United States. Their strength is innovation and a strict adherence to high quality standards at every stage of production. I, along with our Manufacturer’s Council Chairman Ken MacCormac, was thrilled with the turnout and very grateful to the people of Pegasus Manufacturing, Inc. for opening their doors to committee members. Ken has done an outstanding job of leading this Council and is an integral part of moving this group forward. The Manufacturers’ Council has provided several important presentations to members and has plans for more in the coming months.  The Council organizes speaking programs designed to save manufacturers money and to help them run their operations more efficiently. The Council meets every other month, and programming consists of one to two hours of material so those members can go more in-depth with the subject matter. Programming includes interactive sessions on the latest trends in commercialization and strategy, techniques to improve plant operations such as lean manufacturing, customs trade partnerships against terrorism, and energy conservation and load management. Some future meetings will cover topics including Insurance Options for Employees Traveling Overseas, Fraud and Protection Against Employee Identity Theft and Shipping and Receiving in the Age of Terrorism.  The council is also in the preliminary stages of teaming up with the Manufacturers Association of Connecticut and the Connecticut Technical High School System in an effort to get students who are being trained in a specific trade better access to real experience in manufacturing.  Manufacturers need young people to replenish their aging workforce, so the Chamber’s Manufacturing Council will be organizing field trips to manufacturing facilities which will include plant tours and technology tutorials.   Besides these programs, the Chamber is a vocal supporter of manufacturing in Middlesex County and the State. Advocating for our manufacturers, the Chamber has been successful in securing road improvements, locating manufacturers to our region, working with various state agencies, and promoting the reduction of business costs locally and at the State Capitol. One of Council’s major victories was the phase out and elimination of the property tax on manufacturing machinery and equipment. We realize that in order to have a healthy economy and good paying jobs, manufacturing needs to be the base. Manufacturing provides the economic backbone to our region and state. In addition to the support we give to the manufacturers in the county, we give support to their future employees. An important part of training our future workforce is a solid education. To help provide students with an opportunity for educational advancement, the Manufacturers’ Council provides scholarships to the employees and the families of our manufacturers. The relationships developed between the manufacturing sector and Middlesex County will enable our businesses and economy to flourish. For more information on the Manufacturing Council, please contact Jeff Pugliese at the Chamber at (860) 347-6924 or by email at

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393 Main Street, Middletown, CT 06457
Phone: (860) 347-6924 | Fax: (860) 346-1043 | info@middlesexchamber.com
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