299: Inside Connecticut's Manufacturing Ecosystem: Innovation, Workforce Development, and Industrial Leadership, Live from Hartford, CT

0:00If you're heading to IMTS this year, make sure Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence is part of your game plan. While jumping into an F1 racing simulator or participating in a free throw competition might not sound like your typical trade show booth, Hexagon is anything but typical. Hexagon is the architect of innovation in manufacturing and a global leader in measurement technologies. You can find them in the East Building at booth 134102, and when you visit the booth, you can claim a free LEGO set of their Maestro CMM by going to manufacturinghappyhour.com slash LEGO. Hexagon's precision measurement, digital, and autonomous solutions help vital industries build, inspect, navigate, and innovate with confidence.

0:45Whether you're looking to solve inspection challenges or just geek out over some very impressive manufacturing technology, the Hexagon team will be at IMTS to talk shop. So if you're at IMTS 2026, make sure to visit Hexagon in the East Building at booth 134102 and tell them Chris from Manufacturing Happy Hour sent you. Sign up to meet with them and claim your free Lego Maestro CMM by going to manufacturinghappyhour.com slash Lego. And we hope to see you in Chicago. At the end of the day, the strength comes from the people and you have to have a vision. And you've got to throw a rock out there tied to a string.

1:26And every day you're going to make sure you can see that string to success.

1:32Welcome to Manufacturing Happy Hour, the podcast where we get real about the latest trends and technologies impacting modern manufacturers. Manufacturing Happy Hour. Each week, we interview industry experts that are at the top of their craft and give you the tools, tactics, and strategies you need to take your career and your business to the next level. And now, your host, Chris Lukey. Hey, what's up, everyone? We are heading to Hartford, Connecticut for today's episode to explore what a small state like Connecticut is doing to have a huge impact as a manufacturing state. This is another interview from our All-American Manufacturing Summer Tour, where we teamed up with Clifton Larson Allen and MaintainX.

2:25Shout out to those folks for making this tour possible. We're going to be diving in with three guests. We have CeCe Bevin, president of Bevin Bells. We have Dustin Nord, the foundation director at the CBIA Foundation, Connecticut's largest business organization. And we have serial entrepreneur Andrew Gibson. I should say serial manufacturing entrepreneur, CEO and president of AlphaQ. We'll be exploring how Bevan Bells has been around for nearly 200 years and what's made that possible. We'll be exploring what having a state chief manufacturing officer has done for the Connecticut ecosystem. And finally, we'll explore how Connecticut has gotten creative in manufacturing and some of the coolest things made in the state that you might not know about.

3:12With that, let's head to the Trinity College Innovation Hub in downtown Hartford to meet up with Cece, Dustin, and Andrew.

3:28All right, all right, all right. How's everyone feeling? What a crowd. You guys braved the elements to come out here on a very damp Wednesday morning. Hey, we were just chatting before the podcast. There are a few firsts for Manufacturing Happy Hour. This first time Manufacturing Happy Hour has been in Connecticut, and what a warm welcome. Thank you all. I can tell straight up this is a small but mighty state. I have an aunt and uncle that live here. I've spent a lot of time coming to Connecticut throughout my entire life. So it's great to be out here. Another first, this is our first ever morning event.

4:13So we wanted to try something new on this tour. It's our first ever double header. We're going into New York City tonight to do another show. So kind of a crazy setup we have today. But hey, Hartford, thanks for welcoming in Manufacturing Happy Hour. So, and I'll give a shout out to these folks at the end. But tours like this, where we get to go around the country and explore what manufacturing means to different markets, are made possible by companies like Clifton, Larson, Allen, and MaintainX. So shout out to our partners at MaintainX and CLA for making this possible. All right, just want to do a volume check.

4:53How's the volume? How are we doing? I know, Jennifer, you're right next to the volume. I'm getting thumbs up. Last night we were outside. We couldn't get it loud enough. Today we're inside and we're just blowing the doors off. So we're going to, by the end of the tour, we will get that right. But hey, as we get started, so Manufacturing Happy Hour, if you can tell by the name, this started as like a 4 p.m. and later type of podcast where the spirit of the show is to talk about manufacturing as if you're having a drink with someone. You know, regular listeners understand that it's meant to be candid and things like that.

5:26when we mentioned that we were going to do a show at 9 30 a few of the first comments that came in it's like are we doing bloody marys are we doing mimosas are we drinking in the morning i'm like you know it's a wednesday and i'm all about a good tailgate and things like that but maybe for the first one we stick to coffee and pastries so uh but we will we will still keep the the vibe of the conversation as if we're hanging out at a brewery also i do want to give a shout out to Trinity College, Trinity Innovation Hub for hosting us this morning. So hey, give them a big round of applause as well.

6:02These live shows are shout out heavy, but I do want to turn the attention to our three panelists this morning that are going to help us explore manufacturing in Connecticut. And the easiest way to do this, I would say we go down the line. Cece, we'll start with you. If you want to give an introduction. Tell us what you do, how you would describe it as if you're having a beverage with someone, you know, post 4 p.m. Would love to hear. And then Dustin and Andrew will go to both of you after that. Okay, great. I'm Cece Bevin. I'm president of Bevin Brothers Manufacturing. And the way it usually goes when I'm at the proverbial cocktail hour is I say to somebody, I make bells.

6:42And they look at me and there's a long silence and they're like, like bells, like you ring bells. And I say, yep, that's exactly what I make. And then they say, well, do you make like the bells for churches where you ring them at church? I said, nope, we make pretty much everything that's not a bell for a church, but that's what we make. So half my business is making bells. We have been around since 1832. We're almost 200 years old. I'm sixth generation in the business, and we have 50 % of our company. Much less interesting is devoted to compressed gas cylinders that hold compressed gas. So think about something the size of like a home fire extinguisher.

7:22That's 50 % of my business as well. Cece, I'm going to make a bit of assumption here that you know other sixth generation manufacturers. I mean, that's got to be pretty rare, right? Do you know others? I mean, a nearly 200-year-old manufacturer is not something we come across pretty much anywhere else in the country than the Northeast. Yeah, it is pretty rare. And, of course, I know several brands that are multigenerational as well, and we have some here in Connecticut. Waterbury Button Company beats me by a few years, but they're no longer in the same family. That's just a rounding error at that point.

7:58We can say you're the longest-running manufacturer here. in the same family and run by the same family probably yes all right dustin how about yourself so i'm dustin nord i'm the director of the cbia foundation so the foundation looks at economic data economic research trying to understand the competitiveness of connecticut so while cbia if any of you know uh looks at the session session what are the issues states and businesses my job is to be looking at the trends what are the opportunities or counselor facing out of this as a scout for. We'll dive into both of your stories a little bit more in a second, but Andrew, how do you describe what you do as if you're having a beverage with someone?

8:39So my name is Andrew Gibson. I run a company called AlphaQ in Colchester. It's decades old. I just actually came out of retirement to run it, and it was really one of the best things I've, best decisions I've made. I like to tell people I wasn't very good at golf, so when I got in the cart and they would write eight down before I even teed off. I knew it was time to do something else. But seriously, I work with 75 of the best people. They're all artists and I'm just a business person. And watching them do their thing and make these incredibly difficult parts is really, really fun. And we support a local company called Sikorsky, which makes incredibly cool products.

9:24And we also support other OEMs, Rolls-Royce, Pratt & Whitney, GE, and a couple of others. So I'm having a ball. Yeah, you have a fascinating career. We're going to dive into a little bit more of that. And regular manufacturing happy hour listeners know that we love talking about the art of manufacturing on this show. So maybe a little foreshadowing to the rest of the interview. But Dustin, we're going to go back to you next. I'd love to dive into the CBIA a little bit more, especially for our audience outside of the state that's going to listen to this when it hits the pod waves at a later date.

9:59You know, what's the role of the CBIA Foundation in the manufacturing ecosystem specifically? Because you do more than just manufacturing, but let's focus on that area. Yeah, absolutely. So the Connecticut Business and Industry Association has been around, I guess, almost as long as CC's company. It's about 250, I guess, 215 years. So is that longer, actually so longer um so initially actually uh was founded by manufacturers in middletown connecticut to uh actually lobby on behalf of increasing tariffs to protect american uh workers so it's kind of come full circle uh yeah now we're going against tariffs but you know i think nonetheless it's all it's all staying the same kind of topics that's what happens when you've been around that long you get to see the full cycle and when trends change and go in different directions.

10:47Yeah, absolutely. And so obviously, CBIA has been advocating for manufacturing for a very long time in the state. And the foundation was created about three years ago. So from my perspective, the things that I do that are manufacturing related, a lot of things about research on workforce, for example. So we just released our workforce report back in April that was looking at career pathways. How do we get more people into high demand careers and high paying careers like in manufacturing? So that was one of the focuses of that report. We look at competitiveness around the business climate, things like permitting, what are other states doing that we might be able to adopt to make Connecticut more competitive for all businesses, but especially manufacturers impacted by a lot of those types of regulations and rules, tax policy, those types of things.

11:31So it's kind of all over the place, but a lot of it touches what manufacturers face every day. Yeah, I've got kind of individual questions for each of you up here right now. So Cece, I want to go to you next. We obviously talked about it briefly right at the start, right? 200-year-old manufacturer, but paint the picture of what it's like working for a manufacturer that's been around for that long and what it's like being a sixth-generation manufacturer. I'm pretty sure most people listening to this podcast can't really even comprehend that. So if you can just describe what that is so it's a bit more vivid for everyone, would love to hear that.

12:06Great. Well, it's obviously, I'm very, very proud to be sixth generation. I'm very proud that our company has survived when back in the early 1800s, there were 20 Bell manufacturers in East Hampton, Connecticut, where we are. We are the only remaining Bell manufacturer in the United States. And so there's a lot that comes along with that, though, because obviously there's a lot of heritage and history. But at the same time, I feel my job is to keep Bell's relevant in the world today and find new uses for Bell's and sell Bell's to different people for different reasons. And so to keep the company viable and profitable and hopefully here for the seventh, eighth, and ninth generation can sometimes feel like a lot of pressure.

12:54And also, you know, being an old company that is not in a very high profit business makes it more challenging to stay ahead of the curve in terms of manufacturing and new technology and new resources. And so a lot of my challenge right now is taking a look at, you know, what do you do when you have, you know, a company that's, I like to say, firmly planted in the 1950s, right? If you were to come into my factory and you can see that, what are the first steps you take towards automation or robots or ERP systems or, you know, digitalization and other things like that and trying to take when you have a limited budget, how do you make those first steps and those first decisions?

13:43So there's a lot of pluses that come with it. There's a lot of challenges that come with it. And every day it's something new. What tip, you know, one of the things we like to do is help manufacturers run their own businesses succeed in their own businesses. You mentioned you're in a business that is not particularly high margin. What have you done that's allowed you to be successful for 200 something years, but I would focus more on the present? What's allowing you to be successful now in a business that's as competitive as that? Well, honestly, a lot of what I've done, thank you to the state of Connecticut, has been to reach out and take advantage of resources that are available to me here.

14:28And that is stuff that has happened because of our, you know, focus on manufacturing here in Connecticut, some of the grant programs that are available. But on a national level, I've also tapped into things like SESME, which is the Center for Smart Manufacturing, and the grants that they do and the resources that they have. So I've had two consultants come in free of charge. One, the head of manufacturing for General Mills and the other, the head of manufacturing for Rensselaer Polytech, who have been working with me now for two, two and a half years on helping those decisions. What do you do next and how do you spend your money?

15:06So I feel as though I've been very, very fortunate, but I've also kind of worked it hard to be able to take advantage of different opportunities out there. Yeah. And in the next part of our interview, we're going to be chatting about, you know, making it in Connecticut, right? We'll double down on the things that make Connecticut a great spot to build. First, Andrew, I do want to get into your career story a little bit too, because you mentioned you came out of retirement. But as I was doing my research, you were at Aerocision for a long time, like a company that you led through a turnaround, growth, and an exit.

15:41And we don't hear about exits in manufacturing as much as we do, especially over the past 20 years, right? As much as we do like in the SaaS world, for example. So, you know, reflecting on your past life doing that, I mean, what was it like, again, paint the picture of what it was like leading the company through those different phases all the way to an exit? Aerocision, I kind of fell into it. I had a client that was based in Connecticut and they called me up and they said, we're struggling with this little investment we made in a company. And we don't know what's wrong, but go in and do your Andrew Gibson thing, which is basically you go in and you just meet with the leadership.

16:23You meet with everybody on the floor. And very quickly, we determined that there was something very wrong. And Aerostation, it wasn't called Aerostation in those days, but this is back in 2008. And at the end of the day, they had taken on way too much in terms of new product. And that just destroyed. Everything collapsed in terms of quality systems and output. And we had a quality metric of 38 % and, of course, a delivery metric of zero. And I'll never forget when I discovered all this stuff because I wasn't an aerospace person. Aerospace is an acquired taste. It's hard and it's different. And I do remember going home one day after accepting this assignment.

17:09I was a consultant first, where we were fired by all of our customers and the bank had called the loan. And I'll never forget my wife saying, how was your day? I said, oh, but I did decide to invest a little money. And the new owner, who was a fabulous, fabulous guy, he and I got together and he was the money guy. He was non-aerospace as well. But what we did is we relied on our people. And my culture has always been, in fact, I used to be a turnaround guy. That's what I did for a living and it was always people first, suppliers second, and customers third. And what that means is, and you really have to carry through, it's all about the people who work at the company and understanding what their strengths are and getting them the tools so they can do their job properly and effectively.

17:56And, you know, I do that a lot. I would come into a lot of firms with the headquarters and the bean counters and, you know, the finance people were the star of the show and sometimes the engineers were the star of the show. That's not true. The star of the show are the people actually making the parts and getting them out. So we embedded it with a great culture. I did a lot of promoting from within, which was my favorite thing on earth to do because these people obviously have an idea of what to fix. So we do that. And of course, we met with the clients and said we were underpriced. So we had to restructure all the pricing.

18:31And the one cool thing about aerospace manufacturing that I learned in those days is that a client can fire you, but it takes them two years to find an alternate source. So they're kind of forced to work with you. Meanwhile, our people were so good, we demonstrated that we were worthy to stay with that portfolio. And then we started getting on new programs. And then we did something fun. We opened up a factory in India, which was really cool, which was very unusual in those days. And we were able to pass through savings to our customers. And we started growing like crazy. We got on all brand new engines, brand new programs.

19:10And then it culminated in 2017. I was invited to a supplier conference. We were a very, very small company and everybody was brand name. And I sat next to the kitchen, which is somehow I always get that seat. And I couldn't hear a damn word. And all of a sudden our name came up and it was shocking. We were named the number one supplier in the world at Rolls-Royce, the whole other entire supply chain, which is nuts. And we didn't have really LinkedIn in those days. So I remember coming back from Singapore and like no one greeted me at the airport or anything, but it was really, really exciting.

19:46And we did it again, except we were runner up in 2018. And then sadly, my business partner was having a series of medical issues and we sold or exited to a private equity company in 2018. So I hope I answered your question. That was a great, succinct way of telling a story that honestly could probably take up a whole podcast. So I am going to ask - Several podcasts. Yeah, I was going to say, I am going to ask two very quick questions. One of them is at the very start of your answer, you mentioned, you called it, do the Andrew Gibson thing. This feels like a very manufacturing happy hour question, right?

20:21When you're having a beer with someone, How would you summarize what doing the Andrew Gibson thing is in a few sentences? You know what I do? I go in through the back door. I go in through the back door. I park in the worst parking spot. And I don't wear a shirt like this. I dress like I belong at a factory. And I come in and I start talking with people. And they're like, who the hell are you? And I say, well, I was just hired to fix this place. What's wrong? And you know what? You get honest answers from people on the factory floor in the shipping department. The truck drivers, okay, they know what's going on at the supply chain, okay, because they want to know how come we don't get paid.

20:59It's unbelievable. And what I typically do is I work my way up into the executive vice presidents and finally the people running the show. And you already know you have a very, very good feel for what is wrong. You're not 100 % right, but in my business, you have to go by ish. And then you start, you have to make changes. And above all, when you make a change, you have to follow through. You've got to keep your word, even if it's adding a water cooler. I'm not kidding. That was one of my better things. Right. And so it's really just using your noggin and all of your common sense that you've learned from your parents.

21:38So one last final question. When you're going into a company and you're like 38 % quality, 0 % delivery like you were talking about, how do you prioritize? ties. Well, when you fix a company like that, you have to make sure that you explain to people that we all have two jobs and it's going to be an adventure and the spoils will come later. And you'll be stunned at how many people will say, well, sign on to that because, yeah, it's exciting, but they have to trust you and I have to trust them and you create. I don't like to use this word very much because I worked for a guy years ago that destroyed this term in business, but it's really kind of like a family.

22:22And you gain a lot of strength and momentum and courage because you have to have a lot of courage with customers and suppliers and even within your own company because sometimes people don't make it. So at the end of the day, the strength comes from the people and you have to have a vision. You've got to throw a rock out there tied to a string and every day you're going to make sure you can see that string to success. Above all, especially aerospace, it's all about 100 % quality, 100 % delivery, and then you have to get best costs for your customers, which means you have to keep investing in technology and lower your costs.

23:03Awesome tips. Thank you all for sharing parts of your story. We'll be back in a moment, but first, a quick word from our sponsor.

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24:33We're going to make the shift to talking about made in Connecticut at this stage. And I think a fun way to do this kind of lightning round style, not only for the people listening to the podcast elsewhere, but maybe even some folks in the audience. Like, what are some things that are made here in Connecticut that might surprise people? Dustin, do you want to throw one out first? Yeah. So it's funny you asked. So we actually just announced all of our coolest thing made in Connecticut participants for 2026. So this is the third time we've run it. So we run this competition at 16 companies and the products that they have on a bracket.

25:02March Madden. I can't say that. You know, bracket style. I can't you know sorry you might have to bleep that out lest you uh be demonetized I don't think people are paying that close attention to this but but honestly if someone caught that that would be a mark of pride it's like wow we've really made it the NCAA is looking for us but yeah so we we just announced them and we have I mean this is the third year we've done it we have amazing things that are made here whether you know the first year's winner was a Virginia class submarine right so that's pretty cool you know last year we had the frangible joint from Ensign Bickford so the thing that blows up and makes the rocket separate while it's going into space.

25:36It's pretty cool. But this year we have folks like Medtronic with their Hugo robot, you know, some important surgical instruments that they make there. BD syringes, which people in the medical field will know all about. They're in it this year. But then we have things like kielbasa, right? We have, we have things like calzone cases, which they make the cases that they pack musical instruments for bespoke sort of musical instrument setups. So very high end cases for those types of things. We have the Lee Company that's here making some of the most precision made equipment for things like satellites and rockets and F1 cars.

26:12So there's a lot of things all over the place. And I'm very proud to be able to work with our team and help highlight a lot of those amazing things that are made here. That was no short list. You're going to make answering for Cece and Andrew that much harder because I'm going to ask you both for ones as well. Cece, what are some other ones that are on there that haven't come up yet? Well, of course, the bell in the movie, It's a Wonderful Life. There we go. That Bevan bell. Very famous bell. The bell that opened and closed the New York Stock Exchange for seven decades. But also, I always find it very fun that Wiffle Balls and Pez Candy are from Connecticut too.

26:51Those are two I always love to throw out to people. Yeah, those those are two when we were prepping for this. Those are two that were front of mind for me. And then is it Thule bike racks as well from another Swedish company, though, correct? But they manufacture here. Am I making that up? they do yeah the bike racks are in shelton uh i believe seymour seymour seymour and actually i think the factory that we are in today right now used to make accessories for toolie racks because when we took over the building there were a ton of unusable like feet and uh things that would attach the rack to the roof rack and stuff like that yeah i have one that attaches to the back of my car and i swear by that thing that thing is so helpful for i've driven bikes across the country with that thing.

27:33So, all right, well, we've been doing a great list so far. Andrew, another one that you want to add to that, maybe that we haven't hit on yet? My favorite, I have to say, and this product has stood the test of time, is the Blackhawk helicopter. I can't help it. I'm a pilot. I used to be anyway, but, and I just dig the Blackhawk helicopter. It's so adaptable. There's a reason why it's been around for so long, and it's going to be around for decades more, and, I mean, it's just the coolest. All right, from PEZ to Blackhawk helicopters and everything in between, I'm curious in the audience, how many people learned about something new that was made here that you did not know was made here today?

28:08Quick show of hands. All right. So about half the audience. So, OK, that's good. I hope the audience on the podcast is also picking up some things that surprise them as well. But, Andrew, I'm going to go back to you for this one because you'd mentioned the Blackhawk helicopter. You've been in this business. a lot of, you know, just based on manufacturing happy hour, doing a tour in the Northeast, the defense industrial base is a topic that is coming up in pretty much every conversation. So what is Connecticut's role in the defense industrial base, if you were to summarize? Well, obviously the big hitters are here, Pratt and Whitney, obviously Sikorsky.

28:44I think what, in my opinion, being in aerospace and now being on the defense end, my last gig I was in commercial, But we talk about a cluster, right? This is one of the bigger aerospace clusters in the world, but it goes beyond all of us suppliers. We all get along, even competitors get along, and we share things about hiring people, et cetera. But the support that we have in this market is crazy. I mean, the government, you know, I'll never forget, the DECD approached me, a woman by the name of Lindy Lee Gold. Everybody knows her. and she said it looks like you need to buy more machinery i'm like yes no kidding she's well we can help you with that i'm like really i'll never forget that and we borrowed some money got a little grant and bought uh bought a new machine and it changed our lives um you know and and even through you know with constep and obviously cbia uh and ccat and on and on i mean uh you know it's uh And it's incredible.

29:47And by the way, I should add, you know, I'm not a shy person, as you can probably tell. But if I call up any one of those agencies, including our Congress people, including in the U.S. Senate, you get a return call because they know how important it is to keep this cluster alive. And law firms, you don't have to explain aerospace. Aerospace always have these special terms. You don't have to explain it to them. The CLA people who we use, of course, they understand aerospace. Everybody here gets aerospace manufacturing. You don't have to explain it. So everybody hits the ground running. They know what they need to do.

30:26So I hope I answered your question, but we're really lucky to be in Connecticut. Yeah. Well, we're going to expand on that. Dustin, I've got a different question for you. And this, I think, goes back to the list of some of the things that are made here. Like, these aren't things that you just pull off the shelf from the store in many cases. This is specialized equipment, specialized hardware. Connecticut, from what I understand, can be a more expensive state to manufacture. So I'm curious to hear from your perspective, what type of manufacturing is uniquely suited for Connecticut and why? Yeah, I think that you're right.

31:03It is an expensive place to manufacture. The Northeast is in general, but Connecticut is definitely up there. And so I think that's part of what drives that mix of goods. You see these very low volume, higher margin pieces that are made, but also the ones that require a lot of precision and a lot of technical know-how. You can't just go anywhere and do that. And that's the thing that we hear from our members and from other manufacturers. It's very difficult to just pick up one of those production lines and move it somewhere else without the technical knowledge that's required and a lot of the history that's there.

31:35And I think that just is the history of manufacturing in Connecticut, where you have invented a lot of the things that have enabled. We invented machine tools. We invented the first machine mill here in Middletown, Connecticut back in. It was actually a vicar from Wethersfield that invented it. What's the story there? A vicar inventing the first? Like, you need to go into that. Yeah. So it was a vicar from Wethersfield and he invented the first, essentially the first machine milling platform. He started a shop down in Middletown. And that was, you know, that pedigree is actually what enabled things.

32:09I mean, the list just goes on of what the things that we invent here enable down the line. So you don't get interchangeable parts. You don't get the Eli Whitney Museum without that guy creating, you know, milling machines that can make interchangeable parts. So I think that's part of why we have this here as well is because there's just this lineage of people that have been able to do this for over 200 years, right? Being able to put this stuff together and you can't easily replicate that in other places. Yeah. So another area I want to go into that I learned was unique to Connecticut. I think someone it might have been Mark, you and I were chatting this morning about it.

32:45Connecticut is one of the only states I've come across that has a chief manufacturing officer. So, Cece, if you could lead us off on that, I think this is something that especially folks listening elsewhere can take a ton away from and be like, gosh, why doesn't my state do that? Or how do I get my state to do that? Tell us the role of a chief manufacturing officer. Yeah, and I think if you are in a state that doesn't have a chief manufacturing officer, it's a great way to go and start to try to push for it. it's really a position that is very unique, but it keeps manufacturing in the forefront in the state.

33:22And it's a way to, it's a position that not only advocates for manufacturers at all levels, but it is corralling resources and helping to identify, you know, different opportunities and keep funding streams coming for grants and things like that, and keeping people informed and helping to consolidate groups like CBIA and other ones that are, you know, CCAT and some of these names that you've heard. So that, you know, I know as a manufacturer myself, sometimes it can feel overwhelming with how many opportunities there are and how many organizations there are to help you. And so an office like that helps to bring that all together and keep that whole universe working, you know, towards the same goal of a healthy, strong manufacturing economy in Connecticut.

34:13Dustin, I see you nodding along. Anything to add on the role of the chief manufacturing officer as well? I think that just what CeCe and Andrew have mentioned about the assistance that they've given, I think highlights also some of what I'm talking about, which is in order for Connecticut to stay competitive, you need to have somebody that's focused on helping folks innovate in the state. Because, again, we're not necessarily going to compete on these cheap products like high volume or high volume, low margin type things. we need to be innovating all the time. And you need somebody that's an advocate, like a chief manufacturing officer, for us to stay competitive.

34:49I think without that, we face a lot of those challenges because of our costs that we have here. You know, one thing, Dustin, I'd like to go in with you and Andrew and Cece, if you want to jump in on this one, too. I think this would be huge. One thing about being in Connecticut is, and we see this across the country, but especially here, being a smaller state, I'm very curious to know how you collaborate with other states as well. You know, I know there's a lot of state pride, whether you're in Missouri or California or Washington state. I mean, you pick the state, right? There's a lot of pride between made in, you know, insert state here, right?

35:23I'm curious, is there, how do you collaborate with other states? Is there like a made in New England vibe that permeates across the area? I'm sure there's a little bit of that and a little bit of rivalry as well. I'm making some assumptions here. So, Dustin, can you fill us in? Yeah. I mean, I think obviously, you know, we, the coolest thing made in Connecticut is great. It wasn't our idea first, but so that's one way we've already collaborated with other states, but other folks have then taken that and done in other places. You know, there's a coolest thing made in Florida. My mom just sent me a thing about it.

35:50And I was like, you know, that we did that before Florida did it. And she was like, no, I didn't. So, so there's things like that where we, we take ideas from other places. We create ideas that then get taken elsewhere. I think in New England, we've had examples of the bright side of being so close to everybody in New England as we learn a lot from each other. I think Forge, which was a new initiative here in the state, helping manufacturers that actually began in Massachusetts. And we brought that model down here into Connecticut. That was something that was through the chief manufacturing officer's office.

36:21What does Forge impact do, just out of curiosity? So they help with helping businesses turn their ideas into products, like helping them get that production going. And I think that's a fair assessment of what they do anyway. They help a lot with that, helping folks get their innovations off the ground. And that's what we learn from those models from other states in New England. We obviously have to collaborate a lot. We think about general dynamics and down in southeastern Connecticut. And a lot of those parts are going back and forth between Rhode Island. And so we're working together on workforce and learning from the things that Rhode Island has done, for example, to help better prepare.

37:00What are they doing so well in Rhode Island that General Dynamics says, hey, you should learn from these guys, right? And so that's one of the ways that being so close to one another in New England definitely helps us do that. Not just about collaborating across state borders, but what tips would you offer different regional manufacturing ecosystems or different states in terms of collaborating with their neighbors more because oftentimes this is the i'll share one of my perspectives as someone that does get to visit ecosystems across the country sometimes i encounter regions that are almost competing within the state i'm like you know at the end of the day like a lot of other people aren't even thinking about that right if you can just gel and create like a mega region so to speak like everyone wins in that regard so that's a bit of my perspective but i'd love to hear from your thoughts, Dustin.

37:52I mean, what advice would you give on collaborating across borders, across regional manufacturing ecosystems, et cetera? I think that might be the thing that Connecticut can best benefit from now. I think part of why manufacturing has done as well is because compared to other industries in Connecticut, there's a lot of statewide collaboration that we do in manufacturing, which hasn't always been true across industries in Connecticut. We're very parochial in a lot of what we do. But I think manufacturers have learned to consolidate their efforts and work really well together. And so I think the next step is, maybe there might be more opportunities to collaborate elsewhere, especially with folks facing similar issues that we do in Connecticut.

38:31But I think a lot of it just comes down to being open to what other people do and learning to being humble about the processes that we have. I think we're all trying to figure it out. I don't think any state has the answer. That's what I learn the most when I look up what other states are doing. Everybody's experimenting. And so the best thing is just to keep an open mind about what the other experiments are yielding and try to see what we can learn. All right. I've got one more question for the whole crew. I think we'll go Andrew, CC, Dustin. We'll go in that order. And this question is a topic that always comes up on Manufacturing Happy Hour discussing workforce.

39:08I'd love to hear your thoughts on what characterizes the skilled workforce in Connecticut or, you know, skilled, blue collar, white collar. I mean, it might be worth talking to the mix of talent that's here as well. So, Andrew, let's start off with you. Well, we had to focus on the floor and we had a lot of veterans leave during and post COVID. And there were a lot of positions open. So we had a choice with either suffer or reach out. and we reached out and of course every recruiter in the world were pushing the same four people so we invented something and what we did is we reached out to people who had never machined or had taken a course and we invited them in and what we did is we focused on their personality their ability to work with others and a passion for technology and we hired three people like that uh, over a year ago.

40:07Uh, we've, we've gotten them trained. They're amazing people. Uh, they want to learn more. Uh, and we've also managed recently to, uh, get some, uh, uh, some very experienced five axis miltern folks in the company. Uh, you know, and, and it always helps that when you get a flywheel of success, you know, that spreads because the community's tiny. and uh so people we we're very lucky and i'm knocking on my plastic chair here but we've we've seemed to have filled some wood before the end of the yeah i don't think that yeah that's right uh or i should be banging cc's bell or something but but uh but at the end of the day um it things get easier to hire when your people are happier because the word gets out And, of course, we offer bonuses to our people.

41:00They bring in their friends. And so we had to invent, and now we're kind of living off the spoils of a culture that's gaining traction. I hope that makes sense. Absolutely. Cece, what would you add about the workforce here? Well, I think that when you look at the university system in Connecticut, they're doing extraordinary things in terms of pushing manufacturing and making that a viable career track for people. We've gotten involved with UConn main campus on engineering projects and having those students come in and do engineering projects for us and helping to create new and better systems for us.

41:42I personally, my staff does not have to be as educated or as trained as some others. So I tend to not have a lot of difficulty finding people. But we have really tapped into the family nature that Andrew was talking about. And, you know, while they're not Bevan family members, they are very there's very much that family culture. And so my employees want to bring their friends and their relatives into the business and want to have to help us to succeed because they think it's a good job and they enjoy it. So we've been very lucky in that respect. So family culture, you're talking about the flywheel effect, Andrew.

42:23Dustin, what would you add as we wrap things up? I think they both touched on great examples. And I think the other piece that helps Connecticut stand out is just that we have an investment in education from like we just have a belief in education in Connecticut that and a system that invests heavily from an early age in people being educated. And I think that does make a difference. I used to we have advanced CT here. I used to work with them looking to recruit companies or help people stay in Connecticut. And I think a big thing we hear a lot is you go to other places and yes, it can be cheaper.

42:50But we have a very high floor of what we enable our population to get to. and I think that's a huge asset that we have that allows them to lead into great universities and help lead into great folks on the floor. So we have great teachers, great schools, and that makes a big difference. So to be very clear, this is like holistic education. We're talking everything from trade schools to universities to early childhood education. Did I hear that right, that it's covering that whole gamut? I would say so. Yeah, I think that But that's a huge advantage that we have and something that stands out when you look at where we get ranked, where we get people, what people say anecdotally.

43:29I think that's a big thing. And it's not something that you can always replicate, that emphasis and that belief in that in other places. And so it's something that we should be very proud of. All right. Well, hey, everyone, give it up for Andrew, Dustin, Cece. thank you for leading our first ever morning panel

43:55as we wrap this up is there anything I didn't touch on that you're like gosh Chris you should have asked that we can't leave the audience across the country around the world in the room without having talked about something if anyone no no no no voting opens for Coolest Thing Made on August 20th vote August 20th for Coolest Thing made so about a month from the date of this recording we're going to see when this comes out so depending on when folks listen that might have been in the past but i assume you're going to run in 2027 2028 as well this content is always very evergreen i will say as someone with some connecticut ties the one thing my my only regret on this panel this morning is as i was packing for this trip one thing that could not make the cut was my brendan shanahan hartford whalers jersey i really wanted to bring it but if you've ever worn a hockey sweater you know that stuff is bulky um it is to this day i feel confident in saying this the best logo ever created in professional sports that negative space h the whale it's just it's perfection um so that is the one thing that i wish i had been able to i was looking forward to seeing that today i know I know.

45:09The quick story is it is the best thrift store find I've ever come across. And this is in St. Louis, Missouri, which makes sense because we traded him for Chris Pronger way back in the day. But it was like$10. And even as a high schooler, I knew I'm like, I need to buy this because this is going to be something special. So anyway, shout out to Hartford. Hey, give yourselves a round of applause as well. Thanks for being here this morning. thanks for everything you do for connecticut manufacturing and one more shout out thank you to cla thank you to maintain x asset watch for making this tour possible stay innovative stay thirsty everyone thank you for coming out cheers hey folks i know i just said thank you a lot there but thank you for listening.

46:02If you want to learn more, make sure to head to the show notes page to follow any resources, to connect with Cece, Dustin, and Andrew. And hey, this was episode 299. That's right. Episode 300 is right around the corner. You can look forward to that very soon. I can't wait to see you back here on Manufacturing Happy Hour for that monumentous occasion. Cheers. Thanks for listening to Manufacturing Happy Hour. Powered by the Industrial Network.