Cromwell manufacturer Ripley Tools has spent $2 million to open a new Labs innovation center within its Nooks Hill Road facility.
Ripley Tools makes products for the utility cable and fiber optic cable industries, including tools utility workers use to install cables. With the new innovation lab, engineers will be able to use equipment like 3D printers and CNC machining tools to prototype products, said Karen Verosky, Ripley’s marketing director.
“Ripley Labs is kind of the culmination of a couple years of investing in equipment,” Verosky said. “We’ve always been on the forefront on developing new products.”
The company’s products include the UtilityTool “Banana Peeler” wire stripper and the he ODM RP 460 Optical Power Meter, which is used for fiber optic cable installation.
The new lab is in the company’s 40,000-square-foot headquarters in Cromwell, where the majority of Ripley’s approximately 100 employees work, said Verosky, who declined to disclose Ripley’s annual revenue. The space will be used to develop new products, and work with customers on improvements to existing ones.
Innovations in cable installation and maintenance are particularly important amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Verosky said, noting that many people are currently working from home, and more dependent on internet service.
“All of those installers are practically first responders,” Verosky said.
