Gov. Dannel Malloy wants to create a $25 million fund to help the state’s manufacturers modernize and scale up their operations to prepare for increasingly aggressive production schedules from the prime contractors they support, his office announced.
The Advanced Manufacturing Fund would help companies buy equipment, develop new technologies and pay for specialized training.
“Although Connecticut’s manufacturers are among the best at what they do, a major ramp-up in production activity could pose a challenge for our smaller producers,” Malloy said in a statement.
The fund would be administered by the Department of Economic and Community Development, which oversees an existing manufacturing financing program with partners such as Connecticut Innovations and the Connecticut Venture Group.
An advisory committee of manufacturing executives would also weigh in on spending decisions from the proposed fund.
Malloy wants to give priority to investments in 42 communities that are historic manufacturing hubs, including Middletown, Norwich, Ansonia, Windham and others.
It’s Malloy’s second economic proposal this week in advance of the legislation session that starts in February.
On Monday, he announced a $13.6 million proposal to assist the long-term unemployed.
