Congressman Joe Courtney likened it to “Sikorsky 101.”
Get Instant Access to This Article
Subscribe to Hartford Business Journal and get immediate access to all of our subscriber-only content and much more.
- Critical Hartford and Connecticut business news updated daily.
- Immediate access to all subscriber-only content on our website.
- Bi-weekly print or digital editions of our award-winning publication.
- Special bonus issues like the Hartford Book of Lists.
- Exclusive ticket prize draws for our in-person events.
Click here to purchase a paywall bypass link for this article.
Congressman Joe Courtney likened it to “Sikorsky 101.''
More than 300 Connecticut precision manufacturers and subcontractors — including many from Greater Hartford — trekked to a Norwich hotel last week for a day-long supply-chain networking session with Stratford civilian-military rotary-craft builder Sikorsky Aircraft. Dozens more who wanted in were turned away because the venue was too small and demand was so intense.
Attendees were drawn to the event, say Courtney and Anne Evans, director of the federal Connecticut Export Assistance Center in Middletown, by the prospect of sharing in a sliver of the billions of dollars allocated by the federal government to buy rotarycraft for the Navy and Marines.
The Marines have ordered 200 of Sikorsky's CH-53 King Stallion helicopters for around $80 million each, Courtney said. Most of that production will be done in-state, offering Connecticut suppliers a chance to contribute various parts and services.
President Donald Trump's proposed 2018 defense budget increases allocations for defense spending, Courtney said, which includes not only Sikorsky helicopters, but Pratt & Whitney engines for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter and the Air Force's new fleet of aerial refueling tankers.
The current and projected defense budget also includes billions to build more submarines at Electric Boat's shipyards in Groton, and Bath, Maine.
“It was folks from all over the state'' who attended the networking session, said Courtney, the Second District Democrat and ranking member of the Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee who, with the Connecticut Export Assistance Center, facilitated the event. Accountants-consultants Cohn Reznick was a sponsor.
This was the first such event since defense giant Lockheed Martin acquired Sikorsky from United Technologies Corp. for $9 billion in late 2015.
It also was the first since Connecticut stepped in late last year with $220 million in incentives to retain Sikorsky and around 8,000 jobs in the state through at least 2023.
Sikorsky did not host but was invited as a keynote speaker, said spokesman Paul Jackson.
“Our Connecticut supply chain currently consists of hundreds of companies, so we're very aware of the high-quality manufacturing and other expertise available in this state,'' Jackson said via email. “Still, it is encouraging to know so many other potential suppliers are interested in possibly working with Sikorsky.”
One is Atlas Stamping, a 30-year-old family enterprise in West Hartford that is a long-time Pratt & Whitney supplier. Atlas, which attended the networking session, could not pass on the opportunity to diversify into the Sikorsky and Lockheed supply chain, said Richard Myers, Atlas' marketing-sales development manager.
“We see growth opportunities in the marketplace,” Myers said.
– Gregory Seay
