New Haven Register - Esty Tours Cheshire Business That Aims To Stay In Connecticut

By Luther Turmelle

U.S. Rep. Elizabeth Esty, D-5, knows a thing or two about what goes into working with metals.

Members of Esty's family are in the die casting business, a process in which highly heated liquid metal is poured into a form to produce a component of desired shape. That knowledge proved helpful to Esty on Wednesday as she toured Consolidated Industries on Mixville Road, a company whose primary business is using another process -- forging -- to create metal components for helicopters, jet engines and military hardware.

Forging uses heat and extreme pressure to create high-strength components. And Consolidated Industries is nearing the end of a two-year, $10 million process to convert its forging process from technology that was used in the 1940s to a more environmentally friendly and efficient production process.

So at a time when some manufacturers are considering leaving Connecticut for other states where doing business may be less costly, Consolidated Industries President and Chief Executive Officer John Wilbur and his management team are doubling down, betting that the company can continue to compete on a world stage.

"We have customers and potential customers who say that they know we could be doing this cheaper somewhere else," Wilbur told Esty. "But we have chosen to invest in the intellect of our employees, their know-how. You can't just pick up and move and find that anywhere."

Esty agreed.

"Connecticut is never going to be a low cost state," she said. "The question is what can we do to add to the value proposition."

Wilbur said the state needs to place more emphasis on training its young people and do a better job of helping industry to convince them that they can make a comfortable living without leaving the state.

"Our work force is getting older and we're bringing in people from everywhere," he said. "We just hired someone from Ohio, someone from California; there's not a lot of people who are coming from around here."

Esty said state and federal officials need to work with companies like Consolidated Industries to make sure that regulations are not hampering a company's ability to do business.

"Are we achieving those goals?" she said of business regulations. "Can we do them in a better and more effective way?"

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