East Hartford, CT - Senator Tony Guglielmo (R-Stafford), co-chair of the Manufacturing Caucus joined fellow members on a tour of the Connecticut Center for Advanced Technology's CCAT in East Hartford on December 12.
The group saw first-hand the unique resources of the CCAT.
"This one of a kind center that is really helping manufacturers with real life business issues like how can I cut my production time? Is it worth investing in a newpiece of machinery? These are all real life questions that manufacturers can
The tour was part of the bi-partisan group’s effort to learn about the opportunities and challenges facing the state’s manufacturers to more effectively support and
help them grow in today’s global market.
On the tour Senator Guglielmo said leaders were told one of the major challenges for small- to medium-sized manufacturers is how to cost-effectively enhance output using their current assets while minimizing production disruptions.
Sen. Guglielmo said, "This center gives manufacturers access to the latest technology, research and development which can help them trouble shoot jobs and can help them hold onto a competitive edge."
In our tour of the facility, members of the manufacturing caucus learned how CCAT has researched and enhanced manufacturing methods to help reduce run-times by as much as 50 percent in milling, turning, roughing and other machining processes integral to improving production.
They also discovered how the industrial lasers, produce high quality welds, drill millions of precise holes for aerospace and defense companies, and are environmentally preferred for paint and coatings removal and cleaning.
"Manufacturing is critical to Connecticut’s economic recovery and stability. Anything we can do to help support it will benefit the entire state. Workers will stay employed and businesses will stay open," added Sen. Guglielmo.
The caucus at prior meetings with manufacturers has learned that there is a
scarcity of workers trained to run advanced machines. It was acknowledged that a part of the problem in providing this training is the lack of access to sophisticated technology.
CCAT officials explained they are partnering with state high schools (technical and
comprehensive) as well as community colleges to integrate use of their
resources into education programs to help train the next generation of skilled
manufacturing workers.
