July 1, 2014

Bolinsky Tours UTC ‘CT’s Largest Employer’

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From L:R — State Rep. Christie Carpino (Cromwell), Mark Miller, Vice President, Research & Engineering at Sikorsky; State Reps. Jan Giegler (Danbury), John Shaban (Redding), Mitch Bolinsky (Newtown), Chris VanBuiten, V.P. Technology & Innovation at Sikorsky; State Reps. Dave Rutigliano (Trumbull), Michael Molgano (Stamford) and Teresa Carleton, V.P. of System Engineering & Integration at Sikorsky.

HARTFORD – State Representative Mitch Bolinsky (R-106 Newtown) and a team of legislators interested in job creation and accelerating Connecticut’s economic recovery, toured United Technologies facilities at Sikorsky in Stratford to see first-hand their aerospace manufacturing and engineering facilities. In the 2014 legislative session, this same group of lawmakers were among those who backed an incentive program using accrued tax-credits to stimulate new investment in the state’s aerospace industry and foster its long-term retention by the Nutmeg State, protecting thousands of jobs and creating new opportunities at UTC and along its supply chain.

Bolinsky said, “This investment is not just for UTC but for the hundreds of small companies in Connecticut, some in Newtown that do business with UTC. For instance, right now, UTC’s Pratt & Whitney operation manufactures about 20% of what’s needed to produce its engines, with the balance coming from hundreds of smaller supplier-partners companies. I am committed to keeping jobs in Connecticut, especially if they benefit the district.”

According to UTC, they currently do business with six companies in Newtown.
Under the legislation, which Bolinsky supported in the House of Representatives, the agreement does not require any borrowing or payments by the State of Connecticut, and is expected to create nearly 1,500 construction and other related jobs throughout the initial capital expansion. UTC expects to invest up to $4 billion in research and other capital expenditures in the state.

The proposal will provide up to $400 million in tax credits to UTC for continuing research and development spending, and half a billion dollars in facility development including a new global headquarters campus for Pratt and Whitney. Under the agreement, Pratt & Whitney will keep its headquarters in Connecticut for the next fifteen years with a new engineering center. Sikorsky will keep its headquarters in Connecticut for at least the next five years. New facility construction is expected to begin this year and be up and running in 2018.

United Technologies Corporation (UTC), a leading manufacturer that is the state’s largest employer with 22,200 workers, and includes Sikorsky Aircraft, Pratt & Whitney, and UTC Aerospace Systems.