Carpino Discusses Legislation, Innovation and Competition during Manufacturing Tour

CROMWELL — State Rep. Christie Carpino met with folks from a manufacturing company here recently to learn more about the company’s employees as well as its successes and challenges in a global marketplace. Carpino toured Ripley Company, which designs and manufactures specialty tools used by folks who install cable television and run fiber-optic lines. Carpino listened to concerns company executives have about anti-business policies and regulations handed down by the General Assembly, such as legislation mandating that employers provide paid sick leave to their workers. The company, on Nooks Hill Road, is a solid regional employer with a strong presence in international markets. Carpino, a Cromwell resident, has been an advocate of pro-jobs legislation aimed at making life easier for companies in a state that’s considered unfriendly to business. Carpino tried her hand at using a few of the tools produced by Ripley after talking to company executives about how and where manufacturing companies find the skilled employees they need to produce quality products in today’s marketplace, where innovation is crucial to staying ahead of competition.