when manufacturing thrived and one classified ad would generate many qualified responses. Today, those engineers and other manufacturing personnel that companies like Hologic seek are hard to find, since so many have either changed careers or moved out of state. “There is some great tech talent here if you take the time to find it,” Parrilla says. “We are pleased to see the State focus on growing the labor force.”
Hologic’s Michael Parrilla with Connecticut Senator Richard Blumenthal during the Senator’s recent visit.
conventional 2D mammography where the presence of overlapping breast tissue can make it more difficult to detect cancer, the Hologic 3D mammography procedure allows doctors to see the breast more clearly. As a result, fewer women are called back for additional testing because of false positive results and clinicians report that the Hologic 3D mammography procedure detects cancers that may have been missed by 2D mammography. The company is enthusiastic about its market position and potential as it looks ahead. Michael Parrilla, senior vice president hopes to grow the plant and its labor force in Connecticut to meet increased sales forecasts. Yet Parrilla knows it won’t be easy to find in Connecticut the well-trained and experienced workers it will seek. “It’s expensive to both manufacture and live here,” he says, citing high tax rates among other costs. He remembers “the old days”
For the medical device industry overall, Parrilla is glad to see that the migration of manufacturing overseas in the 70s and 80s is reversing, “for all the right reasons,” as firms are recognizing that these moves did not always reduce costs or ensure quality products. Hologic’s supply chain is vast and some of its suppliers and partners have felt tremendous pressure to achieve cost-effectiveness to stay profitable. This has lead to consolidation in some cases, and Hologic has had to change some of its sources as it continues to look for the most economical, highest quality products with the best technology.
Spectrum Plastics Ansonia, CT For the plastics industry, recent years have indeed been a challenge. Companies
Bob Guertin, Specialty Printing
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Vol. 2, No. 3
In spite of these barriers, Spectrum Plastics is growing. “We have had to reinvent ourselves,” explains Kelly. When the company’s electronics molding business was largely lost to Asia in 2002-2003, the company ventured into the medical device market. The move required capital investments in the facility and equipment to attract the top customers in that market. Spectrum also found similar
“Like our suppliers, we too are continually examining cost reductions and quality and tech improvements,” Parrilla notes. As with any successful business today, it’s the only way to stay competitive and profitable.”
“Manufacturing has lost much of its glamour and personality, and it’s much less a career goal for young people today. That’s unfortunate because we all know of the great opportunities in manufacturing, and that small companies drive overall business growth.”
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are still losing business overseas. Making capital investments is challenging. And the numbers of skilled laborers is low. David Kelly, general manager of Spectrum Plastics Group acknowledges that the state’s high school manufacturing training programs to cultivate future workers are promising, “but it’s still difficult to grow your business in Connecticut. Sometimes it seems the only way to find the right people is when other companies go under.”
Doug Rose, president of AeroGear
opportunity in another new market: aerospace and defense. The change in direction required capital investments at a time when capital was hard to come by, but today the company is seeing that payoff in continued year over year growth. The other key to Spectrum’s recent success has been its expansion (through acquisitions and partnerships with other companies) to be able to service all of a client’s needs, from new product development through process validation and assembly. “Many other companies in plastics don’t have this all-inone capability that customers now want. As a result, many of the old mom-and-pop shops