The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
‘Strength in aerospace is in Connecticut’
CROMWELL — A manufacturing company that launched in 2005 as a “great idea” centered in a former dice-making facility employing five people now boasts 280 workers.
GKN Aerospace Service, at 1000 Corporate Row, is the world’s leading multi-technology tier 1 aerospace supplier. It’s technology is on board 1,000 Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II flights a day, according to the firm.
In honor of Manufacturing Month, U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., a member of the Committee on Armed Services, and lieutenant governor candidate Susan Bysiewicz visited the facility Wednesday.
They discussed the company’s tuition reimbursement program, which allows employees to pursue training and higher education, got up close to the parts-making process, and witnessed the action on the manufacturing floor firsthand.
Security is very tight at GKN, as much of what it creates involve top-secret components for the U.S. defense industry.
GKN recruits its engineers, operators, technicians and other skilled workers from Central Connecticut State University, UConn and Goodwin College.
“The aerospace industry in Connecticut is thriving, and all we need to do is get them more trained people. (When that happens,) they will continue to hire and thrive. It’s very exciting,” Bysiewicz said.
Sergio Morean, vice president and general manager, conducted a walk through, which included a glimpse at the window frame and fan inlet case of the F-35. Company founder and former General Manager Tony Cacace, who now consults for GKN, joined the tour.
Morean pointed out a sign indicating the company has gone 1,000 days without lost time due to accidents on the job, a point of pride for those working at GKN.
Blumenthal and Bysiewicz were shown the F-35 window frame, and talked to the team that conducts the demolding process for the F-35 fan inlet case.
“What’s most impressive is the extraordinary workmanship and precision of these parts, going into an engine that is going to power an aircraft that gives the United States air superiority for the next four or five decades,” Blumenthal said.
“The F-35 is our guarantee of air superiority for this century, and this engine will make it possible. These composite parts are like the ‘secret sauce.’ The composition of the composite is what makes it so strong and durable,” he said following the tour.
GKN works closely with the Connecticut Center for Advanced Technology, which is charged with, among other things, advancing context-based STEM education and promoting careers to build a future workforce, according to the agency.
GKN has 50 manufacturing locations in 14 countries. It serves more than 90 percent of the world’s aircraft and engine manufacturers, Morean said.
“We design and manufacture innovative smart aerospace systems and components. Our technologies are used in aircraft, ranging from the most used singleaisle aircraft and the largest passenger planes in the world, to business jets and the world’s advanced 5thgeneration fighter aircraft,” according to the GKN website.
Bysiewicz was impressed to learn that, early in the formation of his company, Cacace realized defense parts manufacturing companies like his should band together and stop trying to compete.
“They realize the synergy of working together, and the real adversaries are companies from outside of our country. The great story about this company is there are other companies working together to make the F-35,” she said.
Cacace spoke on behalf of the Aerospace Component Manufacturers, comprising 120 companies that meet once a month. “The senator loves the state, and he’s done a lot of good. As a collective group of people, we’ve got to perpetuate that, and get our kids trained, and make sure we get the universities (on board).
“Ask for what we need. I tell ACM, I hammer them as an old guy — 73 years old. I say, ‘I don’t have a long runway, but you guys have a requirement to get to those people, and make sure the school is giving you what you need, and be part of it, because that’s our future,’ ” Cacace said.
Matthew Hollman, lead technician, came to the company in an unusual way — one that demonstrates how GKN rewards those who work very hard at their posts. One day, at a time when Hollman was working three jobs, Cacace was buying coffee at Dunkin’ Donuts. He saw Hollman behind the counter working “very energetically,” he said. Later on, he spied Hollman working his second job at a pizza place.
“‘You’re working that hard, you should be going to school for engineering,’ ” Cacace recalled saying, talking as Hollman filed a window framing, which, when assembled, carries the autoview capability on the F-35.
“I gave him the most sophisticated part to work on and he started to flourish. He’s the lead man on this already,” Cacace said.
“Stop talking, give me a raise,” Hollman quipped.
The part enables a pilot to see the area below him. “He has to see the enemy before the enemy sees him,” Cacace said.
Blumenthal is going to bring his observances to Washington, D.C. “When I go back to the Senate, I have very powerful and convincing evidence the investment (in companies such as these) is well worth it. There are a lot of dollars involved and a lot of jobs, but it’s an investment we have to make,” he said.
He praised GKN workers, many of whom are women. “These guys on the factory floor are as important as many of our men and women in uniform. They are part of our defense industrial base. They are producing the planes and subs and helicopters that make sure our troops will never have a fair fight. The whole idea is they shouldn’t have a fair fight, they should be superior,” Blumenthal said.
“They’re out there and they need air support. The F-35 has to be the master of disguise, and has to be able to not only knock out the aircraft that’s coming against it, but provide support that’s needed on the ground,” he said.
“The strength in aerospace is in Connecticut. We can make boring, predictable parts all the time, as long as they’re good,” Cacade said.