Sikorsky shows home state not the whole story

If Sikorsky had its historic roots in some other part of the country, chances are slim that its leaders would be looking to move to Connecticut.

Luckily for the state, Igor Sikorsky left Russia in 1919 and, after starting on Long Island, moved his business across the Sound to the mouth of the Housatonic River, where it is today. The Stratford location, along with satellite offices in nearby towns, employs some 8,000 people among thousands more worldwide, and puts the lie to the notion that manufacturing is part of Connecticut’s past.

The company also ought to serve as proof that Connecticut companies can compete at any level. The state is expensive, and no politician is going to change that, but there are advantages to being here, too. Whether the advantages that Sikorsky prizes are transferable is a different question.

Sikorsky president Paul Lemmo, who started his job earlier this year amid a pandemic and an ever-changing global environment for his company’s products, met recently with the Hearst Connecticut Media editorial board. You’d never know the state has a reputation as a poor place to do business from listening to what he has to say about the local workforce, which he repeatedly praised.

Like every company, Sikorsky entered uncharted waters last year when the coronavirus first struck. Staffing levels, though, have remained consistent and orders continued to be processed even amid lockdowns. Though business is mostly back to normal, a substantial percentage of employees are still remote — and many will remain that way even as we enter post-pandemic life, he said.

It’s been six years since Sikorsky was sold from its somewhat unwieldy home at United Technologies, where it existed alongside companies that make elevators and HVAC systems, to a more natural base of operations with Lockheed Martin. It doesn’t matter what you think of the nation’s defense industry — it was vital that those thousands of jobs stayed here in the state. The pain had the situation turned out differently would have been substantial.

That could have happened in 2016 as Sikorsky’s new owner faced a choice of whether to stay in Connecticut or decamp for someplace less expensive. At the time, this state was passing out multimillion-dollar aid packages to seemingly any company with a stray thought of moving or expanding here, and the results were mixed. But if ever there was a company you pull out all the stops to keep, it’s Sikorsky.

Critics, of course, panned the deal, arguing that if the state had a better business climate it wouldn’t need to provide incentives, which according to the agreement will total up to $220 million to keep the company in Stratford through 2032. But other states, even the “business-friendly” ones, were offering just as much, if not more, to lure Sikorsky away. Corporate incentives are not the ideal way to run an economy, but neither are they a strategy any state can easily abandon, since the competition certainly won’t follow suit.

It’s never ideal when a region’s economic future is dependent on one company, but that’s almost the case here. The number of high-paying jobs Sikorsky supports within close commuting distance of Stratford is not limited to the company, since there are hundreds of suppliers, as well, and their cumulative departure would leave an economic black hole.

Sikorsky today finds itself in a fierce competition for future contracts, which is no surprise — there’s nearly always something up for grabs that involves billions of dollars in government money. This one, which Lemmo said is among his current top priorities, concerns the Future Vertical Lift program to replace the longstanding Black Hawk, made, of course, by Sikorsky.

As is often the case, the main competitor is Bell, based in Texas. Home states can provide advantages, especially when it comes to keeping costs down. But Connecticut has some points in its favor, too, including a highly educated workforce. Lemmo said the company has no trouble filling positions, and the relationships it’s built in the state go a long way. Over the years, Sikorsky has repeatedly shown that given the right circumstances and backing, Connecticut companies can compete on the highest levels, too.

A century of history, which the company will mark in 2023, doesn’t hurt, either.