The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Welding company moving to town
COLCHESTER — Officials are hoping a welding company moving to town next month will be the first of many manufacturing and light-industrial businesses investing in the community.
Volodmyr Drobockyi, owner of NCT Friction Welding, is moving his firm from Newington to Upton Road in Colchester. The plan was partly inspired by the town’s proximity to his house in Hebron, but he also wants to own the facility, Drobockyi said.
“We are looking to invest in our own building,” he said. “Colchester was on our radar because we live in Hebron. It’s a long drive for us (from Newington).”
After looking at towns such as Glastonbury, Drobockyi said building the shop in Colchester seemed to be the right move because its a nice place, and local government worked with him on a five-year tax abatement approved by residents in a town referendum.
“It made sense to do that,” he said. “It’s also more affordable there to build the new buildings. The land is cheaper and so on.”
First Selectwoman Mary Bylone viewed the tax abatement as an investment, helping NCT offset costs for five years so that it can grow and help boost the grand list.
“It’s like the town partnering with the business to help them get started at a time where it’s toughest for them,” she said. “Then, they get up and get on their feet and they’re fulling contributing members of the community — and everyone’s a winner when that happens.”
Bylone said the town is looking to attract small to medium-sized manufacturing outfit.
“That’s not the (tax abatement) program’s intent, necessarily, but that is one of our goals around economic development,” she said. “We see that as an opportunity around Colchester.”
Bylone said NCT was a perfect fit for the town because it is already established, and she expects it to thrive.
Town Planner Matt Bordeaux said the planned use for the property is compatible with other facilities in that area of town. He said the town and region have programs aimed at developing and supporting the trades.
“We know that there’s going to be a big demand for those tradespeople in the ramping up to the activity down at Electric Boat,” he said. “There’s compatible uses in the region. There’s good programming.
“That’s an area where we thought we could make a little bit of in-roads in terms of economic development in an effort to stabilize and bolster our commercial tax base,” Bordeaux said.
Drobockyi’s company, which employs five people, specializes in friction welding and CNC machining.
They make parts for customers from a wide variety of industries — from oil and gas to aerospace.
“I’ve been a partner since 2008,” he said. “I’ve always wanted to work for myself, and a friend of mine started the business in 1983. Once I came from the United States from Ukraine, I used to work here parttime. It was one of my first jobs. In 2008, I came to work here as a partner and help run the business. At the end of 2013, we bought the business from the family.”
Drobockyi said the move and the build will cost between $800,000 and $1 million. The 1 acre Colchester property will host an 8,400-square-foot building.
Bordeaux said Colchester has seen a couple years with minimal or zero increase in the mill rate, which has left some areas underfunded. Economical development, he said, could help generate revenue.
“It benefits the residents,” he said. “It makes the community desirable to live, to work and to play.
That encourages businesses to locate here, knowing that they have support of local government and the residential population.”
The industrial area of Upton Road is filling up, Bordeaux said, and he is hopeful the town can start searching for more places that would be appropriate for more development. With assets such as its proximity to major state roads, a “beautiful” town center and good school system, he said Colchester is an attractive place to do business.
Bylone said by growing the grand list with businesses such as NCT, it spares taxpaying residents from bearing the majority of costs of running the town — approximately $55 million.
Drobockyi is excited for the move, which he hopes to accomplish in November.
“New building, nicer conditions,” he said. “We really like the area. Colchester is nice and quiet — a beautiful town. We really appreciate all the help (the town) gave us.”