Rigby, Fedele Visit Northwest Corner Manufacturers

Rep. John Rigby and Lt. Gov. Mike Fedele toured four manufacturing companies today, listening to company owners, employees and executives talk not only about the struggles they’ve experienced in this down economy but also their successes and targeted areas for growth. The two elected officials started the day at Becton Dickinson in Canaan, where executives talked about the high cost of electricity–something representatives of other companies would bring up later in the day. Rigby and Fedele visited the shop floor where the company builds is product–syringes. From there Fedele and Rigby headed to Barkhamsted for a visit with folks at Sterling Engineering, a company that manufacturing products aerospace components. Company President John Lavieri introduced many of his employees to Rigby and Fedele, including a recent graduate of Oliver Wolcott technical school who chose a career in manufacturing. A stop at Alcoa Howmet in Winsted followed, and then Rigby and Fedele visited E&E Tool Manufacturing Co. — one of Winsted’s newer companies. The business relocated to Winsted recently after local officials offered its owners tax incentives. Rigby joined local officials, such as Mayor Candy Perez and Selectman Glenn Albanesius, in hailing the company’s move to town — even providing owners William and Edward Clark with citations from the governor and the legislature.