Anomatic expands facility in Naugatuck

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Newark, Ohio-based Anomatic Corp. said recently it is close to completing a $1.2 million expansion of its production facility in the Naugatuck Industrial Park that will add up to 17 new jobs. -LARAINE WESCHLER
Newark, Ohio-based Anomatic Corp. said recently it is close to completing a $1.2 million expansion of its production facility in the Naugatuck Industrial Park that will add up to 17 new jobs.

The expansion project will add a total of 10 new metal-stamping presses to the company’s 33,000-square-foot aluminum anodizing plant on Rado Drive.

The Naugatuck plant, which opened in 2007 with just three machines, will add eight presses by July, increasing the total number of presses at the plant to 16, the company said. The new presses will increase the facility’s annual output of stamped components to 500 million pieces from 300 million pieces, the company said.

Mayor Robert Mezzo said he was excited to hear the news.

“It’s good news. I think there’s been signs of some expansions, some growth in the Industrial Park and our Economic Development Corporation and our Economic Development Commission have worked very hard to maintain the strength of the park through the recession,” Mezzo said.

The expansion project also includes constructing a comprehensive tool-and-die shop within the Rado Drive facility that will enable Anomatic to design and build tools on site.

The company, which currently employs 28 people at its Naugatuck site, added 11 jobs in 2010 as a result of the expansion and expects to add six more this year.

“This new addition of presses at our Connecticut facility will not only allow us to increase our overall production, but also allow us to meet our clients needs more quickly and efficiently, making the Connecticut facility our center of excellence for metal stamping and tool building,” said Scott L. Rusch, Anomatic’s president.

The Naugatuck plant will service the company’s Newark, Ohio, and Suzhou, China, factories through design engineering, tool fabrication and development, as well as production, the company said.

“We’re very pleased that they’re here in Naugatuck and that they’re continuing to expand their production and workforce and we look forward to continue to help them with benefits that they’re eligible for,” said Dave Prendergast, president of the Naugatuck Economic Development Corporation (NEDC).

Prendergast said the NEDC talked to Anomatic when they were deciding which machinery to purchase.

“They wanted to see if there were any incentives in going one way or another,” Prendergast said.

He put them in contact with the state Department of Economic and Community Development.

As an Enterprise Zone company, Anomatic qualifies for an abatement of taxes on new equipment and machinery, according to Prendergast.

The state incentive program for new construction for manufacturing give companies a five year, 80 percent tax abatement as well as a 25 percent corporate tax credit for 10 years.

“We’ll work with them and assist them if they need any assistance applying for that,” Prendergast said.

Anomatic, which was founded in 1965, manufactures anodized aluminum packaging for the pharmaceutical, medical, cosmetic, and health & beauty packaging industries worldwide. Its customers include Procter & Gamble Co., Bath & Body Works, Mary Kay Inc. and L’Oreal.

Manufacturing beauty product components has a long history in the area, according to Prendergast. Risdon Manufacturing used to make atomizer parts and lipstick cases in Naugatuck.

The company anodized more than 950 million components last year, a 20 percent increase in production from 2009.

Laraine Weschler contributed to this article.