Today, U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) announced that RSL Fiber Systems, LLC, is this week’s “Murphy’s Monday Manufacturer”. The Connecticut company has operated out of East Hartford for the majority of their 14 years in business, designing and manufacturing fiber optic, remote source lighting solutions and safety equipment for the military, mining, and commercial sectors. Their products include navigation lights, lighting for explosive areas, and sensing systems for methane and temperature. RSL is also developing fiber optic headlights which are vibration, shock, and impact resistant.
RSL is the first company to provide such products and services to military ships, and has even been contracted by the United States Navy since 2004. With the help of 9 employees, RSL currently designs and manufactures more than 100 lighting systems as the sole-source provider for three classes of ships in the United States Navy and Italian Navy. Their technologies have been so successful at reducing maintenance costs, corrosion, electronic interference, and radar cross section in the military that many of their military-focused designs were transitioned into commercial markets to improve workers’ safety and increase productivity.
Over the past several years, RSL has been ranked among the top 40 fastest growing technology manufacturing companies in Connecticut by the Connecticut Technology Council and Marcum LLP, and was even ranked among Inc.’s 2011 list of fastest-growing companies in America.
“Connecticut’s defense manufacturing companies like RSL make me so proud to represent our state and the thousands of men and women who have made Connecticut manufacturing the best in the nation,” said Murphy. “RSL’s cutting edge innovation has kept our highly skilled workforce safe and has enabled the U.S. Navy to perform some of our military’s most sensitive missions. I’m thankful for all the RSL team has done for our state and country, and will continue to do everything I can back in Washington to support their efforts.”
Giovanni Tomasi, CEO of RSL Fiber Systems, LLC, said: “The skilled workforce in Connecticut has been instrumental in the development and manufacturing of our military and commercial systems. Many problems deemed ‘impossible’ have been solved through ‘Yankee ingenuity’. We look forward to continued growth and expansion of our technologies into other military and commercial applications, especially the energy and mining industries, with the support of our valued employees.”
The manufacturing industry plays a crucial role throughout Connecticut communities, creating new jobs and accelerating our state’s economic recovery. Today, Connecticut’s 4,602 manufacturers account for 10.2% of the state’s jobs and 87% of the state’s total exports. In order to protect and grow manufacturing jobs in Connecticut, Murphy has introduced two pieces of legislation that aim to strengthen existing standards and prioritize the purchase of American-made goods, the 21st Century Buy American Act and the American Jobs Matter Act.
