BLOOMFIELD – U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) announced that the Bloomfield, Connecticut-based Kaman Corporation is this week’s “Murphy’s Monday Manufacturer.” Charles H. Kaman founded Kaman in 1945 out of his mother’s garage in West Hartford with just $2,000. Today, more than seven decades later, Kaman is an almost two billion-dollar business with 5,200 employees and more than 250 facilities worldwide. Kaman manufactures proprietary aircraft bearings and components for commercial, military, and general aviation fixed and rotary wing aircraft for customers – including Boeing, Airbus, Lockheed Martin, and the United States Air Force – in more than 60 countries. They also distribute industrial components and provide restoration, repair, engineering, and consulting services. Kaman employs 1,200 hardworking men and women out of six Connecticut facilities located in Bloomfield, Middletown, Brookfield, Milford, Plainville, and Windsor.
In the last year, Kaman has relaunched production of their K-MAX® heavy-lift helicopter. The helicopter – which had previously gone out of production in 2003 – can lift up to 6,000 pounds and has dual intermeshing rotors that spin in opposite directions. The program will initially bring in $75 to $85 million for Kaman. The manufacturer is also currently expanding their bearing manufacturing facility in Bloomfield, as well as their fuzing production capacity in Middletown. In the last several months, Kaman has secured a record high $300 million backlog for orders of Joint Programmable Fuzes, an instrument produced in Middletown that allows the settings of a weapon to be programmed on the wing of an aircraft while in flight. Kaman has been the exclusive provider of Joint Programmable Fuzes to the U.S. Air Force since 2002. Kaman also partners with the CREC Academy of Aerospace & Engineering in Windsor to mentor students in the advanced manufacturing field.
“Charlie Kaman turned $2,000 and a dream into tremendous success. He used that success to open countless doors for Connecticut workers and mentor the next generation of manufacturers and engineers,” said Murphy. “Put simply, Kaman has been dedicated to the economic success of our state for 71 years, and I’m proud that they have called Connecticut home since day one.”
Eric Remington, Vice President of Investor Relations for Kaman, said, “For more than 70 years Kaman has called Connecticut home. We are proud of our culture of excellence and innovation that has led to our products made here being installed on virtually every aircraft manufactured anywhere in the world today. This culture also serves us well in supporting our industrial customers across the U.S.”
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.
