Press

Aerospace Company Announces Expansion

Whitcraft Group Touts 36,000-Square-Foot Addition

July 23, 2009 | Story republished from www.wfsb.com

EASTFORD, Conn. -- As Pratt & Whitney announced this week the potential for pink slips, another aerospace company in Connecticut announced it's expanding.

"This is our 36,000-square-foot addition," Whitcraft Group co-owner Jeff Paul said. "This addition was put on to accommodate our expansion of European sales.

Paul and co-owner Colin Cooper said Whitcraft is an aerospace manufacturing company in a close-knit community.

"Here we are, in the woods of Eastford, Conn., and we have the strongest, most capable sheet metal mechanics in the world," Cooper said.

He said 250 technicians crank out pricey parts for commercial and military jet engines in the U.S. and abroad.

"So we have a collection here of different pieces of equipment put together in a way that maximizes our efficiency and ability to meet customer needs," Paul said.

And while other companies are facing cuts, the co-owners -- both former Pratt & Whitney engineers -- said they've capitalized on a highly complex, low-volume business.

"We produce over, probably, 4,000 saleable part numbers out of this site alone," Cooper said.

But they said the uncertain economic times have given them incentive to develop different programs. They said they'll feel the affects of the F-22 fighter jet cuts like others in Connecticut.

"F-22 is a big program for us," Cooper said. "With it going away in the near future again, it's not helpful, but bringing on other customers for other programs will help offset or mitigate that."

For now, they said, they're going strong in Eastford.