Middletown Local Partners

ACM is a non-profit regional network of independent Connecticut and southwestern Massachusetts based aerospace companies. Our mission is to attract the global aerospace industry to this, The World’s Aerospace Alley!®, where ACM member firms form a unique industrial cooperative of long-established aerospace manufacturers, processors and suppliers, offering a cost-effective supply chain that exceeds customer expectations.  Working together as a network, member companies collectively offer broader capabilities than they could as individuals. TOGETHER, a WORLD OF EXPERTISE!

For more information visit: www.aerospacecomponents.org

District Export Councils encourage and support exports of goods and services that strengthen individual companies, stimulate U.S. economic growth and create jobs. Export expansion activities are accomplished by working with the U.S. Export Assistance Centers to provide opportunities to promote greater export activity at the local level while developing a trade assistance network.

The mission of the District Export Council is supported through activities such as:

•  Counseling and mentoring of local businesses in exporting;
•  Identifying export financing sources for businesses;
•  Creating greater export awareness in the business community locally;
•  Identifying issues affecting export trade and implementation of suggestions for improvement;
•  Advocating trade policy and legislation supporting exporters and the U.S. export sector;
•  Supporting programs and services of the U.S. Export Assistance Centers;
•  Building local export assistance partnerships with other trade-related organizations;
•  Providing export training and education through Export University® programs

For more information visit: www.ctexporters.com

BIA is the leading voice for business in the state, representing thousands of member companies, small and large, across a diverse range of industries.

We fight to make Connecticut a top state for business, jobs, and economic growth: driving change, shaping legislative and regulatory policy, and promoting collaboration between the private and public sectors.

For more information visit: www.cbia.com

CONNSTEP is Connecticut’s premier business consulting firm, helping manufacturers and other businesses for over 25 years. We provide strategic leadership and operational methodologies that make companies more competitive in today’s challenging economic climate.

For more information visit: www.connstep.org

Eastern Advanced Manufacturing Alliance 

EAMA is a non-profit organization comprised of manufacturers in Eastern Connecticut, South Central Massachusetts, and Northwest Rhode Island. EAMA works with its education and training partners to promote and improve manufacturing careers and the regional manufacturing workforce.

For more information visit: www.eamainc.com

Established in 1913, ManufactureCT (formerly NHMA, the New Haven Manufacturers Association) is an association whose members include manufacturers of all kinds, located throughout Connecticut. We believe manufacturing makes the future and is vital to our state’s future and we are committed to serve as a gateway to success and fulfillment in the industry.

For more information visit: https://manufacturect.org/

The Naval and Maritime Consortium is leveraging a once in a generation investment in undersea technologies to foster a diverse maritime economy in the region. The Consortium is a fastmoving network of member companies that communicate and collaborate freely to create and pursue opportunities critical to expanding and diversifying the local maritime ecosystem.

We are a professional organization that promotes economic development amongst undersea and maritime supply chain companies across the region through targeted activities in business development, strategic partnering, workforce development and industry representation.

For more information visit https://www.navalandmaritimeconsortium.com

AdvanceCT is a nonprofit organization that works to engage, retain and recruit businesses and advance overall economic competitiveness in Connecticut. 

In collaboration with the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD), AdvanceCT strives to build a place where business, government, higher education, and nonprofits come together to implement high impact and inclusive economic development solutions for the state. 

For more information visit: www.advancect.org

The Department of Economic and Community Development is the state’s lead agency responsible for strengthening Connecticut’s competitive position in the rapidly changing, knowledge-based global economy.

The agency takes a comprehensive approach to economic development that incorporates community development, transportation, education, and arts and culture. Specifically, the department:

• Supports existing businesses and attracts new businesses and jobs with a wide range of programs and services to help companies prosper;
• Promotes Connecticut industries and businesses here at home, throughout the country and across the globe;
• Strengthens Connecticut’s communities by providing funding and technical support for local community and economic development projects;
• Works to make tourism a leading economic contributor and a source of pride for Connecticut;
• Develops and strengthens the arts in Connecticut and makes artistic experiences widely available to residents and visitors; and
• Helps to eliminate brownfield properties by promoting smart growth principles, strengthening public/private partnerships and providing a one-stop resource for expertise.

*The State Trade Expansion Program (STEP) grant  is designed to help Connecticut’s small business community thrive in the global marketplace by increasing the value of small business exports, increasing the number of businesses that export and increasing the number of businesses exploring significant new trade opportunities. 

For more information visit: https://portal.ct.gov/DECD 

The Connecticut Center for Advanced Technology Inc. (CCAT) is a 501c(3) nonprofit organization founded in 2004 and headquartered in East Hartford, Connecticut. CCAT leads and collaborates with state, regional, and national partners in manufacturing, academia, government, and non-profit organizations in order to define and strengthen the future of the supply chain in the areas of advanced manufacturing, incumbent worker training, STEM awareness, and energy solutions.

For more information visit: www.ccat.us

CT PTAC has a mission to provide marketing and procurement assistance to Connecticut businesses interested in selling their goods or services to federal, state, or local governments. CT PTAC is a statewide program serving all cities and towns in Connecticut.

CT PTAC’s services are provided at no charge.

This procurement technical assistance center is funded in part through a cooperative agreement with the Defense Logistics Agency.

For more information visit: www.ctptac.org

Providing comprehensive business assistance is our mission, and we have the free resources, tools, and online trainings to offer business help along the way. Our Business Advisors provide geographic-based demographics, consumer spending data, market research, financial projections, industry reports and so much more!

For more information visit: www.ctsbdc.com

UConn School of Engineering is a powerhouse for research and engineering education in the state of Connecticut and beyond. We are the number 1 public engineering school in New England, and we provide 51 percent of the state’s engineering graduates. We work with local and national industry to address pressing technological challenges and to strengthen our manufacturing base. We value entrepreneurship and innovation, and our students and faculty actively develop startups and new technologies in support of economic development. Equally important, initiatives in engineering for human rights, brownfields, and cybersecurity demonstrate our enduring commitment to addressing major challenges facing our society.

For more information visit: www.engr.uconn.edu

As SBA’s office for the support of small business international trade development, the Office of International Trade works in cooperation with other federal agencies and public- and private-sector groups to encourage small business exports and to assist small businesses seeking to export. Through 21 U.S. Export Assistance Centers, SBA district offices and a variety of service-provider partners, we direct and coordinate SBA’s ongoing export initiatives in an effort to encourage small businesses going global.

For more information visit SBA.gov or contact:

Joseph Raycraft, Export Finance Manager, Joseph.Raycraft@sba.gov

The Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) is the official export credit agency of the United States. EXIM is an independent Executive Branch agency with a mission of supporting American jobs by facilitating the export of U.S. goods and services.

When private sector lenders are unable or unwilling to provide financing, EXIM fills in the gap for American businesses by equipping them with the financing tools necessary to compete for global sales. In doing so, the agency levels the playing field for U.S. goods and services going up against foreign competition in overseas markets, so that American companies can create more good-paying American jobs.

Because it is backed by the full faith and credit of the United States, EXIM assumes credit and country risks that the private sector is unable or unwilling to accept. The agency’s charter requires that all transactions it authorizes demonstrate a reasonable assurance of repayment; EXIM consistently maintains a low default rate, and closely monitors credit and other risks in its portfolio.

For more information visit EXIM.gov  or contact:

Richard Foy, Eastern Director, Richard.Foy@exim.gov