How CT Lured a Mass. Manufacturer — And What It Says About the State’s Business Recruitment Push

When aerospace manufacturer WHI Global began searching for a larger space to replace the Springfield, Massachusetts, facility housing its growing Aerobond Composites division, executives looked at nearby options on both sides of the state line.

The company, which makes aerospace and defense components for major commercial and military aircraft programs, wanted a cleaner, more efficient layout to replace a fragmented, nearly century-old building it leased in Springfield. Last year, WHI committed to a roughly 78,000-square-foot warehouse in Enfield, about eight miles from its former location.

Company leaders said Connecticut ultimately won them over through a combination of workforce resources, aerospace industry connections, proximity to major defense customers and a hands-on recruitment effort led by AdvanceCT, the state’s nonprofit business recruitment arm.

“Connecticut made it a very easy decision for us,” said David Caputo, managing partner of RVE Partners, the private equity firm that formed WHI Global. “AdvanceCT, that group in particular, I’ve just never seen anything like it.”

AdvanceCT says the Aerobond relocation reflects the type of project it has increasingly pursued as Connecticut competes for business investment and jobs.

Formerly known as the Connecticut Economic Resource Center, AdvanceCT rebranded in 2019 and adopted a more aggressive business recruitment strategy aimed at attracting and retaining companies.

The organization contracts with the state and has a $5.2 million budget this year. Its board includes state officials and prominent corporate leaders, including Amphenol chairman and CEO Adam Norwitt, The Hartford chairman and CEO Christopher Swift and Hartford HealthCare CEO Jeffrey Flaks.

As of mid-May, AdvanceCT said it had closed 43 business recruitment, retention and expansion projects in 2026, which were associated with 1,242 jobs and $857.1 million in capital investment, according to the agency.

That half-year total nearly matched the organization’s full-year 2025 results of 48 projects tied to 1,330 jobs and $887.7 million in investment. It also exceeded the 33 projects closed in 2024.

AdvanceCT President and CEO John Bourdeaux said the increase reflects several years of sustained outreach under the organization’s revised operating model.

“We’re not waiting for the phone to ring,” Bourdeaux said.

AdvanceCT evaluated roughly 4,200 companies last year, Bourdeaux said, as it refined its prospecting efforts and focused on sectors where Connecticut already has established strengths, including aerospace, precision manufacturing, insurance, financial services, life sciences and advanced technologies.

“We’ve increased steadily from a business development standpoint the number of companies both within Connecticut and outside Connecticut that we evaluate on an annual basis,” Bourdeaux said.

AdvanceCT has also begun incorporating AI tools into its recruitment efforts. According to its annual report, the organization is using AI for lead generation, data analysis and tracking developments involving major Connecticut employers.

The group’s increased activity comes against a mixed economic backdrop in Connecticut. The state’s economy grew 2.4% in 2025, ranking 12th nationally, while private-sector employment recently reached new highs. At the same time, employers continue to cite concerns about high taxes, energy costs and affordability.

Understanding client needs

The WHI relocation effort offers a closer look at how AdvanceCT’s recruitment strategy works in practice.

The company outgrew its Springfield facility after landing major new contracts tied to Sikorsky helicopter programs, including work connected to the UH-60 Black Hawk and CH-53K platforms.

“We needed more space, we needed more capability, we needed a better layout,” Caputo said.

AdvanceCT’s manufacturing recruitment lead, Ted Fisher, said understanding the company’s operational requirements became central to the recruitment effort.

“We work a process of first understanding the needs of the client,” Fisher said. “Having been in manufacturing for 30 years, I speak fluently the language of manufacturing.”

Fisher said Connecticut’s aerospace manufacturing ecosystem is one of the state’s strongest selling points.

“One of their big customers is Sikorsky, so they wanted to be closer to Sikorsky,” Fisher said.

Recently retired WHI Global CEO Albert Alteri credited AdvanceCT officials with building relationships and connecting the company with workforce and manufacturing resources, including the Connecticut Center for Advanced Technology in East Hartford and Connecticut State Community College Asnuntuck’s advanced manufacturing programs.

“It was Ted coming to see us and reaching out,” Alteri said. “Just kind of the whole relationship and kind of the confidence that we got.”

More than incentives

The state ultimately supported Aerobond’s move with an $800,000 grant through the Department of Economic and Community Development’s Strategic Supply Chain Initiative program, along with, according to the company, a smaller grant supporting manufacturing equipment, training and cybersecurity improvements.

WHI executives said Connecticut’s willingness to actively support the project helped distinguish it from competing locations.

“What I would say is Connecticut was much more outwardly interested in extending that to us,” Caputo said.

Bourdeaux said incentives can help close deals but should not be the primary lure for companies that otherwise would not consider Connecticut.

AdvanceCT instead focuses on companies it believes are a strong operational fit and likely to make long-term investments in the state, he said.

“Gov. Lamont likes to say: ‘Florida has sunshine, Texas has oil, what does Connecticut have? Connecticut has people,’” Bourdeaux said during a May 14 ribbon-cutting ceremony at Aerobond’s Enfield plant. “We have people. We have workforce. We have people who come to work every day and do a fantastic job. We have great talent.”

Aerobond invested about $4 million in renovating and equipping the former warehouse property in Enfield. The company relocated its roughly 30-person Springfield workforce to Connecticut and is currently recruiting for an additional five to 10 positions.

The company signed a 10-year lease with options for two five-year extensions. Caputo said the Aerobond business unit, which manufactures advanced aerospace composite components, could double in size over the next several years.

“We wouldn’t be making this investment if we didn’t see a lot of growth on the horizon here,” Caputo said.

The Enfield facility now includes clean rooms, advanced autoclaves, laser ply projection systems and digitally tracked manufacturing systems intended to support increasingly sophisticated aerospace and defense composite production.

RVE Partners acquired Aerobond in 2019 to integrate it into its WHI Global platform. Since then, the division has shifted toward more advanced aerospace and defense components, including helicopter ejection apparatus and helicopter blade sheathing.

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