DeLauro Visits Local Manufacturing Company

New Haven, CT – Congresswoman Rosa L. DeLauro (CT-3) visited Prestige Tool Manufacturing in Milford, CT today, a local small business specializing in manufacturing, to meet with company employees and tour the facility.

Founded in 1983 by Ken Dugan, Prestige Tool manufactures milled and custom products from various materials including stainless steel, carbon and lead steels, and most types of plastics. They use state-of-the-art technology and manufacturing processes to supply their clients with high quality parts.

Several of the employees at Prestige Tool are graduates of the local Platt Technical High School, which combines technical training and innovative instruction using cutting-edge machinery to provide students with the skills they need to move directly into apprenticeships and the workforce. Congresswoman DeLauro has helped to secure over $450,000 in funding for Platt Tech in the last two years, ensuring that students there have the best and most up-to-date machinery to learn on.

Congresswoman DeLauro was joined by Ken Dugan, founder and Managing Member of Prestige Tool, Gene LaPorta, Principal of Platt Technical High School, and Justin Hendricks and Ryan Zimmerman, graduates of Platt Tech who are now employed at Prestige Tool.

"Manufacturing has always been the backbone of our economy, and Connecticut has always been at its forefront. But we have gotten away from this in recent years, becoming a country that buys things made overseas rather than one who builds things. I believe we need a strong national strategy to restore manufacturing, and keep our economy thriving in the years and decades to come.

"That is why I have fought to secure funding for innovative learning schools like Platt Tech, which provides young men and women with the skills they need to be successful in technical and manufacturing fields. I have also introduced legislation that will let small manufacturers like Prestige Tool re-invest in their businesses, creating an IRA-like Manufacturing Reinvestment Account, or MRA, that accumulates interest on invested funds for up to five years. These funds could then be withdrawn at a low tax rate and used for capital investments or job training, enabling these companies to grow, to create jobs and thus to strengthen our economy.

"Prestige Tool in another chapter in the long and impressive story of our state's manufacturing, and I look forward to seeing that story continue well into the future. I will keep working to ensure that our Connecticut small businesses and our manufacturing workers have the tools they need to thrive."