HARTFORD – Today, U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) announced that Austin Organs, Inc. will be recognized as “Murphy’s Monday Manufacturer”. In 1893, brothers John T. Austin and Basil G. Austin established the Austin Organ Company with financial backing from Hartford businessmen. Just 6 years later, the manufacturer – which was renamed Austin Organs, Inc. during the height of the Great Depression - moved to its current location along Hartford’s Woodland Street, where it has operated from for the last 115 years.

Austin Organs, Inc. designs, builds, services, and repairs pipes and organs. To date, the manufacturer has built 2,796 pipe organs which have been installed in churches, synagogues, concert halls, and schools around the world. Their instruments are played in famous venues like the Irvine Auditorium at the University of Pennsylvania, Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church in Manhattan, Forbidden City Concert Hall in Beijing, and Connecticut’s own Horace Bushnell Memorial Hall in Hartford. Just last year, Austin Organs completed the construction of one of Washington, D.C.’s largest instruments, an organ for the First Baptist Church of the City of Washington, D.C. The organ has 5 keyboards, 118 ranks, and approximately 7,000 pipes.

Austin Organs has experienced significant growth since it was acquired by Michael B. Fazio and Richard G. Taylor in 2005. The new owners take pride in their team of more than 20 Connecticut residents, and recognize that the hard work and dedication of their employees have largely contributed to the company’s worldwide success.

“For more than a century, Austin Organs has invested in our great state of Connecticut. They have created jobs and a name for themselves around the world, which is good news for Connecticut’s workers and economy. I’m grateful for Austin Organs’ commitment and loyalty to Hartford, and I’m proud to recognize the company as Murphy’s Monday Manufacturer,” said Murphy.

"Austin Organs has proven itself in service to churches, schools and other institutions for more than a century,” said Mike Fazio, President and Tonal Director of Austin Organs, Inc. “We are proud to have a strong presence in the state of Connecticut, and, with God’s help, we will continue to expand and grow into the next generation." 

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.