SUFFIELD – Today, U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) announced that United Gear & Machine Company, Inc. will be recognized as “Murphy’s Monday Manufacturer”. United Gear is a 60-year-old, family-run manufacturer that serves the military and commercial aerospace industries. The company has operated out of Suffield since its inception in 1954. Today, the manufacturer, which is run by the Malec family, employs 11 Connecticut residents, many of whom have been with the company for more than three decades.

United Gear recently expanded its manufacturing and inspection capabilities, which has made it increasingly competitive throughout Connecticut and across the United States. In fact, Connecticut’s aerospace and defense companies – including Boeing, Sikorsky, Kaman, Pratt & Whitney, and Bell Helicopter – rely on United Gear’s expertise for parts and services. Because United Gear is widely recognized for its precision manufacturing, the company will receive a unique AS9100 certification identifying it as a quality manufacturer with very specific and detail-oriented management and inspection systems.

Earlier this year, United Gear was awarded 1st place in the Hartford Business Journal’s 2nd Annual Family Business Awards. The three generations of company owners were proud to have achieved such an honor, and thanked their dedicated and skilled team of employees, who are all considered to be part of the family.

“United Gear has continuously supported and ‘united’ countless communities across Connecticut. Over the last 60 years, the men and women at United Gear have provided Connecticut residents with meaningful and long-term employment, and they have made it possible for other Connecticut manufacturers, like Sikorsky and Pratt & Whitney, to thrive. I’d like to thank United Gear for enabling so many people and businesses in Connecticut to succeed, and for making our great state home to the United Gear family,” said Murphy.

“Connecticut has a unique place in the manufacturing industry because so many great aerospace companies are based here and it’s been a pleasure to work with them all for so many years,” said William Malec, President and Owner of United Gear. “On a more personal note, Connecticut has been my home my entire life and I am proud of where I come from, the work I do and of being able to give back to the state that has offered so much to me and my family. Because Connecticut has afforded me the ability to have a strong, successful business, I was – and am – able to raise my family and build my life in this wonderful state!”

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.