HARTFORD – U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) announced on Monday that Wepco Plastics, Inc. – a second-generation, family-owned and operated manufacturer in Middlefield – is this week’s “Murphy’s Monday Manufacturer.” Wally Parmelee founded Wepco Plastics in 1985 out of the basement of his home. Today, the company manufactures custom aluminum and steel precision molds, as well as plastic injection molded parts out a 10,000 square foot facility in Middlefield. With the help of 25 employees, including Wally’s son, daughter, brother, and nephew, the company serves customers in the aerospace, marine, medical, automotive, and consumer goods industries. 

Wepco Plastics has hired three new apprentices in the last year, and was recognized as a “2017 Young Adult Employer Champion – Pathways to Apprenticeship” by the National Fund for Workforce Solutions. The company recently increased their revenues by 10 percent, and invested over $250,000 in new equipment and technology.

“The Wepco team is passionate about their Connecticut roots and about building American-made molds for their customers,” said Murphy. “They’re partnering up with Goodwin College and the Connecticut Center for Advanced Technology to grow our local manufacturing workforce, and they’re expanding their business in the process. I’m glad they call Connecticut home.”  

David Parmelee, President of Wepco Plastics, said, “Connecticut is where I was raised. It is where I am raising my family and where I hope my kids will live one day and raise their own families. There is a long, wonderful history of manufacturing in this state and it is incumbent on all of us in the industry to carry that on. It is an important responsibility that links our proud heritage to the future state that I want my children to live in.”

The manufacturing industry plays a crucial role throughout Connecticut communities, creating new jobs and accelerating our state’s economic recovery. Today, Connecticut’s 4,600 manufacturers account for 10% 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.