WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) announced bearings manufacturer Ball & Roller Bearing in New Milford is this week’s “Murphy’s Monday Manufacturer.” Ball & Roller Bearing has been a manufacturer of bearings in Connecticut for over 110 years. Today, Ball & Roller Bearing is a veteran-owned small business, working out of a 7,000 square foot facility in New Milford and employing nine people. They manufacture products that include precision ball and roller bearings, cylindrical and spherical roller bearings and many custom bearings to their customer’s specifications, while serving industries that range from machine tool manufacturers, mining and oil production, agriculture products, off-road automotive, food preparation machines, and aerospace and defense industries. Currently, their largest customer is the Defense Logistics Agency.

Ball & Roller Bearing’s designs have remained consistent over the years, but their method of manufacturing has evolved significantly. Today, most of their machines are computer controlled and require highly technically-proficient employees to operate. Ball & Roller Bearing seeks high school and technical school students in the community to fill these roles because these modern manufacturing processes require workers with specialized training.

“Ball & Roller Bearing and many bearings companies like them are the reason why Connecticut is home to the best that manufacturing has to offer. Their consistent business model and quality products have stood the test of time. I’m happy to highlight their work,” said Murphy.

“From the early days of this century, Connecticut has been home to many bearing companies.  For many years, companies like Ball & Roller Bearing, Torrington Company in Torrington. New Departure and Fafnir, and more recently RBC, Heim and Barden have kept the world turning with their products. Because of the quality of the skilled labor force here, these companies provided the bearings critical to the needs of manufacturers like General Dynamics, Pratt and Whitney, Sikorsky and other defense contractors.  All of these bearing suppliers played a significant role in our country’s successes from WWI and WWII up to the present,” said David Nohe, President & CEO of Ball & Roller Bearing.

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 BuyAmerican.gov Act and the American Jobs Matter Act. 

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