HARTFORD – Today, U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) announced that Davis-Standard of Pawcatuck is this week’s “Murphy’s Monday Manufacturer.” Founded in 1848, Davis-Standard designs and manufactures plastics and rubber processing equipment, extrusion/shaping technology, and converting systems. Davis-Standard is the largest extrusion machinery manufacturer in North America and serves hundreds of companies in the packaging, food and beverage, construction, healthcare, agriculture, automotive, electronics, and energy industries. Davis-Standard machines are used to produce items such as tires, fences, toys, Styrofoam containers, painters’ tape, wires, and disposable plates and cups. Davis-Standard employs 420 workers out of their Pawcatuck, Connecticut, headquarters, as well as an additional nearly 500 workers based out of Davis-Standard facilities in New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts, Germany, Great Britain, and Malaysia. 

Davis-Standard partners with Ella T. Grasso Southeastern Technical High School, Stonington High School, and Westerly High School to educate young students about plastics and about the opportunities associated with careers in manufacturing and engineering. The Pawcatuck manufacturer is proud to donate items and resources to Toys for Tots, United Way, and the Pawcatuck Neighborhood Center. Most recently, Davis-Standard announced that they will add 15,000 square feet of manufacturing space to their Pawcatuck headquarters by Fall 2016, and will add 30 new jobs to their Connecticut workforce over the next two years.  

“For nearly two centuries, Davis-Standard has been hard at work manufacturing innovative new machines that keep Connecticut’s workers on the job and hundreds of other small companies up and running worldwide,” said Murphy. “I’m thrilled that David-Standard is continuing to grow their business and create new jobs in the Pawcatuck community.”

“Davis-Standard has thrived in the Westerly/Pawcatuck area for more than 160 years. What began as a small cotton gin manufacturer along the Mystic River is now the most significant global player in the extrusion industry,” said Jim Murphy, Davis-Standard President and CEO. “Generations of families from this area have played an integral role in our achievements worldwide. You can find Davis-Standard extruders and processing equipment on every continent and in every extrusion segment; we’re proud of that. The fact that the roots of our success remain here in Pawcatuck is why we have grown as a company built on stability and innovation.”

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.