HARTFORD – U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) announced on Monday that Ashcroft of Stratford is this week’s “Murphy’s Monday Manufacturer.” Headquartered in Connecticut since 1880, Ashcroft today manufactures pressure and temperature instruments, such as mechanical gauges, digital indicators, transducers and transmitters, and portable handheld calibrators. Ashcroft is a contractor for the U.S. Department of Defense and serves a wide variety of customers, including the U.S. Navy and the biotech, shipbuilding, pharmaceutical, rail, chemical, food processing, and power generation industries. The Stratford manufacturer’s 400 Connecticut employees work out of 325,000 square feet of manufacturing and office space, and ship approximately 4,000 instruments a day. 

Ashcroft is proud to collaborate with Housatonic Community College Advanced Technology Center, Platt Technical School, Bullard Havens Technical School, Bunnell High School, Trumbull High School, and Stratford High School to encourage students to launch careers in advanced manufacturing. They also offer internships and co-op assignments to students, and support nearly 20 charitable organizations, including CT Food Bank, the Vicki Soto 5k, and the Stratford Animal Shelter. In addition to their Stratford headquarters, Ashcroft operates manufacturing and sales centers in Mexico, Brazil, Germany, China, Singapore, Turkey, the United Kingdom, Venezuela, and Saudi Arabia. 

“Ashcroft’s products keep people safe – they help make sure that the braking systems on trains are running safely, and that the oxygen tanks firefighters rely on are operating properly,” said Murphy. “Ashcroft is also doing their part to keep hundreds of Connecticut residents on the job and to get students excited about careers in manufacturing.”  

Lenny Gonzalez, Manufacturing Manager at Ashcroft, said, “As a worldwide leader in pressure instruments, Ashcroft is very proud of its history in Connecticut. Our team of dedicated employees are committed to our vision of ensuring that our customers’ people, processes, and profits are never at risk when using Ashcroft products. Through continuous improvement, we challenge ourselves to find ways to remain competitive so we can keep this tradition going.”

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.