State Representatives Jason Perillo (R-113) and Ben McGorty (R-122) launched a new tour of small businesses throughout Shelton, and started off with Beta Shim manufacturing. They met with Zach Pratt, VP of Manufacturing; John McCue, CEO; Sandra McCue, CFO; and other executives and business industry association leaders for two hours on Tuesday, April 1.
“Particularly in Connecticut’s current business climate, we are very interested in visiting our area businesses and finding out what we can do in the General Assembly to help them be as successful as possible,” said Rep. Perillo. “On this tour, we are looking for more than a photo opportunity, but a true opportunity to learn from a key Shelton manufacturer about what we can do to help make them more successful.”
“Meeting with the folks here at Beta Shim helps us get broader insight into what they do and how they do it,” said Rep. McGorty. “There’s no better way for us to know how to help our regional manufacturers than to spend time with them learning about their business.”
Beta Shim originally made shims, but in the past 10 years has expanded to producing various industrial parts. They have made advances in quality control, increasing the number of machines per person on the line, and have been focusing more on employee training.
Sikorsky is Beta Shim’s largest customer, but since their merger with Lockheed they have done less business with them. Originally Beta Shim was in California, but moved to Norwalk, and then Shelton to be closer to Sikorsky – highlighting the area dependency on suppliers to the aircraft manufacturer.
The Shelton legislators expressed appreciation to Beta Shim for hosting them, and said they will look for opportunities to support their business and other critical manufacturers in the region.
