Perone: Norwalk to get additional state manufacturing fund dollars

NORWALK, Conn. – Norwalk State Representative Chris Perone (D-137) announced in an email Monday that Norwalk was chosen to be one of several towns to receive additional funding from the state’s Advanced Manufacturing Fund.

The Advanced Manufacturing Fund will receive an initial investment of $25 million to help companies modernize and grow, purchase equipment and develop new technologies, and provide access to training and specialized education for workers, he said.

“This boost of funding to an already established manufacturing hub is welcome news,” said Perone, House chairman of the Commerce Committee, in the email. “We have been hearing over and over that today’s workforce just doesn’t have the training that companies need, and this funding is a step in the right direction towards the goal of a skilled and educated workforce.”

According to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Connecticut’s manufacturing industry’s annual output rose 5 percent over the last two years and exceeds $24 billion or 10.5 percent of the state’s Gross State Product, the press release said. The manufacturing industry employs 159,200 people, representing nearly 10 percent of the state’s total non-farm jobs. Manufacturing industry wages average $76,108 a year, almost 30 percent higher than annual average wages for all industries statewide.