As Mott Corp. expands in Farmington with 100 more jobs, officials praise ‘an American success story’

A high-tech manufacturer in Farmington is expanding into a new 65,000-square-foot facility, a move that federal and state officials on Wednesday called a significant win for Connecticut.

Mott Corp. anticipates hiring about 100 new employees, and said its two current buildings in Farmington can’t accommodate its growth.

“This is a success story for manufacturing in Connecticut,” Chief Executive Officer Boris Levin said at a ceremony at his company’s headquarters on Spring Lane.

“It’s a success story of the company that here in Connecticut makes the most sophisticated products to solve the most pressing challenges of our times: national security, health care and climate change,” Levin told employees.

Mott manufactures precision filtration systems and products for the computer, clean energy, medical technology and space exploration fields. At the ceremony, U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal said Mott has positioned itself as a leader in the kind of high-growth, high-skill industries that are crucial to the country’s success.

“Mott is a great American success story because it will enable this country to beat our competition globally,” Blumenthal said.

The federal Chips and Science Act that became law last year budgeted $280 billion in new funding to aid domestic research and manufacturing of semiconductors, and Blumenthal said Mott is an example of a company that deserves such aid. He pledged to help it secure funding.

“The lifeblood of our nation is innovation, innovation, energy. That’s what Mott epitomizes,” he said. “It epitomizes integrity. Mott is paying back its PPP loan. I encounter very few companies that are taking that patriotic action.”

The company’s clean energy business center is centered on so-called green hydrogen, a low-emission fuel that’s expected to be in increasing demand globally well into the future.

Mott began in 1959 in a small East Hartford building, and as recently as 2013 had a payroll of less than 100. It now fills roughly 80,000 square feet of space in two Spring Lane buildings, and will be adding 65,000 square feet of manufacturing space when it leases part of the 1690 New Britain Ave. office building, the company said.

Levin said that among the key elements of Mott’s success are its employee-ownership model and its reinvestment in Farmington and nearby towns.

“Financial success is spread through the community where we live,” he said.

The employee-ownership model means the company’s more than 350 workers share substantially in all profits, according to Mott. When it fills the 100 new engineering and advanced manufacturing jobs over the next two years, those workers, too, will benefit, it said.

Levin said the goal is to create generational wealth by enabling current workers to buy homes, live fairly well and retire in solid financial condition.

Donald Chislum, an inventory controller, told the audience that he will be able to retire sooner than the norm.

“For me, (Mott) endeavors to invest positive generational change in the lives of its employees, its neighbors and the global community,” Chislum said. “Because Mott continues to offer its employee stock ownership plan, I will be able to retire a number of years earlier than the 65-year average age.”

Gov. Ned Lamont and U.S. Rep. Jahana Hayes also applauded Mott for its support of Wheeler Health and other community services as well as its market success. Lamont noted that Levin came to the United States after fleeing the former Soviet Union.

“You came from a country that pretended they cared about the workers, I’m not sure they really did. Mott really does,” Lamont said.

“I love the fact that you’re all part of a family, that fact that you’re all owners and part of the success,” Lamont told the employees. “Part of that success is somewhat financial. It’s also being part of something bigger, that’s what makes life meaningful.”