CBIA BizCast

For best friends Lora Karam and Beverly Canepari, traveling around Connecticut is more than just a hobby, it’s a growing business. Karam and Canepari are the creators of Unlocking Connecticut, a website and social media pages devoted to highlighting the best places to visit, shop, and eat around the state. Karam said their goal is simple, “promoting small business and having fun at the same time.” “We try to keep it light and engaging and spreading the message of businesses in Connecticut,” she said. Website: https://unlockingconnecticut.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/unlockingconnecticut/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/unlockingconnecticut

The CBIA BizCast team sits down with Nessel founders Stephanie Boms and Della Leapman.  For mothers who are breastfeeding, having a dedicated and comfortable lactation space at work goes a long way toward making them feel supported by their employers.  But those spaces aren’t always available.  That’s where Nessel comes in.  “We provide lactation furniture, we provide lactation pods, we do custom design work, and we do consulting to help do some executive education,” said Boms.  “Our mission is to transform organizations and really help support working women when they return from maternity leave.”

The BizCast team speaks with Connectiut comptroller Sean Scanlon, who was elected in November 2022. Scanlon said one of his first priorities was to ensure that the fiscal guardrails implemented in the bipartisan 2017 budget, remained in place. Scanlon said those fiscal reforms drove five consecutive years of budget surpluses, the biggest rainy day fund in state history, and paying down almost $6 billion in state employee pension debt. Another initiative is to get businesses signed up for MyCTSavings, the state-run retirement program. "I guarantee you it's an easy process, it's a quick process, and your employees will benefit from this,” he said.

The BizCast team speaks with Autac, Inc. president and CEO Marie-Louise Burkle. For the last 75 years and counting, it’s been all about family at the Connecticut manufacturer. “I grew up here, I spent a lot of time here as a child,” said Burkle. Her father Robert Burkle started the company in Hamden in 1947 to provide coiled cords for the trucking industry. He eventually moved the company from Hamden to Branford, and in 1977 Autac began manufacturing its own wire and cords.

The CBIA BizCast team talks with Birdon Group CEO Jamie Bruce and Birdon America president Robert Scott. The company recently added a facility in Portland, Connecticut where they are looking to modernize and expand. “We looked at the other six facilities, but what we really liked about the site here in Portland was the opportunities we could see with the site,” said Bruce. “It reminded me a lot of Port Macquarie where I'm from in Australia, a similar size community."

The CBIA BizCast team speaks with Alexandra Daum as she looks to use her business background in her new role as DECD commissioner. “I know what it feels like to be on the other side of the table so to speak,” she said. “I know what it’s like to be a small business owner and the ups and downs and certainly have experienced those ups and downs myself.” She said her main priorities are to get the word out that Connecticut is a good place to do business and strengthen our cities.

Hartford Healthcare president Jeff Flaks speaks to the CBIA BizCast team about the company's commitment to Connecticut, including its new partnership with Google. “We have a huge impact as the second largest employer in the state of Connecticut and as an organization of our size and scale, we can do more.”

The CBIA BizCast team spoke with RSM industrials senior analyst Kendra Blacksher about how employers are navigating and thriving in the uncertain economy. Blacksher and RSM supported the creation of the 2022 Connecticut Manufacturing Report, which highlights the needs of manufacturers in the state. She also moderated a panel of manufacturing leaders during CBIA’s Made in Connecticut: Manufacturing Summit.

Connecticut Main Street Center executive director Michelle McCabe joins the CBIA BizCast team to talk about what the organization is doing to revitalize downtowns across the state. The Connecticut native has been working for nonprofit organizations for many years. She recently brought her skills and passion to CMSC. “Main Street itself is an ecosystem. It’s a place where so any different people, interests, and activities not only come together, but have to work together," McCabe said. "It’s not just your business in your store. You are part of the fabric of a lot of businesses and entities. If they are all working together, that is what makes success.”

It’s an exciting time for Bill Smith, the founder and CEO of Infinity Fuel Cell & Hydrogen, Inc. The company is at the forefront of the hydrogen fuel cell industry, highlighted by their involvement in a NASA program to launch one of their fuel cells into space on an unmanned ship in September. The fuel cell, which has been in the works since 2005, is now being tested to simulate conditions in outer space. The technology has other potential applications as well, drawing interest from the U.S. Navy. “It turns out that the same technology is very useful for use underwater, another air independent application, an application where you don’t have access to outside air,” Smith said.