UTC begins exit from city.

[beerbeer]

United Technologies Corp. plans to invest millions of dollars for improvements and new technology in its corporate locations in Farmington and expand its presence there by leasing another office building.

Hartford-based UTC’s lease of 8 Farm Springs Road — a 108,000-square-foot office building formerly occupied by The Hartford Financial Services Group — is part of a larger plan to develop a campus-like setting in Connecticut.

“Over the next year, United Technologies will relocate a number of corporate functions from Hartford and Windsor to existing and new space in Farmington,” UTC spokesman John M. Moran told me late Monday.

[The Voice of Reason]

Your headline is innacurate.

I know most of the details on this move and have for many months, and I will say that there are not many jobs leaving downtown. UTC only uses a small portion of the gold building. 174K SF

As a huge downtown booster, of course I would love to see UTC build a million SF building downtown and move everything there, but I cannot fault this move in any way. they currently have so much of the Farm Springs road campus that leasing this additional 108K sf was a no brainer.

Lets be realistic here, UTC has only 173,530 SF downtown and about 500K SF in Farm Springs Rd. Also the Farmington space is much denser in terms of workers per SF.

http://articles.courant.com/2007-06-19/business/0706190253_1_utc-lease-hartford-area

They are not going to give up the HQ location, no way! and its leased until 2014 anyways.

Most of the people moving to Farm Springs are coming from outside of downtown also, so its not like the 108K sf in Farmington will mean a loss of 108K sf Downtown.

Even worst case, UTC has like 300 people downtown only. Travelers has 7000 across the street.

I say good for Farmington!

Downtown will see a few changes from this I am sure... I see some of the space taken over by the rapidly growing Conning & Co and Peoples bank might increase their space as the insurance unit grows.

there are quite a few tenants in this building most of them small to tiny. Expect more lawyers and more consultants to move in If UTC releases some of their space.

Maybe by 2022 as the Farmington leases begin to expire UTC will have leadership interested in downtown again and we will end up with that shiny new building.... Maybe they will move HQ to China? who knows!

But the HQ is still in Hartford, and the workforce is in greater Hartford, so I am fine with this!

[beerbeer]

Also, did you see the recent story about North Carolina giving UTC 19 million dollars to build a regional center in NC? Low tax, low energy, right to work state is throwing money at UTC.

Will nothing shake Connecticut out of its coma? The writing is on the wall. Wake up.

[drc72]

Also, did you see the recent story about North Carolina giving UTC 19 million dollars to build a regional center in NC? Low tax, low energy, right to work state is throwing money at UTC.

Will nothing shake Connecticut out of its coma? The writing is on the wall. Wake up.

They already took the Whalers, why not take another CT icon? .I can't see how UTC can pass up a good deal like this. They almost got out of Cheshire, but super senator dicky blumenthol came to the rescue with lawsuits in hand, instead of writing more business friendly legislation.

[The Voice of Reason]

guys, they are buying an 18 billion dollar company with its HQ in Charlotte.

the 19 million is a desperate attempt to keep the jobs in NC after the del closes..

from everything I hear they are not taking jobs from CT, just not loosing any.

this is the HQ for goodrich BTW staying in Charlotte post merger, not UTC shipping people to NC. UTC is buying a company with 30,000 employees.

[beerbeer]

guys, they are buying an 18 billion dollar company with its HQ in Charlotte.

the 19 million is a desperate attempt to keep the jobs in NC after the del closes..

from everything I hear they are not taking jobs from CT, just not loosing any.

this is the HQ for goodrich BTW staying in Charlotte post merger, not UTC shipping people to NC. UTC is buying a company with 30,000 employees.

Everything you say in that post is true. But this should be a real wake up call. If Connectticut acts like it usually does, it will lose the UTC, then Blumenthal (or the new AG) will sue on behalf of the unions. Business as usal has to stop in this state.

Malloy raised both state spending and taxes this year. The legislature passed more harsh regulations on business. Unions got a promise no one would be fired for four years. Where is our Scott Walker?

[The Voice of Reason]

I do not see how this UTC news should be any kind of wake up call.

When Bank of America bought Fleet Bank they didnt close every corporate office in New England... The maintained what was there and slowly consolidated back office operations as needed and when possible over the years.

Goodrich is being acquired, and cities all over america are trying to keep their jobs. some of this will be in the form of 19 million dollar grants, and some might be promised by unions or by way of promised training and support.

But UTC will move resources as needed and accept grants as appropriate like any acquiring company. And this may or may not lead to more jobs in CT, but it will definately lead to some job losses across the country.

[beash19]

Otis purchased a large manufacturing plant in South Carolina last year, where they have been shipping jobs for months. People from the closing plant in Nogales Mexico, the one in Bloomington, Indiana and some from Bloomfield CT are on their way there. Tons of positions are open and there are fears that once the place is up and running, more positions will be sent from the Service Center in BLoomfield. With that said I was surprised to see UTC putting another foot down in Farmington. I like it but it surprised me. I really thought they were making effort to leave the state in the next decade. I guess we'll see when the leases run out.

http://www.prnewswir...-129949163.html

[beerbeer]

Otis purchased a large manufacturing plant in South Carolina last year, where they have been shipping jobs for months. People from the closing plant in Nogales Mexico, the one in Bloomington, Indiana and some from Bloomfield CT are on their way there. Tons of positions are open and there are fears that once the place is up and running, more positions will be sent from the Service Center in BLoomfield. With that said I was surprised to see UTC putting another foot down in Farmington. I like it but it surprised me. I really thought they were making effort to leave the state in the next decade. I guess we'll see when the leases run out.

http://www.prnewswir...-129949163.html

South Carolina, low tax, right to work state.

[The Voice of Reason]

I could rattle off literally dozens of moves happening across the UTC portfolio much like can be said for other large global manufacturers.

The reality is that UTC knows its a Hartford company. while they are constantly moving manufacturing jopbs around to meet needs, to follow business, and to get into better facilities (of safer locations-Nogales) they will always maintain a major presence in CT and Hartford.

part of the reason Connecticut maintains many hige corporate Headquarters is our quality of life.

Rich, Powerfull people enjoy living in Simsbury, Darien or whatever.

So you can be sure the HQ will likely stay in CT for the forseeable future (although the state and city should not take this for granted)

the Farmington campus is a long time coming and pretty much contains only the commercial side of the business. there is virtually ZERO presence for the Aero side in that complex.

The Aero business is located in Stratford, East Hartford, and Windsor Locks primarily, and now Charlotte seems to be worth mention as the Goodrich acquisition moves forward.

Manufacturing will be done in the Carolinas, for sure, and it will be done in China too, and India and Poland and Brasil and really wherever the business (sales) is coming from and there is a reasonable skilled or trainable workforce.

Think about how many elevators are being sold in China every year compared to the USA or even Mexico? does it make sense to build those elevators in Nogales and ship them halfway around the world? or does it make sense to save on shipping and build strategic plants all over the planet and consolidate the varried aging US plants into newer better more efficient lean manufacturing facilites.

Part of me desperately wished companies like UTC told its shareholders to sit and spin and made decisions based on what was right nore than what is profitable...

but as publicly traded companies, they have to answer to a million owners all over the globe, and at some point the soul of a business slowly cares less and less about where it was born.

If UTC built a super fancy HQ building it would likely cost 800 Million or so.

spending that kind of money is less popular than say buying a mid cap industrial company like Kaman Corporation with its 1.5 billion in revenues.

that new office and the keeping of jobs in downtown hartford earn the company virtually nothing.

it sucks. but UTC is truely global. Luckily we also have Aetna, Travelers and The Hartford who each keep most of their jobs in Hartford and CT vs the rest of America or the world.

[beerbeer]

Charlotte, N.C., city leaders have narrowly agreed to pay Hartford's United Technologies Corp. $875,000 — along with $732,000 in city and county tax rebates — to bring an aerospace headquarters to the city that was previously home to Goodrich Corp., The Winston-Salem (N.C.) Journal reports.

UTC announced plans in 2011 to buy Charlotte-based Goodrich, a maker of aerospace parts and technology for civilian and military planes, Journalnow.com reports. UTC has said it will combine Goodrich with another business, Hamilton Sundstrand, for a new aerospace division office.

The company considered Northern Virginia, West Palm Beach, Fla., and Charlotte. (The bold is mine. Hartford wasn't even considered.) The city said the company picked Charlotte in part because of money the city offered.

The Charlotte City Council approved the incentives June 25 in a 6-5 vote. Voting against paying the company were Republican Warren Cooksey and Democrats John Autry, Michael Barnes, Patsy Kinsey and LaWana Mayfield.

The vote was close because the incentive package is a break with typical Charlotte policy.

The state is kicking in $2.5 million as part of a One North Carolina grant.

City information on the deal says the company will invest no less than $4 million in new taxable property and will create 325 full-time jobs, with an average wage of $200,000.

[drc72]

Charlotte, N.C., city leaders have narrowly agreed to pay Hartford's United Technologies Corp. $875,000 — along with $732,000 in city and county tax rebates — to bring an aerospace headquarters to the city that was previously home to Goodrich Corp., The Winston-Salem (N.C.) Journal reports.

UTC announced plans in 2011 to buy Charlotte-based Goodrich, a maker of aerospace parts and technology for civilian and military planes, Journalnow.com reports. UTC has said it will combine Goodrich with another business, Hamilton Sundstrand, for a new aerospace division office.

The company considered Northern Virginia, West Palm Beach, Fla., and Charlotte. (The bold is mine. Hartford wasn't even considered.) The city said the company picked Charlotte in part because of money the city offered.

The Charlotte City Council approved the incentives June 25 in a 6-5 vote. Voting against paying the company were Republican Warren Cooksey and Democrats John Autry, Michael Barnes, Patsy Kinsey and LaWana Mayfield.

The vote was close because the incentive package is a break with typical Charlotte policy.

The state is kicking in $2.5 million as part of a One North Carolina grant.

City information on the deal says the company will invest no less than $4 million in new taxable property and will create 325 full-time jobs, with an average wage of $200,000.

Connecticut you better wake up!

[HartfordTycoon]

I don't see how the Charlotte thing is even news. I had the impression that the Aerospace HQ was moving there when they first announced that they were acquiring Goodrich. This is nothing but Charlotte and NC paying up to make sure that they at least keep the bulk of the Goodrich HQ jobs in their city. The state's 1st Five program is virtually the same thing as what they are doing here.

[beerbeer]

Charlotte makes it plain enough for even Democrats to understand. From the Courant.

And it's clear that North Carolina is hungry for more UTC jobs. Bob Morgan, president of the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce, told the Charlotte City Council in May: "We can compete for these jobs or not. Not one person in this room has ever had a chance to vote on a payroll as significant as this — $650 million over 10 years. That is the biggest payroll we've ever seen related to projects like this. Would we like to one day relocate the entire corporate headquarters? You're darn right we would. If we land this project perhaps we'll have a chance to build that relationship over time, and that too I think is part of the opportunity."

Read the whole article. It puts the Goodrich thing inperspective. The loss of jobs in Conbnecticut is huge, 22 million in salary.

[drc72]

Charlotte makes it plain enough for even Democrats to understand. From the Courant.

And it's clear that North Carolina is hungry for more UTC jobs. Bob Morgan, president of the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce, told the Charlotte City Council in May: "We can compete for these jobs or not. Not one person in this room has ever had a chance to vote on a payroll as significant as this — $650 million over 10 years. That is the biggest payroll we've ever seen related to projects like this. Would we like to one day relocate the entire corporate headquarters? You're darn right we would. If we land this project perhaps we'll have a chance to build that relationship over time, and that too I think is part of the opportunity."

Read the whole article. It puts the Goodrich thing inperspective. The loss of jobs in Conbnecticut is huge, 22 million in salary.

I think UTC will eventually be completely out of CT.... Mark my words, it's only a matter of time. Governor Malloy and the Democrats are destroying any incentives for businesses to stay or relocate here. I know we have a well educated workforce, but that will only take you so far.

[beerbeer]

Here's the whole article. http://www.courant.c...0,6546819.story

This is not something UTC needs to do. It wants to do this. The UTC president has already made an "anywhere but Connecticut" statement refering to business climate.

There is still time to wake up. Unlikely to happen on Malloy's watch.

[beerbeer]

Here comes Palm Beach.

Florida politicians voted to give Pratt & Whitney $4.79 million in grants and tax breaks from both state and local government, in exchange for spending $63 million expanding and renovating its plant near West Palm Beach, Fla.

The expansion — which Pratt said has not yet been decided — would make room for an assembly line for building PurePower engines for the Airbus narrowbody A320neo and F135 engines that are destined for foreign partners of the Joint Strike Fighter. Pratt would hire 230 people over the next 10 years at the average salary of $81,110, Florida officials said.

Pratt has 1,000 employees in Palm Beach County, with 531 of them in the jet engine business. The company would retain those as part of an incentives deal.

[Theophrastus Bombastus]

Will they bail from Windsor Locks? We shall see.

http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2012/07/25/united-technologies-agrees-to-sell-unit-for-3-46-billion/

[drc72]

That's ok if UTC leaves at least we will still have a high quality of life. Give me a freakin break!

[Jim Cooper]

Everything you say in that post is true. But this should be a real wake up call. If Connectticut acts like it usually does, it will lose the UTC, then Blumenthal (or the new AG) will sue on behalf of the unions. Business as usal has to stop in this state.

Malloy raised both state spending and taxes this year. The legislature passed more harsh regulations on business. Unions got a promise no one would be fired for four years. Where is our Scott Walker?

Connecticut's voters need to wake up and stop voting for the Democrats. Mallory is helping drive people out of the state with higher taxes and more spending. The UNIONS are loving Malloy, but if UTC, Aenta, or even a small company like Webster moves out of state --0 it will be because of TAXES!! People are getting sick and tired of the DEMOCRATIC PARTY's TAX and SPENDING. ObamaCare is the tipping point of more GOVERNMENTAL SPENDING!

When will you get a SCOTT WALKER? it will be when you guys get sick of having UNIONS and DEMOCRATS rule your life.

[drc72]

Connecticut's voters need to wake up and stop voting for the Democrats. Mallory is helping drive people out of the state with higher taxes and more spending. The UNIONS are loving Malloy, but if UTC, Aenta, or even a small company like Webster moves out of state --0 it will be because of TAXES!! People are getting sick and tired of the DEMOCRATIC PARTY's TAX and SPENDING. ObamaCare is the tipping point of more GOVERNMENTAL SPENDING!

When will you get a SCOTT WALKER? it will be when you guys get sick of having UNIONS and DEMOCRATS rule your life.

Malloy is consistently polling at the bottom of the barrel. Come 2015 his ass will booted to the curb. What a utter disaster he's been for this State. Very high taxes, a dismal economy, company's expanding elsewhere, moving out, out of control spending, catering to the unions demands, and more. Does anybody seriously think these are successes?????

[The Voice of Reason]

I have not seen any "news" on this but I thought I would say that the company has re-signed a lease.

 

so while a good number of workers were moved to Farmington while a campus was being developed, the company will be staying in Hartford.    no details opr anything just the CEO said it