admin Connecticut is losing another piece of its industrial heritage, this time an electrical components factory of Hubbell Inc. in Newtown,
Hubbell is one of the state’s oldest industrial companies, founded in 1888 by Harvey Hubbell as a pioneer in electrical components including the light socket. With the closings, it will have locations in Mystic, Winsted and Avon, the latter at its iDevices subsidiary, a consumer electronics business Hubbell bought two years ago.
The Newtown plant, which was opened in 1960, makes commercial and industrial wiring devices. Most of the work will move to a larger Hubbell facility in Vega Baja, Puerto Rico. Similarly , the Burndy plant Bethel which Hubbell opened in 2009, will move to Alabama.
This high tech manufacturing firm has deep roots in the Newtown community, which was the longtime home of Harvey Hubbell IV — grandson of the company’s founder who worked there and held his own patents in electrical and related fields. Today, Hubbell continues to manufacture electrical equipment for commercial, telecommunications, lighting, utility, industrial, and consumer markets, and has holdings around the world.
The first selectman stated he “was very disappointed to hear the news of Hubbell’s plan to close its Newtown production facility.” “I am sorry to see that change based on global competitiveness issues,” he said, adding that he understood the company was shifting local production to Puerto Rico.
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