Medical Device Makers In Connecticut Build On The Old Industries

Seventy-four years after inventor Frank DeBisschop opened a tool and die shop in Thomaston, his grandson is still running a spinoff of his manufacturing business, mass-producing medical devices and honing prototypes in Wolcott.

With 20,000 square feet of manufacturing space, including two clean rooms for assembly, Sequel Medical is one of several Connecticut companies to outlast the state’s earlier days of industry and the Great Recession, which hit manufacturing jobs harder than any other industry.

Now, companies like Sequel make up a thriving medical device industry that fans out from central Connecticut and its cities built on rubber and brass, stamping and springs. Vice president and owner Mark DeBisschop thinks the region rivals Boston and Minneapolis.

“There’s not much from a medical device you can’t get from a supplier right here in Connecticut,” he said. “That’s one of the benefits we have over other parts of the country.”

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