Acme Wire: Community Support Includes Students

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Acme Wire Products Co Inc, Mystic, CT

 A second-generation family business specializing in
custom formed and welded-wire components, Connecticut-
based Acme Wire Products Co. supports the local business
and manufacturing communities. Below, President Mary
Fitzgerald explains how the Mystic company run by her
and siblings Edward Planeta, Jr., and Michael Planeta
goes beyond financial contributions.

Acme Wire Products has long provided donations to
local organizations that provide shelter, food, childcare and
literacy support to New London county residents. The company helps
causes from The Riverfront Children’s Center in Groton to
the Noank Community Support Services (NCSS) in Noank.
Beyond those efforts, we support local initiatives that
encourage and advance manufacturing skills educa-
tion including robotics, technical education, tooling and
machining.

We are active participants in local, state and
national manufacturing groups to enhance skills training
and manufacturing career awareness.
Earlier this year we had a “Manufacturing Month”
that included a tour for students of Grasso Tech (a local technical HighSchool).

 We also participated in a career/
college fair at a local school (Stonington High); a
Manufacture Your Future event for high school students
held at Quinebaug Valley Community College and the Fall
Manufacturing & Health & Wellness Expo in Norwich,
which included numerous manufacturers and healthcare
and community organizations.

I make many presentations. My goal is to engage and
inspire the next generation to learn about and pursue
careers in manufacturing. I explain to students about the
different jobs, what training/skills are required, and which
jobs are in demand and high paying (tool & die makers,
machinists, CNC programmers, maintenance/robotic tech-
nicians, etc.).

 I highlight apprenticeship opportunities and
note that some employers (including us) have tuition-re-
imbursement programs for job specific classes and provide
paid industry specific training as part of the job benefits.

When we are speaking with a tour group of students on
site, we stress the importance of some attributes that matter
both in school and work: be on time, be ready to work,
be eager to learn, but also to listen and follow directions.
These are all skills that employers require, not “request,”
and individuals that have them will be successful.

Four of our 50 employees were featured in the
Connecticut Center for Advanced Technology Inc. (CCAT)
Maker Multiplier website promoting manufacturing career
awareness in underserved communities. We have partic-
ipated in Women in Manufacturing state events, hosted
a local high school student for an internship and coor-
dinated a welding merit badge workshop for local Boy
Scouts.

We also coordinated a video challenge that paired
teams of high school students with local manufacturers in
Eastern Connecticut to produce videos with themes such as
“What’s So Cool About Manufacturing?” “Manufacturing:
A Path to Success” and “A Day in the Life of Connecticut
Manufacturing.”

most of her family members have long shared. Many have
volunteered over the years at local blood drives, and one
nephew coordinated a drive as part of an Eagle Scout proj-
ect. She usually donates four to five times a year. “I have
no long-term or specific blood donation goals. I just plan to
keep donating as long as I can as the need is constant.” She
pointed out that doing so does not take a lot of time, does
not hurt and can benefit others.

“I was inspired by my parents, especially my mother,
who was a frequent blood donor,” Fitzgerald said. “I can
remember her getting calls from the hospital when there
was an emergency need for her blood type. It impressed
upon me that the ability to donate blood is a gift and part of
a responsibility to help others in need.”