Metalworker staying, adding jobs in CT

Boardman Silversmiths Inc. is moving its 11 employees to Wallingford from Meriden and plans to add 10 more in three years as part of the metalworker's plan to stay in Connecticut, the governor said today.

Gov. M. Jodi Rell today announced the state is providing a $147,512 low-interest loan to the help the silversmith acquire y more efficient tools and dies and expand its facility.

The company wants the larger facility, Rell said, to extend its line of silver and pewter products by as much as 33 percent.

The state's intervention, the governor said, thwarted efforts bythe state of Georgia to convince owner Burton Boardman to relocate his family business south.

"I say it all the time - but it bears repeating: Connecticut's small businesses are the engine that drives our economy," Rell said. "They are the businesses that are creating jobs and powering local revenues. Without them the global recession would be taking a far worse toll on our state."

The state Department of Economic and Community Development provided the loan through the Small Manufacturers Competitiveness Fund.