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August 9, 2016

Rogers Corp. leaving its 184-year-old Killingly base to relocate to Arizona

By Howard French | Journal Inquirer

Rogers Corp., based since 1832 in the eponymous portion of Killingly, is moving its Connecticut corporate headquarters to Arizona, company officials said Monday.

Rogers’ relocation will involve about 70 corporate employees “who support Rogers in areas such as human resources, information technology, finance and supply chain, among others,” President and CEO Bruce D. Hoechner said in a news release.

Founded 184 years ago by Peter Rogers as a paperboard manufacturing company, Rogers “has evolved into a global materials technology leader enabling a wide array of high-technology devices and systems,” Hoechner said

The move “will build upon Rogers’ presence in Arizona,” he said. Rogers has “major business and manufacturing operations” in the Phoenix area, Hoechner said.

The decision to move “supports the company’s long-term strategy and is an integral part of its plans for growth and expansion,” he said, improving the company’s access “to the growing business and technology centers on the West Coast.”

Hoechner did not directly address Connecticut’s business climate, but did say that Rogers “considered characteristics of the Phoenix metropolitan market, including its business climate, university system, and transportation infrastructure.”

Rogers operates its Advanced Connectivity Solutions business in Chandler, Arizona, ae Phoenix where it has been manufacturing for 50 years and employs more than 400 workers, he said.

Rogers’ Elastomeric Materials Solutions business segment, which is headquartered in Killingly, will remain there, Hoechner said.

“Rogers, Connecticut, will always be a place we call home and a strategic element of Rogers Corp. in the years ahead,” he said.

Hoechner added: “We have enjoyed a mutually beneficial relationship with the Connecticut communities in which we operate and we will continue to support community services in the area.”

The company, which bills itself as one of the oldest public companies in the United States, in 2002 sold its Moldable Composites Division in Manchester, which it had owned for 170 years. The Sumitomo Bakelite Co. of Japan now operates that 24 Mill St. factory.

The state Department of Economic and Community Development did not immediately reply to requests for comment early today.

Rogers makes a variety of products including equipment for vehicle electrification, sealing, vibration management, and impact protection in mobile devices, transportation interiors, apparel; and printed-circuit materials for automotive safety and radar systems.

It operates factories in China, Germany, Belgium, Hungary, and South Korea, as well as in the U.S.

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