South Windsor Company Expanding with State Funding

A South Windsor company that doubled in size since it received funding from the state will again expand with the help of state funds.

Oxford Performance Materials, a biomedical company which produces plastic medical implant devices through three-dimensional printing, received Gov. Dannel Malloy's first Small Business Express Program loan and grant in 2012.

Now, the company will add 12,000 square feet to its South Windsor manufacturing facility, in a $9.5 million project. A $3.2 million state loan will support machinery and equipment purchases and building upgrades.

"This is all about jobs," Malloy said Wednesday at a ribbon cutting at OPM's facility in South Windsor.

OPM CEO Scott DeFelice showed some of the company's products, including a cranial implant made to repair skull damage.

"A lot of people are walking around this planet with these things in their heads and they are better for it. They were going to be deformed and now their lives have changed because of what we collectively did," DeFelice said, gesturing to Malloy and EDC director Catherine Smith.

Still, he echoed the governor's sentiments that the company's growth also has important economic effects.

"What really touches me is when I pull in here in the morning and I see the lot's full. And every time I pull in here there are more cars. And they're not just cars, they're people ... Who go home to their families, put food on the table and pay their mortgages. That's really important."

OPM will increase its workforce from 24 to 65 employees, Malloy said. If it meets those obligations by 2016, the company will be eligible for $1 million in loan forgiveness.

“OPM is pleased to announce that our leading additive manufacturing technology position has now been recognized by the world’s leading aerospace and defense companies, and we are currently under contract by Northrop Grumann and NASA to continue the development and broad commercialization of our products,” DeFelice said in a press release.