ANSONIA – Downtown Ansonia will have a new manufacturer on the block soon.
Buck Scientific Instruments, which began 54 years ago in service engineer Robert Anderson’s basement, is moving from its headquarters in Norwalk to the former Valley Lighting warehouse at 1 Water St.
The property will be the new global headquarters for the company, which produces specialized laboratory equipment for research labs across the world.
“The cost just got exorbitant down in Norwalk,” said Eric Anderson, who has run the company since his father stepped down in 2020. “It just got so expensive that no one could afford to live there or work there, so it gives us a bright future to have some place that’s reasonable—by Connecticut standards—for living expenses.”
According to a site plan application (approved by the Ansonia Planning & Zoning Commission on Dec. 20), Anderson plans to employ about ten people in Ansonia. The building will be used as Buck Scientific’s all-in-one center: retail space and an equipment training facility facing Main Street, and a machine shop, manufacturing space, and shipping department facing Water Street.
The application leaves four office suites vacant, which Anderson plans to rent out to other businesses. This plan raised questions at a P&Z Committee meeting last month, since the proposed site plan doesn’t include on-site parking.
The building is the former home of Valley Lighting & Home Decor. According to Valley Lighting owner Frank Capasso, his company moved to a new location on Chestnut Street in 1999 but continued to use the building as a warehouse for some years after. The sale was finalized on Dec. 27, for the price of $598,000.
According to the company’s website, Buck’s customers include Yale, Sacred Heart, and Brown Universities, as well as companies like Northrop Grumman and Shell. Anderson says its spectrometers are used to identify metal contents in everything from drinking water to cosmetic products.
Mayor Cassetti’s administration welcomed the manufacturer in a Facebook post earlier this month. “My staff and I have been pleased to work with Eric Anderson as the company transitions to their new home,” the post reads.
Anderson is unpacking boxes in the building, but there’s no set date for the opening yet. He is waiting for an occupancy permit from the city, and the job postings will still need to be sent out.
The new business is on Water Street, a short road that connects Main Street and West Main Street not far from Ansonia Rescue Medical Services.