Farrel Wants To Open Lab In Oxford

Farrel Corp., an Ansonia manufacturing legend, filed a Planning and Zoning Commission application in Oxford Tuesday to open a research and development facility that will employ four people in an existing industrial park.

Farrel wants to open a research and development facility for rubber and plastics processing equipment, according to the application, signed by James Burns, the company’s general counsel.

It would be located at 106 Willenbrock Road, an industrial park, and occupy 6,400 square feet, according to the company’s application.

It will be called the Farrel Pomini Process Laboratory. Hours of operation would be 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

It is an addendum to the regular Farrel operations in downtown Ansonia, Burns said in a telephone interview.

The company has about 100 employees in Ansonia, Burns said. The company is not leaving Ansonia for Oxford, merely opening a new lab in Oxford, he said.

Farrel makes mixing machines for the rubber and plastics industry.

The company had a processing lab in Ansonia, but it was closed due to its age. Farrel has not had a processing lab for about a year, Burns said.

Opening a new one required the proper industrial space and that was not available on the existing Ansonia campus, he said.

It is purely based on the availability of a suitable building. Our property had some age-related issues,” Burns said. We were looking for a facility that provided the appropriate image the company is trying to project, and that fit the bill square footage wise and provided all the amenities. It was exactly what the company was looking for,” he said of the Oxford space.

Burns was not certain when the company plans to move in to the site or whether any new hiring will be done to fill the four positions there.

The Planning and Zoning Commission will meet Thursday at Oxford Town Hall at 7:30 p.m. and is expected to discuss the application. 

A pubic hearing is not required because it is an industrial use of an industrial space.

The building formerly housed a furniture making company, said Herman Schuler, the town’s economic development director.

We welcome Farrel to Oxford,” Schuler said.

Schuler said the industrial park owner, Tower Business Park LLC, based in Danbury, marketed the site to Farrel. The space had been vacant about four months.

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