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Boldwood Interiors/ New England Seating Set Down Roots in New Haven 7/8/10 Five years ago, two companies moved from Hartford to New Haven to take advantage of the city’s proximity to major markets in New York and Boston. This week, Boldwood Interiors and New England Seating have finalized the purchase of the building they share in order to jointly expand operations. BoldWood Interiors and New England Seating have been “handshake” partners in restaurant décor for several years. The companies’ owners, Rob Bolduc of BoldWood and Rob Goldenthal of New England Seating, have known each other and worked cooperatively for nearly two decades. When Bolduc decided to open his own business in New Haven, Goldenthal moved his fabrication facility to remain close. The two decided to share 40,000 square feet in a building at 138 Haven Street. They have since shared clients throughout the country as the complementary businesses worked together to outfit bars, restaurants and other public hospitality venues. BoldWood fabricates bars, fixtures and cabinetry. New England Seating manufactures restaurant booths, banquettes and tables. “By working together, we can outfit the whole space,” said Bolduc. “Working cooperatively, we often get opportunities that neither of us would have alone,” said Goldenthal. After years of success, the two entrepreneurs decided to acquire the building they were leasing, and just this week were able to finalize that purchase. They will eventually expand into all the 70,000 square feet available in the building that was constructed in 1899 to house a Gant Shirt factory. In working on the purchase, they turned to the Economic Development Corporation of New Haven for help. The EDC connected the companies with financial assistance and help with the environmental assessment and remediation needed to complete the purchase. “They’ve been very helpful,” Bolduc said. “They introduced us to sources of finance as well as environmental consultants. They provided access to resources very quickly.” Prior to the purchase, their companies have made significant investments to convert the space into an efficient manufacturing facility that allows BoldWood to produce two or more restaurants a month and New England to produce four to five restaurants a week. And much of the work is done by people who live in the neighborhood. “For a city this size, there are a lot of artisans here,” said Bolduc. “There’s a lot of talent here. A lot of our employees live right here in the neighborhood. I live three minutes away. And we’re surrounded by other shops that source stone, antique wood and other materials.” Together, the two companies employ more than 30 people and future expansion will draw from the same pool of area residents. Both entrepreneurs believe they can grow significantly right in the city. As family businessmen, both Goldenthal and Bolduc have generations of history in the business. Goldenthal’s grandfather founded the original seating business in 1945; Rob he took over in 2005. Bolduc’s father started the fixture business in 1981, first doing a lot of residential work. Bolduc took over 10 years later. From the beginning, both men have built their businesses on a strong devotion to customer service. Through the years, that commitment has been rewarded with loyalty from the companies’ clients. “We have a good, loyal customer base who helped us ride through this [recession],” said Bolduc. “All of our customers in the past year are customers that we’ve done work for over the years. It’s much easier to do a good job and hold onto your customers than to find new ones all the time.”
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