Celebrating 50 Years with Sirois Tool

Andre Nadeau with Hugh Delagrave

Late February, the employees of Sirois Tool gathered to celebrate the work anniversary of its longest tenured employee, Hugh Delagrave. This year marks Hugh’s 50th anniversary working for the company. Laughter and cake were highlights of the celebration to commemorate Hugh’s major milestone.

When Hugh was a little boy his parents got him, an Erector Set so he could make all kinds of things out of metal parts, which he enjoyed. When he got a little older, he realized college was not for him and needed to learn a trade. So he talked his parents into letting him go to a trade school.

Hugh liked building things, making things with his hands so he decided to become a Toolmaker. Hugh attended E.C. Goodwin Tech in New Britain, and after graduating got his first job as a Toolmaker with Pratt & Whitney (P&W). While working as a Toolmaker, he enlisted in the Army and was Honorable Discharged after 6 years of service.

In 1973, after working for P&W, his time in the Army and a few other Toolmaker jobs, Hugh applied to Sirois Tool. The position was a Toolmaker to operate a surface grinder. Sirois Tool was located on Pane Road in Newington back then. At that time, Hugh says, there were no CNC machines, everything was manual and hands-on, not like today’s machines where you program it and it runs itself. Hugh continues to work as a Toolmaker and is skilled at working on surface grinders, cylindrical grinders, rotary grinders, honing and works in the brazing department.

To this day, Hugh’s favorite part of the job is seeing the finished part before it gets shipped to the customer. For 50 years Hugh has dedicated himself to being one of the first in the shop to make sure that everything is ready for everyone else to start there day, even making sure the coffee is made. Hugh has grown with the company, watching new technology and new manufacturing help the business succeed.

From the excellent job accomplishments to the relationships he cultivated, Hugh has much to be proud of during his tenure. When he’s not working, Hugh enjoys spending much of his time singing in the choir at St. Thomas Church and during the summer tending to his garden. On occasion he likes to target practice at the Blue Trail Range with his youngest son Jerrod. Hugh oldest son Peter lives in Delaware and he visits him as much as possible. Hugh is also blessed with 3 grandchildren who he enjoys spending time with when he can.

Sirois is happy to celebrate Hugh on his incredible anniversary. Sirois takes pride in the workplace being more than a place to collect a paycheck. When employees feel valued and able to grow along with their fellow employees, it makes for a more positive environment. That’s why, even in this time of workforce challenges, Sirois maintains a low turnover rate.

Employees like Hugh can attest that Sirois’ employee-focused philosophy makes for the best place to work. Congratulations Hugh!