Putnam, Connecticut
Operator-led ownership takes control of one of the nation’s longest-running precision manufacturers with a plan to scale a legacy business into a modern industrial growth platform.
Connecticut Wire Products, Inc. today announced its acquisition of John M. Dean Co., a precision wire-form and metal component manufacturer founded in 1898, in a move that positions one of America’s longest-operating industrial businesses for a new era of disciplined growth, operational modernization, and strategic expansion.
This is more than a transfer of ownership. It is a conviction-backed investment in the enduring value of specialized domestic manufacturing at a moment when resilience, technical capability, and supply-chain reliability have become strategic advantages.
For 127 years, John M. Dean Co. has manufactured precision wire-formed components from its Putnam, Connecticut facility, building a reputation for technical precision, reliability, and staying power that few industrial companies can match. Its capabilities span pointed and non-pointed wire products, supported by controlled heat treatment, metal finishing, specialized secondary operations, straightening, cutting, and grinding.
Why This Matters
John M. Dean Co. is not simply another old company; it is still relevant. The company has remained embedded in critical supply chains across hand tools, electronics, medical and veterinary applications, industrial valves and fittings, agriculture, marine, textiles, specialty hardware, and even the space program because it does something increasingly rare in modern manufacturing: it delivers precision, consistency, and trust over time.
That endurance is a strategic asset. It signals hard-won process knowledge, customer intimacy, and operating resilience developed over generations—not quarters. In an industrial environment where many companies have hollowed out capabilities or moved them offshore, John M. Dean Co. stands as proof that specialized domestic manufacturing still creates value when it is run with discipline and vision and also that this can be achieved here in the United States of America.
The Strategic Opportunity
The acquisition thesis is rooted in a clear idea: when a durable industrial business with embedded demand and specialized technical capability is paired with hands-on leadership, meaningful value can be created without compromising the qualities that made the company endure in the first place.
Before the transaction closed, Mathew Desjarlais worked inside the business to understand production flow, operating constraints, customer expectations, and improvement opportunities firsthand. That level of operational immersion reduced transition risk and transformed the acquisition from a financial event into an informed operating decision.
Leadership and Ownership
Mathew Desjarlais, President and co-owner of John M. Dean Co., brings an operator’s mindset shaped by direct experience inside the business. Prior to the acquisition, he worked within the company’s day-to-day operations, developing a detailed understanding of production systems, technical processes, customer requirements, and commercial potential.
Desjarlais’ path reflects a modern realization of the American Dream—built not on rapid exits or headline-driven success, but on discipline, technical mastery, and a commitment to continuous improvement. Desjarlais came from humble beginnings in small town, USA. At an early age, his parents instilled in him and his siblings a deep sense of work ethic and problem solving. From his early morning routine as a newspaper delivery boy at the age of 9 years old to his first full-time position as a stock boy at the local grocery store, he always gave one hundred percent. After high school Desjarlais attended automotive trade school, which provided him the technical skills that would ultimately prove to be the bedrock of his future success in manufacturing. Beginning his professional career with entry-level positions in the automotive and diesel repair industry, he put in the hard work to expand his experience and skills. From shop closures to unsustainable travel distances for work, he endured the challenges that all too often working-class Americans are faced with on a daily basis. When the opportunity to pivot into the world of manufacturing presented itself, Desjarlais saw a chance to leverage his technical skills in a new career path. He rapidly established a hands-on approach to all aspects of manufacturing, and developed a deep understanding of materials, processes, and production environments from the ground up. Over the last two decades in the medical device and contract manufacturing industries, he advanced through roles in research and development, engineering, and operations, building a reputation for solving complex manufacturing challenges and driving measurable performance improvements.
Looking for the next opportunity to evolve his career, Desjarlais joined John M. Dean Co., LLC as General Manager in 2021. In this role he immediately identified opportunities to improve the company’s operations by reducing scrap rates, correcting process inefficiencies, and reducing administrative burden. These efforts moved the company to a sustained state of profitability within one year of joining the organization. In 2026, motivated by a desire to apply his experience in an ownership setting, Desjarlais founded Connecticut Wire Products, Inc. and acquired the assets of the John M. Dean Company with a clear vision: to grow the business by modernizing its operations and expanding its technical capabilities. Recognizing the parallels between his prior experiences and the wire industry, he identified opportunities to reduce manufacturing bottlenecks and to elevate the company’s offerings—particularly in the area of value-added services, where providing the customer with solutions to global supply chain issues presents enormous value.
Under his leadership, the company has sharpened its focus on producing high-quality, application-specific components including pick tools, textile pins, mandrels, and other custom wire forms. At the same time, Desjarlais has emphasized the integration of value-added services, positioning the business as a solutions-oriented partner rather than a commodity supplier. His approach blends hands-on operational leadership with a strategic focus on efficiency, scalability, and long-term customer value.
Looking ahead, Desjarlais will continue to guide the company’s growth with a pragmatic, execution-driven mindset—demonstrating that sustained success in American manufacturing is still built through hard work, technical expertise, and the willingness to continuously evolve to remain competitive in a world driven by global trade.
Melissa Desjarlais, Secretary and co-owner of John M. Dean Co., supports the company’s long-term growth strategy, organizational development, and stewardship as the business enters its next chapter.
“I did not want to buy this business from a distance. I wanted to understand it from the inside—how it runs, where it excels, where it strains, and why customers have continued to trust it for generations.
What I found was not a company living on its history. I found a business with real technical depth, real staying power, and real strategic relevance in a market that increasingly rewards reliable domestic manufacturing capability.
John M. Dean Co. has the foundation, the credibility, and the manufacturing know-how to become significantly more valuable than it is today. Our job now is to honor what has been built, sharpen how the business operates, and invest with discipline so that this company is not only preserved, but propelled.”
Desjarlais began her working career in the medical field, working long shifts as a Certified Nursing Assistant, where she experienced the impact her hard work can have on the quality of life of others. This proved vital as her life path brought her into motherhood, where she focused her efforts as a stay-at-home mom caring for her two young boys.
In between the thankless tasks of motherhood, she assisted Mr. Desjarlais with a start-up medical device company by assisting in the shop, performing tasks in the front office, and providing the support needed for Mr. Desjarlais to focus on the growth of the startup.
After more than a decade out of the workforce, she joined John M. Dean Co. to transition back into industry, working in an administrative assistant capacity. Working side-by-side with her husband, Mr. Desjarlais, she has taken on more responsibility. In her current capacity as co-owner, she is now focused on the company’s finances, establishing processes for robust financial management to drive strong positive cash flow for the business.
What Comes Next
Post-acquisition priorities will focus on converting durability into momentum. The objective is to strengthen the operating core, increase visibility into performance, expand commercial reach, and position the company to win in markets that value precision, reliability, and domestic capability.
- Standardize core production processes and reinforce quality-control disciplines to improve consistency, reduce variability, and strengthen performance across repeatable manufacturing workflows.
- Increase production visibility through better measurement, clearer operational reporting, and more disciplined performance tracking to support faster decision-making and stronger throughput management.
- Develop new customer relationships and expand market opportunities by building on the company’s technical capabilities, reliability, and long-standing manufacturing credibility.
- Drive margin expansion through disciplined operational execution, including efficiency improvements, smarter capacity utilization, and tighter alignment between production output and commercial priorities.
- Pursue growth in adjacent and higher-value applications where the company’s precision manufacturing expertise can support more specialized, defensible, and strategically attractive product categories.
John M. Dean Co. will continue uninterrupted operations while accelerating the systems, discipline, and market development required to compete more aggressively in a changing manufacturing landscape.
Operator-Led Ownership
Mathew and Melissa Desjarlais are building the company with a long-term ownership philosophy centered on execution, accountability, and enterprise value creation. Their approach is grounded in firsthand operational knowledge rather than abstraction—an advantage that allows them to move with speed, precision, and conviction.
This approach is designed to deliver:
- Lower transition risk through operational continuity
- Faster post-acquisition execution and stabilization
- Earlier capture of efficiency and throughput gains
- Stronger alignment between ownership, workforce, and operating realities
About John M. Dean Co.
Founded in 1898, John M. Dean Co. is one of the oldest continuously operating precision wire-form manufacturers in the United States. From its facility in Putnam, Connecticut, the company produces specialized wire-formed and metal components for a diverse range of industrial and consumer end markets, combining legacy craftsmanship with the technical capabilities required by modern manufacturing.
