United Technologies CEO admits he was wrong criticizing cost of doing business in Connecticut

The chief executive officer of United Technologies Corp. says he was wrong when he said nearly five years ago that Connecticut is a costly place to do business.

CEO Greg Hayes and Gov. Dannel P. Malloy on Wednesday celebrated a new assembly line for subsidiary jet engine maker Pratt & Whitney in Middletown.

The Hartford Courant reports (http://cour.at/1FYtHrH ) that Hayes said "it's nice to be proven wrong" for telling industry analysts in March 2010 that anyplace outside Connecticut is low-cost. He said Wednesday Connecticut will always be home to United Technologies, an aerospace and building systems manufacturer.

Hayes said he took his lumps for the comment, which Malloy cited in his re-election campaign last fall.

Legislation enacted last year allows United Technologies to use accumulated tax credits to upgrade manufacturing and research operations.

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Information from: Hartford Courant, http://www.courant.com