From Velcro Companies to vintage clothing, Collins gets look at business innovation; see photo galleries

Boston Fed president visits Manchester, New Hampshire, hears from leaders of businesses old and new

Photo of Susan M. collins doing a walking tour in Manchester, NH.

Steve Osemwenkhae/Federal Reserve Bank of Boston

By Jay Lindsay

March 27, 2025

Northern New England’s largest city is close to New Hampshire’s mountains and lakes and about an hour from Boston. It’s relatively young, with a median age of 37 in one of the oldest states in the nation. Its active cultural scene features performing arts, diverse dining, and minor league baseball. It hosts a roster of growing companies.

But Manchester, New Hampshire, (population: 115,000) has faced the same struggles as other former mill cities forced to reinvent themselves. On Tuesday, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston President and CEO Susan M. Collins visited Manchester and talked to business leaders about their hopes and concerns:

View Gallery

4 images

Photo of Susan speaking during the roundtable at Velcro Company.

Manchester is the research and development hub of Velcro Companies, which makes the hook and loop fasteners found on everything from space missions to diapers. Company officials told Collins they lean into the slogan “ORIGINAL THINKING” to differentiate themselves from their competitors.

Collins toured the manufacturing center and saw the entire process, from spools of yarn spinning through looms to a coating procedure that customizes the product to customer specifications. It can, for instance, make it fire retardant or invisible to infrared cameras.

“Innovation is everything,” said CEO Gabriella Parisse. “All of our customers are looking for innovation.”

View Gallery

5 images

Photo of Michael Skelton introducing himself during the roundtable.

Uncertainty was a theme at all three roundtable discussions Collins attended Tuesday.

Mike Skelton, president of the Business and Industry Association of New Hampshire, said the “psyche” of the business community has been impacted by the U.S.’s evolving trade and tariff policies. He said even those not directly impacted by tariffs are pulling back on projects and hiring because they’re worried about the larger economy.

“We're still a small-business state, and so it's going to be a lot of those small decisions around hiring or expansions or new projects that could compound and start to slow down what I think you accurately described as, overall, a healthy economy,” Skelton said.

View Gallery

6 images

Collins also visited downtown businesses and talked to several proprietors who were just getting started in one way or another.

At Fishtoes, which sells vintage clothing, co-owner Lara Parson wants the store (which opened in February) to be part of a wave of new retail shops that help make Manchester a place to spend the day.

A short walk away, Collins sat down with Ryan and Leah Connor at The Bookery bookstore, where they recently opened the first retail location of their coffee roasting business, Critical Mass Coffee.

“We really do this to get our products out to the local customers,” Ryan Connor said. “So, it’s been great.”