Apr. 25--The troubling news out of Detroit involving General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC will likely ripple throughout the United States economy and have an impact on smaller companies and jobs in places as far away as Connecticut, area manufacturers said Friday.

"I think what's happening in Detroit will absolutely have an impact here in Connecticut," said Anthony Pascariello, plant manager at the ITW-CIP plant in Waterbury. "The news out of Detroit is going to have a giant trickle-down effect."

John LaMadeleine, engineering manager at Click Bond Inc. in Watertown, said the problems at GM and Chrysler will have a far-reaching impact both in Connecticut and throughout the rest of the country because thousands of smaller manufacturing companies across the nation produce components and parts used in the automotive industry.

"It's going to have a major impact on companies in Connecticut, it's going to have an impact on companies everywhere," he said.

General Motors said Thursday it will temporarily close 13 assembly plants in the U.S. and Mexico -- some for more than two months -- as it tries to pare back inventory due to slumping sales. The company said it plans to cut production by about 200,000 vehicles.

On Friday, the Treasury Department admitted it has loaned another $2 billion to GM to provide it with working capital.

Chrysler, meanwhile, faces a government-imposed deadline next week to work out deals with debt holders, its unions and a foreign partner. The company's hopes of avoiding bankruptcy appear to hinge on whether it can get its creditors to forgive a large portion of its debt in exchange for stock.

A recent survey of the local manufacturing industry indicated there are still about 250 small companies in Greater Waterbury involved in metal forming, LaMadeleine said. Many of those companies make metal products used as components in a wide assortment of automobile industry products -- everything from engine and brake parts to fuel-injection systems, lighting systems and seatbelt buckles.

He estimated that a minimum of 25 percent to 30 percent of the products produced by area metal forming companies are for the automobile industry.

"No business can lose that large a percentage of its market without feeling it," he said. "There's no doubt that what's happening to GM and Chrysler is going to hurt a lot of the metal forming companies left in Connecticut."

Pascariello said Connecticut is still "the Mecca" of deep draw metal and eyelet manufacturing, particularly when it comes to precision manufacturing. And many of the products produced by deep draw and eyelet manufacturers are targeted for the automobile industry.

"Connecticut produces a lot of parts and pieces that eventually go into cars, so any time the auto industry suffers it's going to be felt here," he said.

ITW-CIP's parent, Illinois Tool Works Inc. of Glenview, Ill., said last month the Huntingdon Avenue plant, formerly known as Anchor Stamp, would close for good in July because of the downturn in the automobile industry. The plant is expected to begin laying off at least some of its 40 employees within the next two weeks, Pascariello said.

Click Bond, which manufactures a variety of fasteners, including screws rivets, bolts and nuts, employs about 55 workers at its plant on Park Road in Watertown. LaMadeleine said he does not expect the bad news out of Detroit to have a severe impact on the Watertown facility, because the company has managed to diversify its customer base in the past few years and is not as dependant on the automobile industry as it once was.