PROVIDENCE – To underscore the importance of manufacturing to the economy of the nation and the state, Jeanne A. Hulit, New England regional administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration, visited the Pilgrim Screw Corporation on Sprague Street Tuesday.

“Pilgrim Screw is an excellent example of a manufacturing company that has withstood the ups and downs of the economy since it was established in 1932,” Hulit said in a prepared release. “The SBA is proud to have supported this company along the way with three loans to help expand the manufacturing capacity of this Providence company.”

The company has received a total of $2.5 million in SBA-backed financing through the 7(a) loan program and its disaster assistance program.

Geoffrey Grove, president and CEO of the firm, said he and his staff are “excited” about Hulit’s visit. “We’re very glad to show her our facility and what we do,” he told Providence Business News.

Pilgrim manufactures screws and fasteners used in helicopters, aircraft, submarines and in other equipment for the aerospace industry. The company has 36 employees in Rhode Island and a second plant in Chandler, Ariz., and, according to the Providence SBA office, one of the highest employee retention rates in the business.

Grove pointed out that there are many small companies in the country like Pilgrim that make component parts that go into larger products, and these companies often are overlooked, he said. “It is good that she will be able to see discrete products,” he said, referring to component parts.

“In order to re-build our economy, we must focus on making things again in this country,” said U.S. Rep. David N. Cicilline, who took part in today’s visit. “We’ve got to invest in our manufacturers and give them the tools they need to succeed and create more jobs.”

Rhode Island went from 100,000 manufacturing jobs in 1990 to less than 41,000 in 2010, according to the SBA’s Providence office. The state was the first in the Northeast to enter the economic recession and, over the course of the three-year downturn, 11,900 manufacturing jobs were lost, the largest employment decline among all industries in the state, the SBA said.