Some U.S. chief executives think it is time to pick interest rates off the floor, even as many of their peers campaign to maintain the status quo.

The Federal Reserve meets this week and the first rate rise in nearly a decade — albeit a small one — is on the table. Most businesses, including over 64 percent of those surveyed last week by the National Association of Manufacturers, think it is a bad idea. Many say the economy is still too shaky to risk it.

But not everyone feels that way, interviews with manufacturers representing a broad range of industries and regions, show.

Neal J. Keating, chief executive of Kaman Corp (KAMN.N) in Bloomfield, Connecticut, says "a measured" quarter point hike would be beneficial. He foresees no real impact on business investments from a modest hike, and his company would get a boost because higher rates would reduce pension liabilities that weigh down the balance sheet.

"It would actually remove some of the uncertainty" hovering over the economy, says Mr. Kaman, whose company sells $1.8 billion a year in aerospace and defense parts, including cockpits for Black Hawk helicopters and bomb fuses. When rates are low, the calculations of future returns decline. Many companies, including Kaman, faced underfunded plans in recent years.

Scott Wine is another contrarian, who says a rate rise would boost confidence that the economy is truly getting stronger.