Hartford Business Journal

www.HartfordBusiness.com September 19, 2016 • Hartford Business Journal 3 The only 'lean' at CT Spring & Stamping is process By Gregory Seay gseay@HartfordBusiness.com I n its 77 years as a manufacturing "job shop,'' Connecticut Spring & Stamping in Farmington has cultivated a varied 700-client roster. They range from makers of drug-delivery instruments and other medical devices to automo- biles and guns, many of them long- standing relationships, burnished by CSS's mantra of a strong com- mitment to quality, says President William "Bill" Stevenson. "We're just fortunate we're growing,'' Stevenson said. "We like to say we work hard at what we do and [business] comes.'' Nothing fancy about what fam- ily-owned CSS makes — springs and stamped and machined parts of varying sizes and applications. But the true money-maker, and the key to those sustainable, long- term customer relationships, is the value-added engineering and pro- duction services CSS performs in tandem with them, Stevenson said. "We build what our customers ask us to build,'' he said. Stevenson won't disclose rev- enue or other financials for the closely held outfit, but says, "we make money.'' "We have to spend millions of dollars a year to stay current with equipment and technology, and the customers' needs, and the facilities as well,'' he said. Indeed, business volume of late is strong enough, he said, that CSS recently spent $750,000 to acquire a new 300-ton stamping press to add to its handful of other heavy presses operating inside one of two production buildings in the Farmington Industrial Park. Just recently, CSS installed a $200,000 parts washer. On the shop floor, dozens of automated "coilers'' hum and clack as they wind and snip various gauge strands of copper and steel into springs of varying dimensions and applications. The copper springs are ideal for one CSS customer's medical device. Other, thicker steel springs are used in automobiles or applica- tions where strength and durabil- ity are paramount. The company employs about 450 who work in two shifts at a pair of factories adjacent to each other. The largest is the 140,000-square-foot "south'' building that opened in the early '60s; the other is the 52,000-square- foot "north'' building that CSS acquired in 2013. Customers typically don't come to CSS just to buy finished springs and stampings, Stevenson said. CSS engineers — some 50 or so work there — collect as much information from customers as possible to provide a true value-add to their finished products' end use. From there, CSS engineers not only aim to design the best solutions for customers, but take things a step further to design the most precise tooling and produc- tion regimen that yields the high- est-quality product for them at the lowest cost to CSS, Stevenson said. It's that devotion to the "lean'' manufacturing process that has enabled CSS to compete in the U.S. and abroad, he said. CSS's only operation outside the U.S. is a parts warehouse in Puerto Rico. However, it has affiliate relationships with producers in China, Singapore and Taiwan. CSS, too, embraces what Ste- venson describes as a "bottom up'' flow of ideas for refining its produc- tion processes and quality control. He boasts about how technician Paul Gionfriddo, a 52-year CSS veteran, broached an idea for new tooling for heat-finishing parts that resulted in output vaulting from Continued Connecticut Spring & Stamping President William "Bill'' Stevenson on the shop floor of the Farmington manufacturer. H B J P H O T O | G R E G O R Y S E A Y Cybersecurity is hard. Defend Forward is easy. One monthly subscription puts the technology, training and expertise in place to defend your company's information, reputation, and future. Protect. Detect. Respond. www.kelsercorp.com/DefendForward www.kelsercorp.com 111 Roberts St, Suite D East Hartford, CT 06108 860 610 2200

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