4 Hartford Business Journal • September 19, 2016 www.HartfordBusiness.com
w w w. H a r t f o r d B u s i n e s s . c o m
(860) 236-9998
E D I T O R I A L
Greg Bordonaro
Editor, ext. 139
gbordonaro@HartfordBusiness.com
Gregory Seay News Editor, ext. 144
gseay@HartfordBusiness.com
Matt Pilon News Editor, ext. 143
mpilon@HartfordBusiness.com
John Stearns Staff Writer, ext. 145
jstearns@HartfordBusiness.com
Patricia Daddona Web Editor, ext. 127
pdaddona@HartfordBusiness.com
Stephanie Meagher Research Director
Heide Martin Research Assistant
B U S I N E S S
Joe Zwiebel President and Publisher, ext. 132
jzwiebel@HartfordBusiness.com
Donna Collins Associate Publisher, ext. 121
dcollins@HartfordBusiness.com
Jessica Baker Office Manager, ext. 122
jbaker@HartfordBusiness.com
Amy Orsini Events Manager, ext. 134
aorsini@HartfordBusiness.com
Kaleigh Hickey Events Coordinator, ext. 137
khickey@hartfordbusiness.com
Christian J. Renstrom Advertising Director, ext. 126
crenstrom@HartfordBusiness.com
David Hartley Sr. Accounts Manager, ext. 130
dhartley@HartfordBusiness.com
William C. Lambot Sr. Accounts Manager, ext. 128
wlambot@HartfordBusiness.com
John Vuillemot Sr. Accounts Manager, ext. 133
jvuillemot@hartfordbusiness.com
Marisa Wright Sr. Accounts Manager, ext. 124
mwright@hartfordbusiness.com
Anabela Maia Account Manager, ext. 131
amaia@HartfordBusiness.com
Raki Zwiebel Credit and Collections Manager
Valerie Clark Accounting Assistant/Office Manager
Kim Vautour HR Director
Gail Lebert Chair, Executive Advisory Board
P R O D U C T I O N
Lynn Mika
Production Director/Marketing Coordinator, ext. 140
lmika@HartfordBusiness.com
Christopher Wallace Art Director, ext. 147
cwallace@HartfordBusiness.com
Peter Stanton CEO
pstanton@nebusinessmedia.com
Joseph Zwiebel President & Group Publisher, ext. 132
jzwiebel@HartfordBusiness.com
Mary Rogers COO/CFO
mrogers@nebusinessmedia.com
Subscriptions:
Annual subscriptions are $84.95. To subscribe, visit
HartfordBusiness.com, email hartfordbusiness@
cambeywest.com, or call (845) 267-3008.
Advertising:
For advertising information, please call (860) 236-9998.
Please address all correspondence to: Hartford Business
Journal, 15 Lewis Street, Suite 200, Hart ford CT 06103.
News Department:
If you have a news item: Call us at (860) 236-9998,
fax us at (860) 570-2493, or e-mail us at
news@HartfordBusiness.com
Hartford Business Journal accepts no responsibility
for unsolicited manuscripts or materials and in general
does not return them to the sender.
Hartford Business Journal (ISSN 1083-5245) is published
weekly, 52 x per year — including two special issues in
December — by New England Business Media LLC,
15 Lewis Street, Suite 200, Hartford CT 06103.
Periodicals postage paid at Hartford, CT.
Tel: (860) 236-9998 • Fax (860) 570-2493
Copyright 2016. All rights reserved.
Postmaster: Please send address changes to:
Hartford Business Journal
P.O. Box 330, Congers, NY 10920-9894
www.copyright.com
CT Spring & Stamping
1,500 a week, with a 30 percent rejection rate, to
1,500 per day, with zero losses.
Companywide, CSS workers operate as 28
largely self-directed teams. An assignment
board on the shop floor lists all scheduled
work orders, with milestone deadlines cul-
minating in the final customer-delivery date.
Once they have their assignments, each team
is responsible for ensuring quality and meeting
deadlines. But they also are imbued by CSS with
flexibility to make adjustments along the way,
to ensure quality and timeliness. Management,
Stevenson said, functions to provide teams with
the resources they need to perform.
"The people that do the work know what's
right, what's wrong,'' Stevenson said.
CSS started in Hartford, when co-founders
Bert Youmans and Stanley Fischer opened doors
in late 1939, at 618 Capitol Ave. Just a spring
maker then, its early customers included Royal
Typewriter, which
had a Hartford plant,
and General Electric.
Youmans reportedly
bought out his part-
ner in 1963, and his
family has owned
CSS outright since,
Stevenson said.
In 1953, CSS relo-
cated to 1841 Broad
St., then in 1960, made its final move, to the Farm-
ington Industrial Park that Youmans and Fischer
co-developed, Stevenson said. That tie is reflect-
ed in the company's 48 Spring Lane address.
Like other Connecticut manufacturers, he
said CSS toils to hire promising, young man-
ufacturing talent, while also trying to retain
as many of the most productive, seasoned
skilled workers as possible.
It, too, regularly
receives relocation
overtures from other
states, but so far it
has resisted them.
"We're not leav-
ing,'' said Stevenson,
a Connecticut native
who was part owner
of a Middletown
manufacturer from
1990 to 2000, now owned by Swiss conveyor-
belt maker Habasit Abt Inc., before taking the
CSS reins in 2000. "It's not happening."
Not only are most of its customers based
in the Northeast, the challenges of relocating
staff and recruiting in a new site make a move
problematic, he said.
"We can manufacture parts in Connecticut,''
Stevenson said. "We just have to stay focused.'' n
▶ ▶ ' We build what
our customers
ask us to build.'
William "Bill" Stevenson, president,
Connecticut Spring & Stamping
EVENT & TRAVEL PARTNERS
Presenting Sponsor: Presented By:
Event Sponsors:
Event Partners: Media Partner:
Recognize a
deserving client,
coworker, boss,
friend, spouse
or colleague for
a job well done.
CATEGORIES:
• Advancement in Healthcare — Innovation
• Advancement in Healthcare — Prevention
• Community Service — Advocacy/Policy
• Corporate Achievement — Innovation
• Health Care Staff
• Nurse
• Physician
• Volunteer
Nominate them today, for the chance
to be recognized with this special award.
Awards Event: December 1, 2016
Connecticut Convention Center, Hartford
Nominate now!
Health Care Heroes
2016
The Health Care Heroes Awards identifies
outstanding leaders in the health care industry
who are the epitome of a hero.
Whether they are companies, doctors, nurses,
specialists or managers, join us in recognizing
those who embody the word "hero" and prove
their excellence in helping others.
Nominate at: HartfordBusiness.com/Heroes
Nomination Deadline: October 6, 2016
Special Edition Publishes: December 5, 2016
#HBJHCH
EYEWITNESS
EYEWITNESS
NEWS
NEWS