Century Spring Mfg

Bill Waseleski and his dad started Century Spring Manufacturing in July, 1976. This is what Bill had to say about his start.  “We always worked extremely hard, 13 hours a day.  Frankly, we both could have had much bigger paychecks and easier lives if we worked for someone else.  I paid my dues… my title may be president but I can run any machine on the floor.  Today, we’re miles from where we started.  Our first marketing plan came from students at Central Connecticut State University; they gave us a new perspective on what we had taken for granted. Today, we’re implementing a Lean Process and the Disney Philosophy.  We moved from the top two floors of an old building – where we were moving materials in small quantities on a small, water-powered elevator – to our current facility. We doubled our size and capacity in only a few years. We are now making plans to expand again!   Back in the 80’s, computers were new to everyone; we had one sitting on a desk in the office just to impress visiting customers. Not sure where that machine is now but I know exactly how computers have improved quality, shortened lead times, and made it easy for our customers to talk with us.  That was the biggest lesson I learned while struggling to make the business viable as ‘listen and don’t be afraid to ask questions..never take anything for granted, especially customers