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