🔒The only constant is change: How to survive in manufacturing

One New Haven area manufacturer has been in business for so long, its first products were hardware and lanterns for horse-drawn carriages. Another made hardware for Abraham Lincoln’s coffin.

While half of all new businesses fail within five years, the New Haven area boasts multiple manufacturers which have surpassed or are approaching their 100th birthdays.

Why have some companies been around for so long, while others fail? We turned to the companies themselves for some insight on why they have managed to be successful and not only survive, but thrive, for so long.

Jamison Scott, executive director of the New Haven Manufacturers Association, said he has met some of the older generations of area manufacturing companies and has seen a pattern.

“All these companies have been through recessions and wars and had to have a little luck, a lot of passion and much perseverance to survive,” Scott said.

C. Cowles & Co. on Bailey Road in North Haven has a sign, which is visible from I-91, proudly displaying how it was first established in 1838.

The company started out in New Haven manufacturing products for horse-drawn carriages — such as carriage lamps, door handles and locks. In the early 1900s, it started making automobile parts, including tail lights, locks and turn signals.

Today, Cowles makes products for the heating, automotive and other industries. They make oil- and gas-fired burners and operating controls, as well as precision plastic injection molded parts.

Explains Rich Lyons, Cowles’ executive vice president, of his company’s longevity: “What has enabled us to stay in business is a continued market focus and flexibility.”

“We stay close to our customers and their changing needs, which our competition struggles to keep up with,” Lyons says. “Always put your customers first and know your customers’ needs as well as they do. Be the solution to their problems.”

The company has survived in large part by changing its focus as times have changed. As people got around with cars instead of carriages, they shifted to manufacturing for the automotive industry.

“We have remained flexible,” Lyons says. “We started out with carriage lanterns, and then did metal stamps for the automotive industry. Now, our focus is more on heating. We have remained flexible on our portfolio to capitalize on our strong suits.”

When times were tough during the Great Depression, the company avoided layoffs. Instead, it cut production to two or three days a week, and had workers alternate weeks, so every worker had some pay, according to the company.

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Another long-time manufacturing company in southern Connecticut is the Bridgeport-based Schwerdtle on Benham Ave., which was founded in 1879.

The company started engraving products at its beginning, and today it manufactures tools, dies and fixtures for stamping, indent marking and decorating materials, including metal, leather, wood and plastic. Its hot-stamping dies are used on many well-known products, such as makeup containers, tools, medical equipment, electronics, appliances and automotive parts.

Beauty product giant Revlon is among the company’s most famous customers — and most lucrative accounts.

Katherine Schwerdtle Saint, company president and co-owner, said the first thing she thinks of when she hears of companies in business over 100 years is geography. “They started there for a reason,” she says.

For her company, Bridgeport served it well from the beginning because it is a port city, and she noted how it was a booming place with plenty of workers to choose from.

Saint’s company also had to adapt to changing trends and evolving materials. Schwerdtle is known for its engraving skills, and early on, they decorated many lipstick containers. When cosmetics giants like Revlon and Estée Lauder started fabricating their packaging from plastic, they needed Schwerdtle to decorate plastic, too. Schwerdtle’s leadership recognized the plastics market was central to the company’s prospects for future growth.

“My father and uncle worked with an engineer to make chemical, silicone hot-stamping dyes,” Saint explains. “We adapted, and I think you’ll hear that a lot among companies which have been around for a long time.”

“We bring in new technology, whether it is manufacturing equipment or the latest computer technology,” Saint adds.

Schwerdtle is a family company, and Saint says the company’s values have been partly responsible for its success also. Company leadership has been passed down through four generations.

“We do what is right for the business first,” Saint says. “You have to protect and support it in good and bad times. You have to reinvest in the business.”

Schwerdtle thrived as a subcontractor during World Wars I and II, as well as the Korean and Vietnam conflicts. Early Schwerdtle family members managed to keep the business afloat during hard times, like the Great Depression and postwar recessions. The automobile era and post-World War II explosion in the cosmetics industry helped the company thrive, however.

Another factor in the business’ long-term health and stability, according to Saint, is that while it is a family-owned business, no family member can have ownership in it if they don’t actively work in the company.

“You have to have skin in the game to make the right decisions,” Saint explains. “We have been successful through four generations. We never were so successful that we launched a ‘brat’ generation. We all take working for a living seriously.”

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Bevin Bells of East Hampton, founded in 1832, was the second bell company in that small town, which is well-known for its bell-making history. Today it is the only one still in business there.

Six generations of the Bevin family have been running the company, which makes every imaginable type of bell —whether it is for a sporting event, yacht, sleigh or shop door. Their bells are used by Salvation Army Santas around the holidays, and you’ll hear them ringing from many an ice-cream truck on a hot summer day.

Cici Bevin, the company’s chief growth officer, isn’t certain why Bevin Bells has survived for so long while so many others have fallen silent, but she does have theories.

One reason for Bevin’s stability is the variety of bells it makes — no single variety of bell accounts for a significant portion of the business, she said.

“We don’t have any one runaway category, so if we lost it tomorrow, we’d be in trouble,” Bevin explains.

By contrast, she notes that another company which made bells solely for toys is no longer in business.

“In my opinion, this is a big reason for our longevity,” Bevin says. “We have about 70 different sizes and styles of bell, in about a dozen categories.”

Another likely reason Bevin Bells has been around for 187 years? Family, according to Bevin.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if it is partly because we are a family company,” Bevin said. “You have your heart and soul in it.”

Like most manufacturers, Bevin has also weathered hard times, such as when imports of bells became commonplace and introduced more competition. The rise of electronic bells was also a challenge.

“The key,” concludes Cici Bevin, “is to just keep sticking it out.”

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Headquartered in North Haven, Ulbrich Stainless Steels & Special Metals is rapidly nearing its 100th birthday. Fred Ulbrich started a scrap metal reselling business in Wallingford in 1924.

The family-owned company, now an international enterprise, is in its fourth generation. After its origins in scrap metal, the company manufactured cutlery. During World War II, Ulbrich secured a contract to supply steel knives for U.S. Army mess kits. The growth of the aircraft industry increased the demand for metal, and Ulbrich has supplied metal for the B-1 bomber, jet fighters and the space shuttle. The company now produces metal used in a vast array of products, from airplanes to pacemakers. It has 11 locations in five countries with more than 700 employees.

“One of the keys of our success and lasting all of these years has been the ability of our people to adapt and change,” says Chris Ulbrich, the company’s CEO.

The company has employees who have been there for four decades, who have happily and successfully adapted to changing technology whenever it came along, he says.

“We have people who are willing to learn and are team players,” Ulbrich says.

He estimated that about 20 percent of the company’s business involves products that “come and go.” They have dabbled in electronic cigarettes, for example.

“It is important for ownership to try new products — now we supply metal for airbags, which years ago weren’t common in automobiles,” Ulbrich explains. “To continue for many years in business, you need a culture of trying new products and investments.”

Putting the company first is also key to success and survival, according to Ulbrich.

“Our family has been willing to invest in new products rather than buying a boat or putting money in the bank,” Ulbrich explains.

Communication is also key. Ulbrich says the company strives to be honest with employees when times are tough. When business slumped in 2009, employees had to temporarily take furloughs and collect unemployment benefits. They did — and the company recovered.

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Sargent/Assa Abloy traces its beginnings to New York City and 1810, when the Sargent family started its hardware business. The family moved the company’s factory to Water Street in New Haven because of its seaside location in 1864.

Allan Saunders, manufacturing engineer at Sargent/Assa Abloy, noted how back then, “Water bodies were the highways,” and New Haven’s harbor was a key attraction.

“Having [Long Island Sound] right here played a major role in our early success,” explains Saunders. “I think we are still here because of the quality of our products, our people, and keeping up with the newest and best technology.”

Sargent’s catalog by 1914 advertised 60,000 products, and Sargent was one of the largest manufacturing plants in the country, employing about 3,000 workers. Locks, cowbells, carriage hardware, measurement tools, silverware, boot scrapers and hinges were among its offerings. According to Saunders, Sargent employees made the hardware on Abraham Lincoln’s casket.

During both World Wars, they made items for the war effort, such as helmets, bombshells and bullets.

While some long-standing manufacturers expanded their product lines, Sargent actually streamlined, and the family decided to concentrate on the niche of making locks and door-related mechanisms, which continues to be its main focus today. Today it occupies a 350,000-square-foot building on a 30-acre property on Sargent Drive. The Swedish conglomerate Assa Abloy acquired Sargent in 1996. Today, about 600 people work in the New Haven building.

Chris Mosby, general manager for Sargent Manufacturing, says the company has had staying power for multiple reasons.

“The company has created a great culture,” Mosby explains. “We also focus on product innovation, so we have products that delight our customers.”

According to Mosby, the company also strives to hone cost-effective processes to remain competitive. Management asks employees for cost-saving ideas, and rewards winning ideas with cash. An employee recently spotted waste and saved the company thousands of dollars.

Using quality materials like stainless steel, brass and bronze has been key to keeping customers happy. Remaining in the United States, during an era when so many U.S. manufacturers have moved operations offshore, gives the company an edge, too — the ability to fill orders and ship faster than competitors, according to management.

The company has focused on automation to save money, and the factory is filled with robots performing processes that not long ago were performed by humans. Since robots can do the work of multiple people, the company has reduced the workforce through attrition. According to Saunders, the company strives to avoid layoffs.

“People are valuable to us, and we will shift them around until things get better,” Saunders says.

Many current employees report working there for more than 20, 30 and even 40 years.

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Bead Industries Inc. of Milford started in 1914, when it developed and manufactured Bead Chain for electric light pulls, typically found in closets and basements.

Today, five generations have nurtured the business, and the company has grown to include two divisions, Bead Chain and Bead Electronics, as well as a wholly-owned subsidiary, McGuire Manufacturing Co., in Cheshire. The company makes products for the telecom, automotive, connector and lighting industries. Bead Chain is also used today for products such as vertical blinds, key chains and for marine parts, and McGuire produces plumbing fixture trim.

During World War II, Bead made more than 22 million “dog tag” necklace chains for United States and Canadian armed forces. The company’s products were used on fighter planes, submarines and battleships. The company has also fabricated millions of contact pins found in fluorescent tubes, and has supplied parts to companies such as General Electric and Sylvania.

Ron Andreoli, Bead Industries’ president, says the company’s ability to change has been the secret to its long-term success.

“Businesses either adapt or they die,” Andreoli explains. “Bead has reinvented itself multiple times over its long history in reaction to changing times, technology and customer needs.”

In addition to its ability to adapt, he also credits Bead’s survival with steady leadership by active owners. The company’s “unique cold forming technology” has also been a factor, he says.

What advice would he give to manufacturing start-ups on how to make it to their 100th birthday?

“Create an agile and nimble environment,” Andreoli says. And, above all, “Listen to your customers.”