Katherine Magrini
Gardner Spring, Inc.
N
estled quietly just northeast of downtown is one of Tulsa’s oldest companies. Owned by Katherine Magrini, Gardner Spring, Inc. has been manufacturing steel springs for 107 years. A Tulsa-based spring manufacturer supplying the original equipment manufacturing, industrial supply, and hardware industries, Gardner Spring celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2007. Gardner Spring was founded in Chicago in 1907, quickly making its mark as one of the country’s leading manufacturers of stock and specialty springs. “It was truly an honor to share our 100th year in business with the centennial celebration of the great state of Oklahoma,” says Magrini. Magrini, a Tulsa native, has been running the company since its relocation to Tulsa in the mid 1960s, and has been Gardner’s sole owner for more than 30 years. Her professional life has been a series of “firsts.” During the 1960s when Gardner Spring was still a part of the Barnes Group, Magrini was that company’s first female general manager. She was the first, and, for many years, the only woman member of the American
Hardware Manufacturers Association (AHMA). Magrini was also the first woman to join the Tulsa Area Manufacturers Association (TAMA). “I still remember how well I was treated back then,” Magrini recalls. “As the only woman in a male dominated industry, you’d think I would have had difficulties, but, honestly, I never did.” Gardner parts have found their way into everything from kitchen appliances to aerospace components, and business is booming. Recent years have seen the company expanding its customer base to Asia, Mexico, the Caribbean and Central America. Gardner Spring belongs to numerous professional organizations, such as Tulsa Area Manufacturers Association (TAMA), National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), North American Retail Hardware Association (NRHA), American Hardware Manufacturers Association (AHMA), and Spring Manufacturers Institute (SMI). Magrini is a member of the prestigious Committee of 200, an invitation-only organization of the world’s most successful business women.
Gardner Spring, Inc.
Katherine Magrini
1115 N. Utica Ave. Tulsa, OK 74110
82
OKLAHOMA MAGAZINE | MAY 2014
gardnerspring.com 918-583-0171 SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION