Springs Celebrates 60 Years

That quote, attributed to Walt Disney, echoes the sentiments of SMI leaders who stopped talking about publishing a magazine for the spring industry and got it done, when the premier issue of Springs appeared in May 1962.

It all started in early 1961, when G. Donald Jacobson of Newcomb Spring, then president of SMI, introduced the idea of publishing a magazine devoted to spring technology and the spring industry in general.

A year later, Jacobson, in the first-ever President’s Message, explained that SMI is “publishing our first issue of Springs, still another step forward march of the spring industry. Directed primarily to springmakers, we will continue, through this medium, to bring members of our industry the latest developments in springmaking techniques, materials and good management practices.”

Jacobson went on to say, “To spring users and the general public, we also hope through the magazine to reveal the importance of the spring industry and its technical competence as well as the vital role springs play in our everyday lives. After all, what moves without springs!”

The first issue contained an article by Clement C. Cadditz, examining the subject of “Make or Buy.” Cadditz demonstrated how three of the country’s major industries went from making to buying, including Motorola that “closed down its metal stamping, plating, die making and screw machine production and is now more profitably buying those services.”

He argued in the article that, “In a very real sense making over buying, where the product made is a sideline operation in a highly competitive specialist field, can be a most expensive venture. Most unbiased observers agree that the greatest cost savings are not those in which you make, but those in which you buy.”

Harman W. McBride, president of The Reliable Springs and Wire Forms Co. of Cleveland, wrote an article, “Cavemen Made Own Springs,” that provided a brief history of springs.

“Even in antiquity, springs served, just as they do today, to store mechanical energy, and release it according to plan — in the form of push, pull or twist — upon the specified occurrences.”

There was a preview article for the “Third Technical Meeting and Products Show,” forerunner to today’s SpringWorld that was sponsored by CASMI and scheduled to take place Oct. 23-25, 1962, at the Morrison Hotel in Chicago. It was noted that, for the first time ever, the show would include exhibitors from Canada, Switzerland and Germany.

In an interesting side note, according to Wikipedia, “The Morrison Hotel was a high-rise hotel at the corner of Madison and Clark Streets in the downtown Loop community area of Chicago, Illinois. It was designed by the architectural firm of Holabird & Roche and completed in 1925. The hotel was demolished in 1965

By Gary McCoy

to make room for the First National Bank Building (now Chase Tower).” The hotel once hosted Presidents Truman, Eisenhower and Kennedy.

There was also a preview of the SMI summer meeting that was to be held at the French Lick Sheraton in southern Indiana from May 27-29, 1962. Featured entertainers included The Derbytowners, a barbershop quartet from Louisville, Kentucky, and the Ballard Jug Band, described as “unique musical entertainment.”

Technical articles included a report from H.G. Williams, chief metallurgist, Little Fall Alloys, Inc., on “Suggested New Practices in Use of Beryllium Copper Spring Wire” and “Heat Treatment for Pretempered Hard Drawn Spring Materials” by Harold Carlson, president, The Carlson Company.

A business management article from Thomas M. Antonsen, CPA, a partner in the firm of Van Minden and Bruneau, provided insight on: “What Does the Investment Tax Credit Mean?”

Just like today’s magazine, there was plenty of industry news and reports on new products. It also included the publication of new “Torsion Spring Standards” and a revised “Glossary of Springmaker Terms” that had been presented by the SMI Standards Committee and approved at the SMI annual meeting held at the Barbizon-Plaza in New York, Dec. 5, 1961.

As we celebrate the 60th anniversary of Springs, here are recollections from recent magazine committee chairs.

Richard Rubenstein, Plymouth Spring, 2008-2013 In 2008 Reb Banas asked me to head the Springs magazine committee. “Not too much work,” he told me, “because we’ve got a full-time editor and all you have to do is chair the meetings and come up with a few good ideas.”

And the next week, after I had accepted the position, the editor quit and Lynne Carr and I had to run the magazine until we were fortunate to find Gary McCoy to take over the professional management of the magazine. I have had a warm personal relationship with Lynne and Gary that continues to this day.

My favorite issue was the April 2009 issue which profiled five spring industry executives who were involved in mergers and acquisitions in the industry (and to be transparent I was one of them). And to add a little perspective, in that issue Reb’s President’s Message mentions that the Dow Jones Average was below 7,000, having fallen from a high of about 14,000.

My favorite feature was always the Snapshot on the last page that dealt with the personal side of industry executives.

No magazine can survive without the support of its advertisers. Springs is no different. There is a special set of advertisers who have supported the magazine since its inception. Here’s a salute to our “60-Year Club.”

Gibbs/Interwire

Radcliff Wire

It was an honor to serve SMI and the spring world as chair of the committee because Springs magazine was and remains the most important voice of our industry.

Ted White, Hardware Products/ SEI MetalTek, 2014-2017 Springs magazine is somewhat like the Joni Mitchell song of “Both Sides Now” for me. I have been a reader of the magazine for 48 of its 60 years. For a long time, I was simply a reader only when I could find the time. Then I became the committee chairperson, and now I stay in touch with the industry by reading it from cover to cover.

While I was the committee chair, the beginnings of change were well underway. Thirty-year winders were beginning to retire, and fewer replacements were coming into the industry. The average age of employees was increasing annually. Technology was doing its best to catch up by making spring manufacturing less of an art form and more of a science.

At the time everyone was playing catch up ball. The SMI ASD spring design computer program was standardizing design from company to company. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) agency was becoming more a part of life and the safety committee was becoming a more relevant contributor. The regional memberships were coming back into their own. As a board member of both NESMA and SMI, I began writing the magazine section for NESMA in Springs, and other regional groups began to contribute, as well. Many members of the regional associations actually told me that they received more information about their regional membership from Springs than they do from local sources.

Consolidation was also affecting the industry. Many of the family-owned

businesses were being bought up by larger multi-divisional companies, as spring owners were becoming older with no family to take over. The dues structure for SMI also changed, as multidivisional companies are invoiced differently than single plant companies. There was considerable discussion within the committee as to whether a feedback system should be set up to make sure the publication remained relevant. However, most of the membership deemed this notion as not necessary because the publication was indeed relevant.

Now as a retired president of Hardware Products Company, I have more time and I read the magazine from cover to cover. It very much keeps me informed in the rapidly increasing pace of change as well as the effect of COVID on the spring industry.

Donald Jacobson III, Newcomb Spring, 2017-2019 Springs magazine is one of the best parts of being in the spring Industry. Having worked at Newcomb locations in Connecticut, California, Colorado and Tennessee, there is a lot of value in Springs keeping me up to date with what is going on in those various regions and in our industry.

With the ever-increasing use of digital marketing and email, I find it comforting every quarter when a new issue of Springs arrives so I can flip through the pages. When I am away from my office, I also have the Springs magazine app on my phone in case I am in a conversation and need to reference one of the many great technical articles that have been published over the years. Having the magazine available in both formats is such a great way to always keep that history at your fingertips and a great way to connect the past and the present. It is just like my time as Springs magazine chairman that provided a bridge to its founding by working on the very same magazine that my grandfather Donald Jacobson helped start in 1962 when he was SMI president.

David DeVoe, Plymouth Spring, 2020 to 2021 I am a big supporter of SMI because it has done a lot for me. The networking, all by itself, is very valuable and has taken my level of knowledge in different areas of our business to a much higher position. In addition, many SMI programs have helped me and our business, especially in the areas of regulatory compliance and with the spring design software.

The magazine has a lot to tell us about what’s going on in our industry. The first thing I look at is what is going on in the Northeast region where I’m at, and then I look at the international news, which is especially important to me now that we are owned by an overseas company. I

Recognizing the digital revolution taking place, in 2015 Springs introduced an app to its readers. The app for smartphones and tablets can be accessed at:

Android (Google Play) play.google.com/store/apps/ details?id=com.branded. springsmag iPhone (Apple Store) apps.apple.com/us/app/ springs-magazine/id975325058 The app contains the current issue of the magazine and archived issues going back to the Winter 2015 edition.

Each issue includes hyperlinks for email addresses and websites included in stories and advertisements.

A QR code on Page 2 of the magazine will also guide you to the right place to download the Springs app. You can also access an electronic version of Springs at the SMI website here: smihq.org/page/ springs_magazine. also enjoy the articles that go into depth about our members so that I can get to know them better. The SMI magazine is one of the most valuable informational tools available about our industry.

Going forward as a magazine, we need to figure out how to reach our younger readers. How someone my age looks at the magazine is much different from someone who is younger. I believe our new Vanguard committee is going to help us a lot in that effort.

Keith Porter, Jr., Newcomb Spring, 2021 to present I remember as a young child seeing copies of the magazine in the living room at my grandparents’ house. It makes me realize that I’ve been around Springs magazine and seen it my entire life as I’ve grown up and matured in the business.

The magazine is a great way to stay connected with the industry, including our suppliers and the market in general. One of my favorite features is Springmaker Spotlight, where you get to know others in the industry because each article goes into depth about who our members are. The magazine also provides a lot of engineering and mechanical operations information.

The magazine is a great resource to know what’s going on internationally. Plus, the suppliers do a good job of marketing their products to help us understand what’s out there and to help us with customer satisfaction.

It’s incredible to think that the magazine has been around so long and [about] the quality of people who have worked on and contributed to its success. This includes the magazine chairs who went before me and put their unique touch on it. My hope is that we will continue to bring more value to the readership and advertisers and to everyone within and outside SMI. I’m really proud to be associated with the magazine as its current chair and will continue to work with the staff and committee members to make it even better.

The future of Springs continues to be bright. As we celebrate the 60th anniversary, let’s toast to many more years of providing vital information about the worldwide spring industry. n