Fourslide Spring and Stamping Celebrates Its 60th Anniversary

Arthur Funk and a partner founded the company as Fourslide Spring Products, Inc. in Bristol, Connecticut in 1962. Starting with a single customer and a single machine for fabricating parts, Fourslide has steadily grown into a $6 million operation employing 25 workers locally.

Working alongside his wife, Dorothy, after buying out his partner, in 1968 Funk purchased a 4,100-square-foot building in Bristol to accommodate Fourslide’s growth. His daughter Judy Schmidt came aboard in 1970, and his son Arthur “Bud” Funk Jr. joined the family business in 1975. He would become president in the mid ‘80s. By 1980, Fourslide had doubled the square footage of its facility and pushed its annual sales past $1 million.

Today, a third generation of Funks oversees daily operations as President Bryan Funk is assisted by his brother, Shipping Manager Bradley Funk. Schmidt also maintains an active role as CFO. Fourslide’s facility has grown to more than 19,000 square feet, with a second property across the street held as a site for potential future expansion.

Fourslide showed resilience through a pair of recessions in the early 2000s, losing just a few key employees. Sales continued to grow at an average of 4% annually, eventually passing the $7 million milestone in 2017. 2018 brought additional hardship as the company took a 30% revenue hit when its largest customer relocated its operations out of the country. With Bryan Funk now at the helm, there was a company-wide effort to refocus on Fourslide’s core business, reworking its facility for greater efficiencies and reinforcing a solid foundation that allowed it to flourish through the COVID-19 pandemic. Sales are on pace to rebound to the $6 million mark this year.

Funk credits his loyal team with the company’s success. “We have several employees who have been here for more than 30 years, some who have worked their entire career at Fourslide,” he said. “Their ongoing dedication is largely responsible for our growth.”

Though its customer base and pipeline of new work is as strong as ever, Fourslide finds itself dealing with challenges that are all too common for American manufacturers in today’s climate: material lead times, supply availability and a lack of qualified applicants for job openings.

“With our square footage maxed out, we’re making every effort to increase efficiencies within that footprint and make Fourslide a more attractive place to work,” said Funk. “We’re investing more in

Fourslide’s leadership team (l-to-r): President Bryan Funk, CFO Judy Schmidt, Chairman of the Board Arthur “Bud” Funk Jr., and Shipping Manager Bradley Funk.

new employee training than ever before because it’s difficult to find anyone with experience in this type of environment.”

The company has experienced a noticeable uptick in new and returning business from customers reshoring their sourcing efforts in the wake of COVID-19. Production delays tied to overseas shutdowns, increased transportation expenses and ballooning delivery times affect a company’s bottom line, opening the door for domestic manufacturers to win on more than part quality alone.

“We pride ourselves in the quality of our product and our ability to respond quickly to a customer’s changing needs,” said Funk. “We do have customers coming back after dealing with offshore manufacturers.”

Fourslide Spring & Stamping takes its name from the fourslide manufacturing method that has been the company’s focus since day one. The process combines stamping and forming operations within a single machine utilizing a progressive die and four tool slides, allowing the company to fabricate a wide variety of simple and complex metal flat springs, contacts, connectors, clips and stampings from strip or wire. Fourslide is capable of high-speed production (up to 10,000 pieces per hour) with gauge-like accuracy, and the company has been ISO certified since 1996. You can learn more about the process, view a wide selection of sample parts and read more about the advantages of fourslide manufacturing on the company’s website, www.fourslide.com. n