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Second-generation leaders Evan Stieglitz and Tom Brodsky are preparing Century Fasteners for the next step in the company's evolution
Evan Stieglitz and Tom Brodsky say that every family company has an evolution. And their company, Century Fasteners Corp. of Elmhurst, N.Y., is no exception.
Stieglitz, president, and Brodsky, executive vice president, are charting the course for Century Fasteners' next step in that evolutionary process. When the two joined Century 15 years ago, the firm had just begun the process of transitioning from an "entrepreneurialminded" company to more of a "corporation," as Stieglitz puts it. And that is one of the toughest challenges in the life of a family-owned firm, he adds. For Century, the challenge has been driven by considerable growth - the company went from $8.6 million in sales in 1984 to $45 million last year. The next step, say Stieglitz and Brodsky, is taking Century Fasteners into the realm of the triple-digit firms. They hope to hit $100 million in five years, all the while remaining family-owned.
But the road to corporate status isn't easy, say Stieglitz and Brodsky. Making the transition from a relatively small "mom and pop" to a multi-million dollar corporation involves loosening the reins, investing in things you never thought necessary before, and widening your vision of what your company can become. The two second-generation leaders credit their predecessors with initiating the evolutionary process and say that it is now their responsibility to take Century Fasteners into the next, well, century.
Passing the torch
Stieglitz's father, George Stieglitz, and Brodsky's father-in-law, Jack Schlegel, founded Century Fasteners in Brooklyn in 1955. Originally a manufacturer and distributor of specialty screws, the firm eventually became more involved in fastener distribution, ending its manufacturing business in the mid-1980s. In 1978, the senior Stieglitz and Schlegel moved the company to its current headquarters in Elmhurst (located in Queens). The younger Stieglitz and Brodsky describe their predecessors as true entrepreneurs who built their business from the ground up, keeping a tight hold on all operations during their tenure as president and executive vice president. That tenure ended five years ago when Stieglitz and Brodsky were named president and executive vice president, respectively. Today, George Stieglitz serves as COO and Schlegel is CEO. Though...