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Joseph
Sloss incorporated Sloss and Brittain in 1913 selling goods to local
hardware stores on the West Coast. In 1933, Joseph Sloss Jr., and his
identical twin brother, Henry, bought Sloss and Brittain from their
father.
Sloss and Brittain took control of Connor on January
1, 1947 from the estate of John Connor, who had incorporated Connor
Springs and Manufacturing in 1923. Connor was operated as a fully owned
subsidiary of Sloss and Brittain until the 1960’s when the hardware
business fell victim to nationwide manufacturers like Sears, Ace and
Coast to Coast. While the hardware business was declining and changing,
the manufacturing business was growing rapidly. By the end of the
decade, Connor had factories in Portland, Los Angeles, San Jose, and
Phoenix. The hardware business was eventually sold in 1970. The Connor
name and operations were retained and continued to grow.
 For
many years, Connor was a spring company - the great majority of
products made were constructed from round raw material. As the business
became more competitive, we broadened our capabilities while focusing
on more technical markets - such as defense and aerospace in Southern
California and high technology in Northern California. The slide
forming capabilities allowed Connor to make formed parts out of both
flat and round materials. By the middle of the 1980’s it became clear
that Connor would need to expand the line in order to remain a
first-tier supplier with primary customers.
Connor recruited a
master tool and die maker from the Detroit area with the expressed
purpose of becoming a stamping company. By selling progressive punch
press tooling Connor would become more important to customers by virtue
of the fact that most tools are highly technical and costly, selling at
between $25,000 - $75,000 with lead times of between 12 and 16 weeks.
Over the next 10 years Connor transformed from 100% springs into a
company that made 35% springs and 65% metal stampings. During this
period Connor continued to add many prestigious Fortune 500 customers
to its line card and was recognized as a supplier of the year by
Motorola in 1994.
Three major changes have occurred over the
past 5 years that have seriously impacted our business today; namely
supplier base consolidations, foreign manufacturing and customer
parts/finished product outsourcing. To meet these challenges today
Connor has again shifted its customer and manufacturing philosophy.
Today we have become a value added supplier of metal parts,
sub-assemblies, and complete functional component assemblies.
Furthermore, Connor today has become a truly global operation with
facilities in the Americas and Asia. We currently provide strong
technical front end engineering relationships with our customers in the
U.S. and Singapore while offering competitive high volume manufacturing
in cost competitive locations like Mexico and China.
Connor
has been built over the years on the idea of never leaving a customer
high and dry. We have a fanatical customer service culture that has
created a reputation in the market place as a company that comes
through when needed and never leaves a customer in a bind.
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