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Craig Watterson FENN Name: Craig Watterson Company name, city and country: FENN, East Berlin, Connecticut. Brief history of your company: FENN is a 120-year-old manufacturing company that designs and builds metalforming machinery for a wide range or industries and applications. Job title: Sales Manager. Spring industry affiliations: SMI, CASMI, PMA.
The Watterson family (l-to-r): Rosie, Craig, Nicola, and Isla.
Birthplace: Aberdeen, Scotland.
Favorite song/musician: My favorite band is the Stone Roses, but my favorite song is “Whatever” by the band Oasis.
being positive about how we can do something rather than how we can’t do something.
Current home: North Haven, Connecticut.
Hobbies: Golfing, snowboarding and cooking.
If I weren’t working at FENN, I would like to: Play golf.
Family: My wife Nicola, who is also from Scotland, is a kindergarten teacher in New Haven. I have two daughters, a 5-year-old, Isla and a 10-month-old, Rosie.
Favorite places: I love Southeast Asia, Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia. I was lucky enough to live in Australia for a period of time, which was a great experience. I also lived in Holland; I love Amsterdam. In the U.S. I took a golf trip to Oregon; the Pacific Northwest is unbelievable.
The most difficult business decision I ever had to make was: Not necessarily a business decision, but a career decision to take a job in another country.
What I like most about being a springmaker: Unfortunately, I am not a springmaker. I wish I had that level of skill and technical aptitude. However, I am enjoying getting to know and learning from some of the springmakers in our industry. Favorite food: I guess I should say Haggis (which I love), but probably Indian food. Favorite books/authors: With golf being a passion of mine, I am a big fan of John Feinstein, who has written some great golf books. I also really like the book “A Course Called Scotland” by Tom Coyne, and I like reading some self-awareness books. 64 / SPRINGS / Spring 2021
Best times of my life: Becoming a father. It’s a cliché, but true. I am also grateful for getting the opportunities to live in different places, travel extensively, and meet a lot of different people from different walks of life. A really great evening to me is: In the summertime, getting to play golf. But currently, it is getting the baby off to sleep, which is not always successful. My most outstanding qualities are: I think I’m pretty good as a team player, fostering relationships that are beneficial to both parties. I’m good at
I wonder what would have happened if: I had not decided to relocate to the U.S. Role models: My dad. I have also been lucky enough to have numerous past bosses and mentors. I had a college roommate, who went on to represent Ireland in triathlon at the Olympics. I was so impressed by the level of commitment and dedication he showed and the mental strength to come back again and again from any setbacks. I would like to be remembered in the spring industry for: Selling lots of Torin spring coilers. But people will probably remember me for: My strange accent and my perfect attendance at the golf outings.
