Snapshot

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.

Birthplace: Aberdeen, Scotland.

Current home: North Haven, Connecticut.

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.

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.

The Watterson family (l-to-r): Rosie, Craig, Nicola, and Isla.

Favorite song/musician: My favorite band is the Stone Roses, but my favorite song is “Whatever” by the band Oasis.

Hobbies: Golfing, snowboarding and cooking.

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.

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 being positive about how we can do something rather than how we can’t do something.

If I weren’t working at FENN, I would like to: Play golf.

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.

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.

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