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Springmaker Spotlight
Becoming an Industry Character: A Profile of Damon Kaufman and Stalder Spring By Gary McCoy, Managing Editor
L
ike many in the spring industry, Damon Kaufman was born into his life’s work in a career that now spans 52 years. Kaufman is the longtime president of Stalder Spring in Springfield, Ohio. Looking back on his time in the industry, Kaufman says he enjoys what he does and it’s a feeling that continues to this day. “I’ve made a lot of friends in the industry,” he said. “I’ve ruffled a lot of feathers, but I’m sort of a feather ruffler anyway. If I’ve got something to say, I say it. I know the right thing to say, but I usually say something else.” Since its founding in 1946 by Kaufman’s maternal grandfather, Delmar L. Staldler, Stalder Spring has specialized in producing custom compression, torsion and extension springs, along with wireforms and a few specialty flat parts. In 2021 the company will mark 75 years in business, but Kaufman says there are no current plans to celebrate. “We run things a little differently here. We try to take care of our family. We try to take care of our employees,” explained Kaufman. “We do what we can to make it work. So, we don’t do a lot of celebrating other than that.” Kaufman says that as a fourth-generation family-run business, “Business has always been kind to us. That’s why my grandfather started the company and he always wanted family to run it.”
Damon Kaufman
SPRINGS / Fall 2020 / 55
