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"To our friends and patrons, greetings. Prompted by a universal demand from our friends, and strongly feeling the need of a book that would be a work of standard value on tools and supplies… we have, with the characteristic spirit of our house, spared neither labor nor expense in producing a catalogue that will be a benefit to every buyer and workman in the line."
So began an early Gesswein catalog offered at a time when all work was painstakingly crafted and finished entirely by hand. Compared to the present, considering current manufacturing knowledge and production supplies and equipment, those early days were hazardous and inefficient. Many techniques were unsafe and exposed the workers to highly toxic chemicals. The machinery that was available was powered by pulley or, at best, by gas or steam generators.
How we came to be here, back in 1914, is truly an American success story. The father of our company, Paul H. Gesswein, was born in Germany. One of the youngest in a family of 18 children, he came to America with his father and some of his younger siblings when he was in his early teens.
 His arrival in this country typified the struggle that immigrants faced in becoming self-sufficient. As a teenager, Paul took a job working in a hardware store. Young Paul found that he had many requests from nearby craftsman for precision tools, mainly for manufacturing jewelry. Recognizing an opportunity, he decided to start his own business. He began by importing European tools (primarily from Germany) because American-made products were rare or nonexistent. Initially, Paul's customers were local; they visited the store to make their purchases. As time went on, however, Paul decided to visit customers outside the New York City area and began traveling by steamer between New York and Boston. As people heard about his precision tools, requests from other parts of the country were received. That's when Paul decided to produce a book of tools and supplies that he could mail to those customers who couldn't visit his store - and the first Gesswein catalog was born!
By the end of the 1930s, Paul had died and left the business to his wife. One of his sons, Roger Gesswein, Sr. (father of today's chairman of the board), managed the business for her. At the start of World War II, the supply of tools from Europe, and especially Germany, began to dry up. Roger had to find sources for his tools in the United States, but manufacturers had been directed to produce only goods pertinent to the war effort so they were unable to make the specialized tools necessary to supply Gesswein customers. As the war wound down, more domestic sources for tools became available and the company began to grow and expand as quickly as space became available in the building it shared on Maiden Lane in lower Manhattan.
 In the early 1950s, the Paul H. Gesswein Company had ten employees and carried over 1,000 items. Even 20 years after his death, people still remembered what a gentleman Paul Gesswein was, and they remained loyal to the company he founded. During that decade, a line of abrasives was added to Gesswein's inventory to service the growing mold and die finishing industry. Plastics were becoming the material of choice because the finished goods were inexpensive to produce in mass quantities and abrasives were used to finish plastic injection molds. Along with the line of abrasives, a complementary line of tools and equipment was added, and another catalog was born. Even though the jewelry industry and the mold and die finishing industry used similar tools, separating them into two different catalogs made selection
easier for customers.
In 1963, the company had to move to larger quarters. Space was found a few miles north, on lower Park Avenue. It seemed that the company would never fill up the 5000 square feet, but that was not the case. By 1966, another generation of Gessweins had entered the business. More space was rented at the Park Avenue address, and the company continued to grow. At one point, two people were sharing the same desk on alternate days. Another move was clearly in the offing. Ultimately, a move to Connecticut was planned. A building was designed to suit the company's needs, and the move was made. A few years later, an adjacent building was acquired, then a third one a few years after that.
Until 30 years ago, Gesswein sales were primarily domestic. Then Roger, Sr., visited Europe to call on suppliers and discovered there was a market for our tools and supplies. Today, the Paul H. Gesswein Company offers its products to the global manufacturing community.
 In some ways, things have changed since we occupied that one-room walk-in store on Maiden Lane. The Gesswein Company now has grown to over 100 employees and offers over 15,000 machines, tools, equipment and supplies and now findings! Even with this growth, however, we are still loyal to the vision young Paul had over 86 years ago. We strive not only to serve our existing customers but also to win the trust of new ones.
As set forth in our guiding policy: "Our customers are the most important part of our business. Without them we would not be here. We are dedicated to giving them the ultimate in service and to making them think the best thing they ever did was buy from Gesswein. Gesswein means quality and value. Our products include those of the highest quality and precision as well as those of high value at low cost. Service means giving the customers more than they expect, responding to their needs immediately and shipping orders the same day."
 It is with these same ideals that we have entered the electronic age with our full E-commerce Website. Our tools, equipment, supplies and findings are now on-line for instant ordering - 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Prices and availability are current, and the same high-quality customer service is just a mouse-click away.
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