When the owner of an OEM, Machinery, or Electrical Equipment Builder looks at c3controls, they may see what looks like a risky proposition.

They see a company in Beaver, Pennsylvania that’s a fraction of the size of big names. Sure, the products are great and the people are nice, but with ultra-tight timelines, vice-like budgets, and a hugely competitive marketplace where the stakes are higher than ever—why c3controls?

Well, there’s the long answer and the short.

The short answer is that c3controls backs every one of their tens of millions of products and configurations with a lifetime warranty, ships them all the day you order them—guaranteed—and delivers the drastic discounts that only a direct-channel supplier can.

But the real answer is more complicated.

The real answer is that owners want more than a good or even great product. They want a company that aligns with their values and knows the fears that lurk in the pit of your stomach when you run a small business. They want a company that protects them and their reputation. A company that innovates with them and works tirelessly to improve their business.

These are things you can’t print on a warranty claim. They’re in the DNA of a company. The only way to know these things is look at the history of a company, how they dealt with high tides and with hardships.

Now, as c3controls celebrates its 40th anniversary, we have the perfect opportunity to see just that.

Day 1: 1976

In 1975, Westinghouse assigned one of their product managers the task of developing a new line of pilot devices. After a year of R&D, he returned to the GM of the Westinghouse control division with an innovative design concept and manufacturing plan. Westinghouse made the decision to pass on developing the new pilot devices and unwittingly helped start a company that would change the controls-manufacturing industry.

Despite Westinghouse Electric’s reservation, Glenn Taylor believed in his design. So much so that in November of 1976 he and his wife struck out on their own to create what would become Control Concepts Corporation (and later, in 2001, c3controls) in the family garage.

The Taylors thought they would start by designing the product, outsourcing the tool and die manufacturing and molding, then assembling, marketing, and selling the product in house. But they quickly realized they didn’t have the money to pay for tools, dies, and molds. So they bought the used equipment necessary to manufacture their own mold tools and to manufacture their own plastic parts. In doing so, they became a vertically integrated manufacturing company.

Even if dinner was delayed because of the plastics drying in the family oven, at least there was food on the table.

Beyond the Garage: 1980-1996

As Control Concepts Corporation’s (c3) customers grew, c3 grew with them. In 1980, the company moved to Vanport, Pennsylvania for a larger space that would allow them to meet the growing national demand and to continue chasing perfection of their 30mm pilot devices. Although still in survival mode, their focus began to widen to include a marketing push and a necessary pivot to direct sales.

c3 was becoming known as the manufacturer of some of the very best controls available, a reputation that helped the company withstand the tough economic conditions and foreign competition that would mark the next decade.

The family business had grown from Mr. and Mrs. Taylor in a garage to a national provider of controls—albeit still a small one.

The New c3: 1996-2015

Plans for 1996 included more product-line expansions and the ever-present push to improve products beyond what many thought possible. But no amount of planning or foresight could have prepared the Taylors for what God had in store.

Glenn Taylor passed away unexpectedly in 1996 at the young age of 53.

The shockwaves that reverberated through the family and company were largely quelled by the steady presence of Carolyn Taylor and their son Geoff. Carolyn took more responsibility than ever, managing finances, HR, and the role of CEO during this challenging and heartbreaking time.

Geoff had worked at c3 since he was a boy. And upon graduating college, he began to work full time—not under his father, but under his father’s old boss from Westinghouse, Ron Price who was hired to “put Geoff through the wringer” and teach him the controls business—but regardless of that, he was still just 25 years old. Ascension to the top role at that age would be questioned regardless of the countless hours invested to get there.

Geoff knew this was a pivotal moment for him and the company his parents had started in the family garage all those years ago. c3 was growing, but it was still just a team of 14 people. The foundation was there, and there was a great opportunity to expand Glenn Taylor’s vision of building the best controls in the world to building the best controls business on the planet.

It was ambitious even in the best of times. But in the turmoil of the loss of his father, the rolling emotional seas and the changing familial landscape, Geoff’s plans were borderline impossible.

He decided that turning c3 into the best electrical controls business on the planet could happen only with the help of the brightest business minds in the world: The Harvard Business School.

In 2003, Geoff graduated from HBS’s prestigious OPM program with the knowledge and confidence necessary to enact his plan. He had also proved his salt and assumed the role of president with broad support.

He quickly surrounded himself with a powerful team of strategic thinkers that he could trust without reservation. People like Paul Alwin, a man who exemplified the values, vision and innovation for which the company was known, and Pete Damesimo, a brilliant young engineer with drive, ambition and an unwavering sense of innovation and ingenuity. He also added industry experts in marketing, IT, finance, manufacturing, and sales and a powerful Board of Advisors.

The team, clearly excited about the Vision, decided that to go toe-to-toe with billion-dollar competitors, they had to give the owners of OEMs total confidence that c3 could deliver superior products and do it on time.

The solution was clear: Dramatically expand the product portfolio to own the control panel, back all products with the best warranty in the industry, and guarantee same-day shipping on every single one of the tens of millions of parts and configurations made.

In the years that followed, c3controls grew from 14 people in a 7,500 sq. ft. facility into a company selling products around the globe with nearly 70 team members spread across three state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities buildings totaling nearly 50,000 sq. ft. in Pennsylvania and a global joint venture manufacturing team with an additional 100 team members in a 100,000 sq. ft. facility.

Today & Tomorrow

c3 found success through a focus on providing OEMs with more value than they asked for, offering better products than the multi-billion dollar conglomerate competitors, and maintaining the quick, agile, and friendly service of a family company.

As a small business, c3 also understands their customers better. c3 looks just like their customers in size, revenue, and in the challenges small and medium sized OEMs face every day.

Tomorrow brings smart technology, products and systems with electronic design platforms connected to the internet of things and other electrical equipment built around the ability to communicate with each other. The plans are in place to bring these innovative advancements into the c3 product portfolio, but that’s not something the team is ready to divulge details on just yet.

c3 continuously builds upon the lessons learned from every era of their history as they look to expand their portfolio to be a complete supplier.

As c3 celebrates 40 years in business, there will be some looking back at the people who made it possible. People will gather around pictures of Glenn and Carolyn in their garage, and they’ll remember the hard work and the lessons learned. But the main focus will be the next 40 years, on tomorrow and the day after that. The future will bring new challenges for customers and partners that they’ll turn to c3 to help them face head on.

And if the last 40 years are any indication, c3controls will be ready.