ABOUT US

PRODUCT EXPERTISE, CUSTOMER SERVICE

PRODUCT EXPERTISE, CUSTOMER SERVICE

While any business can say they put their customers first, at CW Hayden we let our actions do the talking. From our team of trained Product Experts to full-service inventory management, making sure our customers' needs are fulfilled is at the core of our mission.

IT ALL STARTS WITH VALUE-ADDED SERVICE

The idea that every customer - regardless of the size of their company - deserves personal attention may be new to some, but we've always run our company that way, and we always will.

So how do we add value to our products? It starts with what you'd expect - having our Product Experts offer input on purchasing decisions and offering easy online ordering.

But it goes beyond that to include having our sales reps manage your inventory, provide on-site safety training or even personally deliver a load of supplies that are urgently needed on the production floor.

COMPANY HISTORY

Trout, and catching that elusive game fish is where it all began. C W “Win” Hayden had a passion for trout fishing but couldn’t afford the hand tied flies to bring them in so he began to tie his own. They performed so well that he ultimately began selling them to the people that could afford to buy them, the business barons and mill owners of the day, and Lake Auburn Fly company was born. It grew so well he had as many as six ladies tying flies to keep up with demand. In the late 1920’s into the 1940’s Win’s customer base grew fostering friendships that formed into weekend gatherings at his new camp where those gathered enjoyed his cooking, his scotch and a joke or two. Or was that a scotch or two.

One evening a guest was complaining that he was having a difficult time sourcing a type of cordage for his business asking Win if one of his thread suppliers might have it available - turns out he did - and this fellow placed a large order for some. Word got around and other mill owners began buying cordage then waterproof paper, paper tags, envelopes and about anything they could buy from their friend Win Hayden.

But Win Hayden had a decision to make, it was 1947 and the mills were busy, would he continue manufacturing and selling hand tied trout and salmon flies, or would he move into the business of wholesale paper distribution? It was a difficult decision but since selling flies was a seasonal proposition and paper supplies were needed year ‘round, he decided to let the ladies go and commit full attention to paper. In 1948 CW Hayden Company was incorporated and opened their doors in Auburn’s Cushman Building, at the time the largest shoe manufacturing facility under one roof in the world.