Fasteners history

During the late 1950’s, the expanding high-technology industries along Route 128 (the “electronic highway”) began demanding more sophisticated and specialized suppliers.

By 1955, Ohio Nut & Bolt was the second oldest and second largest industry in Berea, Ohio.

After graduating from high school in 1957 he went on to major in mechanical engineering at the University of Minnesota, where he later earned his M.B.A. After college Kierlin accepted a job with IBM in nearby Rochester.

My first involvement with threaded fastener standards was in the mid 1960’s.

In 1964 the International Organization for Standardization announced two universal thread systems: ISO Inch and ISO Metric.

Growth was so rapid that in 1965 the company built a 20,000 square foot building just off Route 128, in Waltham.

The first Fastenal shop opened its doors in 1967 on Winona's Lafayette Street.

Until the mid 1970”s, nails were the fasteners of choice for attaching metal sheeting to wood framed buildings.

In 1972, Ohio Distribution Centers became Buckeye Fasteners, Inc. a subsidiary of Fastener Industries and a distribution center for small orders.

The change turned out to be exactly what the stores needed to become profitable, and Kierlin left IBM in 1973 to run Fastenal full time.

Mudge Fasteners has been family owned and operated since 1975, providing a large selection of fasteners, fastener tools and adhesives to customers in a broad range of industries.

Late in the year 1979, Rod Whelan and Jean (Whelan) Doheny decided to sell Fastener Industries, Inc.

The employees individually invested 85% of the total profit sharing monies to buy the company and the transaction closed on June 30 1980 making Fastener Industries, Inc. a 100% ESOP-owned Company, with all employees owning common stock as of the end of the year.

Importantly, in 1981 Fastenal purchased the inventory and customer list of the fastener lines of Briese Steel in Rochester.

Southern Fasteners & Supply is a commercial fastener company founded in 1982.

By 1985 the chain had grown to a total of 35 company-owned stores.

The stock jumped from $9 to $15 by year's end, making the Fastenal initial public offering the most successful of the 627 conducted during the year of the October 1987 crash.

The company celebrated 10 years of employee ownership on June 30, 1990.

Started her career in the fastener world in 1991 working at Melfast as a receptionist, also handling clerical duties.

In 1992 Fastenal opened a fourth distribution center in Dallas and agreed to purchase a fifth in Atlanta.

Buckeye Fasteners added Buckeye Brokerage Division (later called Multisource Fasteners) in 1993, which provided another resource for customers, as this division searched for non-stock items, per customer request.

In 1994, Fastener Industries built Joseph Industries, a new plant in Streetsboro, Ohio.

Fastenal entered 1995 with 330 stores in 44 states, each of which offered 37,000 different items, and the company planned to add 150 outlets to the chain within the next few years.

Since the purchase in 1998, Brainard has more than doubled the number of employees and dramatically increased sales and profits.

The 2000’s had huge milestones for Buckeye with the 100th anniversary of Ohio Nut & Bolt and the 25th year anniversary of Buckeye Fasteners being an ESOP company.

November, 2021, Electronic Fasteners moved from their Waltham address to Canton, MA.