Fastener company profiles

“Invest in Women; Accelerate Progress” is the 2024 International Women’s Day theme. Celebrated annually on March 8th, International Women’s Day serves as a global focal point in the women’s rights movement. This year’s theme represents the importance of equality as companies shift toward a more balanced and sustainable economic approach.  One woman who is familiar…

Raymond DeWalt was a tradesman in Pennsylvania in the early 1920s, initially learning his skillset at his dad’s wagon shop, DeWalt Wagon Works. However, little did DeWalt Jr know that he would soon become a successful power-tool pioneer on his own accord, developing a way to streamline and expedite wood-cutting operations — without sacrificing quality…

Martin Hilti never forgot his father asking him at age 14 what he wanted to do with his life. The answer: “Build motors — electric motors.” This was in 1930 in Lichtenstein, a small country wedged between Austria and Switzerland. That answer did not change even after earning a degree in applied mathematics. So, Martin…

If Kristin Glink had not changed her mind about a career halfway through college, she never would have made the friends or had the success she’s experiencing in the fastener industry today. The fastener sector wasn’t even on her radar. “Unless you have parents or grandparents in the industry, it’s probably a rare career to…

For as long as she can remember, Mallory Nichols has enjoyed innovating and talking strategy. She didn’t think twice about earning a business degree after high school, which she did at Auburn University in Alabama, focusing on small business and entrepreneurship. But joining her family’s company was never the endgame. “It’s interesting because my mom…

It’s been said that change is inevitable while growth is optional. For Buckeye Fasteners Company, a division of Fastener Industries, Inc. (FFI), this was never a choice. Decades of change and innovation led to a company that built itself on strength, resilience, and success. And it all began in the early 1900s in the Midwest…

As many of us experienced as seniors in high school, Tara Meinck was unsure what career path to follow after graduation. And if she could fast-forward a decade or so into the future, she likely never would have guessed she’d have a full-fledged career as an engineer and product manager at SPIROL International, a global…

In the world of engineering and fastener design, it’s important and noteworthy to find businesses that acknowledge and celebrate female talent and accomplishments. ARaymond is one such business.  A global firm specializing in assembly challenges, ARaymond actively recruits female team members and recognizes the value of listening to women’s voices at the highest levels of…

In what seems like both yesterday and a lifetime ago, Lt. Col. Edward Jackson retired as Lieutenant Colonel from the Air Guard. He spent 22 years flying the C-130 aircraft, where he served in Dessert Shield and Operation Enduring Freedom. When he co-founded a fastener business in 1998, the company name was obvious: Hercules Bolt.…

Johnny Rose always wanted to start his own business. After years of working in sales and marketing for others, he finally took the chance in 2001. The only concern was the timing. It was about a month before the tragedy of 9/11, which seriously affected the U.S. economy. “Initially, I thought I lucked out in…

Ashley Parker has always been a go-getter. She has a degree in hotel and restaurant management and an associate degree in business management. At 22 years old, she successfully opened her own restaurant in Arizona. But what she did not have, until recently, were plans to work at her father’s company. “My dad is a…

Jamie Ausec works in insurance, but she began her career by taking risks. In 2006, she left the familiarity of the Pacific Northwest, where she was raised, for California and a job solely based on commission. “It was a bit of a gamble that I only look back on now with relief and gratitude that…

If variety is the spice of life, Manuel Martinez has experienced his fair share throughout his career. He’s worked in several roles as an engineer — in quality, product design and development, and management — in three different countries during the last 16 years. He’s worked in tooling, chemical bonding, and mechanical fastening. What has…

Most would agree that paperwork is a necessary nuisance for any business and the fastener industry is no different. Quality assurance means certifications and technical documentation are essential, particularly for critical parts in critical assemblies. “In the fastener industry, there are several required documentation that vary from the supply chain for raw materials to OEM…

At 19, Joseph Frainee Jr. was already a jack-of-all-trades. He worked construction for his father by day and did autobody jobs at night. On weekends, he would paint houses. One such place happened to be the home of the founder of RISCO, Inc., Murray Edward Richardson (“Rich”). RISCO, Inc. began as Richardson’s Fasteners in 1964,…

Jennifer Sturm was doing a friend a favor when she first interviewed with Empire Bolt & Screw Inc., a family-owned distributor of threaded fasteners and industrial products. She never intended to take the job. Now, 25 years later, Sturm has worked in several roles at Empire Bolt and is currently the company’s chief operating officer.…

It’s not every day that a young Latina working mother is approached by two financiers and asked if she’d like to start her own business — particularly in the early ’90s. But that’s exactly what happened to Louise McKinnis while she was working at a bearings company in Fullerton, California. “My mom was a bit…

Tiffany Arnold was the first hire when AIM Testing Laboratory launched in 2018, a multi-disciplinary laboratory that specializes in materials testing and fastener quality assurance. AIM was co-founded by industry veterans, Rob LaPointe and Carmen Vertullo, in San Diego, California. Arnold serves as the Director of Quality Systems. “I was honored and excited to join…

As World War II slowly came to an end, Adolf Würth knew two things: he needed to support his family and he wanted to work independently. With a post-war focus on new construction and rebuilding, a wholesale business focused on fasteners made sense. So, in the summer of 1945, Würth officially set up his own…

Gail Friedberg began her career as a corporate lawyer, which was ideal when her husband, Harvey Rottenstrich, decided to start his own company in the early ’90s. She could provide legal support. Rottenstrich was an engineer who had worked for a company with a fastener division when he decided to venture out on his own.…

Long before the invention of the automobile, assembly lines, and modern manufacturing, a young man with an entrepreneurial mind decided to start a company. Albert-Pierre Raymond grew up in Grenoble, France when horses were the modern form of transportation and the world of textiles was big business. “Albert-Pierre was my great-great-grandfather, and he was the…

With a degree in accounting, Jan Morr never intended for a career in the fastener industry. After university, she worked at the wireless company, Verizon, managing phone plans for corporate clients — and she excelled. In fact, one of the companies that she worked with was so impressed with her abilities and responsiveness that they…

More than a decade ago, two gentlemen shared a cab to the airport from a U.S. fastener show. Although both attended the same event, it was their first time meeting — a random encounter that would lead to what Brighton-Best International (BBI), a master fastener distributor, is today. One of the men was Robert Shieh,…

If there’s one thing Craig Penland has learned as a business owner with more than a couple of decades of experience in the fastener industry, it’s how to persevere. “To be honest, I could write a New York Times best-seller on how NOT to run a company,” he laughs. “Because if it was possible to…

The inaugural Fastener Fair USA event took place in 2018, but the exhibition launched more than a couple of decades ago and has found success in several countries since then. The first show started in England in 1995. It was organized by a UK socket-screw wholesaler interested in expanding his business and connecting with others…