It’s certainly been far from the year Marc Strandquist anticipated when he first began his role as president for the Americas with Optimas Solutions in January of 2020. Optimas is a global, tech-enabled industrial manufacturer and distributor that delivers fasteners, inventory management, and production-related solutions. “It’s been a challenge, that’s for sure,” says Strandquist, who…
Rolling the dice on success: A company built on vented screws
It was polio that set Ron Anderson up for a career as a draftsman. Eventually, this path led him to start his own business, UC Components, Inc. — a manufacturer of vented screws and components — from his home garage in Union City, California. He bought a drill press, a spray-mist cooler, and a small…
Going digital with Perlane Sales
Months before the pandemic hit, Ken DeCrane felt it was time to digitalize a few of the services offered at Perlane Sales Inc., a distributor and engineered partner of fasteners and tools. “The challenge in business is to continually be forward-thinking and to avoid complacency,” he says. DeCrane is the company president and he’s been…
“Family is our fastener:” Industrial Rivet celebrates more than 100 years of success
When Taryn Goodman’s great grandfather (Willie Goodman) founded Industrial Rivet & Washer Co. in 1912, he likely never expected the company to last more than 100 years or to maintain one of the industry’s largest inventories. He was simply offered an opportunity to sell rivets in New York City and grew to become an expert…
Building the future with Suburban Bolt
The fastener industry was far from Nikki Gordon’s mind when she began her career as a marketing specialist. It may have stayed that way, too — she worked for Gannett, the second-largest media company in the world at the time — but one of her clients at Gannett was Suburban Bolt and Supply, a family…
JW Winco: Building a family business
Standard parts — meaning those that conform to an established industry standard — might seem like an easy find in most industries, but this wasn’t always the case. Before the 1980s, finding the ideal fastener or component for an automobile or a kitchen appliance in North America might have required a new design template or…
The inspiration behind the ForeverLok
The fastener industry is something Earl Size rarely, if ever, thought about. For 20 years, the Michigan-based native has owned a successful skate shop that provides services and repairs for hockey players and ice skaters in Troy, which is about 20 miles north of Detroit. However, aside from the typical blade sharpening, Size noticed one…
How a new product invention led to a global manufacturing company
With a workshop of sorts set up in his garage, K.A. Swanstrom developed a revolutionary product in the early 1940s — one that would reduce time, labor, weight, and inventory on many assembly jobs. This new self-clinching fastener was easy-to-install and provided load-carrying threads in the metal sheets that are too thin to be tapped. …
The making of an advanced adhesives team
It’s been said the journey to success begins with a single step. For Meridian Adhesives Group that step began with building a full team of expert adhesive companies. Founded just a couple of years ago by Arsenal Capital Partners, Meridian Adhesives Group is a U.S.-based manufacturer of high-performance adhesives and sealant technologies — with seven…
How Bodycote became the largest global provider of thermal processing services
A family-made business, Bodycote plc, was initially founded in a small, England market town in the early 1920s. Chances are the original owner, Arthur Bodycote, never expected the company to grow from a simple textile business to a global provider of subcontract thermal processing services. Today, Bodycote employs more than 5,000 employees worldwide. “In fact,…