MRO buyers see more than just nuts and bolts at Fastenal expo
By Susan Avery -- Purchasing, 7/13/2006 6:00:00 AM
While Fastenal is the place to go for hard-to-find fasteners, the industrial distributor is also more than just nuts and bolts. This was evident to 3,500 of its customers—many of whom are MRO buyers—attending the Fastenal Industrial and Construction Expo recently in Minneapolis. MRO stands for maintenance, repair and operations.
Bill Reibenstein, manager of sourcing for indirect and MRO at The Timken Co. in Canton, Ohio, says Fastenal's event is unique in that it provides the opportunity to meet with the distributor's personnel and its suppliers to learn more about new products. It also offers attendees a chance to participate in training sessions.
In addition to customers and employees, nearly 200 manufacturer suppliers were represented at the expo. These manufacturers carry such diverse product lines as janitorial supplies; paints and chemicals; hydraulics/pneumatics/power transmission products; electrical supplies; material handling products; air and hand tools; and abrasives among others.
Fastenal demonstrated some of its capabilities on the show floor that include custom packaging, lighting, manufacturing and quality, global trading through its Fastco unit, construction and supplier diversity. It set up a replica of one of its stores which it recently enhanced through its CSP II (Customer Service Project); the store had 10,000 products on its shelves representing 150 suppliers. Fastenal also had a trailer onsite that demonstrated its expertise at vendor managed inventory (VMI) for construction projects.
Training sessions covered such topics as cost savings, advanced e-procurement, safety and global trading. Fastenal employees also led expo attendees on virtual tours of the company's manufacturing and distribution capabilities.
Based in Winona, Minn., Fastenal is a full line distributor, selling approximately 515,000 types of industrial supplies in these product categories: fasteners, cutting tools, hydraulics and pneumatics, plumbing supplies, janitorial supplies, chemicals and paint, electrical supplies, welding supplies, and material handling, storage, and packaging items. Annual sales for 2005 were $1.52 billion, putting the distributor in the number 12 spot on Industrial Distribution magazine's Top 50 for 2006 list.
At the expo. During the Fastenal Industrial and Construction Expo, Will Oberton, CEO and president, greeted attendees with words of the company's chairman, Bob Kierlin, that Fastenal was founded as "the place to go for hard to find fasteners." Speaking to the company's vision and core values he noted that Fastenal reinvests its profits by making expenditures where they count, on things that make a difference to the customer, such as the expo. The Minneapolis event was the fourth expo the distributor has held for customers.
Also Fastenal has opened more than 80 new stores this year, bringing the total number of locations in the U.S., Canada, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Singapore and Rotterdam, Amsterdam, to more than 1,800, and it's enhancing many existing facilities through its new CSP II, which includes such improvements as inventory selection, merchandising and, in some cases, store locations. The distributor is holding one-day selling events at the stores and introducing new tools such as handheld computers for its employees to use to relay information on inventory and order status to customers.
Attending the expo to learn more about his supplier's capabilities and "surprised at the extent of its product line" were Dave Wojtysiak, inventory control manager, and Jeannette L. Kiehnau of the purchasing operation at Paper Converting Machine Company, a division of Barry-Wehmiller, in Green Bay, Wisc. The two planned to keep that in mind when they got back to the office as their company embarks on a Lean manufacturing initiative; they will be looking to consolidate the supplier base. "We look to suppliers for technical expertise," said Wojtysiak. "Fastenal puts us in direct contact with expertise of its suppliers at events like these."
Similarly, Tom Landry, manager of quality systems and procurement at Tuthill Pump Group in Alsip, Ill., was also at the show thinking of his company's Lean initiative. The expo is the fourth he's attended. "Fastenal is helping us to stay competitive," he says of his relationship with the distributor and the three kaizen events they've held together, one of which resulted in implementing point-of-use bins that the supplier regularly replenishes. At the expo, Landry went to training sessions and visited booths looking for information on such products as absorbent materials, stretch wrap and others.
A sampling of manufacturer suppliers to Fastenal at the expo included such companies as Lenox, Irwin Industrial Tools, The L. S. Starrett Company and 3M.
On the show floor, Mike Nehmer, strategic account manager for Lenox in East Longmeadow, Mass., was demonstrating use of his company's new Blue Blade bimetal utility blades, and says that he appreciates "the opportunity to meet not only with end users but Fastenal employees as well at the event." Design of the new blade fuses a high-speed steel edge to a flexible steel backing creating an unbreakable blade that lasts longer than traditional carbon blades.
Dennis W. Kaetterhenry, business development manager at 3M Industrial Business in St. Paul, Minn., demonstrated new applications for existing products such as its 3M VHB tapes which permanently bond and seal many substrates and its Performance Plus duct tape.
At a Fastenal booth showcasing the company's virtual integrated supply program, expo attendees could watch a demonstration of a virtual tool crib available through DispenseSource, which helps manage consumption. Patrick Hennessy, director of strategic partners for DispenseSource, also took part in the training session on cost savings.
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