Fastenal

Fastenal is a US based company headquartered in Winona, Minnesota that distributes industrial, safety and construction supplies and offers services including, third party logistics, inventory management, manufacturing and tool repair. The Fastenal story began in 1967 when Bob Kierlin pooled together $30,000 with four friends and opened the first Fastenal store, a 1,000 sq. ft. shop in his hometown of Winona, MN.

The business plan originally was to dispense nuts and bolts via custom vending machines, a technology that was impracticable at the time. This, however, did not deter Bob. Today, Fastenal, striving for its motto Growth Through Customer Service, has finally popularized industrial vending.

Fastenal has its stores spanning all 50 U.S. states, Canada, Mexico, other locations in Central & South America, Europe and Asia – each striving to be the best industrial supplier in the market it serves. From one store to over 3,300 in-market locations, 400 million products, 17 Distribution Centers across various continents, ~$7.0 billion in revenue, a feature in Forbes - Top 50 most innovative companies: We Are Where You Are (#WeAreWhereYouAre).