When a customer needs a specific component, the solution isn’t always about finding one company that makes one particular part. Sometimes, it’s about having access to the right combination of manufacturing expertise, product capabilities, and sourcing resources. That’s one advantage of being part of the Fastener Industries family of brands. With companies including Brainard Rivet, Die Co., Inc., Buckeye Fasteners and the newest addition, Vamp Screw Products, the organization brings together complementary capabilities and resources that can help customers find solutions across a broader range of applications and industries. Being a Buckeye authorized supplier, Brainard Rivet and Die Co., Inc. each bring different capabilities to the organization. Together, those capabilities create opportunities to help customers find solutions across a broader range of applications and industries.
Manufacturing Expertise
Brainard provides custom capabilities available to meet your specific requirements.
For more than 100 years, Brainard Rivet has specialized in solid, cold-formed fasteners, including small and large rivets, clevis pins, knurled and threaded products, grooved and pointed fasteners, and hex weld nuts. Brainard’s made-to-print capabilities allow the company to produce both specialized components and high-volume production parts, with flexibility for orders of different sizes. That flexibility is particularly valuable when a customer needs something that doesn’t fit neatly into a standard catalog.
Leslie Phillips, General Manager of Brainard Rivet, describes one of the company’s strengths as “incredible flexibility with order sizes.” Whether a customer needs a smaller quantity or a larger production run, Brainard can evaluate the application and determine how best to manufacture the part.
Frank Minniti working on one of Brainard’s cold-heading machines.
Die Co., Inc. brings a different area of expertise to the organization. Its capabilities in spring steel and stainless steel forming, including 4-slide technology, allow it to produce products such as cage nuts, U/J-nuts, U/S-clips, compression rings, wire and cable clips, push nuts and stud receivers, along with other specialized stamped geometries. The result is complementary manufacturing expertise: Brainard’s experience with cold-formed solid fasteners alongside Die Co.’s expertise in stamped and formed components.
More Options Through Buckeye
As the overall distribution and manufacturing arm, Buckeye Fasteners adds another important piece to that equation as a wholesale distribution and sourcing resource. Rather than limiting customers to what one manufacturing operation can produce, Buckeye can source products from across their international network and from outside suppliers. That gives customers another way to access the products they need, whether they’re looking for a specific manufactured component, a stocked item, or a broader sourcing solution.
Die Co., Inc.’s 4-slide machine forming the final folds of an aftermarket mud guard clip.
For Brainard customers, that can mean another option for getting the right product to the right place. The relationship works both ways. Brainard manufactures products for Buckeye, including hex weld nuts, while also quoting other products that may be appropriate for Buckeye’s customers. Customers can work directly with Brainard when its manufacturing capabilities are the right fit, or access Brainard products through Buckeye when a consolidated distribution approach makes sense. That flexibility is part of what makes the Fastener Industries family different. As Leslie puts it, the organization offers “many options, employee ownership, rapid decisions, and accessible leadership.”
Collaboration Behind the Scenes
The value of the relationship isn’t limited to what each company sells. The teams also collaborate when customers’ needs cross product lines or manufacturing capabilities. Leslie describes it simply, “Brainard Rivet and Die Co. collaborate on overlapping customers, raw material, equipment, and brainstorm to help each other.” That kind of communication can make it easier to identify another potential solution when a certain part, material, or production method presents a challenge. It also gives customers access to people who understand manufacturing firsthand, rather than simply moving a product from one place to another.
A Culture of Ownership
The we own it, we owe it banner hanging at Die Co., Inc.
Underneath all of these capabilities is something the companies share: employee ownership. Brainard Rivet has been part of the Fastener Industries employee-owned organization since 1998, while Fastener Industries has operated as an employee-owned company since 1980. That structure has helped create a culture where employees have a direct stake in the success of the organization and the customers they serve.
At Die Co., Inc., Brady describes that culture as one where “people want to help, understand corporate decisions, cross-train, and take care of employee owners/families.” That sense of ownership extends directly to quality. As Brady puts it, “we not only own our company, we own our quality.” It’s a simple idea, but a vital one. When employees have a personal stake in the company, quality and customer success become everyone’s responsibility.
Looking Ahead
As the companies continue to build stronger connections between their capabilities, there are opportunities to make that broader range of products and expertise even easier for customers to access. The Fastener Industries family is continuing to grow, with Vamp Screw Products in Michigan joining the organization as its newest addition. While Brainard Rivet, Die Co., Inc., and Buckeye Fasteners remain central to the relationships highlighted here, Vamp adds another piece to the broader network of companies working together to support customers’ needs. Looking ahead, the companies see opportunities to make their complementary capabilities even more accessible to customers, with the potential to create a one-stop shop for all product lines. With Brainard Rivet, Die Co., Inc., and Buckeye Fasteners together at the upcoming International Fastener Expo in Arizona, it’s a natural opportunity to showcase that broader range of capabilities and the people behind it. Because sometimes the best solution isn’t just about what one company can make. It’s about what a connected organization can do.