 In
the 1980's, stainless steel fasteners were sometimes difficult to come by.
Except for a few major importers that supplied distributors, inventory was
not readily available. Carl Brantley realized stainless steel would never
gain wide spread acceptance in the US market place as long as this system
kept the pricing out of reach for the average consumer. His plan - to invest
heavily in imported stainless steel and sell directly to the OEM. In 1984,
he opened Marine Fasteners.
At that time, boat builders
across the US were the single largest users of stainless steel fasteners.
This market recognized the advantages of stainless steel, and immediately
jumped at the new competitive prices Marine offered. Within 4 short years,
Marine was recognized as the premier supplier of stainless steel fasteners
to the marine industry.
Primary
supplier to America's largest boat building groups
Industrial sales grew
slower as buyers initially hesitated at the low pricing Marine offered. It
was the early 90's and fastener quality was national news. Throughout this
stormy period of federal agents raiding fastener distributors nationwide,
Marine Fasteners' reputation for quality was never questioned.
Offering over 500 years of fastener experience with
rare employee turnover - evidence of a knowledgeable staff backed by a management
committed to employee and customer service.
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In 1987, Marine opened
its first branch in Elkhart, Indiana, to better serve the Midwest and Northeast
US market. By 1999, Sanford had moved into a new 20M square foot warehouse
and in 2000, Elkhart had moved into its new 30M square foot facility. In
2001, a third stocking facility was added in Springfield, MO, to serve customers
west of the Mississippi River. |
In the last four years,
Marine Fasteners sales have grown 30%. Although approached numerous times
by national chains, seeking to add Marine's reputation and overseas buying
power, Marine Fasteners maintains its status as a privately owned
importer/distributor. |
In recent years, Marine
Fasteners adopted technological advances to make it a more valuable partner.
The response to the Palm Pilot Scanner Inventory Management (SIM) for medium
size manufacturers has proven so successful, that it was
recently introduced as part of the In Plant Distributor (IPD) system.
This process, for larger OEM's, offers in plant personnel committed to removing
the costs of fastener acquisition and management.
While Marine is always
looking for items to compliment their customers needs, unlike the mega hardware
distributors, it has chosen not to be all things to all people.
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