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The Cullman Area Chamber of
Commerce Existing Business and Industry Committee recently toured
Birmingham Fastener's Hanceville Distribution Center and was treated to
a behind-the-scenes look at one of the most efficient operations in the
world of industrial supplies.
Founded in 1980 and based in Birmingham, Ala., Birmingham
Fastener occupied its 120,000 sq. ft. Hanceville facility in March 2002.
The company has eight locations in addition to the Hanceville
distribution center including two each in Birmingham and Huntsville; one
in Nashville; and sites in Greer,
S.C.; and Dallas, Tex. The largest fastener supplier in the
south, Birmingham Fastener supplies contractors and building supply
retailers throughout the southeast U.S. with their own custom-made
fasteners as well as those obtained from other manufacturers.
The company employs 262 persons, 33 of whom work
at the Hanceville facility. The distribution center itself is state-of-the-art,
a high-speed racking system and bar-coded stock allowing for a high degree of
efficiency and production.
According to manager Frankie Jones, the advanced equipment
and highly skilled and dedicated workforce of the Hanceville center
combined allow the company to provide a level of service to its
customers that is top notch.
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A Birmingham Fastener employee operates a Crown turret
stock picker in the racks of the company's Hanceville distribution
center.
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"It's a very successful
venture for Birmingham Fastener," Jones said of the Hanceville facility
and the decision to locate in Cullman County. "This distribution center
was part of the vision our CEO, Howard Tinney, had for the company.
"We're able to do so well because of the quality work force
here in Cullman County. We think it's our strongest asset." |
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Manager Frankie Jones leads Rich Bunis of Wallace
State College and other members of the Chamber of Commerce Existing
Business and Industry Committee tour through the distribution center.
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According to Jones, part of
Tinney's vision - and one that is well represented in the Hanceville
distribution facility - is the idea that customer service should be of the utmost
importance.
"We have to be the best in customer service," Jones said.
"You can't always have the lowest price, so you have to give the best
service. Right now, we do both."
Jones said the distribution center ships its fasteners with
an accuracy of 99.89 percent, which he described as "almost unheard of
in the fastener industry." The company utilizes Crown turret stock
pickers in addition to traditional forklifts to pull orders from the
two-story high racks that fill the warehouse's interior. Only six of the
turrets are currently being used in the state, three of which are owned
by the Hanceville distribution center.
Only 25 percent of the center's inventory is made by
Birmingham Fastener at the company's manufacturing plants in Birmingham
and Nashville, Jones said. The remaining 75 percent is bought from other
manufacturers and is redistributed.
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The company plans to hire 10-15
additional employees in the near future to work in packaging and also has
hopes of building manufacturing facility in Hanceville as well.
"All of the grade work is done and the pre-work is done for a
rail site," Jones said. "We have plenty of room to expand and we hope to
bring a manufacturing plant in here." |
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The manufacturing arm of
Birmingham Fastener is responsible for the creation of a wide variety of
fasteners, utilizing both hot and cold T-heading processes. Their products
range from relatively common eyebolts, screws, nuts and bolts to
specialized fasteners used in aerospace and other high-tech applications.
"We have two locations in Huntsville:
Huntsville Fastener
and Alabama Aerospace,"
Jones said. "The manufacture and supply of aerospace products is a project
we're very proud of .. they're very specialized products. We're looking at
opening one in Houston and one at Cape Canaveral."
"We feel like, because of our current structure, we can field
this type of business."
Jones also noted that Birmingham Fastener has other goals
beyond corporate expansion and customer service.
"Employee safety is very important to us," Jones said. "We
have the best insurance rating of any fastener company in the United
States." |
Racks and racks of conventional and specialty
fasteners
line the floor of the 120,000 square foot facility. |
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Cullman Area Chamber of Commerce
representative Jill Burke spoke highly of Birmingham Fastener and the
Hanceville Distribution Center following the Chamber group's tour of the
facility.
"It's very impressive; a very efficient operation," Burke
said. "Birmingham Fastener is an example of a great company." |
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A shipment of fasteners awaits transport to
the site of the Clinton Library in Arkansas.
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To find out more about Birmingham Fastener, visit their website at
www.bhamfast.com
or contact the Cullman Area
Chamber of Commerce at 256-734-0454.
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Additional Photos from the
Tour (Click on thumbnails to enlarge) |
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