FASTENAL CO

Overview

Fastenal Co. is a distributor of industrial and construction supplies, serving primarily business customers through a network of branches and customer locations. Founded in Winona, Minnesota, in 1967, it supplies fasteners, safety products, tools and other materials used in industrial and construction operations. Its services include inventory management and procurement tools intended to help customers reduce purchasing costs.[1]+2

Fastenal describes its approach with the motto “Growth Through Customer Service.” At the end of 2025, it operated 1,595 branches across 25 countries and employed 24,489 people; it reported approximately $8.2 billion in 2025 net sales.[4]+2 [1]+4

Products & services

Fastenal supplies threaded fasteners, including bolts, nuts, screws, studs and washers, as well as pins, machinery keys, concrete anchors, metal framing systems, wire rope, strut, rivets and related accessories. Fasteners accounted for 30.5% of sales in 2025. Its other product categories include safety supplies (22.2% of sales), janitorial supplies (9.0%), tools (8.3%), hydraulics and pneumatics (6.9%), material-handling products (5.7%), cutting tools (5.2%), electrical supplies (4.7%) and welding supplies (4.3%).[6][7]

Fastenal also provides inventory-management services at customer facilities. FASTStock uses scanned bins and digital planograms to support replenishment, while FASTBin adds electronic inventory monitoring, real-time visibility and automatic replenishment. Its bin technologies include weight-sensing scales, infrared sensors, RFID-based replenishment and FASTClick electronic replenishment buttons. FASTVend dispenses products through industrial vending devices, providing controlled access and around-the-clock availability.[8]+2

Under its Onsite model, Fastenal provides dedicated service and customer-specific inventory from a location in or near a customer's facility. Digital services include e-commerce, integrated procurement and electronic data interchange; FAST360 provides inventory and spending views, while FASTCrib supports customer-specific catalogs, inventory tracking, procurement workflows, reporting and asset tracking.[11]+3 [6]+16

Geographic presence

Fastenal is headquartered in Winona, Minnesota, and had 1,595 branches across 25 countries at year-end 2025. Its distribution network comprised 12 centers in the United States, two in Canada, one in Mexico, two in Asia and two in Europe.[15][1]

In 2025, U.S. sales were $6.82 billion, approximately 83% of total sales; the remaining $1.38 billion was reported under other operating segments, without a separate country-by-country sales breakdown.[16] Of Fastenal’s 24,489 employees at year-end, 19,206 were in the United States, 3,441 in Canada and Mexico combined, and 1,842 in 23 other countries.[17] [15]+4

Business segments

Fastenal reports one **reportable segment: the U.S.** Its operating segments are organized geographically across the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Central and South America, Europe, Asia, and Southeast Asia; the six non-U.S. segments are grouped as “other operating segments” because none individually meets the threshold for separate reporting. In 2025, the U.S. generated approximately 83% of net sales ($6.82 billion), while the other operating segments generated approximately 17% ($1.38 billion).[18]+2

Fastenal also describes its business by product line, although these are **not separately reported segments**. Fasteners—including bolts, nuts, screws, studs, washers, and related hardware—accounted for approximately 30.5% of 2025 sales. Non-fastener lines accounted for 69.5%, including safety supplies at 22.2%; the remaining non-fastener lines therefore represented approximately 47.3% of sales. These include products such as tools, janitorial supplies, and cutting tools.[6]+3 [18]+7

Company history

Fastenal began as a partnership in 1967, opening its first branch in Winona, Minnesota, to supply threaded fasteners; it incorporated in Minnesota the following year. Bob Kierlin was its founder and original chief executive. Store openings accelerated in the late 1970s, and by the time of its 1987 public offering, Fastenal had about 50 stores and $20 million in annual sales.[22]+3

The company established its first Onsite customer location in 1992, opened its first Canadian branch in 1994 and entered Mexico in 2001. Willard Oberton succeeded Kierlin as chief executive in 2002. Fastenal introduced its FASTVend industrial vending program in 2008 and made Onsite locations a more deliberate growth strategy in 2014. Daniel Florness became president and chief executive in 2016.[11]+4 [22]+8

Sources

• FASTENAL CO — Full financial report (2025 Y)
  20 citations

  [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21]
• FASTENAL CO — Full financial report (2024 Y)
  4 citations

  [11][22][26][28]
• FASTENAL CO — Transcript (2025 Q 1)[23]
• FASTENAL CO — Transcript (2019 Q 2)[24]
• FASTENAL CO — Full financial report (2015 Q 3)[25]
• FASTENAL CO — Full financial report (2013 Y)[27]
• FASTENAL CO — Full financial report (2015 Y)[29]