TR Fastenings, Uckfield, celebrates 40 years in business

TR Fastenings is celebrating 40 successful years at the forefront of the fastener industry.

It is expecting year-end operating profits to grow for the fourth year in succession and is on track to double profitability by 2016.

Growth since the appointment of a new board in 2009 has been achieved through a combination of new acquisitions and new product ranges, rolling out sales to more than 500 assembly sites around the world.

From small beginnings, TR Fastenings has grown into a multi-million pound business, supplying over 150 million components every day to thousands of customers from all walks of industry.

From its own-brand self-clinch sheet metal fasteners to its new range of plastic fasteners and Cable Management products, TR stays at the cutting edge of fastener technology and invests heavily in the research and development of new products.

The company’s global engineering capabilities and seven manufacturing sites in Asia and the UK enable it to design, develop and produce over 30% of its components.

It also owns a number of prestigious world-class licences, including the Pozidriv® trademark for the UK, Pozi® in the EU and the MAThread® and Torx® licences, and now has the rights to manufacture the Philips Drive Systems, increasing the number of services and products available to its customers.

Managing Director Geoff Budd, who joined the company in 1976, said. “TR Fastenings has evolved from a small local business into a leading manufacturer and supplier with a global presence, but we are never complacent.

"The energetic attitude and spirit of innovation at TR ensures we will continue to maintain our high standards of customer service and enables us to explore new opportunities and technologies.”

Timeline:

1973 Company founded in Uckfield, East Sussex, by Mike Timms and Mike Roberts.

1976 Manufacture of threaded sheet metal fasteners commences in Uckfield.

1980s Rapid expansion of company, with distribution sites established across UK, along with self-locking nut factory and a factory for turned parts and cold heading of screws.

1994 TR Fastenings floats on the London Stock Exchange and is listed as Trifast PLC.

1990s Growth and profitability grow dramatically year on year, driven by TR Fastenings’ expertise in component logistics management directly on to the assembly lines of mainly multinational electronics customers. Company also invests heavily in Asia – with fastener manufacturing acquisitions in Singapore, Malaysia and Taiwan together with a distribution centre based in Shanghai, and distribution acquisitions in NW UK, S Ireland, Norway, USA and Sweden.

2000s TR Fastenings rides the storms of the Dotcom boom and crash, acquires Serco Ryan, a large UK fastener distributor in 2005, and by late 2009 has moved back into profit as the first stage of a three-year recovery plan put together by the new Board introduced in March 2009. The growth of financial performance and strength has continued consistently since, resulting in the ability to acquire the high-quality Malaysian-based manufacturer Power Steel in late 2011. This recent addition has broadened TR’s capacity in larger diameter cold-formed components that particularly meet the demands of the automotive sector, which now accounts for 30% of TR’s global revenue.

2013 As TR Fastenings celebrates its 40th Anniversary in June 2013, the company continues from strength to strength. It has 1,300 personnel working in 21 divisions across 15 countries within the three main global continents of Europe, Asia and the USA.