Recent office extension at Fastbolt headquarters
process. On reflection his real skill was in investing trust and responsibility in those people, challenging and supporting them to develop and refine their capabilities. In 1992 Heinz Storch’s ambitions
turned to mainland Europe. Moving to Germany, he established Fastbolt Schraubengroßhandels GmbH in Gronau. Initially again, space was rented from Nellen & Quack, the Gronau freight company that continues to play a major role in Fastbolt’s mainland Europe logistics. A novel agreement effectively provided Fastbolt with a warehouse with elastic walls allowing it to take on additional space as and only when required. By 1995 Heinz Storch had carved a new role for Fastbolt in the central European fastener market. Fastbolt moved into its current facility in Gronau Epe, within three years expanding it to respond to the company’s growth needs. A further expansion in 2003 extended the warehouse and introduced a high capacity packing and palletising plant, and another extension was completed in 2010. Most recently an office extension accommodates an entirely new quality laboratory on the ground floor adjacent to ‘Goods In’ as well as providing additional office space overhead. That the site continues to have space for further expansion of its warehouse - the blueprints already exist for a high bay fully automatic extension – is testament, once again, to the vision and ambition of Heinz Storch. In 2000 Fastbolt took the massive step
for a company of its size of installing SAP computer systems in both UK and German operations. For Heinz Storch it was about having incontrovertibly the best platform on which to continue to grow his business. Inevitably the transition was challenging - participants at the time probably have another description – and a serious test of the character and capability of the people
in both businesses. Just as important as taking on the best system was the formative process for key personnel in the business. Key to the continuity of the Fastbolt
business, to an extent that Heinz Storch could never have envisaged, was the recruitment of Ekkehard Beermann, eleven years ago. A structured business education had been complemented with extensive work experience in a major German fastener manufacturer and a foray into the world of online systems and trading. More important, though, in a still young manager was a familiar combination of personal presence, commitment and self-belief. Within a year, it was clear that the chemistry was right and Ekkehard Beermann progressively took on the role of driving the business forward on the firmly established principles that had brought it successfully into the new millennium. The SAP system provided the platform for the introduction of FB Online, which radically advanced the communication relationship with Fastbolt customers alongside the further development of more customised links such as EDI. In 2005 Fastbolt Trading (Shanghai)
Co Ltd was established, followed two years later by the setting up of FQC, the Fastener Quality Center in Shanghai. The clear intent of both developments was to substantially systemise and professionalise Fastbolt’s sourcing relationships in China to deliver new levels of assured quality to its European customers. Despite the advent of EU anti-dumping measures, the development of these businesses fundamentally contributed to the direct container solutions Fastbolt offers to its customers, both on products from China unaffected by trade defence measures, and on those from other parts of Asia. As an ISO 17025:2005 accredited facility, FQC is superbly equipped to carry out pre-
shipment inspections on product for Fastbolt’s own inventory and for its customers as well as carrying out factory audits. For Eric Ni, Fastbolt’s director in China the changes in European pattern of trade undoubtedly presented a challenge; one that with characteristic positivity he has embraced in developing business opportunities within China and in world markets outside the EU. The Gronau celebration reflects a
business that has dramatically developed in its thirty years of existence, during a period when businesses generally and the fastener industry specifically has seen unprecedented levels of change. It has made the transition from a small UK business to an international group with its management and purchasing headquarters in Germany. The latest development has been the
installation of new specialist software, interfacing with the core SAP system to provide major new efficiencies in Fastbolt Germany’s warehouse management. It reflects a change in emphasis over the thirty years from a pioneering process of searching out new Asian suppliers to a continuous refinement of the effectiveness, reliability and flexibility of the supply chain between factory and final customer. And yet… on a lake not far from Gronau
there was an equally potent symbol that this is a business of utterly committed people of all kinds, shapes and sizes, from Europe and Asia, striving together to a common purpose. For one day that resulted in the exhilaration of propelling a dragonboat across the water… on any working day it is the satisfaction of delivering an exceptional level of performance and customer service. Some things really have not changed that much – which for Fastbolt customers is unquestionably for the best.
www.fastbolt.com
www.fastenerandfixing.com 39
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