Global Fastener News

FASTENER HISTORY

March 5, 1984 FIN – The Maryland Bolt & Nut Division of Leonard Jed Co. was purchased by Don Byrne and an unidentified partner.
Byrne is now president of Maryland Bolt and corporate offices have been transferred from the Leonard Jed Co. in downtown Baltimore to the plant seven miles away.

The Maryland Bolt & Nut plant has been in its present location since before 1900. American Chain and Cable (ACC) owned it from about 1943 to 1972.

In June 1972 it was closed due to a flood and was purchased in September of that year by Leonard Jed Co., which ran it as a division until its sale on February 20th to Byrne.

Another Leonard Jed fastener group – the Wm. H. Haskell Mfg. Co. subsidiary in Pawtucket, Rhode Island – also was sold recently.

Byrne won’t need to have anyone show him around Maryland Bolt. He was general manager there from 1972 to 1980 when he joined David C. Beron Associates in Livingston, NJ as a manufacturers’ agent.
Before joining Maryland, he was with Townsend in New Brighton, PA and with Modalus at Mt. Pleasant, PA.

Maryland Bolt sits on a seven-acre site in the Falls Road area of Baltimore and operations are scattered in some nine different buildings.
The company produces Grades 2, 5 and 8 bolts 1/4″ through 2-1/2″, carriage bolts (high and low carbon), hex and square lag screws (gimlet points though 3/4″), structural bolts type 1 and 3, and a variety of other products. It’s sort of a mini-Bethlehem in other words.
There are about 45 people now employed in turning out these products.
Jim Frith who has been with the company since 1973 will continue as plant manager.

FIN asked Don what he feels the greatest strengths of his company are and he told us that “our forte is being able to react to customer requirements pretty fast. We have a lot of flexibility. I’m not saying we can be all things to all people but where it sits within our equipment range we can give almost anybody a run for their money. On service – not price. I can’t compete on price with the high speed boys like Infasco and others.”
“We have a lot of long stock equipment and can make heat treated fine threaded square heads, and other things which not too many companies like to mess with.”
Asked about minimums, Byrne told FIN, ” On the hot stuff we’re pretty open quantity-wise, can do about anything. On the cold range stuff we’re looking at anywhere from 25,000 down to 2500 pieces.”
Byrne said that Maryland Bolt now sells through manufacturers agents but does some direct business as well. He’s looking now at the whole sales picture to see what changes might be made and says there’s some territories open that he’ll have to get reps to cover. The company sells from Ohio east and up and down the east coast at present. ©1984/2009 Fastener Industry News.