Global Fastener News

June 14, 2011 FIN – Media Spotlight – Officials from the U.S. Small Business Administration and U.S. Rep. David Cicilline visited Pilgrim Screw Corp. in Rhode Island as part of a tour marking successful domestic manufacturers.

After listening to Pilgrim chairman Gary Grove talk abo ut the company’s metamorphosis over its 89-year history, SBA New England regional administrator Jeanne Hulit commented that Pilgrim’s “ability to adapt and change skills and technology” is imperative for survival of domestic manufacturers.
Providence Journal reporter Barbara Polichetti noted that “antique model train sets and Mars landing craft may not seem to have much in common, but the screws that hold them together were all manufactured in Providence, at Pilgrim Screw Corp.”
The Pilgrim visit on May 31, 2011, was part of a national initiative to celebrate domestic manufacturing.

Grove told ProJo.com that Pilgrim was founded in 1932 by his father-in-law, Frederick Sahakian, who had immigrated to this country to escape the Armenian genocide.
Pilgrim first manufactured settings for jewelry, but materials became scare with World War II so Pilgrim began manufacturing its own screws. Soon screws were being manufactured for Lionel train sets the then Pilgrim began making screws and bolts for the government. The company expanded its fastener product lines.

Grove joined Pilgrim Screw in 1961 and upon becoming president in 1967 Grove focused on the aerospace industry. In 1986, he hired his son, Geoffrey Grove, who opened a branch in Arizona to supply the aeronautics industries and military.
Geoffrey Grove has been president since 1999.

The company now manufactures more than 36,000 different kinds of fasteners, and the Arizona warehouse stocks 60 million parts.

The SBA has backed $2.5 million in loans to Pilgrim Screw, which has about 35 employees at the Providence plant.

During the plant tour, Hulit noted though the U.S. has lost more than 11.5 million manufacturing jobs in the past dozen years, there has been some slight growth this year.

“We cannot lose our manufacturers,” the Journal quoted Hulit. “It’s companies like Pilgrim Screw that are the backbone of our economy. … Manufacturing is not dead, it’s just evolving.” Web: ProJo.com
Pilgrim Screw Corporation has facilities in Arizona and Texas and is headquartered at 120 Sprague St., Providence, RI 02907. Tel: 401 274-4090 Fax 401 861-9890 E-mail: info@pilgrimscrew.com  Web: pilgrimscrew.com   ©2011/2012 Fastener Industry News
Editor’s Note: Articles in Media Spotlight are excerpts from publications or broadcasts which show the industry what the public is reading or hearing about fasteners and fastener companies. ©2011 GlobalFastenerNews.com