Global Fastener News

(Chris Stephens, The Plain Dealer)

Park-Ohio Industries president Edward Crawford appears likely to be the next U.S. ambassador to Ireland.

The 80-year-old Irish-American businessman was nominated on October 22 by U.S. President Donald Trump. The White House formally sent the bid to the Senate on November 13.

During the 2016 presidential campaign, he was Trump’s Ohio finance chairman, and donated $160,000 to a joint fundraising committee that aided Trump’s election, according to Cleveland.com.

Crawford’s nomination will now be considered by the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, where a confirmation hearing will be held, RTÉ reports. If approved, his name will then go to the floor of the Senate for a further vote.

There has not been a U.S. Ambassador to Ireland since January 2017, according to RTÉ.

Crawford reportedly has family roots in Co Cork.

Crawford became CEO of Park-Ohio in 1992 after acquiring a substantial stake in the company. He served as CEO until 2018, when his son Matthew Crawford took over the role.

Park-Ohio entered the fastener business in 1995 by acquiring RB&W. Subsequent fastener acquisitions included Arden Industrial Products Inc., Arcon Fastener Corp., Delo Screw Products Co., Direct Fasteners, Gateway Industrial Supply and Columbia Nut & Bolt Corp. and Purchased Parts Group Inc.

In 2005, Park-Ohio acquired Memphis, TN-based Purchased Parts Group Inc., an international distributor of production fasteners and other class C components.

In 2007, Park-Ohio changed the name of its Integrated Logistics Solutions business to Supply Technologies. The company’s business units include Columbia Nut and Bolt, NABS, and Direct Fasteners Ltd., which will also operate under the Supply Technologies name.

Cleveland, OH-based Supply Technologies provides logistics services for 245,000 production components. The segment operates 64 logistics service centers in North America, the Czech Republic, Puerto Rico, Scotland, Hungary, China, Taiwan, Singapore, India, England, France, Spain, Poland, and Ireland, as well as production sourcing and support centers in Asia.

In 2017, Supply Technologies acquired Heads and All Threads and Aero-Missile Components Inc., strengthening its position in the aerospace and construction markets.

Park-Ohio was founded in 1907 with the formation of Park Drop Forge, which manufactured closed die forgings for crankshafts, camshafts, and other parts for trucks, buses, and diesel locomotives. Web: PKOH.com

From the Fastener History section of GlobalFastenerNews.com:

2004 FIN – Crawford: Park-Ohio Streamlined for Success
Park-Ohio Holdings Corp. CEO Edward Crawford credits his company’s decade-long integration in Asia with fueling new success, though he still believes in “low-cost, quality manufacturing” in the U.S.

1997 FIN – RB&W, Arden Futures Within Park-Ohio Is in Logistics
Three years ago Park-Ohio Industries was unknown in the fastener industry. Then in 1994 Park-Ohio spent $60 million to buy RB&W Corporation.