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MEDIA SPOTLIGHT – The fasteners in the Military & Commercial Fasteners Corp. warehouse in Pennsylvania do more than hold stuff together.

They save lives – lives, for example, of military pilots forced to bail out of doomed aircraft: MCF makes metal components used in fighter jet ejection seats.
“That always has to work,” said Matthew Malkie, the company’s marketing director told York Daily Record reporter Lauren Boyer for an article of MCF’s 40th anniversary. “No room for error there.”
One part, in particular – a tiny square of metal capped with a spike – can be the difference between life and death. The tip penetrator sits atop the pilot’s seat. “If the cockpit’s dome doesn’t open in an ejection scenario, this component – no bigger than a half dollar – breaks through the plexiglass, freeing the trapped soldier,” Boyer wrote.
“There’s no piece of the military we’re not touching,” Malkie said.
That includes components for nuclear-powered submarines and fasteners to attach protective armor to Humvees and Bradley Fighting Vehicles, manufactured just miles away at BAE Systems’ plant.
Michael Kin, Peter Zerebny and Jack Zielinski started MCF in 1972 as a distributorship in Zielinski’s garage. A year later, they bought a building.
The facility didn’t have a loading dock. “It was kind of crazy,” president Craig Siewert told YDR.com. “They went and got some old used tires, and they just piled them up in a mound behind the truck. They would push kegs of bolts onto the tires.”
MCF purchased a used CNC machine in 1997 to manufacture its first fasteners after experiencing quality and delivery issues with a local supplier.
“We just started figuring out what we could make cheaper than we could buy,” Siewert told YDR.com. “Whatever we can make at a lower cost and remain competitive, we make here.”
Today, the business employs 85 people and owns 17 machines used to manufacture 30% of the  inventory.
MCF expanded beyond defense, which today  is struggling due to federal budget cuts.  “More and more of what the company manufactures or distributes is in our own backyards,” Boyer described MCF today.
Most tractor-trailers carrying loads down Interstate 83 contain MCF bolts, Siewert pointed out.
Ever bought a wheelbarrow at Lowe’s or Home Depot? The fasteners for the Ames True Temper were counted and packaged at MCF. “You can look at most of our parts,” Siewert he told YDR.com. “You wouldn’t even guess it’s stuff we did.”

MCF History:
1972: Michael Kin, Jack Zielinski and Peter Zerebny start Military & Commercial Fasteners Corp. out of a Manchester Township garage.
1973: The company moved to downtown York, PA.
1978: The company relocates to a 6,000-sq. ft. facility. Sales are $595,000.
1983: WF Industries in Dryer, TN, gives MCF its first big government contract and the company reaches $1 million in sales.
1987: An 8,400-sq. ft. addition is opened and the company grows to 21 employees and tops $2 million in sales.
1992: MCF introduces Securetrak, a vendor managed inventory system, using barcode scanning system to manage inventory and create and fulfill orders.
1997: MCF opens its first branch – in Jacksonville, FL – to support Carlisle Container..
2002: A branch opened  in Athens, GA, for Carrier’s Bus Transportation line.
2007: A 50,000 sq ft. warehouse is leased to store material and products before shipping.
2008: Sales reach $44 million.
2011: A 7,500-sq ft distribution facility in Goshen, IN., opens to serve Midwest clients. ©2012/2014 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. ©2012 GlobalFastenerNews.com

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Related Links:

• Military & Commercial Fasteners Corp.