Global Fastener News

FASTENER HISTORY
Barnhill Bolt Founded in Albuquerque in 1960

Editor’s Note: The following history and description was provided by Dee Silver of Barnhill Bolt in 2009.

Since 1960, Barnhill Bolt has been a full-line fastener distributor, serving as a hardware supplier for aerospace companies, hardware stores, lumberyards, plumbing and electrical contractors, general and road contractors, mining companies, and the national labs.
We’ve been a supplier for wood screws, struts and drill bits in bulk, not to mention thousands of one-time orders for hard-to-find parts. Company History Statistics tell us that family-owned businesses rarely make it into the second generation, and the odds of making it into the third generation are phenomenally small.
Well, guess what? Barnhill Bolt is now under the successful leadership of the third generation! In 1960 J.C. (Jack) Barnhill opened Barnhill Bolt Company in Albuquerque in a small block warehouse on the property of a large steel manufacturer.
He quickly started selling steel, brass, silicon, bronze, stainless steel, nylon, and plastic fasteners in sizes small enough to require tweezers to sizes large enough to hold together mine shafts and bridges.
Jack took great delight in knowing that fasteners he sold ended up in space, and even on the moon. Within four years the company had grown from one employee to six and moved to its current, much larger location.
Both of Jack’s children and their spouses joined the company during those first four years: Jim and his wife Bobby; Mary and her husband Dick.
In 1968, Jack’s wife, Eleanor retired from teaching and joined as well.
Jim passed away soon after he retired in 2007, but his wife Bobby still serves as a consultant. Jim and Bobby’s 45 years in the fastener business were honored with their induction into the NIFS Hall of Fame in Columbus, Ohio.
Mary and Dick are still active, but look forward to retirement as the next generation takes over.
All seven of Jim’s and Mary’s children worked in the business during their college years.
Now three of those children and one spouse are the successful leaders of Barnhill: Dee Silver, who came straight from college with his accounting degree, is the general manager and supervises all the buying; John Barnhill, left a teaching and coaching career to manage Outside Sales; Jo Ella Silver transitioned from her career as a juvenile probation/parole officer to handle Human Resources; Stephanie Silver, CPA, Dee’s wife, is in charge of accounting. Barnhill Bolt has grown to 30 employees, some of whom have been with the company for more than 40 years. Our long-term employees have become loyal friends, some with 10, 20, and even more than 30 years of service. Though he died in 1978, Jack left his children and his grandchildren standards for excelling in business: Superior products, superior service and integrity in all we do.
Jack would take great delight in knowing that his grandchildren strive to preserve those standards, honoring his frequent reminder that all we have to sell is “service.” ©2009 GlobalFastenerNews.com barnhillbolt.com

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