XL Screw Marking 50th Anniversary
XL Screw Corporation will mark its 50th anniversary on Thanksgiving Day this year.
Founded on November 22, 1968 by Norman Sackheim, XL became an early pioneer of importing fasteners.
In the late 1930s, Norman’s father, Ben J. Sackheim, founded Stronghold Screw Products as a Chicago fastener manufacturer.
Norman and BJ worked together for 15 years. Soon after World War II, Norman believed it was time to start importing standard fasteners and Stronghold’s machine time should be used for specials. BJ didn’t agree and Norman left to start Heads & Threads Co. in 1953, which became one of the first stocking importers. He sold H&T in 1963 and briefly went into importing musical instruments.
Norman Sackheim started XL Screw with his son, Ron Sackheim, at warehouse in Wheeling, IL, with four employees and about 500 lines of fasteners.
The first shipment to XL Screw in 1969 was in quarter cartons and XL became the first fastener supplier to package in quarter cartons.
Bob Sachs joined his cousins at XL in 1972 – just months before Norman Sackheim died in a plane crash in Russia.
Ron Sackheim then became president and in 1979 Sachs became vice president and a part owner.
Back in the early days of XL Screw, communication with overseas suppliers was with teletype machines, unreliable phone service plus multiple stop, smoke-filled flights to Japan.
XL has had an office in Asia since 1968 staffed with its own employees and engineers. Initially the office was in Nagoya, Japan, but moved to Taiwan when trade routes changed.
By XL’s 25th anniversary in 1994, the importer had 27 employees at its 70,000 sq ft Illinois warehouse; eight employees at its 26,000 sq ft Cleveland warehouse and four people at its Kaohsiung, Taiwan office.
XL opened a Georgia branch in 1995.
Sachs recalled XL Screw developed material certification before the U.S. Fastener Quality Act. After a decade of amendments the FQA was implemented on December 6, 1999.
Sachs became president in 2002 and 100% owner in 2005.
Visit Fastener History to read how XL Screw upgraded its warehouse with a racking system
In 2003, XL was outgrowing its two Wheeling, IL, buildings – including the company’s original warehouse.
Sachs designed a new building around a new racking system. The new system was about “racking and efficiency,” Sachs told FIN in 2004. “There is no wasted space. Even the building columns were placed according to racks.”
The old Wheeling aisles were 97 inches wide and racks 14 feet high. The new aisles were 68 inches wide and the racks 28 feet high.
The warehouse became the tallest in the county (see the Fastener History section of GlobalFastenerNews.com: 2004 FIN – XL Screw Builds New Headquarters Around Racking System).
The new headquarters warehouse worked so well that a 2006 expansion of the Georgia branch were to the same specifications.
Sachs’ daughters represent the fourth generation at XL: Amy Sachs Etten started to work in 2002 and Corrie Sachs Delevitt joined XL in 2012.
Today XL has branches in Ohio and Georgia and is headquartered in the Chicago suburb of Lincolnshire, IL
Key XL staff members today include vice president Wayne Wishnew; national branch manager Bobby Fail; Cleveland branch manager Kelly Grindle; purchasing manager Tom Bigott; and network and administrative services director Sue Rock. XLA is headed by director of Far East operations Luck Tseng.
Sachs will be inducted in the IFE Hall of Fame during the 2018 International Fastener Expo in Las Vegas. Sachs will be the third XL Screw inductee as Norman was posthumously in first year of the honor in 1982 and Ron in 2001.
Sachs also noted that Ron Sackheim has been president of the Mid-West Fastener Association and Wayne Wishnew is the current president.
Reflecting on the changes in his 46 years at XL, Sachs cited increased efficiency through technology and changes in the number of importers/master distributors.
“Technology has allowed us to improve communication with our suppliers,” Sachs told GlobalFastenerNews.com. “That has resulted in better quality and service our suppliers provide to us. Communicating with our suppliers today is nothing like it was in the 50’s thru the 80’s.”
Many importer/master distributors have come and gone, Sachs noted.
“They were all privately owned at one time,” Sachs told FIN. “If they didn’t go out of business, they were bought by other entities … and most of them are no longer in business.”
Of the privately-owned importer/master distributors serving the distribution industry: “XL is the last remaining privately-owned company to the best of my knowledge,” Sachs noted. “There are definitely less importers/master distributors that only serves the distribution market. That is a big change from the 70’s thru the 80’s.”
Sachs is leery of predicting the fastener industry future.
“Politics has become such a major factor in determining the fate of the U.S. economy as well as the global economy,” Sachs observed. “There is a grey cloud of uncertainty hanging over the direction we are heading. It is tough to make solid business decisions the way things are now.” So XL takes “ one day at a time and do our best,” Sachs commented. “Time and hopefully good judgement will take care of the rest.”
Sachs helped shape today’s fastener industry with regular trips overseas to train and educate the overseas suppliers on manufacturing, quality and preparing the material for shipment to assure quality global sourcing.
“XL has survived the times,” and Sachs credits quality: “When quality is consistent, it creates reputation,” Sachs reflected. “That reputation is called trust” and trust is “the highest compliment that can ever be paid.”
XL Screw is headquartered at 195 Schelter Rd., Lincolnshire, IL 60069. Tel: 847 383-2300 Email: xlw@xlscrew.com Web: XLscrew.com
For more on XL Screw, click on the Fastener History section of GlobalFastenerNews.com:
1993 FIN – XL Screw Marks 25th Anniversary
2004 FIN – XL Screw Builds New Headquarters Around Racking System
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