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The late Mel Kirsner

Mel’s Fastener Museum was destroyed by a Southern California wildfire in 2003

Obituary: Mel Kirsner

November 18, 2008 FIN – Mel Kirsner, founder of Pell-Mell Supply and Mel’s Fastener Museum, died November 4, 2008, at age 77.

Kirsner started in the industry in 1958 working for his grandfather at Reliable Pipe, which was a distributor for Bethlehem Steel and Russell Bolt Manufacturing. In 1962 Kirsner became a salesperson for Gould Hardware & Machinery.

In 1963 he sold his house to raise $9,000 to start Pell Mell.
During his career Kirsner became a partner in Fresno Bolt, Nevada Bolt & Nut, Non Ferrous Mfg., Bolt & Nut Export, Action Valve & Fitting and Centennial Fastener.

He was a founding member of the Western Association of Fastener Distributors and had been a member of National Fastener Distributors Association. Kirsner was inducted into the NIFS Hall of Fame in 2000.

In retirement Kirsner was a part-time curator for his fastener museum. The Southern California fires destroyed the museum in the mountains above Julian, CA, in 2003.

Kirsner had begun collecting fastener memorabilia in the 1960s and the museum building was designed around an oak bolt and nut cabinet that dated back to 1876. The collection started with books, advertising items such as pencils, rulers, letter openers, jewelry, wooden boxes and catalogs. There were bronze fasteners dating back to 3 A.D. and an 1853 photo of the Girard Steel Rolling Mills. The collection included such items as an 1892 catalogue from Pawtucket Manufacturing Co. and a book, History of the Bolt & Nut Industry, written by W.R. Wilbur in 1905.

Survivors include his wife Judy, son Kraig Kirsner and daughter, Kim; stepchildren Jerr, Mollen and Jennifer; and seven grandchildren. ©2008 FastenerNews.com

This GlobalFastenerNews.com online fastener museum is dedicated to Mel Kirsner, who spent more than 40 years collecting fastener memorabilia and creating Mel’s Fastener Museum.

Mel Kirsner began collecting fastener memorabilia in the 1960s. By 2000 the collection had outgrown his San Diego house and Kirsner built a separate museum adjacent to his home in the mountains over the Southern California town of Julian.

The building was designed around an oak bolt & nut cabinet that dated back to 1876.

Kirsner, who founded Pell-Mell Supply in 1963, started his collection with books, advertising items such as pencils, rulers, letter openers, jewelry, wooden boxes and catalogs. There were bronze fasteners dating back to 3 A.D. and an 1853 photo of the Girard Steel Rolling Mills.

The collection included such items as an 1892 catalogue from Pawtucket Manufacturing Co. and a book, History of the Bolt & Nut Industry, written by W.R. Wilbur in 1905.

Among the hundreds of items on display in the museum were a chess set made of fasteners, burlap bag for anchor bolts from Threaded Rod Co.; fossil resembling Archimedes’ water snail screw from 350 B.C.; buggie top bolt from the 1860s; a 33 1/3 RPM record promoting Red Head 606, narrated by Bob Clark for Phillips Drill Company; ITW trigonometry tables; and a container for Shakeproof Lock Washers listed at 10 cents a package and promoted as “The More Vibration, the Tighter the Lock.”

Kirsner’s collection was featured in the 1997 FIN Calendar.

As the industry learned of Mel’s Museum many donated more items.

After Fall River Manufacturing acquired Standard Nut & Bolt, president Tim Csanadi donated a branding iron from Continental Screw and a scooper used to get fasteners to the front of a bin so clerks could fill orders plus other production accessories and vintage employee equipment from the Cumberland, RI-based Standard.

Unfortunately for the entire fastener industry, in 2003 a Southern California wildfire destroyed Mel’s Fastener Museum.

“Every inch of it is gone,” retired fastener distributor Kirsner said of the building he built with his own hands.

Kirsner and his wife, Judy Kirsner, also lost their mountain home on the property.

They evacuated on Sunday evening, October 28, 2003, and waited at their San Diego home until Thursday before finding out the property burned either Tuesday night or Wednesday.

Kirsner told FIN he had just received a sign from Atlas Bolt and lost the name and address of the owner in the fire and couldn’t even send a thank you. ©2009 Fastener Industry News

1995 FIN – Kirsner Inaugurates WAFD Heritage Project
March 15, 1995 FIN – Mel Kirsner inaugurated the Western Association of Fastener Distributors fastener heritage project with an anecdotal history of how business was done just a generation ago.

WAFD president Bobby Barnhill asked members and anyone connected to the fastener industry to write notes or make tapes and send them to the association to be included in an ongoing history book.

Kirsner, a charter member of WAFD, displayed a portion of his fastener museum at the association’s spring conference at the Wigwam Resort in Litchfield Park, Arizona.

Kirsner started in the fastener business with Reliable Pipe Supply, which was owned by his father and grandfather, but quit when rejected for a raise.

“My granddad would always say that I shouldn’t worry, that someday I would own the business,” Kirsner recalled.

After a sales stint with another firm, Kirsner opened Pell Mell Supply in 1963 in San Diego.

He sold his home to buy his first inventory.

“I ordered one box of every size in stock of Grades 2, 5, and 8,” Kirsner recalled. Acknowledging he soon learned it was not the way to go into distribution, he conceded that some of his initial stock remains on the shelves today.

While establishing his business he ushered at a race track to put bread on the table. He collected wooden boxes from behind grocery stores at night for shelves in his 25×25 ft. storefront.

In the evenings in his living room, Kirsner counted each fastener in each box in hopes of finding a few extras.

As he attempted to make contacts with manufacturers, Kirsner found few willing to sell in small quantities, except for three firms – one of those because the owner had dated Kirsner’s brother in high school.

His first sale was to a customer from Reliable. He had to get his father to co-sign a bank loan to pay the C.O.D. charge for the $3,000 order.

“The best part of this story is that my customer paid me in 12 days and I marched into the bank and paid them off,” Kirsner recalled. “Two months later the bank came to my little store and wanted to loan me money. I never borrowed any money again for Pell Mell Supply.”

Kirsner once sold four kegs of 1″ nuts to a customer who required domestic product. “He called me and said that each carton contained metal tags that read, “Made in Japan.”

Kirsner’s supplier didn’t have an explanation and they lost Pell Mell as a customer.

Another manufacturer lost Pell Mell because it sought to sell direct to Kirsner’s customers.

Kirsner also rejected customers. “If I didn’t like a customer who was buying direct from a manufacturer and who would call me for a small quantity of fasteners, I would tell them to call the manufacturer,” Kirsner explained. “Of course I knew the manufacturer wouldn’t be able to serve them.”

“I didn’t want to offend my good customers, but I tried to explain to them that I also had to earn a living and that I would work with them for a 3% to 5% profit,” Kirsner reasoned. “This worked pretty well.”

Kirsner’s proudest moment in the fastener business was when his Nevada Bolt Mfg. was asked to make the fasteners for refurbishing of the Statue of Liberty.
“The material was fermium 255 which I never knew existed,” he said.
©1995/2009 Fastener Industry News

1991 FIN – Hannah Acquires Pell Mell

January 17, 1991 FIN – Pell Mell Supply Inc. of San Diego has been acquired by Bob Hannah from Mel Kirsner.

Previously general manager, Hannah has been with the company for 18 years – 14 of which were running its day-to-day operations.

Founded in 1964 by Kirsner, Pell Mell distributes primarily non-ferrous fasteners for the shipping industry and the U.S. Navy. ©1991/2010 Fastener Industry News.****************************************************************

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FASTENER HISTORY
2000 FIN – Hirsch Succeeds Sights as Textron Fastening President; Rayburn Leaves Fasteners for Baseball

Andy Rayburn

2006 FIN – Textron Fastening Changing to Acument
November 1, 2006 FIN – Textron Fastening Systems will change its name later this fall to Acument Global Technologies, reflecting its new beginning and strategic direction as a stand-alone company, the company stated.

TFS was acquired by Beverly Hills-based Platinum Equity on Aug. 11, 2006, in a deal worth a reported $673 million plus assumption of certain debt.

TFS officially will adopt its new Acument brand name in the coming weeks, after completing its branding preparations and obtaining legal clearances in the 16 countries in which it operates.
“Our new name and logo are clear, dynamic representations of a 21st century industrial company with the technology resources to bring value-added design and assembly solutions to our global customers,” declared TFS president Rick Clayton. “We will leverage our new name as the foundation for revitalizing and strengthening our product brands and the values they represent. Doing this will help align our business closer to the needs and interests of our customers.”

The new Acument logo incorporates a bold, stylized letter “a” in the color red that mimics the swirling path of a fastener being installed, according to TFS.
Troy, MI-based TFS said it conducted interviews with customers, employees, and other constituents in developing the logo.

Joseph Gray was named interim CEO at Textron Fastening Systems, replacing three-year top executive Rick Clayton. Having completed its deal to become part of Beverly Hills-based Platinum Equity, TFS is in the process of rebranding itself as Acument Global Technologies.
With the reorganization plan in place and the company preparing to re-launch under its new brand name, Clayton said the time was right for him to pursue other opportunities.
Clayton played a role in leading Textron Fastening Systems over the past three years, commented Gray. “He successfully steered the business through our company’s recent divestiture, and helped plan its reorganization as a stand-alone business.
Gray has served as TFS vice president responsible for global integrated supply chain management.
Before that, he was vice president for integrated supply chain at Textron’s Fluid & Power division.
His career has included senior leadership positions at the GDX Automotive unit of GenCorp, Bosch, Peregrine Inc., AlliedSignal Braking Systems and Kelsey-Hayes. ©2006/2009 FastenerNews.com

August 9, 2000 FIN – Textron Inc. named its fastener president, Jack Sights, as the new CEO of Textron Automotive Co. and Joachim Hirsch to replace Sights at Textron Fastening Systems.

Andy Rayburn, president of Textron Fastening System’s Supply Chain Solutions Group, left July 31 upon acquiring a minor league baseball team.
Rayburn became president when Textron purchased Streetsboro, OH-based Flexalloy Inc. in April 1999. Rayburn had been president of Flexalloy since 1981.
Rayburn purchased the Daytona Cubs, a Class A Minor League baseball team, and will head an investment group, Big Game Capital.

Textron announced it would consolidate its Commercial and Supply Chain Groups. The two groups’ revenues exceed $900 million.
William Barker will head the combined groups.
Barker, 50, was president of the automotive safety products division of propellant-actuated device supplier OEA. The commercial solutions group supplies fasteners and vendor-managed inventory in 25 countries.

Sights, 53, replaced Sam Licavoli, who was named CEO of the industrial products unit.

“Jake” Hirsch, 48, joined Textron in 1999 as CEO of Germany-based Kautex Textron, a $900 million unit of Textron Automotive. Kautex manufactures fuel systems, plastic fuel tanks and blow-molded functional components and has 4,000 employees.
Prior to joining Textron, Hirsch was COO of Magna Europe AG, where he was responsible for the automotive company’s $3 billion operation, with more than 16,000 employees at 66 facilities in 10 countries.

Sights and Hirsch will report to Textron president and COO John Janitz.
“Both Jack and Jake bring extensive operating and management skills in the manufacturing industry to their new positions,” Textron CEO Lewis Campbell told FIN. “Jack’s background in the automotive industry, combined with his focus on growth and cost reduction, make him a perfect leader to continue the success at Textron Automotive Company. Jake’s strong focus on operational improvements and his extensive international experience will continue the work Jack began at Fastening Systems in improving operating margin and organic growth.”

Textron Fastening’s quarter-to-quarter operating margins improved, and its presence in the telecommunications and electronics markets improved during Sight’s tenure.
Textron Fastening, which supplies engineered fasteners, assemblies and inventory management, has had double-digit growth through acquisitions and organic growth. There are 16,000 fastening employees in 18 countries.
Troy, MI-based Textron Fastening has sales of $2.3 billion. Providence, RI-based Textron is an $11.6 billion multi-industry company with 68,000 employees in 30 countries. ©2000/2009 Fastener Industry News

Scroll down for Rayburn’s Baseball Plans

Rayburn to Play Ball

August 9, 2000 FIN – Andy Rayburn succeeded in the fastener business and is now chasing a new dream: Owning a baseball team.
His field of dreams is the Jackie Robinson Ballpark where the Daytona Cubs play.

In his first year competing in the National Fastener Distributors Association golf tournament, Rayburn had a chance. On the 18th hole in the spring of 1980 he plugged, and his ball disappeared. Rayburn penalized himself two strokes and ended up losing by only one.

His father, who founded Flexalloy Inc. in 1967 and was one of the co-founders of the NFDA, donated the cup in 1974. James Rayburn died in 1981 and, at the suggestion of then tournament chairman Dick Mayoh, the trophy was named the Rayburn Cup.

Rayburn’s dream became a possibility when he sold Flexalloy to Textron Inc. in April 1999 for $185 million.
At first Rayburn was “looking around casually” for a baseball team to fulfill his dream, and this spring the Daytona Cubs went up for sale and Rayburn got serious.

Why baseball? “I’m an American,” Rayburn told FIN. “It is my right as an American.”

How many fasteners are in a baseball?
“Baseballs are fastened with an ancient technique using thread applied with a needle,” Rayburn quipped.
Threads, but not threaded rods.

As he was cleaning out his Textron office, Rayburn said the biggest change during his fastener career was the “shift to single-source JIT programs, with distribution companies being the beneficiary.”
Flexalloy’s vendor managed inventory system was what interested Textron in buying the Streetsboro, OH-based distributorship last year.

Rayburn said changing from a family business to a publicly held corporate structure meant different reporting requirements, sudden access to globalization and tremendous financial strength.
He told FIN the adjustment is not difficult “once you make the commitment.”

He is leaving on schedule, Rayburn said.
“I think it was clear in April 1999 when I sold Flexalloy that the transition was a one- to two-year process. Things are on track and should be completed this year.”

After 16 months with Textron Fastening Systems, Rayburn predicts the industry will see more globalization and consolidation in the next five years.

Rayburn started in the industry as a youngster sweeping floors at his father’s business. He became CEO at age 26 upon his father’s death from leukemia.
Fasteners are “the only industry I really know. I don’t have an accurate point of comparison, but the fraternal and family nature of the industry is the part I’ll miss the most,” Rayburn reflected.

Rayburn officially takes over the Daytona Cubs at the end of the current season in September. He has already sent a general-manager-in-waiting down to Daytona to begin the transition.
Rayburn’s success will, in part, be measured in the won/lost record of the Daytona Cubs instead of the Textron stock price or on-time delivery of fasteners to OEM customers.
The team won the 1995 Florida State League Championship. At midseason this year Daytona was in fourth place in the six-team league.
Rayburn’s team performance can be monitored on the Internet at minorleaguebaseball.com/standings.
Rayburn’s plans primarily call for pumping up the marketing of the team. He will emphasize baseball as “a kid-oriented environment.”
With three children ages 6, 6 and 8, Rayburn said he is “biased toward kids” in marketing his baseball team.

Daytona is new to Rayburn too. The Atlantic coast town 292 miles from the spring 2001 NFDA meeting in Naples, FL, is well known for the July 4 Daytona 500, Bike Week in February and college spring break.
Though Rayburn will spend some time in Daytona, he will remain based in the Cleveland area.
©2000/2009 Fastener Industry News.
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