American industrial distribution company founded in 1967 in Winona, Minnesota — which grew from a single fastener store to a major industrial supplier — through extreme frugality, local store autonomy, and a culture of promoting from within.
Demonstrated that an extremely simple business (selling nuts and bolts) operated with consistent values and extreme cost discipline can grow into a very large and profitable company — while the on-site vending machine business model (Fastenal manages customers' fastener inventory) created recurring revenue and switching costs.
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