Navigating Fastener Excellence With Three Generations Of Expertise
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Blue Ribbon Fastener (BRF) supplies North American OEMs with high-quality fasteners and industrial hardware. As a full-service fastener distributor, they work as an extension of your purchasing department to deliver a bestin-class supplier network, drive continuous improvement, and help you achieve supply chain agility and resiliency. Their large inventory and flexible supplier network ensure products ship quickly.
Founded by current President Wally Nathan, BRF has been distributing fasteners and hardware to North American OEMs out of Chicagoland since 1985. They proudly serve leading OEMs in a variety of sectors, including lock and safety, furniture, lighting, batteries, electronics, and more.
A Legacy Of Values
With 71 years and three generations of fastener distribution in their DNA, Blue Ribbon strives to embrace both generational and technological change.
Products
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Industries Served
No matter your manufacturing sector, BRF can supply the fasteners you need.
Retail Marketing
BRF supplies a wide range of fasteners for retail pointof-purchase (POP) displays and store fixtures. Because we work with some of the largest retail marketing and store display manufacturers in the business, they keep a large inventory of screws, pins, clips, and more in-house with a variety of finishes and platings that will fit our applications.
Whether you’re looking for painted fasteners, black oxide fasteners, machine screws, hex nuts, flat washers, acorn cap nuts, or blind rivets, they have both plastic and metal hardware to support your point-of-purchase needs. Readily available hardware for half the price of leading competitors.
The Blue RIbbon Advantage:
- Free samples on all hardware
- Bulk and prototype quantities (No purchase order or line minimums)
- Same-day quoting
- Same-day shipping on stock items
- Cross-border shipping
- Kitting, painting, and plating
Contract Manufacturing
Contract manufacturing requires all types of fasteners in different materials, finishes, and platings. BRF supplies OEMs in this sector with a wide variety of screws, bolts, clips, electronic hardware, and custom parts.
Whether you’re working with tooling, injection molding, metal fabricating, finishing, or assembly, BRF will source what you need for your product manufacturing project and deliver it quickly. Get the same hardware for half the price of leading competitors.
The Blue RIbbon Advantage:
- Free samples on all hardware
- Bulk and prototype quantities
- 12-month blanket orders
- Pull-ins/Push outs
- Weekly releases
- Custom products
- Cross-border shipping
The Blue RIbbon Advantage:
- Free samples on all hardware
- Bulk and prototype quantities (No purchase order or line minimums)
- Same-day quoting
- Same-day shipping on stock items
- Cross-border shipping
- Kitting, painting, and plating
Aerospace
The aerospace manufacturing sector requires high-grade, corrosion-resistant fasteners. We partner with both domestic and international manufacturers to distribute a variety of bolts, rivets, nuts, washers, and other components for use in your most mission-critical aerospace or astronautics projects, including commercial aircraft, space, and defense manufacturing.
Do you need hardware to be certified all the way through the supply chain? We provide material certifications & certificates of conformance for all fasteners and secondary processes—including stainless steel screws, black oxide bolts, electronic hardware, and any parts that need a nylon patch or tamper-resistant drive. We supply these certifications with the packing slip and keep electronic copies in our ERP, The Business EdgeTM by Computer Insights, Inc. Get the same hardware for half the price of leading competitors.
The Blue RIbbon Advantage:
- Free samples on all hardware
- Bulk and prototype quantities
- 12-month blanket orders
- Pull-ins/Push outs
- Weekly releases
- Custom products
- Cross-border shipping
Electronics
The industrial electronics manufacturing and telecommunications sectors require high-quality electronic hardware. BRF partners with domestic and international manufacturers to distribute a variety of standoffs, spacers, thumbscrews, ball studs, panel nuts, shoulder bolts, and other components for use in all types of electronics assembly applications, including mobile devices, televisions, batteries, cable and wire support, circuit boards, LED assemblies, and more. Get the same hardware for half the price of leading competitors.
The Blue RIbbon Advantage:
- Free samples on all hardware
- Bulk and prototype quantities
- 12-month blanket orders
- Pull-ins/Push outs
- Weekly releases
- Custom products
- Cross-border shipping
Lighting
BRF supplies a wide range of fasteners for light fixture, LED, and artificial lighting manufacturing. We keep a large inventory of screws, washers, nylon fasteners, bolts, and more in-house with a variety of finishes, including stainless and green zinc finishes. Whether you’re manufacturing lighting products for automotive, residential, commercial, or industrial clients, we have both plastic and metal hardware to support your needs. Readily available hardware for half the price of leading competitors.
The Blue RIbbon Advantage:
- Free samples on all hardware
- Bulk and prototype quantities (No purchase order or line minimums)
- Same-day quoting
- Same-day shipping on stock items
- Cross-border shipping
- Kitting, painting, and plating
Don’t See Your Industry Listed?
BRF services more than 500 OEMs from all types of manufacturing sectors. Contact them to learn about our additional specialties.
Beyond Fasteners: The Full-Service Experience
Through a variety of custom solutions, including secondary processes (kitting, painting, plating, patching, etc.), inventory management, engineered solutions, demand planning, and forecasting,
BRF will help you boost efficiency and reduce the total cost of ownership.
Technology Gives BRF A Competitive EdgeIn Serviing Its Customers
BRF leverages features in The Business EdgeTM by Computer Insights, Inc. to provide its customers with unparalleled service. BRF operates a wireless warehouse to ensure on-time deliveries with no human error in order fulfillment.
The Fastener Supply Chain Network integration built into The Business EdgeTM connects BRF with core vendors, ensuring inventory access, drop-ship, same-day quoting, and seamless order processing.
The Business EdgeTM ShipEngine integration streamlines BRF’s shipping processes; this saves time and money while eliminating mistakes.
Vendor Consolidation
BRF’s fastener analysts will examine your flow of materials and historical purchasing data to forecast future demand and create an optimal mix of fastener vendors. This ensures you avoid unnecessary costs and maximize the value of your fastener spend.
Benefits
- Minimize overall touchpoints and bring down administrative costs.
- Consolidate shipping to reduce freight costs.
- Increase partnership with the 20% of vendors that deliver 80% of value.
- Receive uniform payment terms across a wider number of parts.
Fixed Pricing Programs
Stock & Release Program
Blanket orders that allow us to procure hardware and dole it out release-by-release over 12 months.
- Improves cash flow (Free Fastener Financing!)
- Guarantees pricing & on-time delivery
Safety Stock Program
Requires a contractual agreement on a minimum amount of inventory for an agreed-upon number of items. This also locks in pricing from 12 months.
- Improves Cashflow
- Guarantees Pricing & Inventory
- It doesn’t require a pre-scheduled release program
Additional Services
Drop Shipping
A way to minimize freight and reduce lead times when shipping to different parts of the country.
- Expands Inventory Available
- Significantly Reduces Lead Times
- Reduces Freight Costs
Secondary Processes
Your operation requires more than just Off-the-shelf products. We offer several secondary processes to modify parts to meet engineering & production requirements, including:
- Kitting (Poly-Bagging)
- Painting
- Plating
- Patching
Client Testimonials
“Blue Ribbon’s pricing has been beneficial for the company, but it’s their day-to-day communication that has been wonderful for me personally. I jokingly call my BRF rep my ‘best friend,’ but it really does feel like a friend connection because I have that trust and comfort level with them. They have become my go-to supplier.”
– Jennifer Flake, Buyer, Keytronic
“Blue Ribbon’s superior communication is always appreciated. They respond within minutes, and if they are aware of a potential delay or change in material, they notify us right away.”
– Carla Quimby, Buyer, Marshall Excelsior Company
More Information
Blue Ribbon Fastener is located at 8220 Kimball Ave, Skokie, IL 60076. Contact Wally Nathan, President, for more information at (847) 673-1248, info@blueribbonfastener.com or visit them online at www.blueribbonfastener.com.
Computer Insights, Inc. is located at 108 3rd Street, Unit 4, Bloomingdale, IL 60108. Contact Dennis Cowhey, President, for more information at (800)539-1233, email sales@ci-inc.com or online at www.ci-inc.com.