Commitment to Quality
Our System
Our system for ensuring high-quality products is as follows:
1. Every major vendor is prequalified before goods are purchased. All our major vendors are ISO certified.
2. All fasteners ordered from a manufacturer are ordered to applicable ASTM, ANSI, SAE, DIN, and IFI standards. For specialized items, the goods are manufactured to print. Full mill test reports are required for all these items. All mill test reports are reviewed for compliance with the specification the material has been ordered to. We have an estimated 65,000 test reports on file. Need test reports on tapping screws or machine screws—we have them!
3. We selectively inspect items on arrival. Some items receive a visual inspection while others are checked for dimensional compliance, fit, and finish. All items ordered to print are checked fully. Those items which do not meet the specification as ordered are segregated and quarantined pending return to the manufacturer or disposal. Any employee may quarantine any item if there is reason to believe the goods do not meet the specification as ordered. For those items we purchase that we cannot justify buying directly from a manufacturer and are purchased from other sources or master distributors, we follow the same visual inspection routine as mill-ordered material. Mill test reports are required for any item where it is an industry standard to provide.
4. How do we verify adherence to ordered specification? We have on file current editions of IFI and ASTM standards. We have on-site thread pitch gauges, digital calipers, thread micrometer and a set of penetration gauges for square drive screws. We have access to hardness testing equipment if needed. Over the last 20 years, we have used a Koslow Electro Chemical test kit for Molybdenum content to verify 316 stainless. In late 2016 we purchased an Olympus Delta Element, Model DE-2000, X-RAY FLUORESCENCE ANALYZER for POSITIVE MATERIAL IDENTIFICATION and have two trained staff who can selectively test any material coming into our Burnaby Master Warehouse to verify full chemical composition. We are not aware of any other fastener distributor in Canada who does this on a routine basis.
Where we find errors in published Fastener Standards, we state our case to the relevant Standard body for change. A good example was the prior standard for square drive flat head undercut tapping screws, which, if followed, produced screws that were unusable using standard driver bits. We are aware that thousands of screws produced to the old standard had to be scrapped. We succeeded in a review of the standard and subsequent correction.
We have standardized on threaded rod to ASTM A193 for B8 (304) and B8M (316) in most sizes rather than generic 18-8 or 316. The benefit to you is prime material with specified chemistry and known physical properties you can count on.
Cannot find what you are looking for?
No problem! Give us a call and one of our experts will find it, build it or process it in house to meet your delivery requirements.