The Fastenal story began in 1967 when Bob Kierlin pooled together $30,000 with four friends and opened the first Fastenal store, a 1,000 square foot shop in his hometown of Winona, Minnesota. After surviving the typical struggles of a start-up business, Fastenal gradually found its niche by going the extra mile for customers and by providing the kind of service that kept those customers coming back. Kierlin later drilled this approach down to four simple words: Growth Through Customer Service. This motto has guided Fastenal forward from a small regional supplier into one of the world’s most dynamic growth companies—from one store to more than 2,600 and counting.
Dan Huff, Indianapolis recruiter for Fastenal, has developed strong professional partnerships with the Office of Student Employment and University College. Through Fastenal, he also arranged for many in-kind donations that helped IUPUI students.