When you think of Fastenal, you probably think of fasteners. But soon you might be just as likely to think of cutting tools, abrasives and other metalworking products. Over the past year-plus, the company has invested aggressively to establish itself as a major national supplier to the metalworking industry. That includes providing a turnkey cutting tool vending solution, positioning trained Metalworking Specialists across the country, and dramatically expanding its product offering.

Earlier this month, Fastenal rolled out its latest FAST Solutions, the FAST 4000CT and FAST 2000CT, designed to provide point-of-use dispensing of individual inserts and round tools. These low-cost, compact vending machines make it cost-effective to install multiple units throughout the shop, providing workers with secure, 24/7 access to tooling without leaving the work cell. Similar to Fastenal's popular FAST 5000 program, the local Fastenal store provides the machines and keeps them filled with needed product, helping customers eliminate inventory, improve productivity and reduce cutting tool consumption, all with no capital expenditure.

Fastenal has made industry training available to all sales personnel, while deploying Metalworking Specialists across the U.S. and Canada to support local stores and customers. These specialists undergo three levels of training, including training at key suppliers' facilities, making them true experts on the product offering. With 38 specialists already trained and deployed, the company anticipates adding additional specialists to meet market demands.

"Our specialists don't stop at the sale," said Fastenal's Metalworking Sales Manager Dan Gernes. "We stay engaged with the customer to make sure they not only have the right products for the job, but that they're running them for optimal performance. We consider ourselves partners in their overall productivity."

In addition to expanding its product offering from Walter, OSG, Chicago-Latrobe and other key suppliers, Fastenal was recently named the North American National Distributor of the WIDIA Products Group, a complete portfolio of precision-engineered metalworking products. Through the partnership, Fastenal's 2,500+ stores now offer thousands of milling, turning, holemaking and tooling systems products from WIDIA, WIDIA Hanita, WIDIA Circle, WIDIA Manchester, WIDIA Metal Removal, WIDIA Rubig, WIDIA ClappDiCo, WIDIA GTD and WIDIA MetCut.

In conjunction with these expansions Fastenal is adding tens of thousands of metalworking product SKUs to its Indianapolis-based central distribution center, dramatically expanding the breadth and depth of inventory available for 24 to 48 hour delivery.