Global Fastener News

Bruce Wheeler said not going to business school may be the key to his success.

Wheeler, chairman of Star Stainless Screw Company, was inducted into the National Industrial Fastener & Mill Supply Expo Hall of Fame during the 2016 trade show in Las Vegas.

“I never learned the proper way of doing business,” Wheeler told the induction audience. “That forced me to develop on my own.”

He learned to “get creative” instead of following trends.

As he worked with “unconventional” Wayne Golden at Star Stainless they “fed off each other,” Wheeler said.

“We don’t conduct business in a perfect world,” Wheeler reflected. That makes projections as taught in business school invalid.

Wheeler started in the warehouse at Star Stainless in 1973 when there were 40 employees at one location. Today there are 400 employees and 14 locations.

He has watched a half dozen stainless fastener suppliers come and go during his Star Stainless career.

Noting that Star’s “claim to fame is inventory,” Wheeler said: “You can’t sell from an empty wagon.”

Star Stainless ignores the business school 80/20 rules on inventory. “Customers want inventory,” he declared.

Star Stainless earned the loyalty of employees during the ‘Great Recession’ which begun in 2008.  Though sales dropped 35%, “we didn’t layoff employees.” Wheeler noted. Today employee turnover is “low – nonexistent” at Star Stainless, Wheeler said.

Wheeler cautioned the industry on having company debt.

Wheeler also advised the industry to “have fun” and when “the parade goes right, you go left.”

Wheeler was selected for the NIFMSE Hall of Fame by a Fastener Industry Coalition committee.

Ryan Kertis of Stelfast Inc. was presented the first Young Fastener Professional award. Kertis founded the Young Fastener Professionals in 2014.

For more on Wayne Golden, see the Fastener History section of GlobalFastenerNews.com:

2002 FIN – Golden’s Rules: First, Make a Profit

Star Stainless Screw CEO offers six rules for success.