FOREST GROVE, Oregon — There are two things you might not know about Crane Point Industrial. The first is that it carries an impressive range of fasteners. While the company’s deep roots are in the high-volume (and limited SKU) pallet nail sector, that’s just part of the story. It also started to branch into serving the construction sector over 20 years ago. In expanding its support of single-family and multi-family home construction and now moving into the commercial sector, Crane Point has significantly expanded its product range.
As a full-service supplier of fasteners, tools and accessories, its product line includes machine-quality bulk pallet nails, 15-degree wire collated nails, high-load coil pallet nails, structural screws, collated screws, bulk screws, plastic collated, paper tape collated, heat-treated, horseshoe nails, stainless steel, finish nails, pins, brads, nail plates, structural hardware, tool balancers and more.
The second thing you might not know is that Crane Point doesn’t just service the western United States when it comes to pallet nails and tools. With five strategically located warehouse locations, it provides full service to pallet companies across the lower 48 states. Company warehouses are found in Baltimore, Maryland; Boise, Idaho; Houston, Texas; Long Beach, California and Portland, Oregon.
Pallet Enterprise recently sat down with Matt Oordt, who heads up Crane Point’s pallet nail sales. Oordt, 27, left a role as a logistics account executive last summer to join the company. At the WPA Annual Meeting this past January, Oordt was in the spotlight as the WPA golf tournament director. This is a role that has had a long tradition with Crane Point, dating back to the days when company founder Ian Carter was the golf director over 20 years ago.
A business built on mutually prosperous relationships
Matt Oordt stressed that lasting relationships have been the secret sauce for the success of Crane Point. The company has succeeded by creating enduring bonds with both suppliers and customers alike. For decades, Crane Point has had strong relationships with domestic and international nail manufacturers, screw manufacturers and tool manufacturers. It currently sources product internationally from countries including Korea, Taiwan, Turkey, Greece and Kenya. “We’ve got our main suppliers we are loyal to, and we really love working with. And we regularly pull pricing from everywhere to see what others have to offer,” Oordt explained. “Our secret to getting the product you need is just great relationships with our vendors.”
“A big thing is the diversity in our product line and the ability to source whatever our customers need,” Oordt stated. “And doing it in a timely manner. Lead time is a big focus for Crane Point. If your supplier can get you what you need in a timely manner, you can get on your way.” He emphasized the importance of deeply understanding customer needs. “I just want to make everyone’s life easier.” Not all pallet customers have the same needs. For example, some customers require domestic nails, while others might insist on nails from a particular country, such as Korea.
Headquartered in Forest Grove, Oregon, the company operates three retail locations, including Forest Grove and Wilsonville, Oregon, and Boise, Idaho. While those storefronts primarily serve construction sector customers, they also provide nail and nailing tool support to pallet companies as well. Those locations are supported by company delivery vans that deliver onsite to customers.
Delivering on unique customer needs
One thing that Oordt has noted since becoming a part of the pallet industry is that requirements can vary significantly from client to client, based on product and material mix or simply preference. Neighboring pallet plants pumping out similar products can have varying requirements based on their equipment and experience. “Whether it’s a no point or a diamond point or the customer likes a screw or ring shank, it can vary,” Oordt said. “The customer knows best.”
Crane Point strives to have significant inventories in stock at all times and works to become a strategic partner, knowing a customer’s needs and being able to predict typical usage patterns ahead of time. Oordt explained, “We frequently know a customer has specific needs before they do.”
Since its founding, the driving goal of Crane Point has been to meet customer needs. Company founder Ian Carter was selling for Northwest Hardwood in the early 1990s when he began hearing from frustrated pallet manufacturers having nail troubles trying to run their automated nailing lines. Ultimately, Ian and Joanne Carter entered the pallet fastener business in 1996. In 2003, Crane Point made a shift to full service. A year later, the company had 1,600 nailing tools in circulation.
In 2011, Crane Point became master distributors for Max, Hitachi, Makita, Stanley Bostitch, DeWalt, and several other minor brands of tools. Later in 2013, the company launched its construction fastener business. Today, the company imports over 500 containers of fasteners annually. It started its construction fastener business in 2013. The Forest Grove storefront was followed by Wilsonville in 2015 and Boise in 2020.
Mike Englehart is the sales manager for the construction fastener side of the business. Retail operations are headed up by Brock Christensen.
Monitoring the global supply chain
When you are moving fasteners globally, you need to be on top of any potential disruptions, and Crane Point prides itself on monitoring emerging situations such as pirate attacks in the Red Sea, or drought-related challenges in the Panama Canal that could delay or significantly impact nail deliveries.
“A lot of people see us as consultants in the industry and not just a nail supplier,” Oordt stated. While shipping has returned to some semblance of normalcy, the company keeps close tabs on the shipping landscape. “It all affects the price,” he said, “and it touches a lot of customers, so if we can be ahead of it for our customers, everyone stands to benefit.”
Oordt also emphasized the importance of continuing Crane Point’s investment in association membership. The company is an enduring member of associations such as NWPCA, WPA and others. “They help us to solidify relationships with our customers, which are very important to us. Those meetings also allow us to better understand the market and its needs. It’s going back to being a consultant and knowing what our customers and vendors are saying. It makes everyone’s life easier.”
As for what’s next, Crane Point is looking forward to building new relationships and strengthening the ones it already enjoys in the pallet industry. For the construction side of the business, the rollout of more vans is in the works. The goal is to allow construction professionals to receive fasteners at the jobsite, so they can remain on the job which helps to maintain efficiency.
“We’re looking to expand on the relationships we have already developed,” Oordt concluded. “It is a really good opportunity to be here. Crane Point already has so many great relationships in the industry – it is a great name to stand behind.”
