since 1967, fastenal has grown from a single store to nearly 2,700 locations, each providing tailored local inventory and personal service for our customers. as we've expanded across the world, we've retained a core belief in people and their ability to accomplish remarkable things - if given the opportunity. from this philosophy stems an entrepreneurial culture that challenges every employee to run their own business, create their own success, and rise up to become company leaders. backed by our global sourcing, quality, and logistics operations, each store is a local, one-stop source for a spectrum of oem, mro and construction supplies. working within our decentralized environment, store personnel take a flexible approach to support local customers – sourcing products, making emergency deliveries, managing a lean flow of inventory to points of use, and leveraging our services, solutions and specialists to drive continual business improvements. local product and local people: th