Although Specialty's history begins in the late 80's, its heritage dates long before then. Specialty Fasteners
traces its roots all the way back to the 1950's, when two men, Herb Leistner, principal shareholder of Sigma
Tool, and Al Hertz, principal shareholder of Alpha Industries, decided to form a working relationship in 1956.

 In 1957, they moved to 96 Crockford Blvd., in Scarborough, Ontario, Canada. Herb and Al began manufacturing
and distributing t-nuts, leg brackets, headboard brackets, etc. to the furniture industry. Then in 1959, Al began
selling bulk nails manufactured by the Ergon Nail Company. Al showed Herb Ergon's machine for making bulk
nails and another new idea resulted: The manufacture of T-Nails glued together in strips in one continuous
operation, to be fired from a gun, like staples...a modest beginning. Herb and Al became partners and founded
Falcon Fasteners Reg'd in 1960. This was, hopefully, but unknowingly, only a stone compared to the foundation
they were to lay.

 Equipped with an ancient nail making machine that produced only standard bulk nails, Walter Leistner (Herb's
younger brother) was given the challenge to successfully modify this machine to make and collate T-nails.
Finding a gun that could drive the finished product was the next problem. Al wrote to a friend in Chicago for help,
and was sent the yellow pages of the Chicago phone directory that dealt with nails and staples. Falcon let its
fingers do the walking and immediately sent out letters in search of the gun that was needed.

 Paslode responded; they had a staple gun which could be modified for Falcon's purposes. Al and Herb arranged
a meeting in Chicago. Falcon and Paslode agreed that Falcon would manufacture and distribute its own T-Nails,
as well as Paslode's T-nailer in Canada. The Paslode Company would purchase its T-Nail requirements from
Falcon. This was a turning point in Falcon's history.

 In 1988, Falcon recognized the necessity to offer a full line of products. With that in mind, Specialty Fastening
Systems Inc. of Fayetteville, Arkansas was founded with Tom Willcutt as General Manager and shareholder to
manufacture and collate all nails with plastic collation. Together, Falcon and Specialty are able to supply the
industry with every type of collated nail and brad required today, resulting in a wide selection that is second to
none.

 When founded, Tom selected "Industrial Building 324" as
 the original site for Specialty's nail manufacturing. Five
years later the need for expansion had already risen, and
Tom added an additional 20,000 square feet to the existing
20,000 square foot building, doubling it in size. A new exterior
was also added, giving it a very distictive look from other
buildings in the area. This facility suited Specialty until early
1999, when the search began for another building that could
meet the needs of the company's growth. In April of 1999,
Specialty purchased an 80,000 square foot industrial facility
(shown above) in Prairie Grove, Arkansas. This new location
was about 15 miles west of the Fayetteville plant, giving the
company the ability to transfer a large amount of its workforce
with them while developing a local base as well. 

Since early 99', Specialty has added a number of
products to its current line of fasteners, including
a new hot dipped nail and other advances in the
collated nail industry. The new facility has ushered
in a new millenium, as well as a time of change for
Speciaty Fasteners. This web site is an example of
those changes. As time goes on, look for more new
and exciting changes to occur with the Falcon/Specialty
family. Good, honest business has kept us running for
many years, and we are not planning to change this
important tradition in our long hertitage.