Tuttle Manufacturing CompanyA Distributor Oriented CompanyMeeting the Challenges of a Changing World

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Tuttle's production equipment, eitherat their facilityor in Tuttle's plant.Malwitz,by the way,has over 47 years

in the fastener industry, starting with theformer Pheoll Manufacturing Companyof Chicago. He is one of that rare breedthat moved successfullyfrom engineer-ing into sales and marketing to companyownership .The kind of personal involvement

and sense of "family"that is found at Tut-tle is rare in this impersonal corporateworld but keeps customers coming backand continues to attract new customerswithin the early and best tradition of tl1efastener industry.Several customers have been doingbusiness with Tuttle for over 40 years.

Company President, AlMalwitz,isthe first to say that the most importantfactor in the Tuttle formula for steadygrowth and increased market share is itspeople. It is their knowledge of the com-pany's products and production capabili-ties, their respect for their customers andfor each other, and their "whatever ittakes" attitude to meet a requirement forquickly producing a uniquely formed andthreaded shaft or rod. It is the simple factthat the key people at Tuttle bring wellover 200 years of fastener experience tobear on any challenge. Throughout theorganization, Tuttle people appear tohave a personal commitment to satisfYingcustomers and contributing to the on-going success of the company.This is certainly true of Todd

LoSchiavo and Gus Nicastro who headup the sales team. Each has over 20 yearsin the fastener industry. These twoworkcloselywith the customers, understandwhat those customers need and makesure that what is needed gets done, andgets done right. They are focused onTuttle's number one priority: customersatisfaction.Production department heads are

also long-term fastener people. Thescrewmachine department is led by aBrown & Sharpe machinist with over 30years experience. 75% of the employees

who were brought on when the Tuttleplant wasmoved from Chicago toBarrington, Illinois in 1979 remain withthe company. Several have been factorytrained by the companies tl1atbuild

Remarkably, several key suppliers-sources for steel, thread rolling dies,tooling and machinery-also have40+year relationships with the companyand provide a loyal and strong supportnetwork.

PRODUCTION CAPABILITIESWhen such dedicated and knowledge-

able people are provided with over 250pieces of finely maintained productionequipment they can produce magic-or,in Tuttle's case, close-tolerance, uniquelyshaped, bent and drilled threaded rods,shafts and machined components.The company's confidence in and

commitment to its future is evidenced byits recent investment in a 7-axisCNCmachine with a 2-1/8 bar capacity.Thisacquisition supports Tuttle's principalgoal to enhance its state-of-the-artmachining, forming and tl1reading capa-bilities to quickly and efficiently respondto requirements for custom parts.AlMalwitz' son, Alan, is responsible

for purchasing the production equip-ment that makes it possible for the com-pany to quickly and efficiently respondto unique challenges from its customersfor specially formed and threaded com-ponents. Several keypieces of state-of-the-art equipment have been speciallybuilt to Tuttle specifications. The com-pany is currently waiting for delivery ofa specially designed threading machinethat is superior to any other in use today.

The company's confidence in and commitment toits future is evidenced by its recent investment ina 7-axis CNC machine with a 2-1/8 bar capacity.

Along with the latest in state-of-the-art equipment, the tooling and mainte-nance skillsof Tuttle Manufacturingpersonnel make it possible for thecompany to get maximum output fromolder equipment. This is evidenced bythe fact that a 50-yearold thread rollercontinues to hum along efficiently onthe production line. A cQllectivetwocen turies of hands-on experience makesit possible for a very versatile group ofpeople to respond to tl1eelectronic,electrical and mechanical needs ofTuttle's broad range of equipmentand keep it all running at maximumefficiency.Over the years, Tuttle has acquired

assets and complete manufacturing linesfrom much larger fastener companies.Included witl1those assetswere decadesof accumulated tooling. Today, thecompany has over 25 Brown & Sharpescrewmachines; 15flat die Waterburys;4 three-die cylindrical machines; 17two-diecylindrical planetary machines;12wire straighten and cut-offmachines;10 bolt thread cutting machines;

15 bending and forming machines;5 shears; 8 punch presses; 7 chamferingand pointing machines; 7 band sawsand3 turret lathes up to 5" through spindle.Add to this 500 sets of thread rolling diesand 2000 sets of chasers.Tuttle has also invested heavily in its

all-important quality control operationsand has over 500 master setting plugs forring gages and over 30 tri-roll fixtures.Manufacturing operations include

thread rolling (up to 6" diameter shafts),thread cutting, precision threading andre-threading, drilling, chamfering, point-ing, flattening, grooving, bending (up to1-1/2" diameter), grinding, milling andtapping. In addition, Tuttle has a screwmachine capability ranging from 1/16"to 2-3/8" diameter and manufacturesboth short and long runs of precisionscrewmachine components.For the customer, all of this translates

into a unique supplier-a company withunique production capabilities that canrespond to special needs. A companywith the talent, experience and flexibilityto meet short lead times with depend-able, cost-effectiveproducts. With itsextensive inventory of tooling and fer-rous and non-ferrous materials, Tuttleresponds with surprising speed to ordersfor both standard and custom parts.

PRODUCTSSimply put, Tuttle Manufacturing pro-

duces threaded rods and studs, custombent bolts, spade bolts, precision screwmachine and CNC products ina wide range of steel and stainless steelalloysand non-ferrous materials. But,as always,the real story is in the details.Tuttle produces threaded rod in

diameters ranging from 0-80 to 6"witheither right hand or left hand threadsin lengths up to 20 feet! Many sizesand grades are stocked in a variety ofmaterials.Threaded studs are also available in

diameters from 0-80 to 4"with eithercontinuous thread, single end or doubleend thread. Threads can be rolled orcut, right hand or left hand, coarse, fine,extra fine, special pitch, Acme or metric.

Studs can be made with turned downdiameters, step down threads or slottedends.Spade bolts range from 1/8/1 to 3/4/1

in diameter and are available with orwithout holes. Custom bent bolts includeU-bolts (round, square and "\1") ,j-bolts,L-bolts, eye bolts, anchor bolts and wireforms.

MARKETSWorking closely with distributors and

a few manufacturers reps, Tuttle servesa wide range of industries that use itsunique line of products. They includeconstruction, pump manufacturers,motors, heavy machinery, agriculturalequipment and material handlingequipment, to name a few.In its marketing approach, Al Malwitz

describes the company as being "distrib-utor oriented." He explained that Tuttlerecognizes that the cost of direct salesactivity and local inventories is borneby the distributor so Tuttle prices theirproducts accordingly. This philosophy,coupled with low minimums, fast turn-around on specials, trouble-free qualityand service and Tuttle's unique produc-tion capabilities makes the companyextremely attractive to distributors.As with the entire fastening industry,

Tuttle experienced a drop in demandover the past few years. In Tuttle's case,this has been partially offset by growthin CNC components and by a steadyincrease in market share. The companyhas not laid off any employees duringthe slowdown and it has not reducedwork schedules. "Our skilled andexperienced people are our mostimportant asset. They need job securityand a steady income," explained Mal-witz. Obviously, that sense of "family"starts right at the top-and it's part ofthe company's history. The Tuttle familyfounded the company over 75 years ago.Originally, it was a contractor supplyhouse selling lawn mowers, drills,chucks, chisels, hack saws, socketwrenches and wedge anchors. AlMah'l'itz' company, Arlington Fastener,acquired Tuttle Manufacturing from thethird generation of Tuttles in 1978. Forthe past 25 years the company has beenheadquartered in Barrington, Illinois, asmall community at the far edge of whatmight be considered Chicago suburbia.The village is nestled in a rolling, wood-ed countryside. The quiet is broken inearly morning and early evening by the

commuter trains carrying people in andout of the city and, occasionally, by theplanes high above flying in and out ofnearby O'Hare Field. A little over 10years ago, Tuttle Manufacturing builtits current 60,000 square foot facility inBarrington.The unique combination of talented,

dedicated people and versatile manu-facturing capabilities has resulted in asteady growth in market penetrationsince the move to Barrington. It's un-usual, to put it mildly, to find a groupof people willing to work at just abouteverything to keep a facility runningsmoothly, efficiently and cost-effectively.'Just about everything" includes suchthings as:• Move the entire plant from itsoriginal Barrington location to itscurrent home ,'l'ith no externalriggers or loss of production time.

• Unload, move and set up machineryin excess of 20,000 pounds.

• Drive a thread roller down fromMilwaukee, Wisconsin in the backofa pickup.

• Do electrical repairs on a $300,000CNC lathe.

• Power up a machine and get itrunning the same day it arrives.

• Unload a needed machine at3:00 a.m.

• Stagger work hours to keepmachines running.

No wonder they've kept customersfor 40 years and attract new ones allthe time!Tuttle is currently seeing a steady

upturn in demand as Alan Mah'l'itz putsmore emphasis on custom threading,machining and secondary shaft work.The company built a comfortablecushion on raw material inventoriesand has therefore not been particularlyaffected by steel shortages. This is anoth-er example of the foresight Tuttle incor-porates into its long-standing traditionof customer service.You can contact this exceptional

fastener manufacturer at:

Tuttle Manufacturing Company1032 W. Northwest HighwayBarrington, Illinois 60010Phone: 847-381-7713Fax: 847-381-9450Website:www.tuttle.thomasregister.com n