FASTENERS & FIXINGS
FASTENING SOLUTIONS
STAR FASTENERS
STAR FASTENERS NOT JUST A FASTENER SUPPLIER!
As a well-established leader in the global
Huck® fastener distribution network
Star Fasteners (UK) Ltd, are committed
to supplying customers with the most
innovative fastening solutions on the market.
Star work closely with Arconic Fastening
Systems on designing new products to meet
customers’ requirements. “We have been a
Huck fastener distributor for over 30 years,
Arconic are very proactive and work with us
on ideas and product developments. The
Huck range has an excellent reputation in the
market for their quality and reliability. This
is essential knowledge when we are talking
to customers about new projects,” explains
Daniel Starbuck, Director. “We have been
involved in the development of a few new
products that Arconic have introduced to the
market under the Huck range and we have
lots of other ideas that we can see becoming
possible in the future. Innovation is key and
is an important part of Star Fasteners core
values.”
There are numerous reasons why customers
should use Huck products. But what make
the UK’s largest Huck fastener distributor,
Star Fasteners different; what extra services
can they offer? Here are some of the
value-added advantages of Star Fasteners
solutions: -
Supplying a diverse range of industries, Star
Fasteners have many years of technical
knowledge and if required offer support
from highly qualified and knowledgeable
staff. However, Star Fasteners are flexible
enough to adapted fastening solutions to
the needs of their customers. “Huck fasteners
are what we specialise in, we carry extensive
stocks so that our customers’ never run out”.
Exclusively from Star Fasteners, the Huck
PentaLok® designed specifically for the
composite panel market, is an easy to
install, 6.4mm diameter, plated steel, peel
fastener with superior blind side strength.
Due to its high pull-out strength, PentaLok
is suited for use within thin materials or
delicate composites, as well as within
misaligned, oversized, or slotted holes. Its
uniquely engineered peel system installs
with ease into shallow panels.
Another joint development by Star Fasteners
and Arconic has been the encapsulated
headed Hucktainer®, which is available
in any colour head. “The encapsulated
80
PECM Issue 39
Encapsulated Hucktainers
Hucktainer has been available in the market
for many years,” reports Daniel. “We had
customers contacting us saying that they
wanted to use the products directly on truck
panels to match the colour of their livery.
Previously they were painting over the grey
headed Hucktainer, but if the paint was for
some reason damaged it showed the grey
colour again. We now have the Hucktainer
heads encapsulated to customers colour
requirements.” Star Fasteners can offer
hundreds of different colours and supply
the product across Europe. They can
even offer a next day service for special
requirements.
“Customers often come to us with
challenging projects. We recently developed
a countersunk Hucktainer collar for fixing
commercial vehicle locking gear and load
restraint. Many manufacturers use the same
materials suppliers and history showed
that these were normally fastened with a
standard bolt and nut, but this protruded
from the panel and needed a capping
strip. The customer wanted to stream-line
the vehicles profile. We designed-in the
countersunk collar which resulted in a
smooth finish and saved weight; a great
solution!”
The in-house powder coating
service allows any Huck stock item
to be coloured to meet customers’
requirements. Customers’ needs vary,
some order bespoke colours to match the
livery of a contract, but they have also been
coloured for health and safety identification
purposes. Small order requirements are a
bonus and as it’s an in-house service they
can generally be despatched at short notice.
“We are also aware of the constantly
evolving metal plating industry and try
to pre-empt customers requirement for
additional corrosion resistance. With
Countersunk Hucktainer Collar
this in mind we now stock all Hucktainer
pins with J63 Zinc-Nickel and Trivalent
Clear Passivation. This finish is free from
hexavalent chrome and is compliant with
European directive EU 2000/53 Annex 2
in materials and components of vehicles.
Additionally, it also meets the requirements
of the Restriction of Hazardous Substances
regulations. These new processes and
resources will help our customers to address
corrosion resistance for many years to
come.”
Star Fasteners in-house and on-
site tool repairs and servicing keep
production lines rolling and fasteners
installed correctly. Star Fasteners stock a
comprehensive range of new installation
tools for every budget, including the new
Huck Range Force® battery tool. “We always
stock plenty of tooling spares to ensure
servicing and repairs can be turned around
quickly” adds Dan. If the customers budget
does not allow for the purchase of new
tooling or the requirement is for a short-
term project Star also offer a long or short-
term hire option.
“Technology is always evolving and we have
customers that come to us with specific
needs who want to develop projects
beyond the ‘norm’ and to push the limits
of technology. It is up to us to keep up
with new developments and seamlessly
integrate these into our product range.
We don’t want to be seen as just a fastener
supplier, but as a company that is pro-active
and one that offers something different, a
solutions provider!”
For further information email
[email protected] or call us
on +44 (0) 115 9324 939