Fasteners Inc., a longtime Spokane-based distributor of nuts, bolts, and screws, is acquiring an even older competitor in Coeur dAlene, the former Bracks Supply.


Fasteners is buying the Coeur dAlene businesswhich has been called Valley Fasteners since 1998, following a previous acquisitionfor an undisclosed price, says Bill Jones, controller of the Spokane company. The transaction hasnt been completed yet, but should be soon, he says.


Nevertheless, Fasteners already has begun operating the Coeur dAlene store, at 1819 N. Fourth, and has renamed it Fasteners Inc., Jones says.


The Spokane company hired all four of Valley Fasteners employees, giving it 110 now companywide, including about 50 in Spokane, he says.


With the addition of the Coeur dAlene store, Fasteners Inc. now has stores in seven cities in addition to its headquarters and distribution operation here, says Jones. The other stores are in Missoula and Billings, Mont.; and Pasco, Wenatchee, Everett, and Bellingham, Wash.


Fasteners is buying the Coeur dAlene operation from General Parts Inc., a Raleigh, N.C.-based company affiliated with the Carquest auto-parts retail chain. General Parts had bought the former Bracks Supply in 1996 and renamed it two years later, says Steve Walker, a longtime employee of the Coeur dAlene operation.


Jones says General Parts isnt really a fastener company, and we were. It was just kind of a good fit for both of us.


Fasteners Inc. was founded in Spokane in 1961, and is owned by Dennis Hanson. The company, which is based in a 50,000-square-foot building at 5220 E. Broadway, distributes nuts, bolts, screws, washers, anchors, locks, and some tools, Jones says. In addition, Fasteners does a small amount of machining and repackaging here. Its branches all are strictly retail locations, he says.


Bracks Supply was founded in Coeur dAlene in the early 1930s, Walker says. Originally a general construction-supply store, the company began specializing in fasteners in the early 1970s, he says.


Bracks was one of those icon kinds of businesses, Jones says.


He adds that the Coeur dAlene store is open for business a half-day on Saturdays, and does a brisk trade that day. Based on that, Fasteners, which isnt open on the weekends, is rethinking some of our approaches here, he says.