Our Capabilities

What to Look for in a Custom Fastener Manufacturer

Sourcing a custom fastener usually means evaluating more than price. The manufacturer's process mix determines how much of the part passes through outside vendors before it ships, and every added vendor is another chance for a missed tolerance, a delayed lot, or a certification that does not carry over cleanly.

Valley Fastener keeps cold forming, thread rolling, SEMS assembly, and secondary operations such as heat treatment and plating in-house, so a part moves through fewer handoffs on its way to your dock. Our application engineering team reviews the print before production starts, and our expanded testing services confirm the part meets spec before it ships. In-house processing, engineering review, and in-house testing keep issues from surfacing after a part is already installed in your assembly.

Cold Forming vs. Machined Fasteners: Why the Process Matters

Not every custom fastener should be machined, even though machining is often the default assumption for a one-off or low-volume part. Cold forming shapes metal under pressure rather than cutting it away, which aligns the material's grain structure along the part's contours instead of interrupting it. The result is a fastener that holds up better under shear and fatigue loading than a machined equivalent of the same material and size.

Cold forming also produces less scrap than machining, since the process displaces material rather than removing it, and it scales efficiently once a job moves from prototype to production volume. For threads specifically, thread rolling forms the thread profile by displacing material rather than cutting it, which leaves the thread stronger and more resistant to stripping than a cut thread of the same pitch. Where a design calls for a pre-assembled fastener, our SEMS capability combines a screw and washer in one production pass, cutting an assembly step out of your line.

One Manufacturing Partner for Every Material, Head Style, and Thread Configuration

A multi-material assembly usually means sourcing fasteners from more than one supplier, since not every fastener manufacturer runs the full range of materials a design calls for. Valley Fastener produces custom fasteners in carbon steel, alloy steel, stainless steel, aluminum, copper, and brass, so a single order can cover parts with different corrosion resistance, conductivity, or weight requirements.

That same range extends to head styles, thread types, and drive types. Whether a print calls for a square, truss, flat, oval, button, hex, or countersunk head, or a thread and drive configuration outside the standard catalog, our cold forming and secondary process capabilities are built to produce it to spec rather than route it to a third party.

Frequently Asked Questions About Our Manufacturing Capabilities

The questions below cover what most procurement teams and engineers ask before sending us a print.

Does Valley Fastener manufacture fasteners in-house, or do you outsource production?

Production stays in-house across cold forming, thread rolling, SEMS assembly, trimming, drilling, tapping, and sorting, along with secondary processes like heat treatment and plating. Keeping these steps under one roof gives us direct control over tolerances and turnaround at every stage of production.

What materials can you work with?

We manufacture custom fasteners in carbon steel, alloy steel, stainless steel, aluminum, copper, and brass. Materials covers the properties and applications for each in more detail.

Can you produce custom head styles, thread types, or drive types?

Yes. Our cold forming and thread rolling capabilities support square, truss, flat, oval, button, hex, and countersunk head styles, along with thread types and drive types outside a standard catalog.

Are you ISO certified?

Yes. Valley Fastener holds ISO 9001:2015 accreditation and operates under CAGE code 4R119, and is recognized by the Industrial Fasteners Institute (IFI).

What are your lead times and minimum order quantities?

Lead time and minimum order quantity depend on the process, material, and quantity involved. The fastest way to get an accurate number for your specific part is to request a quote with your specifications.