Aircraft-specific fastener business sank when air travel fell precipitously following Sept. 11, 2001. While the fastener industry did not fall as far as the retail airline travel sector, there is a lot of catching up to do, according to distributors in the aerospace fastener niche market.

Among the largest customers in the industry are jet aircraft manufacturers like The Boeing Co. Also, peripheral tiers of manufacturers and suppliers provide a large customer base somewhat like that in the auto industry.

Specialty aerospace fasteners include blind rivets, blind bolts, shear pins, and lock bolts used in aircraft assembly. Aircraft are assembled in three main components that are pre-finished by mid-tier suppliers, according to one expert in the field.

Girard Fastener & Supply Co., Inc. in La Habra, Calif., supplies fasteners to fabricators who build aircraft interiors.

"We don't deal with manufacturers like Boeing directly but with their suppliers. [Fabricators] build units such as galleys and ship them complete to Boeing," said company manager Ed Girard.

Boeing doesn't generally build interior sections for jets, he said. When the aircraft-making giant gets commitments for aircraft, it contracts with suppliers for completed interior sections, such as lavatories, overhead compartments and seating, to be delivered on manufacturing schedules.

Girard said business started sliding in January, 2001 and the bottom dropped out on Sept. 11. He expects sales to climb slowly through the rest of this year, but not to the level of 2000.

"We were still down in the first quarter this year. We're seeing a slight turnaround, but that will be slow," he said. New orders for aircraft are also expected to pick up slowly, he said.

Boeing got a firm order for three aircraft totaling $600 million in April, but that is a small order for the aircraft giant, Girard said. However, some new products are becoming popular among customers like Boeing, he added. For example, fastener manufacturers are now making some aircraft interior fasteners out of high-strength plastics instead of steel and aluminum.

"It will take a lot more than that to get things moving," he said. "We're very small and carry about $500,000 to $700,000 in inventory. That's pretty small compared to other [fastener companies]."

One large Northeastern regional distributor who asked not to be named said that business was down drastically in 2001 and was slowly coming back at the end of April. Customers, particularly OEMs, are slowly moving shipments up for faster delivery, he said.