Arlington, Va. — Fastenal's close relationships with national contractor Hensel Phillips and several manufacturers are paying off at the Pentagon, where Fastenal is the only distributor supplying the rebuilding effort.

The company opened a job-site trailer for contractors in June to assist with an eight-year, $1 billion project that includes repairs from the Sept. 11 plane crash. General contractor Hensel Phillips picked Fastenal exclusively, managers said.

The 24-by-40-foot on-site store is stocked with products from ITW Ramset/Redhead, Bosch, Target, Miller Fall Protection, Crews, and other suppliers. One of the services offered is providing contractors tools and supplies in a nearby 40-foot-long container box that is stocked with items each crew needs.

"We store the stuff they need in there each day," says James Twarek, job site trailer manager. "They like having the merchandise here and not having to run out in the daytime."

Some 59 passengers and crewmembers aboard Flight 77 plus 125 military service members and civilians within the Pentagon died in the crash.

Fastenal began supplying power tools, diamond blades, safety gear and other products soon afterwards from its local branches. With tightened security slowing incoming supplies by several hours, Hensel Phillips agreed it would be best to establish an on-site store, said Patrick Splitt, a Fastenal sales manager for the Washington, D.C. and northern Virginia area. Before the crash, the contractor had been awarded a multi-million dollar renovation contract at the Pentagon.

"A lot of their subs are from outside the area, so Hensel Phillips thought it would be a great idea if we were near all the out-of-town contractors," Splitt said. Through mid June, Fastenal was already stocking about $80,000 in inventory, more than a normal branch would carry so soon after opening.

While Fastenal offers tool repairs and the stocking service to contractors, some suppliers are drop-shipping products to a nearby branch. Twarek estimated more than 200 subcontractors would be working the site by the end of July. By the end of June, crews finished rebuilding the section struck by the plane.

When there is an emergency or a tool breaks, Twarek said contractors don't have to stop work for long. In one example, two drill bits used to prepare for setting anchors in concrete broke and were quickly replaced. "They'd probably go to their vendor ... if we weren't there,'' Twarek said.

"The Pentagon now is one of the largest job sites in the country so all construction managers are chomping at the bit to get into here," said Splitt.