DES PLAINES, Ill. -- Lawson Products, an industrial distributor of more than 300,000 maintenance and repair solutions, was awarded a three-year contract to supply all of the Utah Transit Authority's (UTA) fastener needs. As per the agreement, Lawson Products will provide a minimum of 2,500 different fastener products including bolts, hex head cap screws, miniature fasteners, nuts, screws, socket products and washers to the multi-modal transportation leader that will be used for ongoing train track, rail car and bus maintenance.
UTA has provided public mass transportation to Utah communities for more than 40 years. Today, UTA operates 129 light rail vehicles, 35 commuter rail cars and more than 600 buses and maintains these vehicles through nine separate maintenance facilities. Lawson Products has supplied cutting tools and drill bits to all of UTA's shops for the last five years, but this is the first long-term contract signed between the two organizations.
"We're excited to expand our relationship with one of the largest public mass transportation systems in the country," said Shon Libby, vice president of strategic accounts & segment sales, Lawson Products.
"Government accounts continue to provide strong growth for our company, and this contract with UTA diversifies our customer base in this sector. We look forward to providing innovative solutions to enhance UTA's operations."
"We chose Lawson Products to supply our fastener needs because they delivered strong technical expertise, quality products (including special order items) and competitive prices," said Michael Allegra, general manager for UTA. "We've benefitted from the on-the-ground support Lawson Products has provided our maintenance facilities during the past five years and are confident their continued partnership and support will ensure our MRO needs are met every step of the way."
As part of the contract, Lawson Products will also provide inventory management support by assisting UTA maintenance engineers in determining what inventory they need in stock, the most efficient way to store it and how often to reorder product. Lawson Products associates will also perform safety seminars at each of the nine UTA maintenance facilities.
This new contract is the latest example of Lawson Products' growing expertise in the government and transportation sector. It continues to see a strong increase in this area, supplying products to the Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad Company, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority and other transit customers in the Northeast region.
