H & C Tool Supply
H & C Tool Supply is a 100% employee-owned regional industrial distributor founded in 1955, selling CNC tooling, metalworking consumables, and industrial fasteners to manufacturing clients in Western New York and Northwestern Pennsylvania, supported by application engineering, vending, and inventory management services.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1955
- HeadquartersRochester, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What H & C Tool Supply does
H & C Tool Supply is a regional industrial distributor founded in 1955 and headquartered in Rochester, NY, with a secondary office in Greenville, PA. The company sells CNC tooling, metalworking consumables, and industrial fasteners to manufacturing clients across Western New York and Northwestern Pennsylvania, operating as a 100% employee-owned business under an ESOP. Its core offering spans 13 product categories (abrasives, fluids and additives, gaging, hole-making, milling, saw blades, screw machine parts, storage, taps and dies, tool holding, turning, work holding and fixturing) sourced from brands including Kennametal, Vargus USA (VARDEX), Lyndex/Nikken, Norton, Guhring, and Sandvik. The Hewes Fastener Division, a wholly-owned sub-brand, stocks more than 19,000 unique specialty and standard fasteners and provides a 30-minute order-to-pickup service from a Rochester drive-up window.
Beyond product distribution, H & C Tool Supply generates revenue through a layered service stack: free application engineering consulting (time studies, CNC programming, prototyping, inspection), vendor-managed inventory programs, end-to-end fluids management (charging, recycling, filtration), Kennametal-sourced ToolBOSS 24-hour vending solutions with usage tracking software, and custom-built web ordering portals configured per customer with proprietary part numbers and live inventory data. The go-to-market combines inside sales specialists, field-based sales and applications engineers, and physical counter/walk-in service. Pricing is uniformly quote-based with no published tiers. Revenue mechanics are predominantly transactional product resale supplemented by managed-service and recurring-revenue components (VMI, vending, fluids management); the company holds ISO 9001:2015 certification across all locations through 2026.
The customer base consists primarily of regional contract machinists and component manufacturers, supported by an anonymized set of published case studies demonstrating documented tooling improvements (tool-life multiplications, cycle-time reductions, annual cost savings). Distribution is regional rather than national, with two physical locations, and the ESOP structure means there is no external equity capital and no public revenue disclosure.
H & C Tool Supply firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- H & C Tool Supply
- Legal name
- H&C Tool Supply Corp.
- Website
- https://hctoolsupply.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1955
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- H & C Tool Supply is a 100% employee-owned regional industrial distributor founded in 1955, selling CNC tooling, metalworking consumables, and industrial fasteners to manufacturing clients in Western New York and Northwestern Pennsylvania, supported by application engineering, vending, and inventory management services.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
H & C Tool Supply industry classification
Industry- NAICS
- Metal Service Centers and Other Metal Merchant Wholesalers (423510)
- SIC
- Wholesale-Industrial Machinery & Equipment (5084), Bolts, Nuts, Screws, Rivets & Washers (3452)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Fasteners & Joining Consumables (Bolts, Rivets, Welding Wire/Rods, Flux) (IMAJAKAI)
Keywords
Where H & C Tool Supply is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Rochester
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices3 records
Markets served
H & C Tool Supply business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- CNC Tooling and Industrial Supply Products: Sale of CNC tooling products including abrasives, milling tools, hole-making tools, gaging, saw blades, screw machine parts, taps and dies, tool holding, turning tools, work holding and fixturing components, fluids, and additives. Products sourced from multiple manufacturers and sold directly to manufacturing clients.
- Industrial Fastener Products (Hewes Fastener Division): Sale of specialty and standard fasteners through the Hewes Fastener Division. Stocks more than 19,000 unique fastener SKUs with 30-minute order-to-pickup service. Fasteners offered through both counter/walk-in and web ordering.
- Vendor-Managed Inventory Services: Custom vendor-managed inventory program where H&C supplies the right quantity of the right tool to the right place at the right time. Addresses inventory challenges such as stockouts, costly overnight freight, and over-purchasing. Sold as a managed service to manufacturing clients.
- Fluids Management Services: End-to-end fluids management including fluid charging, cleaning, coolant recycling, and filtration systems. Also includes sale of cleaners, absorbents, and filtering systems. Revenue generated from both service delivery and product sales of filtration equipment and consumables.
- Tool Vending Solutions (ToolBOSS): Provision and management of ToolBOSS vending machines for 24-hour inventory control. Revenue derived from vending machine placement, software tracking, and ongoing inventory replenishment through the vending channel.
- Application Engineering Consulting Services: Free application engineering services including time studies, CNC programming and consultation, manufacturing process prototyping, and inspection services. Provided as a value-add to drive product sales and long-term customer relationships.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | Quote-based pricing for all products and services |
Go-to-market motion4 records
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels5 records
H & C Tool Supply product offering
Product offeringCore offering
H&C Tool Supply distributes CNC tooling, industrial fasteners, and metalworking consumables from manufacturers such as Kennametal, Vargus USA, Lyndex/Nikken, Norton, and Sandvik to manufacturing clients. The company operates the Hewes Fastener Division, stocking more than 19,000 unique specialty and standard fasteners with a 30-minute order-to-pickup service. Complementary services include application engineering, vendor-managed inventory, tool vending solutions, fluids management, and custom web ordering portals.
Product overview
H&C Tool Supply is a distributor of metalworking tools, industrial fasteners, and CNC tooling supplies. The company operates as a 100% employee-owned business since 1955, serving manufacturing clients with a portfolio of 13 product categories including abrasives, fluids, gaging, hole-making, milling, saw blades, screw machine parts, storage, taps & dies, tool holding, turning, and work holding. The company also operates the Hewes Fastener Division, stocking over 19,000 unique fasteners. Services include Application Engineering, Vendor-Managed Inventory, Fluids Management, ToolBOSS Vending Solutions, and Web Ordering & Custom Solutions. H&C carries products from major brands including Kennametal, Vardex, Norton, Guhring, and Sandvik.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Quantifiable outcome
- Tripled tool life for a CNC machining customer, resulting in $27,000 annual cost savings
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use H & C Tool Supply
Customer profileNamed customers4 records
Segments1 record
Ideal customer profiles1 record
H & C Tool Supply technology and API
TechnologyAPI detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature2 records
H & C Tool Supply partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- Vargus USAcoreH&C Tool Supply is the premier source for VARDEX threading products from Vargus USA. The knowledgeable staff answers threading questions and supplies VARDEX threading solutions to manufacturing clients. VARDEX products are highlighted as a key product category.
- KennametalcoreKennametal is a key manufacturing partner providing ToolBOSS vending machines (exclusive mention as vendor), taps, end mills, and cutting tools. H&C runs Kennametal product tests documented in case studies. Kennametal technicians conduct on-site testing for customers. Kennametal is a major product brand featured across multiple product categories.
- Lyndex/NikkencoreH&C Tool Supply carries Lyndex/Nikken products in tool holding and related categories. Lyndex/Nikken is listed among key manufacturer brands for tool holders, collets, and tapping solutions.
- Kennametal (ToolBOSS)coreH&C offers ToolBOSS tool vending machines sourced from Kennametal. ToolBOSS machines provide 24-hour inventory control with software tracking of tool usage, users, and supplies. This is a branded vending technology partnership enabling H&C's tool vending solutions service offering.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights4 records
H & C Tool Supply competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- MSC Industrial Direct: One of the largest North American metalworking and industrial supply distributors. Directly comparable to H&C Tool Supply in product categories (cutting tools, abrasives, fasteners, MRO) and target customer (manufacturing), though operating at vastly greater scale nationally.
- Fastenal: Public fastener and industrial supply distributor with deep vending-machine and on-site inventory management services. Highly comparable to H&C's Hewes Fastener Division and ToolBOSS vending offering, and a model for how vending and VMI can scale.
- Travers Tool Co. Long-established industrial tool and metalworking supply distributor serving Northeast US manufacturers. Closely mirrors H&C's product mix (cutting tools, abrasives, precision instruments) and regional customer focus.
- Bossard Group: Global fastener specialist and engineering service provider with a strong North American presence. Directly comparable to H&C's fastener distribution and engineering consulting model, particularly for industrial OEM customers.
- Würth Industry North America: Industrial fastener and assembly solutions provider offering VMI, kitting, and vendor-managed inventory services to manufacturers. Highly analogous to H&C's Hewes Fastener Division and VMI offering.
- Production Tool Supply: Regional industrial cutting tool and metalworking supply distributor serving Midwest manufacturers. Closely matches H&C's regional distributor profile and product categories (drilling, milling, tapping, gaging).
Broad incumbents
- Grainger: Broad-line industrial MRO distributor with a large catalog including metalworking tools and fasteners. Overlaps with H&C in product range but addresses a much wider industrial customer base, including facilities maintenance.
- McMaster-Carr: Iconic industrial supply catalog distributor with extensive fastener and tool offerings. Comparable competitor for catalog and e-commerce-driven procurement, especially for customers seeking self-service ordering.
- Motion Industries: Major industrial parts and supply distributor serving manufacturers across bearings, power transmission, and fluid power. Broader portfolio than H&C but overlapping customer base and value-add services (VMI, vendor integration).
Regional players
- Yamazen Inc. Machine tool and industrial supply distributor with strong Northeastern US presence. Comparable to H&C in serving precision machining customers, though more focused on capital equipment than consumable tooling.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
H & C Tool Supply social profiles
Digital presenceH & C Tool Supply compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance2 records
H & C Tool Supply financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
H & C Tool Supply leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles15 records
H & C Tool Supply subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries1 record
H & C Tool Supply funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
H & C Tool Supply M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about H & C Tool Supply
What does H & C Tool Supply do?
H&C Tool Supply distributes CNC tooling, industrial fasteners, and metalworking consumables from manufacturers such as Kennametal, Vargus USA, Lyndex/Nikken, Norton, and Sandvik to manufacturing clients. The company operates the Hewes Fastener Division, stocking more than 19,000 unique specialty and standard fasteners with a 30-minute order-to-pickup service. Complementary services include application engineering, vendor-managed inventory, tool vending solutions, fluids management, and custom web ordering portals.
Is H & C Tool Supply a public or private company?
H & C Tool Supply is a private company. It is currently operating.
When was H & C Tool Supply founded?
H & C Tool Supply was founded in 1955. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is H & C Tool Supply based?
H & C Tool Supply is headquartered in Rochester, United States, in the North America region.
How does H & C Tool Supply make money?
Six revenue lines are on record. CNC Tooling and Industrial Supply Products are the primary driver. The others are industrial Fastener Products (Hewes Fastener Division), vendor-Managed Inventory Services, fluids Management Services, tool Vending Solutions (ToolBOSS) and application Engineering Consulting Services.
Who are H & C Tool Supply's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are MSC Industrial Direct, Fastenal, Travers Tool Co., Bossard Group, Würth Industry North America and Production Tool Supply. Broad incumbents are Grainger, McMaster-Carr and Motion Industries. Yamazen Inc. is listed as a regional player.
Does H & C Tool Supply have an API?
No public API is recorded for H & C Tool Supply.
What industry is H & C Tool Supply in?
Its primary akta.pro industry code is IMAJAKAI, Fasteners & Joining Consumables (Bolts, Rivets, Welding Wire/Rods, Flux). Its NAICS code is 423510 and its SIC code is 5084.