What ITW Shakeproof Group does

ITW Shakeproof Group is a US-based industrial fastener manufacturer and business unit of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE: ITW), with roots dating to 1923 and operations centered in Wisconsin (Watertown, Milwaukee, Iron Ridge) and Illinois (Broadview). The company designs and produces threaded fasteners, machine screws, lock washers, pins, and metal stampings, organized into five core product families: plastic thread forming, metal thread forming, machine screws, lock washers, and pins/stampings. Its technology backbone is the proprietary WERCS platform, which enables unique thread geometries used across flagship products including BosScrew, Shakeproof Thread, Tap/R, Hurricane, Hurricane Rite, and the 2018-launched GripTide insert. All four manufacturing facilities are ISO 9001:2015 certified and the company emphasizes US-made production.

Name

ITW Shakeproof Group

Legal name

Illinois Tool Works Inc.

Website

https://shakeproof.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1923

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

ITW Shakeproof Group is a US industrial fastener manufacturer (since 1923) and ITW business unit producing threaded screws, lock washers, pins, and stampings for OEM customers in appliance, heavy equipment, HVAC, and other industrial verticals.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Broadview

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Operations, Supply Chain, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Fastener Product Sales: ITW Shakeproof Industrial generates revenue through the design, manufacture, and sale of threaded screws, fasteners, lock washers, pins, and metal stampings to industrial customers. Products are sold as standard catalog items and custom-engineered solutions to OEM customers across multiple industries.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

ITW Shakeproof Industrial designs and manufactures engineered specialty fasteners including plastic thread forming screws (BosScrew®, GripTide™, Plastite®, HI-LO®), metal thread forming screws (Tap/R®, GX™, Taptite®, Hurricane™), Shakeproof Thread™ machine screws, helical lock washers, push-on/speed nuts, and pins (clevis, hitch, lock, lynch, lanyards). All products are manufactured at four ISO 9001:2015 certified facilities in Wisconsin and Illinois and sold as standard catalog items and custom-engineered solutions to OEM and industrial customers.

Product overview

ITW Shakeproof Group is a leading designer and manufacturer of value-added, high-quality engineered fastener solutions. The company's product portfolio includes multiple product categories: Plastic Thread Forming fasteners (GripTide™ Insert, BosScrew®, Plastite®, HI-LO®, HI-LO Plus®), Metal Thread Forming fasteners (Tap/R®, GX™ Self-Extruding, Taptite®, Hurricane™, Hurricane Rite™), Machine Screws (Shakeproof Thread™, SEMS assemblies), Lock Washers (Helical in various types including Double Coil, Extra Duty, Heavy, Hi-Collar, High-Alloy, Light, and Metric), Pins (Clevis, Hitch, Lock, Lynch, and Lanyards from the Bee Leitzke division), and Stampings (Tooth Lock Washers, Light Duty Stamped Nuts, Spring Nuts, Spring Washers). The company also offers WERCS Technology, a proprietary technology platform that enables unique thread geometries for superior fastener performance. Products serve automotive, agricultural, heavy equipment, furniture, appliance, HVAC, lawn and garden, and military industries. All facilities maintain ISO 9001:2015 quality standards.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Bee Leitzke: Product line of pins including clevis pins, hitch pins, lock pins, lynch pins, and lanyards.
• Mellowes

Products and services

• GripTide™ Insert Low-cost steel threaded insert for plastics that surpasses brass inserts in quality, cost, and performance, utilizing cold forming and rolling technology with a multidirectional anti-rotation pattern; intended for OEMs fastening components into plastic.
• BosScrew® Fasteners Plastic thread forming screw engineered to not loosen in plastic applications; its unique thread form works with the creeping aspect of plastic to interlock with the boss, offering the highest drive-to-strip ratio in the industry.
• Plastite® Fasteners Tri-lobular thread rolling screws designed for high fastening performance in thermoplastics, available in Type 60-1 (60° profile for high torque) and Type 48-2 (lower driving torque).
• HI-LO® Fasteners Fasteners for low pressure environments such as plastic, particle board, masonite, and wood, featuring a double-lead thread with high thread sharpness.
• HI-LO® Plus Fasteners Fasteners with alternating high and low threads that engage effectively with low density materials including die cast metals, hard or soft plastics, wood, and particle board.
• Tap/R® Fasteners Thread rolling screws that use a graduated thread rolling area to roll their own perfect mating threads in an un-threaded pilot hole, featuring a tapered point to eliminate cross-threading.
• GX™ Self-Extruding Screws Self-extruding screws that extrude sheet metal during assembly to produce greater thread engagement area and a strong joint, featuring a grounding ring and GER-NIB torque-absorbing feature.
• Taptite® Screws Tri-lobular thread forming screws with work-hardened mating threads that provide resistance to loosening caused by vibration.
• Hurricane™ Screws Anti-strip screws with underhead ribs creating torque break, optimized for thin sheet metal applications as thin as .025 inches.
• Hurricane Rite™ Screws Fasteners engineered to eliminate strip-out problems caused by thin sheet metal and misaligned holes, requiring 50% less material thickness than standard AB screws.
• Shakeproof Thread™ Machine screw using WERCS® technology with a wave thread pattern that creates mechanical interference to ensure the fastener stays tight; reusable and performs better than adhesive patches.
• Pre-Assembled Threaded (SEMS) Machine Screws Pre-assembled screw and washer combinations featuring tooth lock washers, helical spring lock washers, and conical washers permanently attached to fasteners.
• Helical Lock Washers Spring lock washers with split design and trapezoidal shape that add compression and deflection under load to prevent loosening from vibration and corrosion.
• Double Coil Lock Washer Double coil helical spring lock washer for soft joints including wooden pole assemblies, maintaining tension on bolt despite contraction and expansion from temperature changes.
• Extra Duty Lock Washer Thicker lock washers with larger outside diameter and greater bearing area for heavy duty applications with very high tightening torques.
• Heavy Lock Washer Heavy section helical spring lock washer with increased O.D., thickness and bearing area for heavier duty applications involving higher tightening torques.
• Hi-Collar Lock Washer Lock washer with smaller outside diameter and high thickness for confined spaces, ideal for use with socket head cap screws.
• High-Alloy Lock Washer Lock washers manufactured from 4037 high alloy steel for use with Grade 5 and Grade 8 bolt and nut assemblies.
• Light Lock Washer Light helical spring lock washer with reduced O.D. and thickness for applications with lighter load and reduced torque demands, often involving fragile or thin materials.
• Metric Lock Washer Metric series helical lock washers available in Regular Metric, DIN 127-B compliant, and DIN 7980 compliant styles.
• Clevis Pins Non-threaded metal fasteners inserted into drilled holes to connect parts, manufactured to SAE dimensions and cold-formed for strength.
• Hitch Pins Metal rods that prevent trailer hitch parts from slipping out of hitch receiver tube, manufactured with high strength material and pull ring.
• Lanyards Wire rope assemblies used to connect quick release pins to frames or fixtures to prevent misplacement, available in six styles from 6 to 24 inches.
• Lock Pins Wire lock pins (snap pins) with pivoting spring wire that extends across parts to ensure secure placement, available in single and double wire versions.
• Lynch Pins Self-locking quick disconnect fasteners designed for maximum strength, featuring forged pin from low carbon steel and rings from hot drawn spring steel.
• Tooth Lock Washers Stamped washers with locking teeth available in Crest Cup, Square Cone, External Tooth, Internal Tooth, Countersunk, Dished, and various rim types.
• Light Duty Stamped Nuts Shaft retainers including Push-on Bolt Retainers, Push-on Hat Retainers, Self-Threading Locknuts, and Hex Flange Speed Nuts.
• Internal Tooth Retainer (Springrip™) Stud receivers that slide over unthreaded rods and shafts to keep parts securely in place without requiring threading, grooving, or notching.
• External Tooth and Solid I.D. Retainer Retaining collars or spacers with protruding teeth that flex and connect with the circumference of recess walls to inhibit pull-out force.
• Spring Nuts and Push-on Nuts Stamped nuts with various configurations including curved and flat bends, twin prong and diamond impressions, and turned up/down or notched ends.
• Spring Washers Conical washers that introduce spring force and absorb shock through axial load to resist vibrations and prevent fastener loosening.
• AlignRite Alignment device patented in 2000 for use in fastening applications requiring precise component alignment.
• SinuLOC Machine Screw Reusable thread forming specialty machine screw with locking threads, patented in 2004.

Quantifiable outcome

• Customer saved $100,000 annually in material costs by switching to Hurricane™ screws enabling thinner material gauge (.025 inches) in washing machine applications
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments9 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature9 records

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• LISI Group: French-listed multi-segment fastener manufacturer serving aerospace, automotive, and industrial markets with engineered fastening solutions. Direct peer in industrial fastening segments, though with a much stronger aerospace tilt.
• Araymond: French-headquartered fastening and assembly solutions provider serving automotive, industrial, and energy markets globally. Direct peer given comparable engineered-fastener portfolio and OEM-driven business model.
• INFASCO: Canadian-headquartered manufacturer of industrial fasteners and cold-formed components serving heavy equipment, transportation, and industrial OEM customers. Direct peer in engineered industrial fasteners with similar cold-forming capabilities to Shakeproof.
• Nitto Seiko Co., Ltd. Japanese-listed manufacturer of thread-forming screws (Taptite® and equivalents), precision fasteners, and automatic fastening machines. Direct peer with overlapping proprietary thread-forming technology and shared OEM customer base in Asia.
• Holo-Krome Co. US-based manufacturer of socket head cap screws, ASTM-grade fasteners, and specialty industrial fasteners for OEM and MRO channels. Direct peer in engineered industrial fasteners with comparable US manufacturing footprint.
• Penn Engineering & Manufacturing Corp: Manufacturer of self-clinching fasteners, threaded inserts, and captive panel screws serving electronics, automotive, and industrial OEMs. Direct peer given highly overlapping specialty-fastener portfolio, particularly against Shakeproof's GripTide™ insert line.
• Bulten AB: Swedish-listed industrial fastener supplier focused on automotive and heavy-equipment OEMs across Europe. Direct peer in terms of customer base, B2B OEM sales motion, and engineered fastening solutions, though with greater European geographic concentration.
• EJOT GmbH & Co. KG: German-based global specialist in thread-forming screws for plastics and metals, with deep engineering support for automotive and industrial customers. Directly comparable product line (EJOT Delta PT, PT®, and similar thread-forming families compete head-to-head with Shakeproof's Taptite®/Plastite®/BosScrew®).
• SFS Group AG: Swiss-listed engineered fastening solutions provider serving automotive, construction, and industrial OEMs globally. Direct peer in engineered fasteners and fastening systems, though with greater European/construction exposure than Shakeproof.

Broad incumbents

• Stanley Engineered Fastening: Division of Stanley Black & Decker offering a broad portfolio of engineered fasteners, blind rivets, and assembly tools across automotive, industrial, and aerospace. Broader incumbent competitor with deeper tool+fastener integration and larger scale than Shakeproof.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCa0EM_HN-AkT0o61NzE_wSw
• Facebookfacebook.com/itwshakeproofindustrial
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/itw-shakeproof
• Instagraminstagram.com/itw_shakeproof_industrial

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about ITW Shakeproof Group