WINONA, Minn., Nov. 03, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- When 65 Fastenal employees take the Nasdaq MarketSite stage for the opening bell ceremonies next Monday morning, they’ll be celebrating two major milestones for the company: 50 years in business (since November 28, 1967) and 30 years on the Nasdaq Stock Market (since August 20, 1987).

Fastenal’s rise from a small fastener shop in Winona, Minnesota, to a multibillion-dollar global company has been fueled by a core belief in people and a decentralized culture that promotes individual creativity and decision making. With this in mind, the company invited every employee with at least ten years of tenure (nearly 2,700 current team members) to enter a drawing to win a trip to New York City for the Nasdaq Opening Bell celebration. The winners of that drawing will be joined on stage by Dan Florness, Fastenal’s president and CEO, and Michael Gostomski, one of the company’s five co-founders.

“Fastenal has been built by thousands of great people working in every area of our organization,” said Dan Florness. “We wanted to shine the spotlight on as many of these leaders as the stage could possibly hold.”

Fastenal (Nasdaq:FAST) has been publicly traded on the Nasdaq Stock Market since its initial public offering in 1987, at which time 1,000 shares of company stock sold for $9,000. On Friday, September 29, 2017, those 1,000 shares, having split seven times, were 96,000 shares worth approximately $4.4 million, generating more than $876,000 in cumulative dividends along the way.

This will be the fourth time Fastenal has rung the Nasdaq Opening Bell. The company previously opened the market in 2007, 2011 and 2014.

Fastenal will ring the Nasdaq Opening Bell on Monday, November 6, 2017 at 9:30 a.m. Eastern Time (8:30 a.m. Central Time). A live webcast of the event will be available at https://new.livestream.com/nasdaq/live beginning at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time (8:00 a.m. Central Time).

Fastenal sells different types of industrial and construction supplies in the following product categories: threaded fasteners and miscellaneous supplies; tools; metal cutting tool blades and abrasives; fluid transfer components and accessories for hydraulic and pneumatic power; material handling; storage and packaging products; janitorial, chemical and paint products; electrical supplies; welding supplies; safety supplies; metals, alloys and materials; and office supplies.

The company operates more than 2,900 in-market locations, including more than 2,400 branches and approximately 560 Onsite-style locations, located primarily in North America, with additional locations in Asia, Europe, Central and South America, and Africa. The company also manages approximately 70,000 industrial vending devices and approximately 43,000 replenishment systems (Fastenal Managed Inventory, or FMI). These local channels are supported by 14 distribution centers spanning North America: eleven in the United States (Minnesota, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Georgia, Washington, California, Utah, North Carolina, and Kansas) and three outside the U.S. (Ontario, Canada; Alberta, Canada; and Nuevo León, Mexico). 

Additional information regarding Fastenal is available on the Fastenal Company website at www.fastenal.com.

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CONTACT:Ellen Trester
 Financial Reporting & Regulatory Compliance Manager
 507.313.7282