Roy C. Spaetzel and Howard W. Hessenaur founded Spaenaur in 1936. They began by focusing on supplying upholstering material, auto body supplies, adhesives, rubber components and fasteners to the automotive maintenance and trimming trade market. The pair soon figured out that customers not only required auto body supplies but were using a great deal of fasteners. Thus began the early development of Spaenaur’s concentration in commercial and hard-to-find fasteners.
Mr. Spaetzel traveled across Canada by train, stopping at all of the towns and cities securing sales orders. It didn’t take him long to realize the vastness of the country would keep him on the road all year round and he still wouldn’t reach all of Spaenaur’s customers. Spaenaur needed a new strategy to reach its customers. As a result Spaenaur developed its first 66 page catalog in 1938, which was distributed to automotive maintenance customers across Canada. The catalog was an instant success. It offered customers the flexibility to source and purchase products whenever desired.
Today, Spaenaur is recognized throughout North America as a leading distributor for industrial fasteners, hardware components and tools. Spaenaur operates out of a 115,000 sq. foot warehouse in Kitchener, Ontario and has positioned itself as a master distributor serving Distribution, MRO and Production markets.
One of Spaenaur’s key strengths is its catalog. Spaenaur’s catalog consists of over 1,700 pages that contain over 60,000 standard and hard-to-find products and is regarded as one of the best fastener resource guides in the industry.
Another of Spaenaur’s strengths is its dedication to processes and customer commitment. Spaenaur is continually improving its programs and services to ensure that we meet the needs of our customers.