Sustainability drives Clevedon Fasteners’ journey toward a greener, more efficient future
For over 85 years, Clevedon Fasteners has been one of the world’s foremost specialist manufacturers of cold formed components. The company has maintained its long legacy of success through strategy, resilience, and service, as Managing Director, Steve Hardeman, begins: “We’ve been in the manufacturing business since 1939. Back when the business started, it supplied rivets to the Spitfire factories in Castle Bromwich, Birmingham during the war from premises in Clevedon Street, where the name of the company comes from. The company went through various ownership changes and moved to its present premises in 1955.
“In 2000, Charles Hopkins, the company’s Financial Director, and I, took the opportunity to buy Clevedon Fasteners. We started out as minority shareholders, and in 2016 we bought out the major shareholder to become company owners. We’ve taken it through ups and downs — the banking crisis of 2008, the Covid-19 pandemic, and so forth. We’ve always emerged on the other side, and, thankfully, we’re still going.”
As a manufacturer of rivets, Clevedon Fasteners’ products are virtually invisible yet integral components of homes, vehicles, and more. As Steve discusses: “Rivets are essentially small components used for joining products together. For example, in your home, if you look at the hinges on your double glazing, you’ll see our rivets holding the hinges together. They are everywhere if you know where to look for them. We also make gears and various other specialized cold forgings, which can be used for a variety of applications. For instance, we supply a lot of rivets to automotive manufacturers, where they are used as a key component of the braking system on trucks and vans.
“We supply to a very wide range of engineering businesses, all across the world. Although we’re a small company, we’re the best at what we do. We’re capable of manufacturing really vital components for a wide customer base, and that’s definitely contributed to our long-term success. After all, we’ve been doing this for 85 years, we’ve pretty much got the hang of it by now.” 
Maintaining long-term success means adapting to the needs of the industry. When sustainability became a key issue for manufacturers the world over, Clevedon Fasteners rose to the occasion: “Around five or six years ago, we started our green agenda in accordance with ISO 14000. Our mission was to position the business as a leader in sustainability, working toward a greener future. It was a huge turning point for the business, and not only have we been able to reduce our carbon emissions, but it’s also had a really positive impact on our bottom line.
Sustainability journey
“We started with the manufacturing process. We used to manufacture the products and then wash them in-house before sending them out for plating and heat treatment, amongst other things. This process lacked efficiency, as it resulted in considerable quantities of wastewater. We decided to partner with our plating supplier, as they offered in-house water treatment plants that would minimize water wastage. The water goes in dirty and comes out clean, meaning it can be reused. In doing this, we also cut out the need for drying, which was an energy intensive part of our production process. It saved us a fortune on electricity, because we didn’t need to dry everything we washed, nor did we need to buy the chemicals necessary for cleaning.
“By adopting a more streamlined and energy conscious process, we were able to increase profitability. It became clear that sustainable practice was a beneficial policy all around, and so we decided to invest more in it. We converted all of our lighting systems to LEDs, which cut down our electricity consumption even further. We only use recyclable or recycled cardboard for packing products, and we plan our delivery routes carefully to ensure we’re travelling the minimum possible distance. There’s no back and forth, which uses a lot of petrol and also delays delivery.
“We’ve also received invaluable support from Lloyds Banking Group in this journey. They moved our facility from our previous provider and sorted out our loans in three weeks from beginning to end. These loans are related to sustainable business practice, and the bank helped us meet all the necessary requirements and get the paperwork approved, so that we could invest in sustainable practices throughout the business.
Progression and growth
“The additional funds will be used to continue to develop our environmentally friendly manufacturing process. The traditional method for producing engineered parts requires multiple machines, drawn out processes, and a lot of manpower. It also produces a considerable amount of waste scrap and energy. The cold forging process produces parts in what are called net shaped forgings. This is a more controlled production methodology, resulting in finished components coming out of the machine with no waste at speeds of 100 parts per minute and above.”
Taking an eco-friendlier approach has brought new life to the business, and set it up for renewed success, as Steve discusses: “Our sustainability mission has revitalized the business — I want to seize that momentum and continue growing from this point onward. Our business development plan includes the expansion of our product portfolio. Some of our customers have been with us for over 30 years. We have a great reputation as a manufacturer, and our plans for the future are to expand our market offering by working with our very loyal customers to provide a wider range of products all to the same standard of quality and customer service.
“Our mission is to grow the business and develop it so there are more opportunities for progression and growth. This helps safeguard our employees and set the company up for the future,” he concludes.