Frequently Asked Questions

Established in 1904 and located in Mauerkirchen, Austria the BECK Fastener Group has been a leading international system provider of fastening technology for almost 75 years.
We are focussed on customer service in all we do. It is the customer who benefits from our distribution policy, which is exclusively directed towards the trade. It is distinguished by an extraordinary level of flexibility and all inclusive services.

The outstanding quality of our products, with the widest range of wood-to-wood fasteners in the world, as well as the corresponding pneumatic processing tools make up a combination, which is unique in our industry.

It is not only the quality of our products, which is continuously improved by our R&D department, but also the service for our customers that we regard as essential for the quality our company provides. Our aim is to understand each one of our customers better than our competitors do, by individually servicing them according to their needs and by adapting our services to individual requests (e.g. through a comprehensive “Private-Label-Program” or through support when it comes to configuring containers).

Today the BECK Fastener Group is a global, owner-operated company with locations in Germany, Austria, Italy, China and the United States.

Basic Data:
Foundation: 1904
Chief Executive Officer (CEO): Dipl.-Wirtsch.-Ing. Günther Beck
Employees: about 600
Locations: 6
Consumption: about 4000 tons/month
External dealers: in 54 different countries

QUALITY FIRST. PRODUCTS & SERVICES.
The quality of our products and our customer service is our daily commitment and permanent mission. This undertaking does not only include quality and reliability of our products, but service to our customers. We try to anticipate our customers needs better than our competitors and adapt our services to their requests (e.g. “Private-Label-Program” or container fitments).

FLEXIBILITY & VERSATILITY.
We design and engineer a good portion of our machinery ourselves. This includes collators for staples, pins and nails. The sheer potential to manufacture each single nail, each staple and each pin on our machinery press paves the way for a unique flexibility and versatility, which has led to a product range of more than 17,000 different staples, 950 pins and 2,100 collated kinds of nails. This leaves only a few fastening products we do not carry, which is unique in the world. For many of our fasteners the corresponding high quality FASCO air pressure tools are available. Our products are used by professional end users in many different sectors and fields of application.

TRADITION & KNOW HOW.
We are a family business established in 1904 as a print shop that has been active in the fastening business since 1933. Being one of the pioneers of our industry, the group has emerged over the last decades as a world leader in fastening technology. This sector was significantly influenced and developed by the BECK Fastener Group. The production plants in Germany and Austria where the complete range of fasteners is manufactured is the heart of the group. BECK Fastener Group has expanded vertically and horizontally by integrating the tool manufacturer FASCO (Italy) into the BECK Fastener Group in 1989. The sales companies FASCO AMERICA and EMPIRE PRODUCTS are our North American distribution centers for BECK fasteners and FASCO air pressure tools.
Integrating two nail manufacturing companies in Austria – CARL SCHMIDT and AUSTRIA DRAHT – increased our independence of raw material suppliers. In total the BECK Fastener Group consists of seven companies on five locations as well as a permanent representation in China.

TRADITION is our commitment.
QUALITY is our strength.
VISION is our permanent drive.

Being a fourth generation manufacturing company, tradition obliges us to carefully use resources and count on the integrity and solidarity of our employees. For more than 100 years we have improved our working process, adjusted it to state-of-the-art production technologies and acquired a standard we can describe as unique within the industry. We know commitment emerges from tradition and to stand still means to go backwards. This is why we constantly move forward looking for even more efficient ways of production, thus assuring our customers to have a long-term committed partner on their side.

The quality of the BECK Fastener Group is more than the level of fulfilment of requirements customary within an industry. It is a daily commitment and a permanent mission, which we accomplish again and again. Our demands leave conventional quality standards far behind. BECK quality is an outstanding feature which has emerged out of 100 years of tradition and experience.

Quality means customer service and commitment to requests, e.g. through comprehensive “Private-Label-Programs”, support with configuring a container and many other services.

Our quality also implies respect towards our employees whose performance and input is the basis for the success of the BECK Fastener Group. We feel our comprehensive understanding for quality and concern for the environment obliges us to carefully handle raw materials.

We are a world leader in the manufacture of fasteners both from the viewpoint of technology, as well as, quality. We are courageously looking for new ways of innovation. Our focus is on acting not on reacting. This means we look straight forward anticipate developments and demands on our products. We do this with our in-house R&D department that develops and extensively tests new products to our highest standards of quality and performance. It is only after these standards have been successfully met that the product is presented to the customer.

This is where we see the future success of our company and our customers.

Change. We acknowledge our society is subject to changes, which result from global knowledge, where customers and consumers no longer follow traditional paths.

Dynamic Adaptation.
We do not want to restrict ourselves to traditional perspectives, but face dynamic challenges. Taking into consideration our social and environmental responsibilities, we want to continue to adjust and direct our strategies.

Service and Partnership.
We want to further enhance customer service and enter a more intense and successful “service-partnership” with our customers. We will respond to the requirements of every single customer and their requests.

Cost Efficiency.
We strive to create cost efficiency by constant improvement of our manufacturing process to provide our customers with the best possible quote and keeping the highest quality standards.

Position in Europe.
We plan to further strengthen our European locations and safeguard their jobs and to modestly integrate the global value chain. In doing so we emphasize our values and strengths: quality, flexibility, innovation, customer service, cost control, efficient manufacturing process.

Consistency.
We are committing ourselves, to our employees, to continue and assure success of the BECK Fastener Group into the future.

At the moment the BECK Fastener Group consists of eigth companies at five locations. The company group is centrally managed. BECK fasteners are manufactured at the production sites in Austria and Germany. The corresponding pneumatic tools are manufactured in Italy and our two sales companies are located in Alabama, USA. Futhermore, the BECK Fastener Group is represented in China with an office in Shanghai and a production plant for wire bands in Kunshan.

Deutscher Fachverband für Verbindungs- und Befestigungstechnik (VBT)
www.vbt-online.com
International Staple, Nail and Tool Association (ISANTA)
www.isanta.org

The distribution policy of the BECK Fastener Group is aimed at resellers, i.e. distributors and other manufacturers who sell our products in neutral or private-labelled packaging. Our absolute refusal to appeal end users, just as our customers do and that way compete with our partners, is the very reason why BECK products are widely spread and yet not known under our trade name.

Out of Europe only full containers (20ft. or 40ft.) are shipped which take about 8 to 12 weeks to deliver depending on the product mix. In principle only customers who purchase a minimum of 4 containers a year are supplied with direct container shipments.

Customers, who are not able to purchase full containers direct from Europe, are serviced by our distribution centre (FASCO AMERICA or EMPIRE PRODUCTS) in Alabama. Additionally this warehouse serves for fill-in-orders for existing container customers.

We really appreciate you as an end user and your interest in our products. Please contact us and we will pass your enquiry on to your nearest distributor.

Staples
Standard products: 0.5 – 3 million pieces
Specialty products: 0.5 – 3 million pieces

Brads/Pins/T-Nails
Standard products: 0.5 – 3 million pieces
Specialty products: 2 – 5 million pieces

Collated Nails
Standard and specialty products: 1 pallet

In special cases we will gladly check to see if a reduced quantity is feasible.

We are looking forward to meeting you at our booth. Our booth is designed to provide an appealing setting to become familiar with the BECK Fastener Group.
We would be happy to spend time with you and discuss your requests. Maybe you will take time to view and examine our products and product innovations. We will be glad to demonstrate them.

Please take note of our column trade show dates/events, where you can find all of the updated trade fair information.

In case of questions about specific requirements and about the use of the right fastener please contact us through the contact form.

We will be glad to assist you with our knowledge obtained over the last 70 years in the industry.

We have a comprehensive and detailed product catalogue available where you can find plenty of information about the application of the most important fasteners. (The BECK Fastener Group reserves the right to send out the official product catalogue selectively.)

Our business hours are Monday through Thursday from 7:30 A.M. to 4:30 P.M. and Friday from 7:30 A.M. to 4:00 P.M. We are available for you beyond these hours via e-mail. It is always our aim to respond to your requests within 24 hours.

Please contact us. We are glad to be of service to you. For initial contact, please use the contact form on our home page.

Please contact us with technical enquiries through the contact form.
Click the button “technical enquiries” and enter your request.

We can answer your technical questions with the knowledge we have acquired in more than 70 years of being a pioneer in our industry.

In order to assist you with your enquiry as best we can, we will need the following information:

Are you a manufacturer, a distributor/dealer or an end user?
What (geographical) market area do you serve?
What fasteners are you interested in?
Which quantity do you require?
Are there any special packing requests that we have to keep in mind?

You may enter this information into our contact form on our web site and click the mouse.

Please contact us with technical enquiries through the contact form.
Click the button “technical enquiries” and enter your request.

We can answer your technical questions with the knowledge we have acquired in more than 70 years of being a pioneer in our industry.

The lead time depends on the kind of product, the raw materials used and the volume. We indicate the relevant lead time on each quote.

You will find the shipping date (week) on the order confirmation. In case the lead time of the purchased products varies, you will receive a separate order confirmation for each shipping week. Please note that the term “shipping date (week)” means “leaving our premises”, so the transit time needs to be added.

Our former slogan is still present and it is still true:
"A TOOL FOR EVERY FASTENER, A FASTENER FOR EVERY TOOL."

The tool lines of the BECK Fastener Group are the trademarks FASCO and RAINCO. This makes the BECK Fastener Group a genuine system provider. Our aim is to be compatible for all the other common systems as well. All of the tools are engineered, manufactured and assembled at our site in Bologna, Italy.

Here you will find more information on our tool lines.

Because of our in-house engineered equipment, our flexibility in the field of design and modification allows us to offer a product range of more than 17,000 different kinds of staples, 950 pins as well as 2,100 collated nails. Many of the fasteners for the FASCO and RAINCO tools are also available. It has always been a target of the BECK Fastener Group to be compatible with almost all of the other common tool lines.

You are welcome to name the tools you use. We will certainly be in a position to advise you on the fastener required. Probably we will have this product even if a particular requirement and application is involved.

You are very welcome to use the contact form on our web site now.

The enormous scope of our product range consisting of 17,000 different staples, 950 pins and 2,100 collated nails is a result of the abundance of materials and coatings that we can offer to our customers.

Below is a list of our materials and coatings plus other materials are available on request.

Staples
- Standard materials:
  - Standard steel with a tensile strength of 600 – 2000 N/mm²
  - SS304 & SS316 steel, tensile strength of 750 – 850 N/mm²
  - Aluminium (of different quality) from 140 – 450 N/mm² ²
- Coatings:
  - Galvanized: standard of 5 – 25 g/m², class 1 at least 46 g/m², class 2 at least 92 g/m², class 3 at least 200 g/m²
  - Coppered: standard of 1 – 5 g/m²
  - LF/Liquor Finish: standard of 1 – 5 g/m²
  - Hot dipped: standard of 50 g/m²
  - GALFAN™ (Zn 95%, Al 5%): at least 200 g/m²
  - Bronze: standard of 1 – 5 g/m²
  - PVC-coated (Ø-coating): 0.2 mm, core standard galvanized)
Pins/brads/angled brads/T-nails
- Standard materials:
  - Standard steels with a tensile strength of 600 – 1200 N/mm²
  - SS304 & SS316 steel, tensile strength of 750 – 850 N/mm²
  - Aluminium (of different qualities) from 140 – 450 N/mm²
- Coatings:
  - Galvanized: standard of 5 – 25 g/m²
Collated nails
- Standard materials:
  - Standard construction steel (C9D) with a tensile strength of 700 – 850 N/mm²
  - High-strength steel with tensile strengths of 900 – 2000 N/mm²
  - SS304 & SS316 steels, tensile strength of 750 – 850 N/mm²
  - Aluminium (of different kinds) from 340 – 450 N/mm²
  - Copper with about 400 N/mm²
  - Brass with a tensile strength of 600 – 750 N/mm²
- Coatings:
  - Electro-galvanized: standard of 70 g/m² (9 µm), Class 1 120 g/m² (15 µm), Heavy Coating 160 g/m² (20 µm)
  - Hot dipped: standard of at least 400 g/m² (50 µm)
  - Phosphated: standard of 70 – 160 g/m² (9 – 20 µm)
  - Coppered: standard of 15 – 45 g/m² (8 – 10 µm)

Nails used in areas where weather conditions play an important role, require a certain chemical and metallurgical surface treatment. We provide different quality levels of corrosion protection.

STAINLESS: SS304 & SS316
HOT DIPPED: at least 400 g/m² (50 µm)
ELECTRO-GALVANIZED (YELLOW, BLUE or BLACK): 70 g/m² (9 µm) – 120 g/m² (15 µm) – 160 g/m² (20 µm)

We can, without a doubt, produce one of the best hot dipped qualities in the world. In the salt spray test (pursuant to ASTM B117 and DIN50021) we guarantee a protection of at least 200 hours until the first rust stains appear.

North American Standards/Evaluation Reports: :
- ESR-1539 2005 Evaluation Report (Power-Driven Staples and Nails for Use in All Types of Building Construction)
  The report confirms that our nails (Ø 2.3 and more; see attachment B ESR-1539 2005) fulfil the requirements of the following building codes:
  - IBC (International Building Code) 2003
  - IRC (International Residential Code) 2003
  - BNBC (BOCA National Building Code) 1999
  - SBC (Standard Building Code) 1999
  - UBC (Uniform Building Code) 1997
  - IOTFDC (International One And Two Family Dwelling Code) 1998
- City of Los Angeles Report 23633 (nails of Ø 2.3 and more; see attachment B ESR-1539 2005)
Further US-Standards:
- Hot dipped nails (of at least 400 g/m² or 56 µm):
  ASTM A 153/A 153M Class D “Standard Specification for Zinc Coating (Hot-Dip) on Iron and Steel Hardware”
- Electro-galvanized nails (with coating thicknesses of 70 g/m² = 9 µm and 140 g/m² = 20 µm):
  ASTM A 641/A 641M “Standard Specification for Zinc–Coated (Galvanized) Carbon Steel Wire”
European Standards:
- DIN1052-Part 2 (timber wood construction; mechanical connections)
  - Our deformed shank nails (ring, screw or barbed profile) are specialty nails according to DIN1052-Part 2 and reach the highest loading capacity (class III). On request of the customer we can provide classifications pursuant to DIN1052-Part 2 any time.
  - Our smooth shank nails correspond to DIN 1052-Part 2 regarding the geometrical and mechanical requirements. According to DIN1052-Part 2 no further approvals are necessary for these nails. As per the regulations of DIN-EN 10204, however, a work certificate can be issued any time.
  - Our electro-galvanized and hot dipped nails comply with the requirements of DIN1052-Part 2 (Table 1) regarding steel fasteners subject to corrosion.
- Anker nails: certificate of classification according to DIN1052-Part 2, section 6 & 7/appendix A
- Construction staples with an official approval according to DIN1052-Part 2, section 8/appendix B: :
  - KG700, DF76, G5562, JK783
  - Q6774, DF15, HD7900, BeA170

In case of questions about specific requirements and about the use of the right fastener please contact us through the contact form.

We will be glad to assist you with our knowledge obtained over the last 70 years in the industry.

Our SCRAILS® are driven with a common pneumatic nailer but reach up to 80% of screw withdrawal values. They can be adjusted and unscrewed easily and can be applied more than twice as fast as collated screws and more than eight times faster than bulk screws.

BECK Fastener Group

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