- Operating margin maintained at 21 per cent
- Sales growth starts to slow as end market weaken
Management at Fastenal (US:FAST) seem like the sort who enjoy the competitive nature of business. Not only does chief executive Dan Florness refer to the company’s 22,000-plus employees as the 'Blue Team' (the colour is a feature of Fastenal's branding), but the distributor of industrial consumables also recently extended a long-term partnership deal with North America’s National Hockey League.