Winona-based Fastenal announced that longtime Chief Executive Officer Dan Florness will retire effective July 16.
The company’s board of directors met Dec. 19 and elected President and Chief Sales Officer Jeff Watts to succeed Florness.
Florness, who grew up in western Wisconsin and earned an accounting degree at the University of Wisconsin River Falls, worked at a major public accounting firm before former CEO and co-founder Bob Kierlin recruited him to be Fastenal’s CFO in 1996.
When Florness succeeded Will Oberton as CEO, he had ambition to hold the job for as long as he did.
“When I took this role in the fall of 2015, the thought in my head was - do this for 10 years, OK?” Florness said. “And, you know, give it 130% every day. ”
Fastenal distributes fasteners and supplies to manufacturers and industrial customers. It has more than 25,000 employees and 1,600 branch locations.
During Florness’ tenure, Fastenal has invested heavily in customer connection through its vending machines and Onsite locations, evolving from a distributor of products to a supply-chain partner with an expanded customer list and “high-touch, high-tech” approach.
In the past decade, Fastenal has accomplished a lot. Fastenal’s annual revenue and earnings will have more than doubled from sales of $3.9 billion in 2015 to the projected $8.2 billion in sales for 2025. Annual profits were $516 million in 2015 and project to reach nearly $1.3 billion in 2025.
