History

Pennoit-Grootaert Bolts was established by Marcel Pennoit and Henriette Grootaert.

Their two sons, Marc and Luc Pennoit joined the company. The arrival of this second generation of entrepreneurs caused a wind of change blowing through the company, which resulted in a rapid growth.

pgb-Europe emphasized the product quality, the development and improvement of internal and external means of communication, an in-house IT-department, development in new technologies and started the purchase of goods in the Far-East.

The company moved to a new headquarters in Melle, near Ghent. Situated near the highway and close to Flanders' capital city, it became an excellent logistic centre for the storage and supply of fasteners in Belgium. The new warehouse has a storage capacity of 10.000 sqm. and an efficient purchase policy which results in a service delivery level of 97%.

Acquisition of a Polish production company "Esmark", manufacturer of high-quality nylon anchors.

Throughout the years we have built strong relationships with international partners, which resulted in an extensive product assortment. Apart from the tradional fasteners, supplied as our private label pgb-fasteners, we also offer a full range of anchors for light and heavy duties, respectivily SMART and a professional range of COSMOS hand tools and SHARPWARE drills and cutting tools.

Business is blooming and to fulfill the market demands, we invested in new warehouse facilities and an optimized logistic management. A unique, state of the art automatic warehouse was built. This installation triples the amount of order lines which can be treated in one day, bringing them to 10.000 order lines a day on full force. Thanks to these investments, pgb-Europe can offer an even better service and is always one step ahead of our competitors.

The company's name altered to pgb-Europe, to emphasize its international character. In 2008 pgb-Europe also invested in a branch in the Far-East, pgb-Asia was established in Shanghai and the production company "Esmark" in Poland changed into pgb-Polska.

ETA approval on our SMART wall plugs, SMART frame plugs and SMART through bolts.

Certification of our chipboard screws, selfdrilling screws and drywall screws according to EN 14566. The wood construction screws type PETTG and PEVTG are now available according to EN 14592. Moreover, we already have the constructional bolts in accordance with EN 15048 on stock.

New Quality Department with state-of-the-art devices to control and guarantee the pgb-quality.

Since the beginning of 2015 we we have our own TÜV certificate for SB bolts ( EN 15048 ) at our disposal and we have made our calculation software for SMART anchors available to customers. In addition, we have joined EFDA, an organisation that's committed to watch over the interests of fastener distributors at a European and global level.

At pgb-Europe we are committed to quality. As a result, we have an extensive range with no less than 1.500 references that are CE certified and in conformity with the CPR standard. We also have 15 ETA approvals for our SMART anchors.

During 2017, we have been preparing for a number of changes. We started with the construction of a new automatic pallet warehouse ( 5.000m² ) that offers space for 13.000 Europalets. In addition, we have been working with external partners on the implementation of a new ERP software system and the development of a new e-shop. Finally, we also started a sales office in France, called pgb-France.

pgb-Europe is bursting at the seams. The new pallet warehouse ( 5.000m² = 13.000 places ) is ready for use and the switch from AS400 to the new SAP ERP-system is a fact. In addition, pgb is also launching its new webshop. pgb-Polska moves to a new site of about 8000m² production and warehouse capacity.

Further digital expansion of our ERP system and webshop. New investments are being made in the expansion and automation of the production lines in pgb-Polska.

After a physical expansion of the packaging hall, the installation of an automatic packaging machine in pgb-Polska is completed.
In pgb-Europe we are using new test equipment for our QC department: a Kistler torsion & torque tester for EN 14399 bolts and a torsion tester for wood screws
Our premium line of Hapax wood screws is getting a new line of C4 coated screws.

The preparation for a new automatic picking warehouse is being started and the first plans are being submitted for a new automatic pallet warehouse.