Stanfield, NC – A 90-employee plant making blind rivets under the Avdel brand will remain open, says owner Stanley Engineered Fasteners. The plant in Stanfield, NC was to begin staged layoffs beginning last month and be shut down by August. But instead, the plant -acquired by Stanley in 2012 -will continue to operate.

“Due to increased customer demand and alignment of our supply network and operations, we have taken another look at our product portfolios and where we make them and made the decision to continue manufacturing operations in Stanfield,” Debora Raymond, vice president, public relations with Stanley Black & Decker.

The planned closure was revealed when Stanley filed a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) report with the North Carolina’s Commerce Department, required when 50 or more employees will be laid off. Stanley Engineered Fastening operates 32 manufacturing plants around the world, including 17 in the U.S. The 90,000-sq.ft. Stanfield plant manufactures fasteners under the Avdel brand, which includes highly engineered structural blind fasteners, lockbolts, blind rivet nuts and speed fasteners.

Parent corporation Stanley Black & Decker reported healthy sales for many of its businesses in the fourth quarter ended, with the Industrial segment that encompasses Stanley Engineered Fasteners growing 10% to $658 million in revenue. Stanley CFO Don Allen said that growth was largely from the January 2020 acquisition of Consolidated Aerospace Manufacturing LLC for $1.5 billion. Otherwise, sales fell 2%, but that was an improvement over the third quarter, when they fell 18%.

Stanley Engineered Fasteners industries itself saw a 2% revenue decline. Growth in automotive was offset by an improved but still declining general industrial end market. In automotive Stanley offers high-performance, lightweight fasteners such as self-piercing rivets, custom assembly solutions, and design resources. “Global Light vehicle production continues to improve, and we remain well-positioned to outpace the underlying market with content gains in the fastener portion of this business,” Allen said.