The Arrow Fastener Company
Nearly 75 years ago a man named Morris Abrams, started a one-man sales operation that would become the Arrow Fastener Company. Abrams determination to succeed are credited for the growth and success of the company.
Arrow Fastener Co. was located at 30-38 Maujer Street, Brooklyn, N.Y. This would be their home for nearly 2 decades. At some point in the first 25 years of their history, the company incorporate to become the Arrow Fastener Co. Inc.
The early patents issued to Arrow include 2,205,709 which was filed for on June 21, 1939 by Morris Abrams himself. His address was listed as Brooklyn, New York. This, the first patent was approved on June 25, 1940. The patent appears to be simular to the Model A44.
The second patent, 2,312,142 was filed on January 8, 1941 by Morris Abrams and George Berger, both listing Brooklyn as their home. This patent was approved on February 23, 1943. This patent has the same general appears as the Model 11.
The next patent was applied for on March 23, 1945 by George Berger and was approved on March 7, 1950. It is believed to be the same Model 11 with a capacity for smaller staples.
The last patent, 2,535,482 was applied for on March 25, 1948 by Frank S. Boroughs and was approved on December 26, 1950. This was a new hand held model.
One other name appears on all patentent applications and deserves recognition. J.B. Felshin, who was the attorney that for approximately 10 years, represented Morris Abrams with all applications.
A few of the early Arrow Fasteners included the Model 11, Model A-44, Model 105 Model 200 and Model 203.
The Stapler Exchange recently was informed that the old Arrow building is now an apartment complex.
There are approximately 8 units in the building. Surprisingly, a devise believed to be a spool holder was found in one of the rooms which is believed to have been for the wire, that staples were formed from.
The very sturdy floors are oak and show signs of industrial wear with cracks and breaks. The third floor has a large burn mark from a burner or stove.
When the writer informed me that, “the massive fire doors were still working” I was sure this was the correct building. After communicating with fellow collectors, a photo of the same building was found.
Until recently, It was believed by this writer that Arrow did not market its products as publicity items. Of all places, Ebay provided the answer to this discovery. The Arrow Fastener Company sold their fasteners as advertisements for other companies. You’ve seen these promos, but generally produced by smaller fastener companies that did not built their fasteners to the same high standards as the Arrow product line. Of course, there is no reason why Arrow or for that matter, companies wishing to advertise shouldn’t engage in this practice. What could be better than to have thousands of potential customer looking at your company logo every time they needed to fasten documents together. Arrow benefits as well because their fastener is delivering the message and is visible as well.
I recently came across this great piece of research done by Connie Bastyr on Morris Abrams. She was able to discover many details about Mr. Abrams and the efforts he made to create the Arrow Fastener Company.
By: Connie Bastyr
Morris Abrams was a young man when his life became linked with staples: The founder of the Arrow Fastener Co. left high school at age 16 to begin earning his living as a staple salesman. His sales ability was just one of the skills that contributed to the company’s success. From the small business he started in his New York apartment in 1929, Abrams went on to design and develop several staple machines, acquiring patents for his many inventions. And as a businessman, he grasped the merits of diversification, expanding his offerings to include a wide range of staple guns, rivet tools, nailers and fasteners as well.
From early on, Abrams diligently reinvested every penny he earned into his fledgling company. But when he married, he was determined to afford a honeymoon despite his tight budget. Abrams worked nights to build extra inventory during the weeks leading up to the wedding. With a car full of products, the couple headed to Canada, selling their wares to stores along the way so they could pay for hotel stays and meals. By the time they reached their destination, the trunk was empty. Ever the salesman, Abrams bought 10-cent can openers at a dime store and sold them door-to-door for 25 cents each so he could afford the trip home.
Such ingenuity enabled Abrams to continually expand the company in the years that followed. Even after Arrow Fastener Co. was established as a producer of all kinds of staple machines and staple guns, the company regarded the tools as the basis for repeat sales — primarily of the fasteners used in them. Knowing that each fastening tool that was sold represented future sales of the accompanying fasteners, Arrow manufactured durable machines — as well as the staples, nails and glue to go with them.
Abrams’ enterprise eventually became a family business. As a teen-ager, his son, Allan, spent summers working at the company. By the time he was 18, Allan knew the business well enough to run it (and today knows how to operate every piece of equipment in the plant). He began working at Arrow full time after finishing high school and pursued studies in management and marketing at night, earning his college degree in eight years. Like his father, he developed a reputation for being devoted to his work and showing great pride in the company’s products. Allan became president of Arrow in the mid-1960s, and Morris remained actively involved in the business until his death in 1981.
Although Masco Corp. purchased the company in 1999, Allan still manages Arrow, and his two sons and a son-in-law are on board as vice presidents. They too are stuck on staples. It’s been 75 years since Morris Abrams’ apartment-size business began to grow toward a 285,000-sq.-ft. plant serving international offices. Today Arrow Fastener Co. manufactures hundreds of products, including stapling machines, hot-melt glue guns, rivet tools and brad nail guns — and of course, the staples, glue and hardware used with them.