How a 113-Year-Old Company Keeps Fastening Technology Modern
Industrial Rivet & Fastener Co., also known as RivetKing, won Product of the Year in the fastening category at the ASSEMBLY Show in 2025. The new MTC tool controller provides process control and data collection for the company’s full line of FreeSet cordless tools, including the RK-777C for blind rivets, RK-787C for rivet-nuts, and RK-797C for lock bolts. We’re joined by Steven Sherman, vice president of engineering, to learn more about the award-winning product, the company’s history, and how it keeps an old-school product line modern.
Q: Rivets might seem like small parts, but they’re clearly a big deal in manufacturing. Why are rivets such an important component in so many applications?
Sherman: In assembly, it’s a matter of holding things together. It’s really a fascinating—no pun intended—way to assemble parts. Rivets are one of the most efficient ways to put products together.
Q: How is RivetKing keeping the technology modern?
Sherman: We have two great products: KingSet and FreeSet.
KingSet automatically feeds rivets to the nose of the tool, so an assembler doesn’t have to stick his hand into a box of fasteners after each set.
FreeSet is a cordless riveting tool equipped with sensors to measure setting force and stroke. We can verify that the rivet has been installed correctly. It has WiFi and can work with a bar code scanner, so you can marry assembly results to a specific product.
With the MTC controller, we can count the number of fasteners installed, and give guidance to assemblers when they need it to ensure that they’re not missing any fasteners.
Q: How do you ensure consistency and reliability in your rivets and the tools that go with them?
Sherman: You don’t need a high level of training to use our products. Manufacturers under a lot of pressure to produce quality products. Our MTC tool controller helps them do that. If you want to log data and track production, the controller does that. It captures all that information and sends it to a shop-floor network.
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Q: What do you think it is that makes RivetKing different than your competitors?
Sherman: If you install a screw incorrectly, you can just remove it and try again. With rivets you have to make sure it’s done right the first time. The support network that we have covers the 50 United States, and we can send someone within 24 hours to almost any location where our tools are being used. We help our customers understand rivets. That kind of guidance is important for solving a problem. Our application-based support is where we stand out.
Q: What’s next for RivetKing? How do you see your company evolving in the next few years?
Sherman: Rivets first started in infrastructure projects, such as bridges, and there are some interesting new fasteners coming out that are going to bring us back into those applications. We are developing lock bolts and structural fasteners for solar farms and AI data centers. Rivets are getting bigger, and we’re at the forefront of that trend. There are plenty of new applications that are coming. We’re excited about it.
Learn more at https://rivet.com.
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