What Bollhoff Inc. makes

Bollhoff Inc. is the North American arm of the Böllhoff Group, a family-owned German fastener and joining-technology company founded in 1877. Its plant at 2705 Marion Drive in Kendallville, Indiana is the leading US domestic producer of RIVNUT blind rivet nuts, the product line it acquired when Böllhoff bought Rivnut Engineered Products in 2000. Kendallville runs both sales and production; a second US location in Troy, Michigan serves the Detroit automotive market as a sales and technical center.

The broader product portfolio it brings to US customers spans the group's core fastener families: HELICOIL thread inserts, RIVNUT and RIVKLE blind rivet nuts, RIVSET self-pierce riveting systems, RIPP LOCK screw-locking washers, standard and special fasteners, and custom-made drawing parts in metal, plastic, and elastomer. Böllhoff describes this as 360-degree joining technology, meaning it supplies not just the parts but the assembly systems, application engineering, and logistics around them. The RIVNUT blind rivet nut, made in Kendallville on Sacma cold header machines, is the anchor of the US manufacturing operation.

The customer base leans automotive, both OEMs and their tier suppliers, with the group also serving aerospace, mechanical engineering, renewable energy, rail, and medical technology. For automotive buyers, the relevant capabilities are lightweight-construction joining, electrification hardware, and high-speed installation systems, all areas the company highlights in its US market positioning.

Ownership and history

The Böllhoff Group was founded by Wilhelm Böllhoff in 1877 as a hardware wholesaler and has stayed in the family across four generations, with headquarters in Bielefeld, Germany since 1925. The pivotal product decision came in 1954, when Josef Böllhoff acquired the license to produce HELICOIL thread inserts, still a flagship line. The company expanded across the Atlantic early, opening operations in Brazil in 1964 and Mexico in 1965, and its US business took shape with the 2000 purchase of Rivnut Engineered Products in Kendallville.

Today the group is run by managing partners Michael W. Böllhoff and Wilhelm A. Böllhoff alongside a management board. It operates as Wilhelm Böllhoff GmbH & Co. KG, a private family enterprise rather than a listed company, which is why standalone US financials are not published. Group figures give the scale: around 3,300 employees across 46 locations in 26 countries, 17 production sites, and roughly 726 million euros in sales in 2025 (754 million in 2024). North America accounts for about 130 of those employees and 58 million euros of sales, with roughly 100 people at the Kendallville plant.

What Bollhoff Inc. imports

US customs bill-of-lading records list 1,205 sea shipments to Bollhoff Inc. between October 2015 and September 2026, with the most recent on September 20, 2026. The pattern is telling: the largest foreign shippers are Böllhoff's own plants. Böllhoff Otalu in France (253 shipments), Böllhoff Wuxi in China (205), the Böllhoff Service Center in Brazil (189), and Böllhoff Germany (about 146 combined) together supply the bulk of the volume, alongside outside fastener makers such as Anchor Fasteners in Taiwan (174) and SBE Varvit in Italy (56).

By product, the record is overwhelmingly iron and steel articles, meaning fasteners, at 901 of the 1,205 shipments, with smaller volumes of plastics, copper, and machinery. Origin countries are led by France, Taiwan, China, Brazil, and Germany. Cumulative ocean-freight spend is estimated at roughly 1.8 million dollars across the period, an order-of-magnitude figure rather than an audited one. This is the import footprint of a subsidiary that both distributes the parent group's global production and manufactures RIVNUT parts domestically.

Shipment volume ran steady at roughly 90 to 115 per year through 2022, spiked to 168 in 2023, then eased to 89 in 2024 and 71 in 2025. Activity remains current in 2026.

Certifications and quality

Bollhoff Inc.'s Kendallville plant holds IATF 16949, the automotive quality-management standard, per a certificate issued for the Kendallville location. IATF 16949 is the sector norm for suppliers into automotive OEM programs, and Böllhoff runs an accredited fastener test laboratory at the group level to support PPAP and application validation. Buyers should confirm the current certificate cycle directly, as IATF certificates recertify on a three-year basis.

Frequently asked questions

What does Bollhoff Inc. make?

Bollhoff Inc. is the North American operation of the Böllhoff Group and makes RIVNUT blind rivet nuts at its Kendallville, Indiana plant, where it is the leading US domestic producer of that product. It also supplies the group's HELICOIL thread inserts, RIVSET self-pierce riveting systems, RIPP LOCK washers, and standard and special fasteners, along with assembly systems and application engineering.

Who owns Bollhoff Inc.?

Bollhoff Inc. is owned by the Böllhoff Group, a family-owned German company founded in 1877 and headquartered in Bielefeld. The group operates as Wilhelm Böllhoff GmbH & Co. KG and is now run by the fourth generation of the Böllhoff family. Bollhoff Inc. entered the US market in 2000 by acquiring Rivnut Engineered Products.

Where is Bollhoff Inc. located?

Bollhoff Inc.'s US headquarters and production plant are at 2705 Marion Drive, Kendallville, Indiana 46755. It also operates a sales and technical center in Troy, Michigan, near Detroit, to serve the automotive industry.

What certifications does Bollhoff Inc. hold?

Bollhoff Inc.'s Kendallville plant holds IATF 16949, the automotive quality-management standard, and the Böllhoff Group runs an accredited fastener testing laboratory. Because IATF certificates renew on a three-year cycle, buyers should verify the current certificate directly.

Who are Bollhoff Inc.'s customers?

Bollhoff Inc. does not publish a customer list. It serves automotive OEMs and tier suppliers as its primary market, with additional business in aerospace, mechanical engineering, renewable energy, rail, and medical technology.

How large is the Böllhoff Group?

The Böllhoff Group employs around 3,300 people across 46 locations in 26 countries, operates 17 production sites, and reported roughly 726 million euros in sales in 2025. North America accounts for about 130 employees and 58 million euros in sales, with roughly 100 people at the Kendallville plant.

Last verified September 27, 2026. Is this your company? Request a correction.