Bulten sheds 38% of sales and 1,000 jobs to become a fastener distributor
The Swedish fastener maker sold four EU factories and two sales companies to Maelir, kept UK FSP under a supply deal, and exits Tianjin next.
What was changed
Bulten AB, the Swedish automotive fastener group, divested its European automotive fastener facilities to Maelir AB, completing a refocusing announced in July 2026 to cut capital costs and pivot toward distribution and value-added services. The deal covers two sales and service companies, in Sweden and Romania, and four factories: Hallstahammar in Sweden, Bergkamen in Germany, and Bielsko-Biała and Radziechowy in Poland.
The divestment cuts Bulten's annual sales by 38% and removes 1,000 employees from the payroll — the price of trading factory economics for an asset-light distribution model. Bulten retains its UK-based FSP business, which continues under a supply agreement with Maelir, keeping customer relationships while shedding the plants that served them.
The European exit is one leg of a global reshape. Bulten shuttered its Streetsboro, Ohio factory months earlier, refocusing US operations on distribution, and its roughly $13 million Tianjin operation (Bulten Fasteners (Tianjin) Co., Ltd.) is set to finalize by October 2026. 'The European divestment is now complete, with Tianjin to follow shortly,' said CEO Axel Berntsson. 'The transactions allow us to focus our efforts on Bulten's continued development, while giving both businesses good opportunities to develop further under their new owners.'
Why it worked
European automotive fastener manufacturing carried capital costs the group chose not to keep carrying amid the industry slump
Selling four plants and two sales companies as one package to a single owner preserves the operations instead of winding them down piecemeal
The UK FSP supply agreement keeps distribution revenue flowing while moving factory economics — labor, capital, energy — onto Maelir's books
The US playbook was already proven: Streetsboro's closure months earlier showed distribution-only operations could carry the customer base
What can be applied
Exiting manufacturing to become a distributor is a survival reshape: sell the factories whole to one buyer who can run them, and keep the customer business under supply agreements.
Aftermath
As of October 1, 2026, the European divestment is complete and the Tianjin sale (~$13 million) is expected to finalize within the month, completing Bulten's conversion from a manufacturing-led fastener supplier into a distribution- and services-focused group roughly 38% smaller by revenue.