About us · Since 1971
Our history
The HAGUE FASTENERS history begins in 1971, when John Stuart Hague set up to make the non-standard fasteners in exotic materials that nobody else would. Over fifty years on, the same family still runs the business, now from a purpose-built manufacturing centre in Willenhall.
1971
Founded by John Stuart Hague
3
Generations of the Hague family
2017
Move to our Willenhall manufacturing centre
1 to 500
Prototypes to batches of several hundred
Where it started
A family business built on special fasteners
The HAGUE FASTENERS history is the story of one idea held for more than half a century: make the fasteners that stockists cannot supply. John Stuart Hague founded the company in the Wolverhampton area in 1971 to manufacture high quality, non-standard fasteners in exotic materials, in the small and medium batches that engineers really need.
That focus has never changed. Today we still make bolts, studs, nuts and machined parts to customer and OEM drawings, in grades from carbon steel to superalloys, for nuclear, defence, oil and gas and power customers in the UK and worldwide.
Milestones
From Bilston to Willenhall
Five decades of making special fasteners in the Black Country, the heart of the UK fastener trade.
01
1971: the company is founded
John Stuart Hague starts making special fasteners to drawing, in exotic materials and small batches.
02
1973: FastPhone
Our first brochure, FastPhone, offers quotes on the telephone while you hold and a breakdown service for oil, chemical, brewing and process plant.
03
Bilston and Watery Lane
The business grows from early sites in Bilston, at Brierley Lane and Batmanshill Road, and later at Watery Lane.
04
1982: North Sea oil
HAGUE FASTENERS fasteners are used on Shell’s North Cormorant first oil project.
05
The Ralin Group years
Around the turn of the millennium the company joins Richards & Allan (Nuts & Bolts) Ltd and European Breakdown Bolting (EBB Ltd), trading together as the Ralin Group.
06
2012: back to our name
We return to the original HAGUE FASTENERS LIMITED name, reflecting our tradition and long-standing reputation.
07
2017: Willenhall
We invest in a custom refitted manufacturing centre at Monmer Close, Willenhall, which doubles capacity and shortens lead times.
From the archive
Our brochures through the years
Anyone who has dealt with us over the years may remember one of these. Click a cover to open it as a PDF. The older brochures are shown as they were printed; services, customers and contact details have changed since.
1973FastPhoneOur first brochure, styled on a telephone dial.
1978Anti-corrosive fastenersPrompt producers of industrial anti-corrosive fasteners.
1984Still leadingStill leading while others follow.
1991The red bookletOur range, on the red cover many customers will remember.
1997ANYAny fastener, anything, anywhere, fast.
2013Our first eBrochureHigh integrity special fasteners in critical alloys since 1971.
2017Company presentationWith client testimonials, the year we moved to Willenhall.
2019Special fastener presentationAdding PED approval and our first nuclear page.
2026CapabilitiesToday: special fasteners, made right.In the news
Live on BBC Breakfast, 2017
In 2017 BBC Breakfast came live from our shop floor to feature HAGUE FASTENERS as a family business, the same year we moved into our Willenhall manufacturing centre.
Today
Three generations, one way of working
Jon and Claire Hague run the company today with the support of their three sons, Jack, Tom and Max, making HAGUE FASTENERS a third-generation family business with a skilled team behind it.
The way we work would be familiar to our founder: listen to the engineer, read the drawing carefully, choose the right material, and make the part properly. What has grown around it is a modern quality system and full traceability.
- ISO 9001 quality system and PED 2014/68/EU approval
- First Level QC1 release for nuclear safety-critical parts
- Certified, traceable material from UK, EU and US mills
- Carbon negative operations and the Hague Forest
Find out more
What fifty years has built
Special fasteners
What we make and how
Custom fasteners
Parts made to your drawing or sample
Quality
Approvals, testing and traceability
Sustainability
Carbon negative since our footprint was first measured
Questions
Frequently asked questions
When was HAGUE FASTENERS founded?
HAGUE FASTENERS was founded in 1971 by John Stuart Hague. From the start the company made non-standard fasteners in small to medium batches, the parts stockists could not supply.
Why did the company trade as the Ralin Group?
For a period from around 2000 the business traded as the Ralin Group with Richards & Allan (Nuts & Bolts) Ltd and European Breakdown Bolting. It returned to the HAGUE FASTENERS LIMITED name in 2012.
Where is HAGUE FASTENERS based?
We are based at Monmer Close, Willenhall, West Midlands, WV13 1JR. We moved there in 2017 from earlier sites in Bilston and Watery Lane.
Who runs HAGUE FASTENERS today?
Jon and Claire Hague run the company with their sons Jack, Tom and Max. It is a third-generation family business.
What is the key to the HAGUE FASTENERS history?
A steady focus on special fasteners made to drawing in demanding materials. That focus, and the family that holds it, has carried the business for over fifty years.
Fifty years of specials
Put our experience to work
Send your drawing, specification or sample, and talk to a family business that has been making difficult fasteners since 1971.