Hillman Solutions
Corporate brand
UnclaimedHillman Solutions is an American provider of hardware products, retail merchandising programs, key duplication, and consumer fabrication services.
Last updated August 31, 2026
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Overview
Hillman Solutions is a United States-based hardware manufacturing, distribution, and consumer-services company whose products are primarily sold through home-improvement retailers, hardware stores, mass merchants, automotive retailers, and other commercial channels. Its portfolio centers on small, frequently replenished products that retailers merchandise through organized in-store programs rather than relying only on conventional shelf distribution. The company is best known for key blanks, key-cutting equipment and kiosks, fasteners, picture-hanging products, specialty hardware, and related accessories. The business developed from Hillman, a hardware and fastener operation that became part of Sun Distributors in 1982. Sun was a diversified Philadelphia industrial-supply group, and Hillman initially operated as one of several divisions. During the 1990s, Sun gradually sold or separated a number of industrial businesses and moved toward a greater focus on retail customers. That repositioning helped make retail merchandising, key duplication, and adjacent consumer hardware central to Hillman's identity. The company expanded its key-cutting activities through the acquisition of the retail division of Curtis Industries in 1995 and the acquisition of Axxess Technologies in 2000. These transactions added key blanks, duplication machinery, identification systems, and self-service technologies. Hillman later broadened its offering through acquisitions involving metal shapes, fasteners, picture-hanging hardware, automated pet-tag engraving, roofing and specialty fasteners, robotic key-cutting systems, work gloves, carrying products, and ornamental building connectors. Corporate ownership also changed substantially. Sun Distributors adopted the name Sunsource in 1996. After Allied Capital acquired a majority interest, the company changed its name to The Hillman Companies in 2002. Code Hennessy & Simmons later controlled the business, followed by Oak Hill Capital Partners, which acquired Hillman in 2010, and CCMP Capital Advisors, which acquired a controlling interest in 2014. Hillman became publicly traded in 2021 through a merger with Landcadia III, a special-purpose acquisition company. Today, Hillman operates as a branded and private-label supplier as well as a service provider. Its retail programs are designed to help stores offer convenient access to repair, maintenance, installation, and fabrication products. Key duplication and robotic kiosks give the company a service component in addition to its manufacturing and distribution activities. Brands and product families associated with the business include Hillman, MinuteKey, OOK, ST Fastening Systems, Deck Plus, Power Pro, Firm Grip, AWP, McGuire-Nicholas, Grease Monkey, Gorilla Grip, and OZCO Building Products. The company’s positioning is based on breadth of assortment, retail execution, replenishment, and the ability to combine products with equipment and merchandising services.
History
Hillman’s modern corporate history traces back to its integration into Sun Distributors in 1982. Sun, founded in 1975 in Philadelphia, operated a diversified collection of industrial-supply and service businesses. Hillman Faster was one of its operating divisions and was distinguished by its concentration on retail merchandising, while other Sun divisions served industrial maintenance, fluid-power, inventory-management, glass, construction, and related markets. Sun Distributors changed its corporate name to Sunsource in early 1996. During the 1990s, the group divested several noncore operations, including its Dorman automotive-repair-parts unit and Harding Glass. The disposals accompanied a strategic shift away from a broad industrial conglomerate model. Hillman’s retail orientation became more important as Sunsource financed expansion into key duplication and other store-based consumer services by selling industrial fastener operations. The key-services platform expanded in 1995 when Hillman acquired the retail division of Curtis Industries. Curtis supplied key blanks and key-cutting machines to automobile dealers and home centers. In 2000, Sunsource acquired Axxess Technologies, a maker of key-duplication and identification-engraving vending systems. These transactions established capabilities that later developed into self-service duplication and automated retail programs. The company adopted the name The Hillman Companies in March 2002 after Allied Capital acquired a majority stake. Code Hennessy & Simmons subsequently took control. Under private-equity ownership, Hillman pursued a series of acquisitions intended to create a broader retail hardware platform. In 2006 it acquired the metal sheets and shapes business and brand name of The SteelWorks Corporation. In 2007 it added All Points Industries, a distributor specializing in hurricane-protection fasteners, and later acquired Serv-A-Lite. In 2010 Oak Hill Capital Partners acquired Hillman for a reported $815 million, and in 2011 Hillman added TagWorks, an automated pet-tag engraving business, as well as the OOK picture-hanging brand and related assets from Micasa Trading. Hillman continued to expand in Canada and specialty hardware. It acquired H. Paulin in 2013 for a reported $103 million, adding a significant Canadian fastener distributor. In 2014 CCMP Capital Advisors acquired a controlling majority interest in a transaction reported at approximately $1.46 billion. In 2017 Hillman purchased Hargis Industries, whose ST Fastening Systems platform supplied roofing, sealing, and metal-building fasteners. In 2018 it acquired MinuteKey and Big Time Products, adding robotic key-cutting technology and a portfolio of work-glove and carrying-product brands. In 2021, Hillman acquired OZCO Building Products, a producer of ornamental connectors for outdoor construction applications. The same year, Hillman entered public markets through a merger with Landcadia III, a special-purpose acquisition company associated with Tilman Fertitta. The transaction gave Hillman the Nasdaq ticker HLMN while allowing existing investor CCMP to retain a substantial stake. The company now combines manufacturing, distribution, branded products, retail merchandising, and consumer-facing fabrication services. Its growth strategy has historically emphasized acquisitions in product categories adjacent to its original fastener and retail-hardware base.
- 2021
Hillman becomes publicly traded
[1]A merger with Landcadia III resulted in Hillman becoming a Nasdaq-listed public company under HLMN.
- 2021
OZCO Building Products acquired
[1]Hillman acquired OZCO, expanding into ornamental connectors for outdoor building applications.
- 2018
MinuteKey and Big Time Products added
[1]Hillman expanded into robotic key cutting, work gloves, and carrying products through two acquisitions.
- 2017
Hargis Industries acquired
[1]The acquisition added ST Fastening Systems and its roofing and metal-building fastening portfolio.
- 2014
CCMP Capital Advisors takes control
[1]CCMP Capital Advisors acquired a controlling majority interest in Hillman.
- 2013
H. Paulin acquired
[1]Hillman acquired Canadian fastener distributor H. Paulin, broadening its North American distribution network.
- 2010
Oak Hill Capital Partners acquires Hillman
[1]Oak Hill Capital Partners acquired the company in a private-equity transaction.
- 2002
Company renamed The Hillman Companies
[1]Following Allied Capital’s majority investment, Sunsource adopted The Hillman Companies name.
- 2000
Axxess Technologies acquired
[1]The acquisition expanded Hillman’s key duplication, identification, and self-service vending capabilities.
- 1996
Sun Distributors becomes Sunsource
[1]The parent company changed its name to Sunsource as it began focusing more heavily on retail-oriented activities.
Products and positioning
A broad-line retail hardware and services partner focused on small-format repair and installation products, in-store merchandising programs, key duplication, and adjacent consumer fabrication services.
Key duplication
Key blanks and key-cutting systems
Hillman supplies key blanks, identification products, duplication equipment, and related retail merchandising programs. The category serves hardware stores, home centers, automotive retailers, and other outlets where customers can obtain replacement keys. It remains one of the company’s most recognizable product and service areas.
Robotic key cutting
MinuteKey
MinuteKey is Hillman’s robotic key-cutting kiosk business. The kiosks provide automated duplication in retail locations and extend Hillman’s traditional key-blank business into a self-service consumer experience.
Hardware
Fasteners and specialty hardware
The portfolio includes screws, bolts, nuts, fasteners, metal shapes, and related repair and installation hardware. Products are supplied through retail assortments and distribution programs serving home improvement, maintenance, construction, and specialty applications.
Roofing and specialty fasteners
ST Fastening Systems
ST Fastening Systems supplies fasteners and sealing products focused largely on metal buildings, roofing, and adjacent construction applications. Associated brands include Deck Plus, MultiVent, Power Pro, Roofjack, SnowTrax, Steelbinder, and Woodbinder.
Picture-hanging hardware
OOK
OOK is a consumer picture-hanging brand acquired from Micasa Trading. Its products address hanging and display tasks in residential and general-purpose settings and complement Hillman’s broader retail hardware assortment.
Workwear accessories · 2018
Big Time Products brands
The Big Time Products portfolio includes Firm Grip, AWP, McGuire-Nicholas, Grease Monkey, and Gorilla Grip. These brands cover work gloves, carrying products, and related jobsite or utility accessories.
Structural and ornamental connectors · 2021
OZCO Building Products
OZCO produces ornamental connectors used in outdoor structures such as pergolas, fences, and similar projects. The acquisition broadened Hillman’s presence in specialized building connectors and decorative construction hardware.
Pet-tag engraving · 2011
TagWorks
TagWorks provided automated, self-service pet-tag engraving machines. The business added another consumer fabrication service to Hillman’s key duplication and identification activities.
Brand decisions
2021
Public listing through Landcadia III mergerM&ABackground
Hillman pursued a public-market transaction after years of private-equity ownership and acquisition-led expansion.
Action taken
Hillman merged with Landcadia III, a special-purpose acquisition company, and began trading on Nasdaq under HLMN.
Aftermath
The transaction made Hillman a public company while CCMP Capital Advisors retained a substantial investment.
1999
Shift toward retail customersStrategyBackground
Sunsource was moving away from a diversified industrial portfolio and placing greater emphasis on retail merchandising and consumer-facing hardware services.
Action taken
The company financed expansion of its Axxess key-cutting activities by divesting the Kar Products and A&H Bolt and Nut industrial fastener units.
Aftermath
The move reinforced Hillman’s long-term focus on retail hardware, key duplication, and store-based services.
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