SmartBolts® has produced and sold its one millionth tension-indicating bolt for an ABB busway product. The milestone marks 30 years of continuous supply in a customer relationship that began with General Electric in 1996 and continued after ABB acquired the business in 2018.
For our team, reaching one million SmartBolts produced and sold across the business is a moment to celebrate our customers, employees, and community. The millionth SmartBolt’s destination makes that achievement particularly meaningful.
A 30-year relationship supplying bolts for busway connections
General Electric, our first OEM customer, selected SmartBolts in 1996 to join modular busbar systems for electrical distribution. In these systems, maintaining the required clamp force is essential to the integrity of bolted electrical connections.
That application remains part of our story today, with the millionth SmartBolt produced and sold destined for ABB’s busway product.
“It is fitting that the millionth SmartBolt produced and sold is for ABB’s busway product,” said Charles Popenoe, CEO of SmartBolts.
How SmartBolts makes bolt tension visible
SmartBolts are tension-indicating fasteners with a patented Visual Indication System™ built into the bolt head. The indicator displays bolt tension in real time, changing from red when loose to black when properly tightened.
During installation, the indicator helps teams confirm that the required bolt tension has been achieved. During subsequent inspections, a return toward red signals tension loss and identifies a connection needing attention.
This allows installation and maintenance teams to check bolt tension at a glance, alongside the equipment manufacturer’s installation and maintenance procedures.
From a Maryland basement to customers in more than 20 nations
The company began in the 1990s when Charles’s father, Chuck Popenoe, invented and patented the SmartBolt and founded the business in the basement of his Maryland home.
Today, SmartBolts manufactures tension-indicating fasteners in Frederick, Maryland, under an ISO 9001:2015-certified quality management system. Customers in more than 20 nations use SmartBolts in electrical distribution, mining, manufacturing, and other industries.
Reaching one million produced and sold is a milestone we share with everyone whose trust, work, and support brought us here.
“Together with our customers, employees, and community, we are ready for the challenge of producing and selling our next million SmartBolts,” Popenoe said.