McMaster-Carr
Encyclopedia
McMaster-Carr Supply Company is a private, family-owned supplier to industrial and commercial facilities worldwide, specializing in next day delivery of Maintenance, Repair and Operations
(MRO) materials and supplies. The company is based in Elmhurst
Illinois
and has distribution branches in Robbinsville, New Jersey
; Santa Fe Springs, California
; Atlanta, Georgia
and Cleveland, Ohio
. McMaster maintains over 480,000 products in their catalog. McMaster-Carr offers a collection of mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and utility hardware not usually located from a single source.
Product categories include pipe
, tube, and hose fittings; pumping and filtering; process control and instrumentation; plumbing and janitorial; machinery maintenance; measuring, leveling, and inspecting; heating, air conditioning, and ventilation; lighting and electrical; power transmission; fabricating, cutting and sawing; machining and clamping; abrasives, finishing, and parts treating; material handling; storage; hand tools; hardware; fastening and sealing; raw materials; protective clothing.
has been used as a positive example of link rich design and good user interface
. Even though the site allows access to over 480,000 products, it is easy to penetrate directly to the desired categories and compare alternatives. The website also includes useful design tips and explanations of material properties as well as a categorical parametric search engine.
The site ranked third in a large study performed at Stanford University about trust and credibility, just behind amazon.com and bn.com. The author concluded "The surprise comes in seeing who landed in third place: McMaster-Carr—a relative unknown entity compared to others who ranked high in this category. The McMaster-Carr site has relied on its own merits—not on a public relations campaign or a big reputation—in conveying high levels of credibility."
The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security charged that McMaster-Carr failed to report its receipt of boycott-related requests within the time period required by the EAR. The alleged violations occurred in eight transactions involving sales of goods from the United States to Oman
, the United Arab Emirates
, Kuwait
, Qatar
, and Saudi Arabia
. McMaster-Carr voluntarily disclosed the alleged violations to the Department.
Maintenance, Repair and Operations
Maintenance, repair, and operations or maintenance, repair, and overhaul involves fixing any sort of mechanical or electrical device should it become out of order or broken...
(MRO) materials and supplies. The company is based in Elmhurst
Elmhurst, Illinois
Elmhurst is a suburb of Chicago in DuPage and Cook Counties, Illinois. The population is 46,013 as of the 2008 US Census population estimate.-History:...
Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
and has distribution branches in Robbinsville, New Jersey
Robbinsville, New Jersey
Robbinsville is an census-designated place located within Robbinsville Township in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. The area is served as United States Postal Service ZIP Code 08691....
; Santa Fe Springs, California
Santa Fe Springs, California
Santa Fe Springs is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is one of the Gateway Cities of southeast Los Angeles County. The population was 16,223 at the 2010 census, down from 17,438 at the 2000 census....
; Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
and Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
. McMaster maintains over 480,000 products in their catalog. McMaster-Carr offers a collection of mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and utility hardware not usually located from a single source.
Catalog
McMaster annually releases a large, yellow catalog containing the bulk of its product selection. It is currently in the 117th edition (January 2011).Product categories include pipe
Pipe (material)
A pipe is a tubular section or hollow cylinder, usually but not necessarily of circular cross-section, used mainly to convey substances which can flow — liquids and gases , slurries, powders, masses of small solids...
, tube, and hose fittings; pumping and filtering; process control and instrumentation; plumbing and janitorial; machinery maintenance; measuring, leveling, and inspecting; heating, air conditioning, and ventilation; lighting and electrical; power transmission; fabricating, cutting and sawing; machining and clamping; abrasives, finishing, and parts treating; material handling; storage; hand tools; hardware; fastening and sealing; raw materials; protective clothing.
Website
The McMaster-Carr websiteWebsite
A website, also written as Web site, web site, or simply site, is a collection of related web pages containing images, videos or other digital assets. A website is hosted on at least one web server, accessible via a network such as the Internet or a private local area network through an Internet...
has been used as a positive example of link rich design and good user interface
User interface
The user interface, in the industrial design field of human–machine interaction, is the space where interaction between humans and machines occurs. The goal of interaction between a human and a machine at the user interface is effective operation and control of the machine, and feedback from the...
. Even though the site allows access to over 480,000 products, it is easy to penetrate directly to the desired categories and compare alternatives. The website also includes useful design tips and explanations of material properties as well as a categorical parametric search engine.
The site ranked third in a large study performed at Stanford University about trust and credibility, just behind amazon.com and bn.com. The author concluded "The surprise comes in seeing who landed in third place: McMaster-Carr—a relative unknown entity compared to others who ranked high in this category. The McMaster-Carr site has relied on its own merits—not on a public relations campaign or a big reputation—in conveying high levels of credibility."
Violations of US export regulations
In July 2003, McMaster-Carr was fined $8,000 by the US Commerce Department for multiple violations of the antiboycott provisions of the US Export Administration Regulations (EAR).The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security charged that McMaster-Carr failed to report its receipt of boycott-related requests within the time period required by the EAR. The alleged violations occurred in eight transactions involving sales of goods from the United States to Oman
Oman
Oman , officially called the Sultanate of Oman , is an Arab state in southwest Asia on the southeast coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by the United Arab Emirates to the northwest, Saudi Arabia to the west, and Yemen to the southwest. The coast is formed by the Arabian Sea on the...
, the United Arab Emirates
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates, abbreviated as the UAE, or shortened to "the Emirates", is a state situated in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia on the Persian Gulf, bordering Oman, and Saudi Arabia, and sharing sea borders with Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Iran.The UAE is a...
, Kuwait
Kuwait
The State of Kuwait is a sovereign Arab state situated in the north-east of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south at Khafji, and Iraq to the north at Basra. It lies on the north-western shore of the Persian Gulf. The name Kuwait is derived from the...
, Qatar
Qatar
Qatar , also known as the State of Qatar or locally Dawlat Qaṭar, is a sovereign Arab state, located in the Middle East, occupying the small Qatar Peninsula on the northeasterly coast of the much larger Arabian Peninsula. Its sole land border is with Saudi Arabia to the south, with the rest of its...
, and Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
. McMaster-Carr voluntarily disclosed the alleged violations to the Department.
See also
Competitors- Reid Supply CompanyReid Supply CompanyReid Supply Company is a global supplier of industrial parts based in Muskegon, Michigan. It has been one of the major employers in the Muskegon region since its founding in 1948...
- FastenalFastenalFastenal Co is an American company based in Winona, Minnesota. Selling industrial and construction supplies and services including inventory management services, Fastenal refers to itself as an industrial supply company, but Reuters calls it an industrial distributor.-History:Founded in 1967 by...
- W.W. Grainger
- Manhattan Supply Company (MSC)Manhattan Supply CompanyMSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc , through its subsidiaries, primarily, MSC Industrial Supply Co., is one of the largest industrial equipment distributors in the world...