For Simon, founder and chairman of T.K. Excellent, a screw is more than an everyday piece of hardware. It represents a business he has spent decades building—and a responsibility to the people who help build it.

His presentation, Falling in Love with a Screw, traces that journey from his early working life to the company's 26th anniversary in 2023. What emerges is a story of practical experience, repeated learning and a growing conviction that a lasting business must earn the trust of both employees and customers.

Simon, founder and chairman. Photograph from his company presentation.

Learning the business from the inside

Before starting his own company, Simon worked across finance, warehousing and sales. His responsibilities later extended to workshop supervision, procurement and management. Those different roles gave him a view of how a business fits together: goods must be made, accounted for, stored and delivered, while customers need someone who understands what they are asking for.

In his account, visits beyond his home region also helped broaden his perspective. The lesson was not simply to grow bigger. It was to keep learning from people, places and ways of working that were unfamiliar.

A beginning in 1997

The business began on 1 July 1997. Photographs in Simon's presentation show its modest early surroundings and the people involved in those first years. The company took part in the Canton Fair in 2000, and a new factory followed in 2003.

These milestones mark the early development of the business behind T.K. Excellent. They should not be confused with the incorporation of Zhejiang Excellent Industries Co., Ltd., which came in 2007. The Haiyan factory was developed in the years that followed, and operations moved to Haiyan in June 2010.

Each stage brought a broader set of responsibilities. Alongside products and premises, Simon's account increasingly focuses on management, teamwork and the need to make better decisions.

Learning became part of the culture

The journey was not presented as a straight line. Simon describes periods of reassessment and a continuing investment in learning. By the mid-2010s, that emphasis had become a more deliberate part of company life, with management learning in 2016 and wider employee participation in 2017.

This matters because manufacturing depends on more than equipment. Clear communication, shared standards and people who understand their responsibilities all shape the way a factory works. Simon's story places people alongside the physical development of the business.

What a lasting company should stand for

The values set out in his presentation are integrity, innovation, excellence and shared success. His stated ambition is to build a company where employees can find wellbeing and purpose, customers can develop trust, and the business can make a positive contribution over the long term.

These are commitments that must be demonstrated in everyday work, rather than treated as automatic guarantees. For a hardware buyer, they are a starting point for a practical conversation about specifications, quality requirements, packaging and delivery expectations.

The next chapter

Today, T.K. Excellent's business brings together fastener manufacturing, stamping, injection moulding and retail packaging, with manufacturing operations in China and Vietnam. The facilities have grown, but the central idea in Simon's account remains recognisable: take a small product seriously, keep learning, and build relationships that can last.

Explore our manufacturing capabilities, or contact our team to discuss your fastener or hardware assortment requirements.

Adapted from Simon's company presentation, which recounts his journey through 2023. Current company information is drawn from the 2026 company materials. This article is an editorial adaptation, not a new interview or a verbatim transcript.