They say that to be successful you must identify a need and satisfy it. Back in 1968 racing enthusiast Gary Holzapfel saw that many of his friends' broken engines were caused by fastener failure. At the time, there were no commercially available studs and bolts up to the challenge. So Holzapfel called upon his many years of fastener making experience for a leading aerospace subcontractor and founded ARP(R) (Automotive Racing Products). In the ensuing years, the firm has grown from what was literally a backyard garage workshop into a highly diversified manufacturer with four operational entities in Southern California. These include forging, machining, finishing and packaging/warehousing facilities in Valencia, Santa Paula and Oxnard, California. Its product line has expanded to include virtually every fastener found in an engine and driveline, ranging from quality OEM replacement parts to exotic specialty hardware for Formula 1, IndyCar, NASCAR and NHRA drag racing applications.As a matter of fact, ARP's customer list reads like a "who's who" of motorsports around the world. This past year saw virtually every major championship on the planet won with engines prepared by ARP(R) customers. These include NASCAR Winston Cup), CART, Formula 1, NHRA Top Fuel , Funny Car and Pro Stock, NASCAR Busch Cup and Craftsman Truck Series. And so it goes. ARP(R) works closely with many, many teams as a supplier of engine and driveline fasteners, and has clearly become recognized as "the" pre-eminent source for serious racers.
In addition to its core automotive business, ARP(R) has an Aerospace Division, and is one of the very few companies in the world fully licensed by the United States Government to manufacture MS-21250 fatigue rated fasteners. ARP(R) also manufactures a variety of industrial fasteners on a contract basis, and is known for its ability to promptly provide efficient solutions to problems at hand.
