PEM was established in 1942 with a revolutionary new product: an easy-to-install, self-clinching fastener that provides load-carrying threads in metal sheets too thin to be tapped. The self-clinching fasteners not only reduced time, labor, weight and inventory on many assembly jobs, but they also opened up a whole new world for engineers and designers, making a wide assortment of thin-metal designs possible for the first time. Today, nuts, studs, spacers, standoffs, and other components are used worldwide by a variety of manufacturers, including producers of spacecraft, aircraft, automobiles, electronic and industrial appliances and equipment, business machines, farm machinery, transportation equipment, vending machines, furniture, and communications systems.