Today, Ken leads Mule Technology in Golden, Colorado, where he and his team help fastener manufacturers design better dies, solve thread rolling problems, and bring new fastener manufacturing equipment to market.

fastener, struggling with die life, or troubleshooting a thread rolling problem, Ken and the Mule team can help.

Notable Innovations

• Tapcon® large-diameter concrete screws: Fastening to concrete

• BosScrew™: Fastening to plastic

• SinuLoc™: Fastening to metal

• TetraGrip™: Fastening to wood

• GripTide™: Replacement for brass inserts

• WERCS® Technology: Thread roll die manufacturing

• ProRoll™: Center-line thread rolling

• Capless refueling systems for automotive fuel tanks

• Mule retrofit kits for repeatable thread rolling setups

• Cold forged thread rolling dies, formed instead of cut or ground

Career

Illinois Tool Works (ITW) | Director of Engineering, North American Metal Fasteners | 1996 to 2015
For nearly two decades, Ken led engineering for ITW’s North American metal fastener businesses, developing fastener designs, thread rolling dies, and manufacturing technologies for the construction, automotive, and industrial markets.

The Marmon Group | Group Innovation Manager | 2015 to 2019 [end year]
At Marmon, Ken developed new technologies and products using the 80/20 business approach for Marmon companies including Cerro Wire and Atlas Fasteners. His work for Cerro Wire included the ReelRover, an all-terrain cable reel transport system, along with wire reel handling and electrical products. For Atlas Fasteners, he developed new roofing and decking fastener solutions.

Mule Technology | Co-Founder & President | 2019 to present
Ken co-founded Mule Technology with Caitlin Boyle to move thread rolling from art to engineering. He invented Mule retrofit kits, which make thread rolling setups repeatable and easy to teach, and a patented process for cold forging thread rolling dies instead of grinding them.

Areas of Expertise

• Thread rolling equipment design

• Thread rolling die design, including stacked dies

• Thread rolling troubleshooting and process optimization

• Fastener and thread form design

• Cold forming and cold forged die technology

• Part feeding systems

• Prototyping and new product development

Selected Patents

• Method and apparatus for cold forming thread rolling dies (US 10,369,618)

• Thread rolling assembly (US 10,722,934)

• Positioning and clamping system for thread rolling (US 11,638,962)

• Thread forming die and method (US 9,511,414)

• Thread rolling die (US 7,076,989, assigned to Illinois Tool Works)

In the Media

• Daily Planet: “Screwy Design” with Ken LeVey

• Forbes, “The Taming of the Screw” (September 19, 2005): How Ken reinvented thread rolled screw design at ITW, leading to new Tapcon® concrete screws and the BosScrew™ for plastics.

• Global Fastener News: IFI Awards Soaring Eagles to LeVey & Kalnow, March 2026

Work with Ken

Whether you’re designing a new fastener, struggling with die life, or troubleshooting a thread rolling problem, Ken and the Mule team can help.