Georgia Foley has been STAFDA's executive director since January 2000. Her duties include overseeing all meeting planning activities, member programs, association relations, financials & communications. She joined STAFDA in 1994 as member services director & was promoted to assistant executive director in June 1998. Prior to joining STAFDA, she was the executive director of the Exhibit Designers & Producers Association (EDPA) for 7 years.

It was a pleasant surprise and honor to hear that Georgia had read past posts on Fastener Talk.  The following contribution from Georgia is an update on what is going on regarding the STAFDA show in Phoenix in November:

With nearly a month into STAFDA registration for its November 7-9 Convention & Trade Show in Phoenix, things are off to a solid start. To date, 505 booths have been sold versus 441 for its ’09 Atlanta show.  Also to date, attendance is stronger with 51% more distributor companies registered, 12% more associates, and rep registrations have tripled over last year!  Even though the economy is still slow, it has stabilized and STAFDA members are more optimistic about this year. Many Phoenix exhibitors have upgraded their booth size from ’09 when many downsized because of the economy. This is encouraging.

 

One of STAFDA’s three hotels is nearly full. The Sheraton Phoenix is at 80% capacity with the Wyndham and Hyatt at about 40%. Unlike other cities where there is an abundance of hotels at a variety of rates, downtown Phoenix has only three main properties.  The Sheraton is not yet two years old and the Hyatt and Wyndham underwent recent renovations so all three hotels are essentially “new.”  Plus, with the expansion and renovation of the Phoenix Convention Center, the Center and hotels are running at capacity levels through early December. All three hotels are a block away from the Convention Center and the surrounding area has undergone a major renaissance the last two years. And it’s safe.

 

STAFDA’s educational sessions will cater to today’s important business sessions with the most pressing being credit and banking. Most STAFDA members spent ’09 cutting and slashing their operation to make them as lean as possible. At the same time, the financial industry underwent a major overhaul which significantly tightened up lending. Banking and credit appears to be the #1 concern to the construction/industrial channel.  STAFDA will have a panel of banking experts, plus an official from the Federal Reserve Board, to talk about the construction industry and financing. 

 

Sarah Palin will be STAFDA’s keynote speaker.  Love her or hate her, people will show up to see her.  As the face of the grassroots movement, the Tea Party, FOX News analyst, among a host of other titles, Ms. Palin has been in the news a lot this year.  Has STAFDA gone political or endorsing a candidate?  No. STAFDA has had other conservative speakers and U.S. Presidents as keynote speakers over the years:  President Ronald Reagan; President Gerald Ford; former Secretary of State, Colin Powell; and two presidential candidates, Jack Kemp and Bob Dole.  STAFDA’s audience skews conservative and pro-business.

 

In addition to its Convention & Trade Show, STAFDA offers a host of services with over a dozen business consultants that members can contact for free advice during the year. STAFDA also produces educational training manuals and important benchmarking reports.  Annual membership dues are $350, less than a $1/day.  Learn more about STAFDA at www.stafda.org.

 

 

      

      

I read most of the news that comes out through the various industry publications and web sites and, while there is SOME news out there, it also feels like people describe business in the summertime.  "We're a little slow, lot of people on vacation."  That is how the Fastener News seems to me.   A couple earnings updates, a few acquisitions.  A few new products introduced.  Nothing really startling.

One thing that is happening is that trade show talk is heating up.  I just received a note from the Fastener Show West that you can register now.  I have had several people ask me about my plans for the upcoming show.  I see the Mandalay Bay hotel room is available for $109 during the show, and it is a very nice hotel.  There are plenty of  places up and down the strip and lots of people have their favorite spots.  But things are starting to heat up.  That's a pretty good rate for the Mandalay and if you can save a few bucks that just leaves a few more for beer and food.

I know (and have been told) that you folks really don't want to hear about my personal life too much, but I will share this one quick thing.  I don't actually drink a lot of beer, but I do like beer.  My daughter just turned 21 so I took her to a local place to brew our own beer together...a little father/daughter bonding experience.  She can take hers to college to help her study and I will have mine to drink and share.  I'll try to post my beer label on here in the next couple days but I named it "Old Rusty Bolt".  Thought some of you fastener folks might like that.  It looks pretty cool.

Anyways, back to the shows.

Right at nearly the same time as The Vegas Show this year is the STAFDA Show in Phoenix.  Next year the fastener show will be earlier and that will be a relief to those people that want to attend both shows.  I am a STAFDA member and like to try to attend both shows.  I know Sarah Palin is the guest speaker this year and that is a pretty big name, like her or not.  STAFDA is quite a bit different from the fastener shows and has an entirely different feel to it.  I like both shows.  And, let's face it.  Almost everyone is trying to cross sell these days and there are a lot of products that the traditional fastener house now sells that they passed on in the past.  If there's a hole for a bolt, there was probably a drill bit or such that formed that hole.  SELL IT ALL!!

I know it is a long way off but in the spring there will be fastener shows in Columbus, Ohio and in Branson, Missouri. 

What else are people talking about out in the field??  Business.  I hear a few people saying things are not so great but I hear a whole lot of other people that are doing really well, especially compared to last year.  One sentiment I have heard several times lately goes something like, "I's not quite like it was in 2007 or 2008 yet but it's a lot better than last year".  And I would agree with that.  There is some momentum.  These is something to build on.  If you are not reinforcing your sales force right now I think you are really missing the boat.  Every day I am out calling on people I find new opportunities.  And, if you are continuing to do the same old thing and it is not working so well, try something else.  There is business out there but you have to be creative, aggressive and persistent.  Keep at it.

      

Fully Threaded Radio's 8th broadcast is up and ready.  Remember, you can find it at:
 
www.fullythreaded.com.

I now download the Fully Threaded podcasts on to my I-Pod and bring them along when I am driving.  Breaks up all the Jim Rome, Howard Stern, Margaritaville and books-on-tape.  Eric and Brian fit right in with the other radio stars.

      

I've been gone a while on vacation and am just trying to get caught up on all the stuff important to keeping my office running.  It kind of feels like I have not missed a whole lot.  Lots of people on vacation this time of year.  Still, sales seem pretty good as I get out to visit customers. 

Beginning of the year was very strong.  No one had inventory so everyone had some increased sales from January thru March.  To me, it seemed like April slowed down just a bit - maybe everyone catching their breath.  Now, I am hearing quite a few companies had very strong sales in May.  That was good news.  But, now what?

June figures (the ones I have seen) look pretty good.  Still will not know completely for a few weeks.  But July??  Who knows.  Vacations always have an affect on July.  But, if we are, in fact, in a bit of a recovery, maybe July will be strong.

I look at the fastener news sites and there does not seem to be a whole lot going on.  Not a whole lot of big news.  Fully Threaded Radio is coming out with another broadcast - I think this week.

And, I've got some other thoughts and subjects I'd like to bring up.  Just need a few more days to clean off my desk before I can dive back in to blogging.

      

It is sometimes funny in life how circumstances present themselves, circle around and then complete the loop to where things finally all make some sense.  I know that sounds confusing so let me explain and add in some details.

A few years ago, I decided to start writing a fastener blog.  So, I got on a website that could help me set up the blog and one of the first things I had to do was choose a domain name.  Not surprisingly, I typed in "FastenerBlog.com" and found out that someone already had secured that domain.  So, my next idea was to try FastenerBlog.net and that is of course where Fastener Talk resides.  I went online and checked out the site fastenerblog.com and found that it really was an undeveloped site.  Whoever owned that site was not really doing much with it, and I was OK with that because I wanted to develop something that, at that time, no one else in the industry was doing.  But there was one thing on the site that got my attention and that was a Twitter site by the name of http://Twitter.com/FastenerNews.  I checked out that Twitter page and found it to be a very thorough news source for tracking developments in the fastener industry.  As a side note, I would encourage anyone in the fastener industry to subscribe to this Twitter page as it really is very good (http://Twitter.com/FastenerNews).

So anyway, as I was reading one of the Tweets one day I clicked on a story and after I read the story I kept clicking until  I was finally led to a page that was sponsored by Hudson Fasteners, Inc., a fastener distributor started in Long Island, New York but currently located in Ohio.  Somewhere along the line I finally pulled together the whole picture and realized the same person that was running Hudson Fasteners was the same person running the Fastener News Twitter site (http://Twitter.com/FastenerNews) and they were also the same person that owned the site FastenerBlog.com.  This was a tech savvy person I was dealing with and I wanted to track this person down.

Well, I did.  And the person is actually people.  Lisa Kleinhandler and Cris Young are partners in the woman owned and operated fastener distributorship called Hudson Fasteners, Inc.. In addition to that, they own more Fastener Industry Premium Internet Real Estate than anyone I know of in the fastener industry.  Let me explain...in addition to fastenerblog.com, they own hundreds of internet domain names...hundreds of them!  And why is that important?  Because when someone does an internet search on a search engine like Google, they are going to type in certain generic keywords to get started.  So..you type in something like plasticanchorkits.com and ...yep, they own that domain.   Maybe you try fastenerassortments.com...they've got that one too.  aluminumfasteners.com, nylon-fastener.com, grade8bolt.com???  Yep, they own those too.  If you produced Gr. 8 cap screws and you wanted people to find your site, wouldn't it be nice to own grade8bolt.com?  It might not be that valuable today but more and more and more industries (including ours) are doing more and more commerce over the internet.  And searching the internet is growing in importance.  You can check out more of the Domain Names at www.FastenatingDomains.com.

When I started Fastener Talk, I was slightly bothered that someone already owned the domain, FastenerBlog.com.  Especially someone who was not even using the site.  But as I spoke with Lisa and Cris, I found them to be two astute business people who really love the fastener industry.  One thing they pointed out was that these domains are like inventory.  If you know that the industry is running low on stainless washers you might buy up all you can so that you have enough for your customers...and maybe even a little extra inventory that you can sell to another distributor who will need them.  That's considered smart business and companies do that every day. Lisa and Cris see these Domain Names as valuable internet real estate or inventory.  And if you don't think these domain names are valuable then Lisa and Cris think you might be shortsighted.  Sure, you might own your own website (like ABCfasteners.com) but what if you own several popular sites that all lead people back to your company.  You could show up multiple times under certain categories and they would all lead back to your website.  Hmmm??  Interesting.

One other thing I want to emphasize about these two women is that they love the fastener industry.  Hudson Fasteners is a third generation company that has been around since 1946.  Lisa's grandfather started the business as Hudson Nut & Bolt.  The Twitter account they maintain is dedicated to bringing the latest news they can to others in the industry.  For crying out loud, their phone number is 1-877-4-A-SCREW.  I mean these ladies think about fasteners and technology continuously.

We had an enjoyable meeting and plan to meet again.  I even found room in my heart to forgive them for scooping me on the name fastenerblog.com.  I have to give credit where credit is due, and these ladies are innovative thinkers.  And, my feeling is that when people are thinking in an innovative way, it often follows that business success is not far behind.

      

I found the following obituary on the internet:

"The founder of the Captive Fastener Corporation in Oakland passed away this June at the age of 71. The industrialist succumbed to a battle with cancer after compiling a lifetime of achievements that exemplify the American dream for many.

Born in 1939 in Pittsburgh, PA, Joseph Alderisio moved to Oakland in his early twenties and, by the age of 36, had founded Captive Fastener in 1974. Originally based in Midland Park, Captive Fastener’s growth led to new facilities being established in Oakland, NJ."

I worked with Joe's company for many years and found him to be a tough but fair businessman.  He was definitely driven.  I understand that Joe had backed off his company responsibilities over the last several years and the company has been run by the existing management team which includes Joe's son, Joe Jr.  This same team continues to run Captive operations.

The industry has lost an ambitious achiever and a strong personality.  And, it seems to me that those type of individuals are often the ones that start and grow successful companies.  You always knew exactly where Joe stood on an issue and you had to respect him for that.  Condolences to the Alderisio family and good luck to the Captive team as they carry on.

      

Wow.  Sometimes you take a big swing at a pitch and sometimes you connect.  Fully Threaded Radio took a swing by broadcasting a panel discussion that was held by the Pacific-West Fastener Association and I would say they hit this one out of the park.  A long, ball, deep into center field...way back.. home run - and without the use of steroids!

To give credit where it is due, the Pac-West organization came up with a great idea of having a panel discussion where several industry veterans assembled and exchanged stories of their many years in the fastener industry.  And, although the discussion was titled "Lessons From the Past", it might have been more accurate to call it "War Stories from Some Seasoned Fastener Veterans".  The panelists paid tribute to Mel Kirsner by recalling a series of humorous encounters with the man for whom the Pac-West Golf Outing is named.  I never had the pleasure of knowing the gentleman but the panelists really paint a vivid picture of the man through their tales.  This is really an enjoyable discussion to listen to and one of my favorite Fully Threaded Radio broadcasts.

What's interesting is the fact that every fastener association has its share of industry veterans who would also have stories to share.  And, there might even be a few "lessons" given along the way.  But for me, lessons or no lessons, it is certainly enjoyable to hear the names, companies and travel tales of men and women who have been contributing to this industry their entire career.

Great show gentlemen.  If you have not yet listed to Fully Threaded Radio, make this broadcast your first.  Once again, go to www.fullythreaded.com.  You can listen from your computer or download it from I-Tunes.

      

People who join online networking groups like Linkedin often search for groups to join where they can network with industry peers.  If you are on Linkedin and searched to join a group that had to do with fasteners, more than likely you found and joined "Fasteners Industry".  Janice Ceresa is the creator/owner/administrator of the Fasteners Industry Group on Linkedin.  She developed this group a couple years ago which might have been a long time before a lot of us even knew what Linkedin was.  What is Linkedin?  I'm not a good person to describe it but  Linkedin is kind of a place where people create their own business resume and share it with other members.  The platform is more business oriented than a site like Facebook.  The point is, Janice seems to me to be someone with vision and someone who embraces the new social media that seems to surround us more and more.  I asked Janice if she would be willing to share a few thoughts on other social media and below are some of her thoughts on Twitter.


To Tweet or Not To Tweet?

My view of Twitter (www.Twitter.com ) is very simplistic; it’s just another tool to convey your message.  No matter what your message happens to be recruiting, sales, specific products, websites, etc. utilizing a new tool then measuring its effectiveness is critical to any business.  Business communication via social networking outlets can be overwhelming at first. Which one you chose is a personal preference.  In order to find out what works you have to sometimes explore uncharted territory.    

The number one question I get asked is (drum roll) what results do you get from Twitter?  It's a great question but it has a complicated answer.  There are four questions you need to ask when deciding to use Twitter.

 

 

   #1   What’s your business goal?

You need to determine what you want to accomplish by using Twitter or any social media then measure results and see if you accomplish your goals.  There is no cost to setting up a Twitter account, the only real cost is your time.  If you have a small or limited budget free is always good but again you need to determine if it fits your goals and if it is worth your investment of time. 

 

#2  How much time are you willing to invest?

If you are going to invest in Twitter see it through. Set specific goals (increase requests for product information XYZ) with a specific time frame (over the next 6 months).  There is work involved and I am still measuring my use of Twitter based on the goals I have set. Typically the next question is “what are your goals”?  Keep in mind Social Media is not meant to be cookie cutter so my goals are relevant to my job - after all I am a recruiter and my focus is candidates. 

 

An example of something you may want to measure. 

• Increase in traffic to your company website or specific documents?  If you have a website you should be able to include “hits” (metrics) from Twitter or social media sites in the analytics you are already collecting. If you are not collecting website data that is a whole other conversation.

 

#3  What social media site is right for you and your business?

If you don’t want to use Twitter you don’t have to but I would encourage you to try other forms of social media.  Facebook, LinkedIn, Plaxo, Ning or blogging just to name a few.  There is a LOT of information on social media and there are all sorts of exports willing to offer you advice but at the end of the day you need to decide what and how you would like to invest your time.  It’s also important to have a team that supports your initiatives.  I am fortunate to work with an outstanding and supportive team at Anixter Aerospace Hardware.  Without that support I would not have ventured down the uncharted territory of Twitter.

 

#4  Why try Twitter?

Why not!?  Not trying something new will pretty much always yield the same results.  So I would encourage you to try something new like Twitter, measure it and what you may just find is another tool to support your business goals. 
   

 

Janice Ceresa

Anixter Aerospace Hardware

http://www.linkedin.com/in/anixter

http://twitter.com/AnixterAero

http://twitter.com/Anixter

 

      

A few years back, my brother-in-law had a job where he sold some kind of product related to aluminum siding.   He lives in Florida.  When all the hurricanes hit Florida, he would win all the sales contests.  Seriously.  There would be so much damage and his products were used to repair homes.  He made a ton of money.  His peers in other states began to refer to him as Hurricane Joe.

Just earlier this week I was talking to a company in Chicago that mentioned they were starting to see some large inquiries for their products out of the gulf coast area.  I think we can all agree that watching the oil spilling all through the gulf makes us sick to our stomach.  The wildlife, the beaches, the poor families who lost loved ones.  Nothing good coming from this disaster.  But still, the cleanup and repairs are going to require some kinds of products that we all sell.

So, that is my question.  Is anybody seeing additional business due to this unfortunate event?  I feel a little sick even asking the question, but it is a legitimate fact that someone is going to have to supply some kind of parts and, oddly enough, some company is going to benefit from selling these products.  Anyone out there shipping more stuff down to that area?

      

Rob Lucas is a partner in Fidelis Fastener along with his associate Larry Thomas.  Fidelis is a company that  offers distributors direct connections with vendors overseas as well as logistics and supply chain support.  Fidelis offers a new model in the industry that has the ability to aid in cost reductions for distributors.  Rob and Larry are frequently asked to give their personal insights on developments in the Asian markets and they have spoken at both the National Fastener Shows - East and West and have also been interviewed during their overseas travels by Fully Threaded Radio (fullythreaded.com).

After spending some quality time with Rob at the Midwest Fastener Association he agreed to contribute the following post to Fastener Talk.


THE IMPORTANCE OF SALES CALLS

  Recently (while attending the MWFA show in Chicago), I ran in to T.S. and we started discussing sales calls, travel and territories. This was actually just a couple of guys chatting about the business and these seemingly simple topics, but it really got me thinking that they are not as simple as just the basic "sales person 101" type subjects. After stewing on it for a day or two I began thinking of the real significance they have in the market.

  In this day and age there are so many means of communication that sometimes I think the traditional sales calls seem to be lost. Phone call and aimless have been with us now a while and now we have WIFI most everywhere which allows people to connect to the internet remotely. We have new cell phones or smart phones which allow for the same access to the internet and then there are the online buying and selling services that occur and are promoted more and more everywhere. While all these are fantastic tools and make our lives much easier, they can never replace face time and the relationships either developed or being developed that come from a good old fashioned sales call.

  In our business model, my partner and I always talk to our customers about relationships. In fact RELATIONSHIPS was a key word we stressed in our presentation at the Columbus fastener show. Our relationships with overseas vendors and the power that brings to the distributor once they begin to establish these same type relationships. The same message applies to relationships in domestic sales. You can gain more knowledge by seeing someone than you ever can by an email, phone call or an online service of buying/selling. Sitting down with a customer is a small part of the overall "sell" but it has tremendous power. You will gain market knowledge, maybe a window in to what they are seeing from their portion of the market, some insight into what their competitors are doing, the activity taking place in the office around them and most importantly, you see that person/s. Seeing them allows you to strengthen your relationship if you have one, or to build and cultivate a new one. Anyone who has been a road warrior at one time or another can certainly appreciate and understand where I am coming from.

  While T.S. and I were talking, I started thinking of how many times I hear customers and vendors alike say how few and far between people visit them anymore. Perhaps the reason is the economy and companies are deterring the sales teams from travel to minimize expenses, or maybe the reason is they think a call is not needed since they are doing "ok" with that customer. Whatever the reason, I think it is a shame and foolish. In the economy we have had recently, now is an ideal time to spend extra cash to see your clients. They have more opportunity to visit since their work time is not so hectic. Where once they may not have been able to see you due to time restraints, a slower economy affords that face time.The amount of money spent on travel to visit customers may look excessive, but ask T.S. or other road warriors what their expenses are and if it is worth it. I can tell you that our company's travel expenses are probably higher than most, with all our overseas travel and domestic travel. However, I can also say that without it, we would not be in business. There are so many ways to manage a travel budget and stretch that dollar to your benefit. We have mastered these tools and learned to travel as inexpensively as possible in order to get that valued face time. Cheap rental cars, budget hotels, shopping for airline tickets, staying with friends and family are just some of the ways we keep our costs low. Heck we can travel to Asia for a few weeks including airfare, cheaper than most travel domestically for a few days. So if you plan ahead and utilize some of these tools and others, you can achieve road time while not breaking the bank. Now if you are thinking that your business is "ok" and does not warrant a call (very few think like this I am sure), think again. You can never offer enough service and information to your customers, the more they know about you and you of them, the better off you will both be in the long run.

  T.S. and I were also chatting on territories and he asked a great question..."Rob, how can you cover so much ground effectively?" My response was simple, "I can't". I did not respond to him like that to show a lack of work ethic or poor salesmanship, it was an honest answer. There is no way any one or two people can cover a territory completely. I live in Chicago, and with my day to day operations, staying on top of my business and my schedule, there is no real way for me to cover a small territory the way I dream I could, let alone the globe. In fact, in all my past employment positions in sales it was impossible. It is impossible for anyone! Sure you can make sales calls and write call reports and do all the traditional things required in sales, but can you really cover it completely? Do you have a strong relationship at every customer in your territory? Know all the players at that customer? Know all there is to know about their ever changing business on a daily, weekly or even monthly basis? Know the competition thru and thru? Know all the ins and outs to make you effective as well as support them 100%?  If you answer honestly, you will agree with me. However if you answered honestly and still disagree, please write the rest of us a book on how you did it and share your secrets.


  This business is still a people business and no amount of technology can replace that. Sure offering the latest technologic tools is great service not to mention some publicity for your company, but it will never replace knowing your customer. The world is shrinking due to technology, but it is the people that make the world go around. Even the guys at Fasteners Clearing House who's business is entirely technological understand this and are out as much as possible selling themselves and trying to understand their customers better. The point to that is nobody, not even those who base a business off of the latest technological tools can afford to not see the customers and the market they try to support.

So....get out there and see those good friends of yours or go meet some new ones. You never know what you will unearth with your next visit to a customer. Good luck and happy selling!




Rob Lucas
Managing Partner
Fidelis Fasteners, Ltd. (HK)
Mobile: +1.630.532.0458
Skype:  rob.lucas2

www.fidelisfasteners.com

http://www.linkedin.com/in/roblucasfidelisfasteners

      

What can I say about the MWFA table top show?  I tell you what...that show is always a good time.  It's not just a trade show.  It is a social gathering.  There are so many fastener suppliers and distributors in the Chicago area and a whole bunch of them show up every year whether it is the table top show or the Fab-Tech show with the full booths.  This year was a table top year, which is when all the exhibitors are assembled in one large room where they display all their brochures and samples on plain old tables.  It's great.  You can see from one end of the show to the other which means you can spot anyone attending the show without too much difficulty.  And they do have a good number of distributor attendees.  Lots of big and small distributors were represented at the show and at the Fastener Bash right after the show.  No time to disperse...you just close up your booth, take stuff to you car and walk down the hall to the Fastener Bash for a couple hours.  Even for those folks going home after the show, there's always time for a quick drink or two.

The Midwest Fastener Association is a large group.  There are a lot of members which should be no surprise as they are located in the Chicago area.  I'm not from Chicago but I always enjoy visiting.  And I do not want to sound too hokey here but I've got to say this...the Chicago fastener community is like a big, happy family.  That is is a fun group to hang out with.  Sure, the show is professional and the exhibitors are certainly doing their best to talk with their good customers.  But there is a certain "looseness" to the whole show that is very comfortable and very enjoyable.  And the exhibitors seem to really interact and enjoy each other.  It might be like an Irish family that all sit around the dinner table and then go fist fight in the streets later on.  I'm sure not everyone there gets along and, let's face it, they are business competitors.  But inside the walls of the show it is like one big, happy fastener family.  At least that's how I see it when I'm there and if I am wrong, so be it.  I always have a good time at the MWFA shows and this year was no exception.  Great job Nancy and the gang.

One last thing.  I did speak with some exhibitors who had never been in the show before and I know  a couple that came away with some very good new sales leads and contacts.  Won't go into details but I am absolutely certain that some productive things were accomplished at this show which will lead to new business for these first timers.

      

I was sorry to hear of the passing of Art Wondrasek, former owner of QSN.  I really did not know him.  I spoke to him on the phone one time.  But I knew who he was and knew that he ran QSN which seemed to be a very successful company.   I think it was just two short years ago that he sold his company to Anixter and even though I did not know him I think it's sad he did not have more years to enjoy the fruits of his labor. 

I guess it's just another lesson that you need to enjoy the journey and appreciate all the days, even the ones when you are working.  And some of the luckiest people are those who love what they do and are able to continue their work as they get older.  If you get to keep working on your own terms...that's about the best.  If you hate your job, look for one you like.  It might be out there.

      

  The note below was sent to me by an old High School friend.  I watched the intro and was amazed.  I think you will be too.  Being me, I tried to put in information relating to fasteners and I did not get back any interesting results.  Still, I think this is a very interesting site and maybe one that some of you engineering-types might be able to use.  It is startling to see what information is available online.  Even if you are not an engineer, check it out.  Very interesting site.



Watch the introduction FIRST, then save the site to your favorites.

      

Allan Weitzman is a Fastener Talk reader and supporter.  Allan took the initiative to accept my invitation to be a guest blogger.  Allan and his family run Jay-Cee Sales and Rivet.  After reading a recent post on Fastener Talk, Allan called me to discuss something I had written about.  I said, "Allan, why don't you write down what you just told me and let me post it on my blog?"  Below, I present to you his thoughts on why some fastener companies that have impressive sales might not have real value.


Traveling Salesman,

 It doesn’t surprise me at all that a company with revenues of $12 million plus sold for only $5 million. There was a fastener company in the mid west that sold a few years ago. I’m going to leave out the name because I’m not 100% sure of the actual numbers. They had revenue around the low $20 million dollars and sold for only  $2 million.

 It’s a prime example how companies are afraid of turning away business. It's most common in the small start-ups in the industry. When we sell to our customers we need to take in account how long it will take to get paid and if there is a mistake on our part, have we built in enough profit to service the customer without losing our shirts. And we provide AAA+ service to our customer  - the way we want to be serviced by our vendors.

 We sell rivets. Anyone can sell a rivet. In reality we are selling relationships and service. Service is priceless. If you can’t make a profit on what your selling, you can’t afford to supply the service. This company in the Midwest never turned down business. Year after year their automotive customers bullied them into price reductions…and of course they caved. That took away their ability to make a profit so they could not afford to service their customers. It’s a snowball effect from there.

 We to are subject to e-mails and phone calls for price reductions from automotive and aerospace manufactures. They ask for 5% price reductions…I always like to ask them “when is the last time we saw a 5% price reduction in a car”?

 The price reduction makes sense when making larger, more complex components…not rivets. As time goes on, auto-part suppliers get more efficient and have learned from, and corrected, costly mistakes. Figuring this stuff out saves them money. There is nothing to figure out in the fastener industry. You feed the wire into the header and out comes the rivet. There isn’t any cost savings short cut that will save anybody 5%. Follow the practice of giving these reductions and that is the formula for taking a company with $20 million in revenue and selling it for only $2 million. We have never, never, never given in to the request of the reduction unless we were getting a reduction from our vendors. Most important…we’ve never, never lost business from it either. I really do believe that when a large production is at stake…service is much more valuable than a 5% reduction.

 There are a few fastener companies out there with terrible reputations regarding service. Customers may not say I'm the cheapest guy on the block…but there shouldn’t be any complaints about my service.

 Thank you,

 Allan Weitzman

 Interested in our Monthly Newsletter? Click here to sign up.

Visit Our Online Store at www.rivetsonline.com

Need Oribital or Impact riveting - Orbitform Group
 

      

I'm no sleuth, and I'm no financial analyst.  I know a lot of manufacturers and larger distributors are owned by "holding companies" or "Equity Partners".  So, when companies are bought and sold I sometimes do not pay too much attention, especially if the products produced by the companies are ones I don't sell too often or ones that are no too familiar to me.  As I was reading the May 24 edition of FIN (Fastener Industry News) I saw a couple articles that caught my eye.  One was a list of the top ten fastener acquisitions during 2009.  The other was on the front page - "Platinum Equity Selling Avdel to Pan-Asian Equity Firm".  I skimmed that so quickly, I had to do a double take.  Did they just say that Avdel was sold to an Asian investment firm??  AVDEL??? As the article clearly states, "The acquiring company is Asia Trading company Limited, an entity controlled by CVC Asia Pacific, a pan-asian private equity firm, and Standard Chartered Private Equity Limited, the private equity arm of Standard Chartered Bank ("CVC Standard").  So...in fact, Avdel is owned by an Asian equity firm.  I googled Avdel trying to look up the company history.  Heck, I'm not even sure where the company started - but I do really know if Avdel was originally a U.S. company.  Cherry Rivet is a name that has always been around since I have been in this business and I guess I always thought it was an American firm.  Please, let me know if you know.

Then, as I scrolled through the acquisitions from 2009 I saw that Tinnerman Palnut Engineered Products was purchased by A. Raymond & Co. -- a company headquartered in Grenoble, France.  Hey, I studied in France in college.  I like France.  Paris is awesome and the French host family and people I met were great.  Daniel Rivalin is a regular contributor on this blog.  But the French bought Tinnerman.  TINNERMAN!

Yeah, I know.  A lot of the Tinnerman product is produced in Canada anyways.  I don't know.  It just seems like Avdel and Tinnerman have been long established fastener industry staples and now they were bought by firms from outside the U.S.  Maybe it is no big deal.  We import and export all over.  Mital Steel bought up a bunch of U.S. Steel companies and I did not make a fuss.   It just kind of struck me weird.  There are some other industry names I would not really like to see bought by foreign entities.   Huck, Penn Engineering, Fastenal, McMaster Carr, Nucor.  Like I said - I'm no sleuth.  For all I know some of these could be majority owned by foreign investment groups.  I'd just like to think that we in the U.S. still do own  some portion of our fastener manufacturing capability.

One other surprise I read in the latest FIN had to do with Fastenal's acquisition of Holo-Krome.  According to the FIN report, Holo-Krom had annual net sales of $12MM and the purchase price was $5MM.  Those numbers seemed surprisingly low to me.  Not sure why, but they were.  Is see bar tabs at the Vegas Show that rival those numbers.

Well, I've got to find some more time to read the industry publications.  Surprising some of the stuff I find in there if I take the time.

      

As part of this blog, I have always wanted to have "guest bloggers".  There are a lot of knowledgeable people out there with a lot of industry experience that I would like to see shared within our industry.  Charlie Accetta is an industry veteran who has worked on both the supply side and the distributor side of this business.  I got to work with Charlie for a short time period and appreciated his perspective on the industry.  Most recently, Charlie was the General Manager for Richard Manno & Co. and currently is searching for his next professional opportunity.  I asked Charlie to write something for Fastener Talk - anything he wanted - and I present to you his views on the fastener distributor's burden in the document below.  You can connect with Charlie through LinkedIn by clicking the following link:  http://ow.ly/1SHc2



The Fastener Distributor’s Burden

 

A fastener, in and of itself, is not usually viewed by the industrial community as an important component of commercial production.  The small steel screw, unremarkable brass hex nut and endless list of dimensional flat washers represent to the end-user such low levels of cost, risk, and technological innovation that people placed in the position of procuring those items are status zero.  Folks purchasing toilet paper for Hewlett-Packard rate higher in the internal hierarchy than equally experienced fastener buyers.  This is an integral point to consider in reviewing the fastener distributor’s place in the world of assembly manufacturing.

 

I love the term Supply Chain.  For me, it evokes an old-timey bucket brigade, except each member of the line adds something to the bucket before passing it on to the next member.  The particular something is an open value, dependent on both the end requirement and that specific member’s role.  The cold-header, machinist or stamping house forms the part.  The electroplater coats it.  The heat-treater alters its physical strength.  The packager places the items in a cute little baggie for easy access and identification.  The ideal result places the bucket of finished parts into the hands of a final assembler who puts out a particular fire.  Sometimes, however, something goes terribly wrong in transit and everyone finds out the hard way that a value added along the way was of the high-octane variety.  When the smoke clears, we all know who gets the first phone call.

 

This, dear friends, is the sorry state that fastener distributors find themselves in currently.  There are a number of specific issues at play, demanding such high levels of oversight at each instance during the gestation of a fastener it is inevitable that some checkpoint or other fails to reveal a problem.  Covering some of the major points briefly (because you all have your own problems to address, right?):

 

• Problem 1 – Living up to the oversell
  • The packaging of a full-service supply program usually includes as part of the pitch the implicit (or explicit) promise to manage all phases of development, often down to reviewing custom prints for errors.  Fastener distributors compete so viciously for high-volume accounts that cost bases for the goods no longer matter.  The nasty value-added component in that Power Point presentation has destroyed profitability, especially with offshore accounts.  Anything that goes wrong in an assembly featuring a fastener is automatically determined to be the fault of the fastener, if only because it costs the end-user nothing to have the fastener distributor perform an in-depth failure analysis.
• Problem 2 – Regulatory compliance
  • The Fastener Quality Act, NAFTA, RoHS (in all its varied forms), Buy America and ITAR together place an enormous amount of accountability on the shoulders of distributors.  With each category monitored by a separate government entity (and them always eager to justify their existence) compliance activity is essential.  The problem for distributors, especially the smaller outfits, is the amount of resources necessary to withstand scrutiny.  And you thought dealing with the IRS was a headache?  Try explaining to an agent from the U.S. Department of State how you missed the ITAR stamp on that fourth generation print copy.
• Problem 3 – Big Box competition
  • In the beginning, there was McMaster-Carr and MSC Industrial, the lazybones solutions for MRO fastener purchasing.  Just pick up the book, find your part and call your order in.  The per-piece price might be higher than wholesale distribution could offer, but the value lay in convenience.  Then along came Fastenal, following a methodology similar to the Sam Walton models of tactical location and supplier subjugation.  Fastenal changed the competitive landscape for one-horse (and even five-horse) distributors by dropping low-overhead operations within the vicinity of large-scale consumers and offering to sell them anything.  Those were your customers once, but you wouldn’t sell them mops and rubber gloves, so they sidled off into the category of inactive accounts.  To make matters worse, universal internet access turns W.W. Grainger and Amazon into players in the fastener supply game.  When I tell you all that every catalog house monitors competitor pricing and adjusts accordingly, you’d better believe it.  It’s becoming next to impossible to hit profit home runs on items where true costs are only a mouse-click away.
• Problem 4 – Vendor relations
  • By definition, a distributor stocks goods manufactured by others for immediate delivery.  Only, that definition is no longer sufficient in describing the changing role.  Where, at one time, a distributor could play several manufacturers or importers against one another in an effort to hold down costs, many distributors have since negotiated that flexibility away.  I remember years ago Joel Roseman, while still with Vertex, made a presentation to Tower Fasteners to (sort of) lock in pricing and guarantee availability for every stainless “A” item.  Granted, Joel was a visionary, but I personally thought it a crock and Tower never consummated the deal.  However, the idea that manufacturers and importers could offer distributors buying programs on commodity items has gained credence in recent years.  The risk/reward benefit is suspect, at best.  In exchange for reduced buying activity, the distributor must still analyze turns, inspect for quality and renegotiate frequently.  What once required passable performance on the part of a low-paid buyer now demands a flawless level of ongoing analysis for that portion of the product mix.  It may seem like a better way to do business, but it only works if every product on the shelf is included in the process.  Ask your program customers … they’re the experts.

 

I could go on (and on), but I’m fast approaching one thousand words and I lost most of you at “Hello.”  I’d like to thank the Traveling Salesman for allowing me to squat on his valuable real estate and I’d be happy to expand on the points above (and then some) if he feels it might do some good.

      

The day before the Columbus Show I stopped in to visit a customer.  I met with four people from purchasing and all were at least 50 years plus - probably even 55+.  They were talking about how they had no young people in the company that were learning what they knew and they were commiserating about what a "brain drain" there would be in the company once people their age begin to retire.  And, for their company, they are right.  But I see a lot of young people being groomed at certain companies.  And when I say young, I mean anywhere from 21 to 35.  As my good friend, Larry Kelly, of Buckeye Fasteners says "you cannot say 'back in the day' until you hit at least 40".  So, back in the day, how did those 4 buyers get taught their job?  Has it really changed that much?

Here are a few things the next generation has that I think my generation did not have (and, I'm not even 50 yet -- oh, but so close).  First, this generation has google.  Sure, it hurts companies that lose business to once "unknown" suppliers but young people can find anything now online.  Next - we have the Fastenal school of training.  Let's face it.  Fastenal hires a lot of people and keeps a lot of people.  They also fire a lot of people and they lose a lot of talented people.  Fastenal has been the equivalent of a AAA baseball farm club that is grooming players for other major league teams.  The success of Fastenal certainly shows that they are retaining a lot  of the young talent they groom but a lot of other companies have hired new employees from Fastenal branches and many new companies have been started by former Fastenal employees.  They were groomed in the Fastenal minor league system.  When I attended the Columbus show I stopped by to talk to The Ohio State people about their fastener program.  That sure wasn't around when I started in this business 25 years ago.

Every year we lose some industry knowledge and that is always a bad thing.  But, I do think the next generation has ways of learning that will help them fill the gaps that are left.  Hopefully, some companies will realize that they do not benefit by just training their employees to be part number jockeys.  We need them to know the products and how they work and where they are installed.  But, again, I do see some very capable young people out in the field and I am eternally optimistic about the future.

Which brings me to my next project.   Since all these young folks are so tech savvy, how about a virtual trade show?  It'd save on travel costs and people could come and go as their day allows.  You'd get online, log in with a pre-determined password and visit with a whole group of suppliers from all around the industry.  As you are meeting, you could click over to LinkedIn and check the background of the people you are talking to.  You could e-mail them a copy of your catalog while you Skype with them and you could even show your factory in the background.  Heck, you could show them the machine that their parts would be made on.  And how about those overseas sources that claim they can produce anything.  Oh yeah buster, well walk that camera out to that machine and show me a live picture of that part falling off your machine -- and then I'll believe it. Broker or no broker??  Really big companies could hire camera crews to come on site and coordinate their presentations.  I think I am on to something here. 

So, I'm going to have to think some more about this virtual trade show.  We'll get everybody texting and tweeting and virtually networking and woofing (re:  The Office) -- all while other members of the industry will be thumbing through their boxes of file cards and sending faxes.  Understand this - I'm not saying one way is better than another.  I'm just saying that the next generation is going to have a whole new way of doing things as they infiltrate our workforces.  True story - I recently tried to leave a voice messege for one of my children and got the messege that his voice mailbox was full.  So, when I saw him I told him he needed to erase his messeges in case I needed to leave him a voice messege.  He  told me he does not even use the voice mail on his cell phone anymore - it's too old and clunky.  He texts all his communications.  And there are more like him out there.  Yikes.

 Yes, I might jst be on to something with this virtual trade show.  I just need to figure out a way to get the free beer out to my target audience to make sure they all attend.

      

Next up on the fastener trade show circuit is the Mid-West Fastener Expo.  Let's face it...Chicago is a fastener industry mecca.  Lots of fastener manufacturers are located in the area.  Almost all fastener importers have some kind of presence in the area.  Add to that the fact that Chicago is a great city with tons of great restaurants and fun stuff to do.  Sounds like a good combination to me.

One thing that is kind of unique to the Mid-West Fastener Expo is that it is run by an Industry Association.  The Mid-west Fastener Association was incorporated in 1946 and is the oldest fastener association in the U.S.  According to MWFA's Executive Director, Nancy Rich, one of the association's ways it gives back to its members, and the fastener industry, is through its scholarship program and its continued emphasis on  industry education.  Income from dinner meetings, the trade show and the MWFA golf outing is used towards education programs and scholarships and the MWFA has awarded over $417,000 in scholarships over the last 25 years.  Wow.  That's a lot of money.

Nancy sent me a copy of the MWFA Mission Statement which was adopted 1-9-2007:

"The MWFA's purpose is to serve and promote the fastener industry and the ever changing needs of its membership.  Specifically the MWFA is dedicated to representing all segments of the industry;  manufacturers, distributors, importers and suppliers to the industry."

The Mid-West Fastener Expo takes place on June 7 & 8.  On June 7 is the fastener show followed by the Fastener Bash - which, as I have observed in other years, is a very well attended networking social that takes place immediately after the show.  As I always say -- the shows are important but the networking opportunities are golden!!

On June 8 is the 58th Annual MWFA Golf Outing - the Bill Lang Sr. Memorial Outing.  The outing is followed by dinner and a silent auction with funds being generated for ---yep, you guessed it -- the education and scholarship programs.

Nancy, if you are reading (and I hope you are) please feel free to add anything I have missed.  I look forward to seeing you at the show.

      

Fresh off visit to the National Fastener Show East, the guys from Fully Threaded Radio are back on the airwaves.  If you have not listened to one of their broadcasts yet, you really should.  Just check it out at www.fullythreaded.com. 

      

After a one year hiatus, the National Industrial Fastener Show East, or as I like to call it, the Columbus Show, was back and back pretty strong.  I'm still sitting in Columbus tonight, composing my thoughts on the show as I watch Lee become the new American Idol and also observe that the Orlando Magic are not yet ready to end their season as they just defeated the Celtics. 

My thoughts are this:

Because last year's show was canceled, I'm not sure everyone knew quite what to expect this year.  When the show opened the traffic was strong and steady and seemed to be well attended by distributors from a wide cross section of people from the surrounding states.  The Las Vegas fastener show is truly a National (if not, International) fastener show. But I think Columbus still draws a good crowd from states that have a strong concentration of fastener manufacturers, distributors, importers and platers.  Simply put, the Midwest is a good place to buy and sell fasteners.  A lot of exhibitors I spoke with even suggested that attendance was "better than expected" and I would probably agree with that.  I had a great show (I usually do).  I was unable to attend the conference put on by the gentlemen from the Fidelis Group but I heard good things about their discussions on developments in the Asian Markets.  I think the Columbus Show Management Team deserves some credit for trying to add relevant speakers and discussion groups on the days before the show.  I was also interested to spend some time talking to the folks from The Ohio State University who will be offering the first college course dedicated to fastening.  The Advanced Assembly and Fastening Center at The Ohio State University is part of the Mechanical Engineering department at OSU.  And, let's face it...we have all had experiences with engineers when we wish we could send them back to some school to produce a better print or specification than the one we are being asked to quote.  Well, Hang On Sloopy, because as of this fall we will have someplace to suggest to them.

The mood of the show was very good and everyone seems to have a stronger first quarter than they did in 2009.  Some companies are still booming while some others have suggest ed that things have settled down a bit in April and May.  It is a mix of comments.  One consistent comment is the one that fastener prices will be going up in the next few months and I would say percentage I heard most frequently mentioned was from 10-15%.  We will see.

I will add some more comments over the next few days but overall I thought it was a very good show.  I also wanted to post this note so I could invite those of you who attended to post your own thoughts on the show, the conferences, the industry and anything else you might like to write about.

      

I will be curious to see how well attended the Columbus Fastener Show is this week.  I am also intrigued by the theme of next year's show in Columbus as it looks like it is trying to include a bit of a STAFDA flavor to it.  As with all the shows, the key to success is getting the distributors to attend.  If you can guarantee a certain number of distributors will be at an event then certainly the supplier will be there to see their customers.

Looks like both the Las Vegas show and the Columbus show will be in different venues next year.  I hope when the Vegas show moves that there is a place where industry folks can gather after the show hours.  When it was at the Paris the Paris round bar kind of served as a central meeting point.  At Mandalay Bay I guess the closest thing to a meeting place would be the bar Eye Candy though there is also another spot where live music is played at night that seems to also be a gathering point.  I always feel that the pre- and post-show gathering places are nearly as important as the shows so I will be curious to see the new location.

See you in C-Bus.

      

The North Coast Fastener Association seems to have hit on a good recipe.  The NCFA held its 2nd Distributor Social and it was every bit as good, if not better than the first one.  Here is the recipe:  1.  Ask suppliers to help sponsor the event by contributing $250 for the three hour networking event,   2. Invite every local distributor to the social including buyers, purchasing managers, expeditors, etc. and ask them to enjoy free beer, wine, pop (East Coasters, that's soda to you), and hors d'oeuvres, 3.  Open up the doors for three hours and let the masses mingle.  The result -- a very entertaining, relaxed networking event where distributors intermingle with their suppliers, suppliers intermingle with their competition, distributors intermingle with their competition, employees get to enjoy a casual night out with fellow workers, distributor and supplier personnel get to visit with old industry friends -- many of whom might have worked together at some other company in the past, etc., etc.  It might sound like a hectic event but, on the contrary, it is one of the best and most relaxing industry events I have ever had a chance to attend.

Note to other regional fastener associations:  steal this idea and hold one of these in your area.  I'm telling you, this event has been great two years in a row and I hear people saying stuff like, "why don't they have two of these a year", and "next year, this event should be even bigger".  I heard people asking to be introduced to inside sales contacts who they talked to on a daily or weekly basis but have never met face to face.

For suppliers, the cost is fairly low.  $250 to meet with 20-30 distributor customers in one night is actually a pretty good deal.  A couple dinners with individual customers would cost you this much.  There was plenty of space if someone wanted to wander off to discuss something privately.  But mostly all the attendees hung around in the main conference area and most seemed to stay the entire length of the event.  Great job NCFA.

Please, anyone else who attended this event please feel free to add your thoughts.

Next up is the Columbus Fastener Show.  I am looking forward to this event for several reasons.  Sure, I will get free beer at the pre-show Social here too, but that is a minor selling point (OK, it's a pretty good one but I will continue).  Right now, everyone is seeing price increases.  Ifastgroup, Nucor, the importers...everyone is raising their prices.  I am glad there is a trade show where some of these developments will be discusses up and down the aisles.  The NCFA Social is a great networking event, but there is also a need for a working show like Columbus.

When I am done writing this, I will be looking at hotel arrangements for the Midwest Fastener Show.  Chicago is such an important location for the entire fastener industry, I love going to the MWFA show there.  So many manufacturers and suppliers a located in the Chicago area and, in my opinion, it is a hugely important area for our entire industry.  I like to get the Chicago pulse and I always enjoy their events there.

So, I'll see you at the next show and I invite you to write a few notes here on your experiences from the shows.

      

Tune in to fully threaded radio for their 5th broadcast.  Don't mind sharing that there is a cameo appearance by the Traveling Salesman on this broadcast.  It was fun to record and the guys at fully threaded are very talented as they even made my ramblings sound coherent.  There is an interesting interview with the current president of the NFDA, Jim Derry.  Interesting stuff.

Off to the North Coast Fastener Association's Distributor Social tonight.  Should be a great networking opportunity and I will keep you updated after this and the Columbus Show.

See you there.

      

Well, it seems that the inaugural All American Fastener Show was a success.  The fact that I had a productive show goes without saying.  I've told you readers a number of times that I love the trade shows.  And I certainly enjoyed this one.  But, I spent a lot of time visiting exhibitors, asking them how the show was going.  The responses I got were all positive.

To be honest, the attendance was about what everyone expected.  It was not a HUGE show.  However, comments like, "this is about what I expected for the first year.  I hope it grows"..were very common. 

From what I heard, there seemed to be two main reasons for vendors being attracted to the show.  First, several people mentioned that there is not another show that is geographically located in that area.  The National Shows and even the regional shows do not seem to be held in the areas near or surrounding Branson and the surrounding states, and for that reason several exhibitors were glad to exhibit there.  The other reason that several exhibitors were supportive of this show was the emphasis on many of the exhibitors being domestic manufacturers of fasteners.  Certainly it is unrealistic to ignore that so many of the fasteners we buy and sell are made overseas, but this show emphasized the importance of supporting domestic manufacturers.  Not every exhibitor was a domestic manufacturer, but many were.

I tried to scan name tags of the distributor attendees and I saw people from a wide range of states including Colorado, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Ohio, Nebraska, Tennessee,  Missouri (of course) and others.  You can read one of the magazines for the statistics but it did seem that there was a diverse group of distributors there.

I had never been to Branson before.  I planned to get in early and scope it out a bit but my initial flight in was canceled and I just made it in time for the pre-show social (which was also very nice).  I only got to see a small part of Branson right by the Hilton Convention Center...an area called the Promenade.  The Promenade is a 3/4 mile stretch of stores, bars and restaurants that runs along the river.  It was very nice and I think people who made it in earlier than I did enjoyed the area.  Me??  I ended up at a piano bar along the Promenade with a bunch of fastener people and that was a very good time. 

So, I would say the show was a success.  I know that Heidi Volltrauer intends to hold the show again in 2011 and I think the majority of the exhibitors that have supported the show this year have renewed their commitment already for next year.  I will plan to attend but I'd like to get in earlier so I can see more of the Branson area.  But that's my problem.

So, good start for the first year. 

Next, it is off to the North Coast Fastener Association Social.  Sounds like the NCFA has another good event in store with a similar attendance to last year's event (which was good).  That is being held on Thursday, May 13.

And, I want to make sure to mention the Columbus Fastener Show which I will be writing more about in the upcoming weeks.  Jim Bannister noted in his last note the number of distributors that have pre-registered for the event and I am impressed.  Many people have tried to bury this show but it sounds that it will survive and thrive another year.  If you choose to look at what the Columbus show used to be you can certainly, statistically prove that it has shrunk.  No doubt about it.  But it still remains a good, regional show in an area full of fastener distributors.  If you are doing business with any distributors from Ohio, PA, Indiana, Kentucky, Illinois, and other surrounding states...your customers will be there...talking to guys like me...traveling salesmen!

      

OK, I leave tomorrow for the first All American Fastener Show.  I realize this is not a big show.  I'm not sure who is attending the show.  I can read the list of exhibitors and I know I will, at the very least, be able to visit with some important industry vendors.  As I do before every trade show, I have made plans to link up with industry associates so I know I will be spending some valuable time with some people in the industry that are important to my success.  And, in the end, I think that is what trade shows and assocition meetings are all about. 

Last year business was pretty abysmal.  Everyone complained that sales were down and that they had not seen the industry in such dire straits in many, many years.  I just read in my issue of FIN that fastener acquisitions are increasing as the economy gains traction.  I enjoyed a particular quote from an economist who spoke to the NFDA recently.  He said, "The U.S. now has a viable, sustainable recovery trend and it is time for businesses to expand".  One way to grow is through acquisition, and that is most likely the reason for the increase in acquisitions.

I too am in acquisition mode.  I want to acquire products to sell.  I want to expand and nurture those relationships with people and companies that will best help me to grow my business.  I want to view in my rearview mirror those small minded people that only knew how to cut and butcher their companies in order to prosper last year.  Sure, there were plenty of hard decisions that needed to be made and, to be completely honest, there was probably 10% of people at the bottom of all organizations that had to be reviewed, dissected and sometimes sent on to a new organization where their skills were more valuable.  But, a lot of people also made knee jerk reactions.   Sales forces got trimmed, advertisements were halted and industry trade shows and regional organizations lost some participants.  If the time is ripe to acquire other companies than the time is ripe to jump back into our industry with new energy and...yes...even passion.  If people are buying again then, dammit, I want my share and you better too.  One reason I have not posted as much lately is because business has improved and I seem to be spending a lot of evenings working on sales related duties.  I've had less free evenings to blog.......and that is a very good thing.

I salute Heidi Volltrauer and her passion to start a new show that she felt needed to be offered.  I say this before even one person has stepped foot into the show.  It may be well attended...and it may not.  But this is meaningful to her.  It is important and she has worked hard to bring this product to an industry she believes in.

I just read one of the finest books I have read in years, "The Book of Basketball" by Bill Simmons.  700 pages of basketball.  It was awesome.  Near the end as he reflects with Bill Walton on some of the greatest players ever he includes a quote from Walton that goes something like "..Larry Bird played with passion, persistence and purpose.   There was meaning to his performances.  Same for Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Jerry Garcia, Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson...it was important to them, which made it important to us."

The fastener shows are important to Heidi, Jim Bannister, Mike McGuire and the fastener associations that put them on.  I am hearing of more and more people planning to "walk the show" in Columbus and I think, while it may be smaller than past Columbus shows, there will be plenty of valuable networking opportunities.  The Fully Threaded Fastener radio broadcasts are important to the guys who are producing them.  And, yes, I have had many people tell me they have listened to them all.  LINK, American Fastener Journal, FIN and Fastener Technology are important to the publishers and they are important to us in the industry.  Innovators like Daniel from Bazibaza are important to our industry as they innovate and try to connect the fastener industry globally.  Make sure you are investing time in the magazines, the shows, the web sites and to those salespeople visiting your businesses. 

One last note then I will let you go.  Last year I told a story of a company (in business about 15-20 years) I called on where the owner hired two new veteran salespeople who had been cast off by their former employers.  Cost cutting took its toll on these two gentlemen.   The owner told me "T.S. (he used my real name), I might be the craziest person out there hiring these guys in this kind of economy but I think both of these guys are talented.  I think they can help me grow my company".  At the time, I agreed.  Two weeks ago I met with the General Manager and at lunch he confided, "Last month our company had the highest sales of any month ever in the history of the company".  They invested and it has paid off.  Don't underestimate the benefits of staying networked in this industry.

      

First of all, just want to let you know there is another broadcast of Fully Threaded Radio available.  THEIR THIRD BROADCAST!  That is pretty good.  If I am ever on one of their shows I will let you know.  We are negotiating right now.  I insist that most of my information is worthless but they insist it is worth less than that...so we are still negotiating.

I wish I had exciting subjects to discuss with you like the Nucor Anti-Dumping issues we encountered last year.  It was easy to write then.  And, honestly, I am usually pretty good at making up stuff to talk about.  I'm usually not one at a loss for words.  Furthermore, I am getting pretty jacked up about the upcoming fastener shows.  I will be at the Columbus Fastener Show.  I will be attending the North Coast Fastener Association's Distributor Social (they give away free beer so it is pretty hard to beat that!).  And, I have bought a plane ticket and am looking forward to the 1st ever All American Fastener Show.  I've told you folks over and over...I always find value in these shows.  If you do not, I do not think you are trying.  Simple as that.

So, really I could talk about these upcoming shows or I could talk about I could read American Fastener Journal online and steal some good ideas from that to talk about.  But, instead I am going to come clean with you.  It is not that I am not interested in all that is going on but the truth is I am too busy. 

I am a Salesman.  I am a gunslinger.  If you show me an opportunity...I will hunt it down.  I'm a little lax on paperwork and my office is a mess.  Seriously.  Filing is for the uninspired...and dammit, I am inspired.  Since November, I have seen our sleepy industry re-awaken and people are actually buying stuff.  And, when I see that I get in my car and get out there and sell.  I have a hundred projects that I am working on and my mind is going a mile a minute.  Business has been fairly strong through the first quarter of 2010 and I want to be part of it.  And, after last year, I think I have this lingering fear...that little bit of doubt that makes me ask..."is it going to last??"   I sure hope it does but I am not letting this opportunity slip by without getting out there and trying to participate.  I have just turned 100,000 miles on my car (just today, as a matter of fact..no kidding) and it is a 2 year old car.  We're rolling!!  (Side note...my transmission went out on my car a couple weeks ago at 98,000 miles.  I was under warranty up to 100,000 miles.  Got in there with 2,000 miles to spare.  That's some luck, huh?)

So, forgive me if I have not been posting as much lately.  I promise there will be more especially with spring/summer trade show season upon us.  I do not have a ticket to the Midwest Fastener Show yet but that one is on my calendar too.  Great food at that one last year.  It was amazing..I'm serious. 

Please check in and let me know how business is in your area of the world.  I think everyone has picked up at least a little but I hope you blog readers will take a minute to check in and share.

T.S.

      

      

We have several fastener shows coming up within just a few months.  I have stated over and over that I love Fastener Shows.  Just love 'em.  I always find something new or I talk to someone I have known a long time and I find out something new.  They never fail me.

Still, I know there are skeptics out there who rarely go to the show or only go to Vegas or whatever.  They are not always cheap so I can understand. 

Still, I want to send this note there to see what other folks in the industry are thinking.  One thing I know for sure is that both the Columbus show organizers and the All-American show are both trying to add booths and vendors to make their shows as good as they can.  Organizers - feel free to check in here and let us know the status.

Got a note the other day on the Mid-West Show and that was appreciated.  I could write more but, honestly, I'd like to hear more about what you folks think and talk less about what I think.

      

Would like to have posted more lately but my evening time has been absorbed preparing for my Fantasy Baseball draft which is tonight, Saturday March 27.  And don't act like this is not important, 'cause it is!

I have bought a ticket to the Columbus Fastener Show, I have looked at flights for the All American Fastener Show in Branson and I will be at the North Coast Fastener Distributor Social too.  May looks to be a busy month.  When is the Midwest fastener show, in June??   I enjoy all the shows and will be writing more about them as we get a little closer.  Of course, attendance is a key factor to the success of a show and that is always the hard part to predict.  But, I have always said that you get out of the shows what you put in by pre-planning and setting up appointments, etc.  So, while I would like to add more about the shows, I just keep getting called by ESPN online and KFFL (if you are into fantasy sports and do not already check out this site, this is my gift to you) and CBS Sportsline and all the other fantasy sites.  Sorry.

Here is a serious note -- are there other fantasy baseball or football fans that would like to start a fantasy league for future seasons?  I know live drafts are better but we could start one up where the drafting is all done online.  Think about it.  I'll trade you Donavon McNabb and two pallets of drywall screws for Carson Palmer and zinc plated carriage bolts.  Deal??

      

Talk about being creative in our industry...now we have a fastener industry radio show.  That's right, a radio show.  Really, it is a podcast.  You can find the site and listen to it at www.fullythreaded.com.  Episode number one is alive and ready for your listening pleasure.

Fully Threaded Radio is the creation of Eric Dudas and Brian Musker, the gentlemen that run and operate FastenersClearingHouse.com.  Their inaugural broadcast has three segments where they interview guest from the fastener industry.  I listened to entire one hour show and heard interviews with Larry Thomas and Rob Lucas of Fidelis Fasteners, Mike McGuire of American Fastener Journal (and many other things) and Andy Pels from screwcrew.com.  Each guest (or group of guests) is interviewed for about 20  minutes and the information is very current.  In fact, Larry and Rob actually recorded their segment from Shanghai, China....and I will give you a preview of their spot...they too see prices going up based upon what they are seeing overseas.  Mike McGuire talked about many subjects including the new Fastener Research Center at The Ohio State University.  I won't steal the thunder here folks but let me just say that a fastener course could be offered at OSU as early as this fall.  Mike also discussed his Aerospace E-Zine and the upcoming East and West Fastener Shows.  Andy Pels is the self proclaimed "Fastener Marketing Dude" and, like his web site, Andy approaches our industry with a little lighthearted humor that is welcomed in our serious industry.

I enjoyed the show and was surprised that Eric and Brian sounded like real radio guys.  Very creative, very interesting.  I look forward to hearing who you will have as future guests.  I've got to admit...if you can get some Nucor guys to talk about the anti-dumping petition (past and future observations) I think you will get plenty of listeners. 

Anyways, if you have the radio on in your office, try tuning in to their show on your computer. 

      

The first time I ever saw a large, cold heading machine in a factory just pounding out bolt after bolt I thought to myself, "who thinks of this stuff?"  I sell these products but some machine builder or engineer, once upon a time, had the vision of how you could build a machine that could drop out fasteners by the thousands.  I marvel at that creativity.  I am not mechanically inclined so I am also a little envious of someone that can think and create that way.  But, that is only once example of creativity in our industry.  There have been numerous examples of industrial creativity, marketing creativity, logistical creativity.

Either in the late 1980's or early 1990's, Vendor Managed Inventory became popular.  I think that was a creative change in the marketplace.  I think it was creative when Kainbridge came out with the 1/8 keg (which I think they were the first to do in a big way).  Kainbridge might also have been the first company to have a computer site where you could purchase online (not sure they were first but I know they were one of the first I heard about and heard that it was "good"). 

Another concept I thought was creative was creative when I first heard it was "blended inventory".  I'll import what you need but I also have machines to make you the parts if the shipment from overseas is late.   I'll "blend" them for you.  Some companies got a nice sales boost using that strategy.

We really do not see an abundance of new fastener products coming out that frequently.  One company that does though is Powers Fastener (or Rawl for you veterans).  Evey year or two they come out with the Spike or some new creation and even though not all these product take off you do have to give them credit for continuing to innovate.

The 80/20 concept has been around for a long, long, long time.  Some companies use it effectively and others clearly shoot themselves in the foot trying to implement this strategy.  To use this concept effectively requires some creativity.  You can use it to strengthen your distribution base or you can use it to insult and piss off many of the customers that helped you grow into the company you are when your new accountant/CEO tells you are implementing the program.

Mike McGuire had the first fastener show.  Someone answer this form me -- who had the first fastener magazine?  Was it LINK?

I welcome other examples of creativity in the fastener world.  I'm sure I missed many.  But, what I also am interested in hearing about are trends or developments that you see coming down the road in our industry.  I realize that you might not share all your thoughts on a public forum because you might be giving away a $1MM idea.  But, what trends do you see?  What is something missing in our industry that you would like to see someone develop? 

This is not specific to fasteners but I look forward to the day when companies can convert their computer systems over to new systems without temporarily crippling their customer service.  Many companies have switched computers only to have their service become terrible for months until adjustments are made.  We send people to the moon and we cannot make this transition go smoother????  How is that?

OK you creative geniuses in Fastener Talk land, let's hear from you.

      

The North Coast Fastener Association has a Facebook page.  You can find it in "groups".  Do any other fastener associations have Facebook pages or do they use any other "social media".  Twitter?  Anything else?

      

The following headlines have appeared in local newspapers or on line news sources within the last two weeks.  These stories are all related to business in Northern Ohio.

"Vallourec & Mannesmannk investing $650 in Youngstown, Ohio For A State-Of-The-Art Small Diameter Rolling Mill" - 2/15/10

"Lordstown Adding 1,200 Workers - General Motors is ready to restart a third shift at its Lordstown, Ohio complex - 2/23/10

"Ford Boosts Brook Par" - Ford has hired back 60 workers and spent $155 million to make a new V-6 engine for the Mustang at Cleveland Engine Plant No. 1 in Brookpark, Ohio.  2/25/10


And, I have been told that in western Pennsylvania Steel Plants are starting up again.  That means a couple things.  First, it could mean steel prices are going up and it is worth their while to start producing again.  Or, it could mean that demand is picking up and there is a greater need for steel.  Either way, if is good to hear reports that steel plants are starting to produce steel again.

These are some good signs and these are not just reports from some analyst trying to predict the future.  These are legitimate developments which I hope is just the tip of the iceberg. 

You all remember the Flats in Cleveland, correct? Several years back they were touted as being a great place to hang out if you were in Cleveland for business.  Everybody went down to the Flats.  Well, they have been just about shut down for the last several years but I understand that we are very close to work getting started on rebuilding some of that area with two new office buildings being the foundation for additional development.  Heard this direct from an industrial supply house right there in that area.  Before too long there should be a new Medical Mart building as well as a new casino.  

That is quite a bit of activity for an area that is anchored by the city that was just labeled by Forbes to be the most miserable city in the country.  Certainly, there has to be economic activity churning in other areas of the country too.

I read that a high speed train project is scheduled that will to from Cleveland to Columbus to Cincinnati.  Stimulus money is supposed to pay for that one.  So....I guess someone will be waiting to pick you up at the other end when you arrive???  Because, if you have to rent a car once you get there you might as well drive in the first place, true?  Ohio readers, please help me out with this one.  I am not sure I see the value of this project at all.  You want to build me a high speed train that takes me to Hilton Head or Fort Myers, Florida and I might be up for that.  But I can hardly get through an entire music CD   going from Cleveland to Columbus.  Who's going to be riding on that thing??

While I really like to see economic activity I do have to question those projects where I am providing some of the funds through my tax dollars.  I am also aware that a bunch of other states would grab that money and build a train to nowhere if it created new jobs.   Unfortunately, everybody seems to grab what they can when "free money" is being handed out.  And THAT is why I am glad to see business dollars being spent by companies investing in the area and not just tax dollars being spent.

What??  Who did you say owns GM????  Never mind.

      

I do hear a lot of people say that their business has picked up a bit over the last few months.  Some people are really busy.  Others still say they will have a few good weeks then a slow week.  But, for the most part, everyone seems to agree that the last few months business has been strong than it was at the end of 2008 and the beginning of 2009.  But, we are still crawling out of a hole.   Not sure when we will see business as strong as it was in the early part of 2008 and before that.

One weird thing that is still different though is the unemployment situation.  I had a friend ask me recently, "in your adult life, did you ever know a time when a person who really wanted to find a job just couldn't find one?"  I know what he meant.  Yes, I knew people that lost their jobs or took a few months off between jobs but, for the most part, guys and ladies I knew that really wanted to find a job could do so within a reasonable period of time.  Sometimes the job did not pay what their last job paid but it was generally not like they were taking a job for half of what they used to make.  Right now, I know of three former sales managers that I reported to who are out of work.  Two in the midwest, one in the east.  All were effective, competent and experienced.  One is out of work 10 months and the other two about 6 months.  And, I don't think they are finding anything. 

So, I am very happy to see business pick up.  Hope it continues and by 2011 or 2012 we are really rockin' again.  But, I know until some of these people I know find work I am going to feel a little skeptical that everything is getting back to normal.

      

Compiling the suggestions from all you Fastener Talk contributors, here is what we have so far.  Is it scientific?  Heck no.  At least not yet.  But it is a starting point.   I do not know some of these companies at all but I am sure I can google them.  Which ones belong?  Which ones do not?  Who else should be on this list?  There are still only 45 names here.

Anixter
All-State
General Fasteners
Mid-State Bolt (Flint)
JO King
Active Screw
Supply Technologies
Wurth
Bossard
D.B. Roberts
Century Fasteners
Endries
Hillman
Copper State
Gexpro
Fastenal
Flexalloy (accument)
Barnes Distribution
Kimball-Midwest
American Fastener (Avon, IN)
Arkansas Bolt
ACS (Assembly  Component System)
Circle Bolt
Cordova Bolt
Fastec
Mid-State - Columbus, OH
Timberline Fastener
Trinity Logistics
Whitesell Corp.
Davco
Bisco
Tower Fasteners
MSC
B/E Aerospace
Fastbolt
House of Threads
LeJeune Bolt
Haydon/St. Louis Screw & Bolt
Southeastern Bolt
Birmingham Fastenr
Lawson
Hardware Specialty
TR Fastenings
Global Supply Services (Cyclops)
TFC

      

Anixter

All-State Fasteners

General Fasteners

Mid-State Bolt ( MI )

JO King

Active Screw ( AZ / IL )

Supply Tech formerly ILS

Wurth

Bossard

D.B. Roberts (?)

Century Fastener

Endries

Hillman

Copper State (bunch of branches)

Gexpro (?)

Fastenal (they did start with fasteners)

Flexalloy (Accument - not as big as they used to be but..)

Barnes Distribution

Kimball-Midwest

What other companies have multiple locations or a national sales force??  Help me out folks.

      

There has been a fair amount of response to people's interest in a ranking of the top 50 fastener distributors.  A list was referred to by Andy at ScrewCrew.com  Mike McGuire sent me a private note pointing out some of the obstacles to coming up with a definitive Top 50 list.  Here are some of the challenges.

Is a company like Fastenal a fastener distributor or an industrial supply house?  Do you segregate specific industry sectors like electronic hardware distributors (which would include companies that are PEM or Captive distributors) since some of them do not deal in standard hardware?  Where do construction supply houses fit?  You know, the Powers or Simpson distributors.  Some carry lost of other fasteners but for some their only fastener line might be their anchor line. 

Still, there are a bunch of names that one would suppose would end up on the list.   Several could be companies with multiple locations.  I'm going to list a few here but I do not have sales dollars to back up the list.  Maybe down the road I (or someone with better data) can substantiate this or another list.  But, for now, let's get this started.

Fastenal
Supply Technologies
Anixter
Wurth
Endries
Copper State
General Fasteners
Barnes ?
D.B. Roberts ?
Bossard

C'mon folks, help me out.

      

I just read a news release that Reed Business Information is closing down its publication of the magazine Industrial Distribution.  Please, anyone with more information out there please let me know if I have this wrong.  If this is true, I'm very disappointed.  This was a decent magazine and I always enjoyed their publication of the top 50 Industrial Distributors.  Like I've said before, I wish such a list existed in the fastener industry.

You know what?  Maybe that will be a Fastener Talk exclusive.  Maybe I'll track down the sales figures for all the largest fastener companies I can think of and print a list.  Hey, if anybody has that info, please send it to me and you will save me a whole lot of time.

      

Happy New Year everybody.  2009 was quite a struggle for a lot of fastener companies so let's all hope that 2010 brings us a more robust economy and some sales growth.  Ultimately, it is up to each of us to make it happen but it sure would be nice to have a little momentum from a better economic climate.

Before I mention other things on my mind, I'd like to share with you that this is my 200th post as the moderator of Fastener Talk.  I cannot believe I have come up with 200 ways to start a conversation but I guess I have Nucor and the Fastener Shows to thank for many of my post subjects.  My New Year's Resolution is to improve this site and I have several ideas on how that can be accomplished.  I want to thank my good friend Daniel from Bazibaza search engine for offering me encouragemt and suggestions along the way.  I do not want to get all sappy here but we met each other through this site and now have gotten together at the Vegas Show two years in a row and I find it interesting that we can bridge the ocean between the U.S. and France via the internet to compare notes and offer suggestions.  Much thanks Daniel.  Again, I would encourage you to check out his site at industry.bazibaza.com.  It is a worldwide search engine that has more information than you can imagine.

As we look back on the year, and even the decade, one thing jumps out.  I think the Chinese influence on the fastener industry is probably the biggest news maker of recent history.  I just read on another fastener news site where China is imposing tariffs on EU carbon fasteners.  According to this article, China has determined that EU imports have hurt China's domestic producers, according to China's Ministry of Commerce.  China started probing EU carbon fastener imports after the European Commission adopted antidumping duties averaging 85% on certain Chinese fasteners.  Folks, out here in the Midwestern part of the United States we generally call something like this a "pissing contest".  But the stakes are very high here and this is not a game.  These are governments getting highly involved in what we usually like to see handled in the free market.  Problem is, with the internet and communication being what it is, many American (and probably European) companies have decide to move their business to China.  When I was a kid I learned about business cycles and I was taught there would be good times and bad times just because of business cycles.  It is possible that 2009 was just a low point on the business cycle that was long overdue.  Or. maybe not.  I know one thing for sure.  In the year 2000, there were not nearly the number of small fastener distributors taking their business directly overseas.  Now, it is commonplace.  And, in the Midwest there have been countless number of companies that have moved production overseas to where smaller and mid sized distributors have lost a large part of their customer base.  Just gone.  Ain't coming back.

So, what is our challenge for 2010 and beyond?  Are we all going to sell to the windmill manufacturers?    How many bridges and roads can be built with our TARP dollars?  We never back down from a challenge and we always rise to the occasion.  It is our nature.  I wish more fasteners were used in I-Pods and on Facebook.  We do real well in those products.  Some say we are in a new decade and others say it begins next year.  Either way, I wish I had a crystal ball to get a glimpse of 2020.  We all need to sell to somebody and we all (and I mean ALL including our Chinese and Indian brethren in the industry) have a vested interest in having a vibrant manufacturing base.  These are subjects that interest and concern me.  I would pay to hear a good speaker who could address these issues...someone with some real insight on the American economy and the erosion or revitalization of the U.S. manufacturing base.  Certainly, somebody has to talk about this subject somewhere.  STAFDA is having Sarah Palin speak next year at their show.  More than likely, I will be in Vegas at the Fastener Show when she speaks.  I would be interested in hearing a speaker address the issues that are relevant to me as a member of the fastener industry. 

      

      

Thank you to my loyal readers who have been sending me news updates.  Clearly, I have been a negligent blogger and have not been posting as frequently as a devoted blogger might.  Truth is, I've been really busy with work stuff...and that is a good thing.  Throw in things like going to my kid's Choir Concert  and I've lost some evening time too.  Then, (and this is big) I've had to devote additional time to my fantasy football team as I have made it to the Super Bowl of my fantasy league.  It takes place this weekend and with injuries, etc., I've really had to devote some quality time to the "Land Hammers" franchise.  Now, don't go stealing the name for your team.

So, back to fastener news.  First, I think the fact that I have been extremely busy since the Las Vegas Fastener Show is just great.  Last December, everybody was dead.  None of my customers were busy and business was coming to a screeching halt leading up to 2009 which has pretty much been one of the worst years in recent fastener history.  It is refreshing to be this busy.

Yes, yes, yes...Nucor is back in the news as they appealed the unanimous decision by the U.S. International Trade Commission that rejected their petition for antidumping and countervailing tariffs.  Nucor's attorney argued that U.S. production and capacity utilization decreased by 50% and Chinese and Taiwanese imports grew to 56% of the market by "pervasively underselling U.S. fasteners by significant margins".  All the publications have come out with the details and you can look up that information on some of those news sites (many of which are listed to the left of this column you are reading).  Let's face it.  We all knew this was coming.  There is no surprise here.  The bigger surprise is that the petition was beaten down with a 6-0 decision.  I sell import products and I sell domestic products.  And, in case you did not know, I'm a good ol', red blooded American Boy.  I'd love to see domestic manufacturers do better, stop closing and provide more jobs.  I also recognize the value of some of the lower priced import products that we buy and sell and, in the end, give us many products that are lower in cost.  But, if anyone, including the government, is going to try to tell me that the domestic manufacturers have not been hurt by the importers then they are just flat our nuts.  We know it, they know it, the world knows it.  I guess it must come down to how bad have they been hurt and what is a fair and just resolution.  Maybe Nucor was not asking for a reasonable resolution.  Others can figure that out.  But, just using our common sense we know there has been SOME kind of affect.

Next subject - the Las Vegas Fastener Show.  In 2011 it will move down the strip to the Sands convention center and it will be in October, not November.  For those who do not attend the STAFDA show, I will tell you that it will overlap with the Vegas show in 2010.  That is a problem for a lot of companies that exhibit in both.  The Fastener Show is in Vegas and STAFDA is in Phoenix and a few of the dates overlap.  By moving to October, these conflicts should go away in future years.  Folks, that's about all I will say about that right now.  Feel free to write in with your own thoughts including my friends from the Fastener Shows.  If you would like to share how you chose the Sands or the time of year I would be more than happy to publish all that.  I do think that folks in the fastener industry would like to hear more and please use this site as a platform.

Also, I'd like to hear more about how the Columbus show is coming along.  And, I have not heard from anyone at the All American Show and I'd like to hear an update on that or any other regional show.

Promise to write more often in the future.  There is a lot going on.  I suspect that acquisitions will increase and I just read where HD Supply is closing 350 branches.  HD Supply is not exactly a fastener house but it is industrial supply and that is a close relative to the fastener house, relatively speaking.

Happy Holidays.  Keep plugging because we hold the world together!

      

Wow.  Just when I thought things would slow down for the holidays and there would be no news on fasteners I read this:

http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/news.html?d=180020

I invite all gasps and compliments.  That is a big name being swallowed up by another big name.  Amazing.

      

One newsletter that I read regularly is The Kiplinger Letter.  The forecasts and observations are usually very good.  So, wasn't I surprised when I was reading a recent edition (November 25, 2009, to be exact) when I read their prediction that nickel prices will come down about 25% by September and then it said that this will "ease pricing pressure on appliance, machinery and fastener manufacturers".  Right there in Kiplinger folks!!  We are making it to the big time.

For the record, Kiplinger also predicts that copper with drop 25% by next fall and they say that aluminum with see a nearly 20% slide by fall.  The pattern holds for other metals too.  They claim lead will plunge 45% or so by September and tin by 20%.

They base these predictions on another prediction --that is that , early next year,  investors will lower their expectations for strong economic growth.  So, that premise....well it kind of sucks.  I think we all are hoping for growth to kick in again but I guess we cannot know when it will come.  2010???  Maybe more in 2011??  I'll be keeping my eyes open for any publications that talk about economic expectations for next year but, if there are any out there floating around, please let me know so I can track them down.

      

Seems like the last month has been surreal in the fastener world.  There were a few weeks where everyone was anxiously awaiting to hear about the anti-dumping petition.  Then, like magic, it all temporarily went away right before the Las Vegas Fastener Show.  It felt like a major league pinch hitter came in during the bottom of the 11th and hit a game winning home run in front of the home crowd.  But, since we all know this issue can, and probably will, be resurrected, I guess it was like hitting a home run in the divisional playoffs and not in the World Series.

Then came the Fastener Show.  All comments that were posted were extremely positive about the show.  Sure, attendance might have been down, but it was still a great show.  Nowhere else can you get in front of so many customer or talk with as many industry peers as you can at the fastener shows.  As the people who posted wrote, you have to have a plan when you come to a trade show and you have to work the plan once you get there.  The people who put on the shows do their best to attract attendees.  They want the show to be huge and vibrant.  But they cannot really affect what goes on within the walls of the exhibition area.  I'm glad that several people posted that they had a good show, because I certainly did.

Then, after all that, you get back home, clean off your desk and it is Thanksgiving.  Time for a break and hopefully an opportunity to enjoy time with family and friends.    And when you stop and look back you have to ask yourself, "Where did the last month go?"

So, as the title says, it is "Back To Reality" .  Back to work on Monday.  Christmas is on a Friday this year so we might actually see nearly a whole week of work that week.  Nearly.  So, you have about four weeks to make your numbers for 2009.  Or, you have about four weeks to get yourself ready for 2010.  Either way, you'd better use those four weeks wisely. 

Not many companies want to see a repeat of 2009.   So, get a plan and start putting the pieces together to move your plan forward.  As Eminem says, "Snap.  Back to Reality".  Or as the ancient Buddhist proverb says, "Before enlightenment, chop wood, carry water.  After enlightenment, chop wood, carry water".  We all had our time off and a little break from the buying and selling fasteners but that is what we all do.  We buy and sell fasteners.

I like that.  I've got my own proverb.  "Before The Fastener Show and Thanksgiving, buy fasteners, sell fasteners.  After The Fastener Show and Thanksgiving..."  Let's get on with it.

      

I'm still in Vegas and am pretty tired but I wanted to post something before I go to sleep.  Early a.m. flight tomorrow.  I once again end the show feeling like I accomplished quite a few things I set out to accomplish.  I never did hear the final attendance count but, like other shows this year, I'm sure attendance was down.  I do not mean to suggest that the show was slow, because I thought it was well attended.  And, as usual, it was more heavily attended on Tuesday (the first day) than on Wednesday.  Still, attendance did not seem bad. 

At every show there are exhibitors that are disappointed by attendance.  Then there are others that will say that they felt the attendance was good.  Regardless of the numbers, if you get some face to face time with some good customers or if you pick up a new account or a new sales person, then the show could be a success.  And yet, I do understand that exhibitors who pay for booths do count on a certain amount of visitors tho justify the investment.  I post this note hoping that I will get some feedback from those who attended the show.

I did not attend all the conferences on Monday so anyone who would like to comment on those is certainly welcome.  I did attend the anti-dumping meeting.  The speaker offered a lot of detail of what went on throughout the process and what it meant.  Although there is no predicting what will happen from here, I did hope to hear a bit more about what he expected to happen now that the petition was thrown out and a bit less on what took place to get to this point. 

I think I am fading and need sleep so I will post more at another time.  Please readers, let's hear your thoughts from the show.

      

Earlier in the week I attended the STAFDA show for the first time is several years.  I really enjoyed it.  The cost to attend STAFDA is much higher than the Fastener Show but it is different and probably worth the cost.  The night before the trade show began, STAFDA had rented out the Georgia Aquarium and members were served food there catered by Wolfgang Puck (I think) Catering.  It was really great food and there was a ton of it.  I have been to many aquariums and this one ranked among the best.  Very nice venue and I ran into a lot of people at the social.  I am not sure if the Vegas Fastener Show could charge more or even if they should.  But, the STAFDA show lasted several hours and there was a band playing and it was very well done.  In Vegas, the opening celebration is well attended and nice but I do think people are antsy to get out and go to dinner, gamble, go to shows, etc.

The show itself is preceded with an opening "General Session" complete with the National Anthem being sung and many speakers.  There was a session on the economy, which was interesting.  The president of STAFDA gave an interesting speech about how he sold his company to a larger company and then went on to work with another company.  I would imagine there are some people from the fastener industry that might have their own stories to tell.  People who sold to Questron, or Wurth or Supply Technologies.  So many people end up back in the industry at another company or at a new start-up company.  I think if the Fastener Show had a general session a speaker like that might be interesting.   There is a bit more pageantry at the STAFDA show.  They give out awards at the general session and a lot of people attend.  The show is different.

One other observation that I found interesting.  AT STAFDA, there would be aisles that were about half full of booths from just a single company.  Certainly, there are some big booths at the Fastener Show but at STAFDA, companies like Dewalt  have a booth that took up about half of the entire aisle.  There were several rows like that where various tool companies spread out their gear and really showed off their products. 

I enjoyed the STAFDA show a lot and hope to attend next year.  I believe it will be in Phoenix.  FYI, the speaker at next year's STAFDA show is going to be Sarah Palin.  Love her or hate her, you've got to admit that it a pretty big name to bring in to address your organization.  And again, that might be why the cost of the STAFDA show is more.  But, for what they delivered, I thought it was well worth it.   Executive Director of STAFDA, Georgia Foley, deserves credit for running a fine whow.

And now, on to Vegas.  I miss the round bar at the Paris but Mandalay has got its charm.  So, is the bar right by the Sushi restaurant one of the new fastener industry hangouts??  Please let me know where the new hang out is.  I'm still trying to figure it out.

      

Just passing along some skuttlebutt that passed by my ears.  Like many other people, I thought for certain that there would be some tariff passed along due to the Nucor petition.  The speaker at the North Coast Fastener Association meeting suggested that the probability was quite high, based on other cases he had seen.  So, what happened??  A 6-0 slam dunk.  No questions asked.  As the great basketball commentator Austin Carr would say, "Get that weak stuff outa here!"

Most people agree that Nucor asked for too much.  Too many products included, maybe too much in tariffs.  But few people thought that they had NO case.  And, many have suggested that Nucor will again file so the importers and distributors of the nation need to be aware of this.

But why so quick?  Why 6-0?  Why not a small tariff until it could be examined more fully?

The skuttlebutt I am referring to is that our President is headed to Asia for a week of meetings and the quick rejection of Nucor's petition was in part a political move before the trip. 

A news report on Reuters mentions that the U.S. International Trade Commission voted 6-0 to back the Commerce Department's investigation into allegations Chinese and Indonesian companies are selling coated paper used for magazines and greeting cards at unfairly low prices.

It also approved an investigation of charges Chinese producers are "dumping" three types of salts in the United States.

Yet, the article then notes that the Nucor petition was rejected.  

http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssIndustryMaterialsUtilitiesNews/idUSN0617027720091106

I see that the Anti-Dumping meeting is still scheduled for the Las Vegas Fastener Show.  Although the storm has seemed to pass for the time being, I think there will be others developing down the road.

      

...what do we concentrate on?  Well, it sounds like Nucor can file another petition again and they do not have to wait too long to do so.  Maybe next time they will narrow their scope and actually ask for damages that reflect reality a bit more.  Hey, I guess they were a proponent of the old saying, "If you're going to walk on thin ice you may as well dance". 

But, now we can get back to the subject that we were talking about BEFORE the Nucor petition.  And that would be the economy.  I'm attending STAFDA this next week and they are having a speaker  on The State of The Industry which I hope to attend.  I am glad that the Nucor petition is, at least, temporarily settled before Vegas so we can look forward to 2010 with an approach to growing business.  And I think that will happen eventually.

Still no one posted much about what I should expect at STAFDA so I'll head out into the unknown and let you know what I fine.

      

In case you have not heard, Nucor's anti-dumping case has been dismissed.  On November 6, 2009, the International Trade Commission voted 6-0 that Nucor Fastener Division and other U.S. producers of standard steel fasteners are not materially injured by imports from China and Taiwan.  Under U.S. law, "If the Commission finds that imports of the subject merchandise are negligible or otherwise makes a negative determination under this paragraph, the investigation shall be terminated."The report is on the "> 


On November 6, 2009, the International Trade Commission voted 6-0 that Nucor Fastener Division and other U.S. producers of standard steel fasteners are not materially injured by imports from China and Taiwan.  Under U.S. law, "If the Commission finds that imports of the subject merchandise are negligible or otherwise makes a negative determination under this paragraph, the investigation shall be terminated."

The report is on the International Trade Commission's website.

Accordingly, you can all go back to the way things were . . . .  Until Nucor Fastener Division tries again.  Petitions that fail at the preliminary injury vote tend to come back a few months or a year or two later.  Petitioners have suffered a similar defeats with prior petitions, but refiled the petition and successfully obtained antidumping duty orders.   

Nucor may trim low-grade fasteners from the scope and refile the petition focusing on medium- and high-grade fasteners.  So learn from this experience, and plan for the future now.


Notes from:
http://www.importerhelp.com/investigations/fasteners/