Oh the world financial markets.  My oh my, they are making us all crazy.  Never before have we seen the likes of these markets.  And the credit crunch?  It's going to take its toll. I'm sure.  But...you want to know what is really weird??  I'll tell you.  I travel throughout the midwest and I have called on a lot of fastener distributors who have told me their business is very strong.  I have called on several people who have told me that they recently had record months.  I'm serious.  I'm not making this stuff up.  Mind you, the larger distributors that are locked into multi-year contracts are not passing along this kind of news.  Neither are the distributors that are closely tied to automotive business.  The companies that seem to be doing well are small or medium sizes businesses.

If you look back at my posts about 9 - 12 months ago, I was saying that I thought we were already in a recession.  And, I think our fastener industry was experiencing recession type sales.  Not everyone, but a lot of folks.  And now I am hearing some good news.  So, what is the deal?

I have always thought (or heard) that we fastener people are the first to see the economic trends.  Before the public or the financial markets see a business downturn, we know things are slowing down because our customers are pushing back deliveries or ordering much smaller quantities because they do not anticipate manufacturing as much in the future.  Manufacturing that is in process continues but we see the future slowdowns coming because we supply the pieces and parts.  Conversely, as companies gear up for future production, they first must order those same pieces and parts in anticipation of future production.  (Now, I know at least half of you are saying, "TS, you're crazy...my customers do not order until the last minute and fasteners are always the last thing they order"....but follow me here, just for a minute.)

So, could we be seeing the economic light at the end of the tunnel??  I sure wish I could say "Yes sir, you know it!" but.....who knows?  The economic news we are all observing is unprecedented and I don't think anyone can say what is on the horizon.  If credit freezes then everything slows down.  But....if some of this $700,000,000,000 works its way back into the market before things get really screwed up, then maybe we are seeing something positive.  I sure hope so.  Otherwise, all us outside salespeople and sales managers are going to be writing a lot of reports and trying to explain a lot of stuff that I do not think the President, the Secretary of Commerce or any of those other folks involved in the bailout..........er, recovery plan can explain.

I have always thought it would be interesting to read personal interviews with some of the movers and shakers of our industry.  These could be owners, purchasing managers, regional managers, sales managers.  People that can see beyond the horizon and see what is coming down the road in our industry.  The guy who saw that "vendor managed inventory" programs would be in great demands in the 1990s and early 2000s.  People with foresight. 

After some thought I realized that I would also like to hear what the "worker bees" in our industry see on a daily basis.  They/We are the blood and guts of what goes on every day in our industry.  I want to hear from the buyer who is daily trying balance price, total cost and service as they purchase fasteners.  I'd like to know what salespeople are encountering out there...the person who just landed a big, three year program based upon set prices with yearly cost reductions.  How is that person responding tho the enormous price increases we saw last year?

Hopefully, over the next year I will be able to get some fastener dignitaries to answer the following questions.  I have tried to come up with a few open ended questions that would enable the responder to answer them from their unique perspective.  I have decided to limit the number of questions to six -- kind of taking the lead from the theory that every one is connected to everyone else through six degrees of separation.  If enough people will just answer these six questions, we really ought to see a cross section of the industry that is enlightening and covers everything from A to Z.

So, the first people I would invite to answer these are you fine folks who check out this blog regularly or even just from time to time.  If you want to answer the questions anonymously, please still include a few specifics on your job or roll at your company.  If you want to answer these and include your name, please feel free to add any information you wish about your company and its products.  And with that, here are the questions I would like to see answered:

1.  What was your first job in the fastener industry and what is your current position?

2.  What is the biggest change you have seen in the industry in the past few years?  What trends have you seen in purchasing, sales, management?

3.  What company in the industry do you most respect/admire and why?  In other words, in your opinion, what company runs the best operation?

4.  What do you see happening in our industry in the upcoming months through 2009?  Take into account the cost increases of last year, the influx of Chineese products over the last few years AND the recent increase in import prices.  What is your short term outlook?

5.  What does a fastener company need to do to survive and thrive in the next 2 to 5 years?  How is that unique to our industry and different from any other industry?

6.  What is the one thing that we most lack in our industry?


So, there you go.  If I find that these questions need to be changed after I get some responses, I reserve the right to change them.  If you'd like to hear the answers from a specific person within the industry (a supplier, your boss, your customer), please send them these questions or send them a link to this site.  We can always use some more subscribers.   I hope this survey/interview works out in reality as it has in my head.  I think it could offer some very interesting insights into our fine, fine industry - of which I am obviously a big fan!

What a crazy week we had in the financial markets.  I had to talk 3 friends down from the edge of buildings on Thursday only to watch them jump for joy as our fine government came riding in on the white stallion called "Bailout" with their swashbuckling confidence and the promise of a better day.  How wierd it is to hear the talking heads on the news saying "We have never seen anything like this.  There is no precedent."  Even that staple of American television and print,  the oversize headed Suze Orman was all shook up on the Larry King show when she was asked what the average citizen should do about their personal investments.   She kept talking and talking but she did not seem quite as certain as when I have seen her other times on TV (and then turned the channel).

So, what is a fastener company to do?  How do these events affect our individual fastener companies?

I know if the whole economy seems to be in the dumps, it does seem to affect business in our industry.  People are more cautious, they watch their inventory closer and do not generally stock as much product.  When business is slow I continuously hear distributors say "my customers have more time to shop because they are slow".  Larger distributors like Supply Technologies are often locked into price agreements which really makes it hard when prices go up.  But how does the news of the economy over the last week further affect them?  Stock prices were swinging up and down and we really don't know why.  So what do their shareholders expect them to do?

It will be very interesting to watch what happens over the next few weeks.  If there is anyone out there that can speculate how this volatile market will be digested by our industry, I'd like to hear your comments.

Las Vegas is less than two months away.  Should be real interesting this year.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ahg6qcgoay4

Again, thank you to my time wasting children who bring me great things to share on this blog.  This is an intersting test that both my wife and I failed.

I think there is a lesson here though I'm not really sure what it is. 

Hurricane Ike sure tore up the Texas Gulf Coast area.  The footage of all those Houston skyscrapers with the windows blown out were remarkable.  Simple me, I kept thinking of all the papers and stuff inside those offices that must be blown all over the place.  That would resemble my office minus the broken glass and rain but that is another story.

A lot of B-7 fasteners come form the Houston area as well as a lot of galvanized products.  I'm just curious if anyone has heard of any fastener facilities being damaged at all.  Hope not.  This kind of destruction probably also leads to an increase in the sale of building materials including fasteners.  Not saying that is a good thing but, I suppose that's the facts.  You've got to rebuild stuff and it takes fasteners so I imagine some company is going to see their sales spike due to this disaster.

I am hearing a lot of people starting to talk about the Las Vegas fastener show already.  Since it is so early in November, we really are only a month and a half away.  Don't forget to get your absentee ballot before the show.  It should be very interesting as there have been several acquisitions in the industry. 

Some other time I'd like to generate some discussion on the Fastenal trade show that takes place each December in Orlando, Florida.  Many people tell me it is the best show they attend each year.  I have never been to it but might be going this year.  Vendors seem to think they get more people stopping by their booths than at other shows.  Are the Fastenal employees required to stop at each booth?  Tell me some more about this show somebody.

http://www.estainlesssteel.com/stainless-steel-news.shtml

I just wanted to post this link that was provided to me by a subscriber to this blog.  It is a site that concentrates on the world stainless steel market and includes pricing information and indicators that should help you to track the cost of stainless steel.

Suggestions like this are valuable to the industry and much appreciated.  I will pass them along whenever they are brought to my attention.

FYI, if you missed the recent comment submitted under the "ThomasNet" post, we have now received a comment from India.  I think that is interesting and I am glad to see that this blog has traveled the world via the world wide web.

Next goal --  I'd like to see someone from China or Taiwan post a comment.  Enough of our fasteners come from there.  I'd like to see them represented.  Then Brazil!!  Then Africa!!!  Russia!!!!!

This site is not a news service.  However, if you did not read an earlier comment by Screwyguy, let it be known that Vertex has been sold to DXP Enterprises.  On American Fastener Journal's site, it is reported that "DXP Enterprises, Inc. is a national distributor of maintenance, repair and operating (MRO) products, equipment and services to industrial customers".  

I am sure anxious to hear if they have plans to change how Vertex goes to market.  That is a very, very interesting acquisition.

It was very interesting to watch the Olympics this year.  Some great battles and some amazing physical accomplishments.  That runner from Jamaica made my jaw drop he was so fast. Wow!  Amazing!  Michael Phelps set a new standard for swimmers.  As always, it was a great event.

I feel a little bit bad for Vancouver and London.  I think they are the next Olympic hosts.  How on earth are either of those places ever going to compete with the total spectacle that was put on by China?  The opening and closing ceremonies were spectacular.  However, I know at least a few fastener companies in the United States that have expressed to me that they felt they were helping to pay for the $40 billion spectacle with all the fastener business and other jobs we have sent to China.  It's a good thing the Chinese have not spent all their money on the Olympics.  It appears there is enough left over to purchase large fastener companies here in the U.S. and, imagine, in other parts of the world.   First Brighton Best, and...what's next?  And, do we really have anyone to blame but ourselves??  Every buyer that got the least bit of pressure to reduce costs or lose a customer just dialed up 1-800-CHINA and sent parts overseas to be manufactured.  We all know this.  I am not some great sage or prophet, but I'm not blind either.

And, trust me, I am not xenophobic (look it up) nor am I naive about the fact that we exist within a world wide market.  I grew up in the rust belt and watched entire industries crumble and come back to life.  But, I know an awful lot of people that just think things seem just a little bit different this time around the business cycle.  There are companies with a lot of cash that have been selling through marketing firms (aka, distributors) that now are in a position to buy those companies and supply our market direct.  And it's happening as far as I can see.   It just seems our fastener industry is going to look a whole lot different in the next five to ten years.

I would certainly be curious to hear from my European readers to get your comments on this subject.  Maybe I am just being a whiner and just complaining because, in general, our economy is temporarily in the doldrums.  But just about every week I hear someone express these same ideas, sometimes with a lot more fear than I am expressing here.  We are watching things happen.  I invite you to discuss.

Spanning the globe to bring you the best in international fastener dialogue.  It's......fastenerblog!!

I want to thank and welcome a new contributer to the Fastener Talk site.  If you have not seen the recent comments, Daniel from France checked in and left some very cool links to other forums.  As he pointed out, one of the sites based in the UK mentions this site (www.fastenerblog.net) as a place to check out fastener discussions in the U.S.  So, to my European friends, welcome aboard.  We are always interested to hear about how the fastener industry operates on your side of the ocean.  And to my friend in New Zealand, check back in with us some time and let us hear how your economy is treating the fastener industry.

Below are links to a few of the sites mentioned by Daniel.  His site looks really interesting and I still need to explore it some more.  I registered on the British forum and plan to check that out some more too.

This is the link to Daniel's page:

http://www.netvibes.com/drivalin#Fastener_&_fixing

This is the link to the British Fasteners site:

http://www.britishfasteners.com/forum/showthread.php?t=46

And this is a link to a site in Chinese (there are a few words in English so I hd some fun scrolling around here too)

http://www.luosi.com/blog/

Thanks again Daniel for this contribution.  I think you understand the need for greater inter-industry communications or you would not have discovered this site in the first place.

On another subject, I have been hearing some crazy rumors about potential acquisitions in our industry.  As an industry veteran wrote to me privately, rumors are rumors and not worth discussing until they actually turn in to something.  Good advice.  I still have to shake my head a little at some of the names that are being mentioned and it makes me wonder about the industry in general.  Either some companies are doing really well or some are doing poorly and are ripe for the picking.  In either case, our industry landscape looks like it is changing and I suppose that could mean even more interesting things will be popping up at the Las Vegas Fastener Show.

I'd better go check out some other online sites to see if any of these rumors have turned in to news yet!

OK, it is Sunday.  I'm not writing about fasteners today. 

I just spent a few hours sorting through my old vinyl LP's this weekend.  I own some cool stuff that is just not available in CD format.  I cannot even find some of this stuff on iTunes.  So, I keep the turntable (no, not for scratching) and every now and then I pull out some old vinyl and listen to old albums.  First, I have to ask you this...does anyone remember when you'd go out, buy a new album and just sit in your room and listen to both sides, reading through the lyrics while you were listening?  Man, that was the greatest.  It was like an event and not just something going on in the background while you were doing 13 other things.  Listening to that new album was, in itsef, an event.  Eventually, you'd listen to the good ones enough that they's scratch and pop but you keep them and listen to them and know when they were going to skip over certain words in the song.  I guess without computers back then this was a perfectly suitable way for teens and twenty somethings to kill time.

Now I read that there are is a follwoing of people that are buying vinyl again and they prefer the analog sound of vinyl to the digital because the digital sound is just a reproduced sound.  They claim that, on a good vinyl system, it sounds like the the band is right there in the room for you.

So, I pulled out my old LP of Neil Young's "Live Rust" and my CD version and I got them to play almost simultaneously and I went back and forth between "CD" and "Phono" on my stereo.  My kids all left the room.  "I hate Neil Young" came from a teenager.  Needless to say, I grounded his punk ass.  But, that being said, I tried to do my own test and I think that maybe I did hear the vinyl come through just a little clearer.  Until it hit the spots where it started to crackle.  Up till then, it had the CD beat.

If there are any aficionados out there on the subject of vinyl, please do share.  The one thing I did realize is that, sitting in my basement, I have hours and hours of entertainment that is just waiting for me.  And, more than a few walks down memory lane.

My appologies to 99% of Fastenal employees.  I'm thinking the majority of you have never owned a vinyl disk and most likely cannot relate to this post.  No harm.  Go talk to you folks and just ask them, "hey, back in the old days...".  It will give you a reason to talk to them.

Now that I think about it, the fact that I am writing about this on an internet blog and not in a magazine or a newspaper may mean that anyone I am writing to might not read it anyways.  Oh well, like I said, it's my day off.

I got my recent edition of LINK and see Brighton Best advertising stainless steel products in this big old flyer stuck in the middle of my magazine.  I have been hearing other rumblings on the street about another large stainless steel fastener supplier.  I really cannot have this site being a rumor mill but I have heard these rumblings from more than a few sources now so I am wondering if there is news on the street I am not aware of.  If anyone can shed a little light on things I would like to hear.

First, let me give credit to my source for the following information.  American Fastener Journal online has got to be my favorite source for keeping up on daily news in the industry.  It is updated almost everyday and the information is the most current available.  Check it at www.fastenerjournal.com
 
All that being said, the AFJ online reports that Anixter has purchased QSN and Quality Screw de Mexico.  QSN operates 13 facilities in Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, south Carolina and Texas.  Quality Screw de Mexico has five facilities.

And, didn't I just hear that Anixter picked up the Navistar fastener contract??  Look out Wurth and Supply Technolgies and anybody else that was expected to be the great consolidators of the fastener industry.  Anixter is on a roll.  And, I have heard that they have deep pockets.

While I give all the credit in the world to American Fastener Journal for reporting, I really believe that a site like this serves the purpose of letting people comment on news events that take place.  I cannot think of another forum where industry people can comment on news such as this acquisition.

Please feel free to leave comments if you:  a.  work for Anixter, or b.  know more about the situation than I do (which could include about 90% of the industry).

Just got back from vacation.  Hilton Head has a Grainger on the island (or maybe it was just off the island) but I did not see a Fastenal.  Somebody has got to be servicing that area and I'm sure there's a lot of stainless being used.  Visited Fripp Island too.  No stores there.  Not much of anything commercial.  Maybe everybody just buys from McMaster and has them ship it.  Who knows.

Speaking of traveling, I made my flight arrangements for the Vegas Fastener Show.  You better do it soon so you don't get a middle seat on the plane.  I wonder how the changed hours and two day approach is going to go. 

Last year I printed out tear off advertisements for this site and maybe that's how some of you came to log on here.  I'm sure I'll do the same this year and stick them on the messege board.  My dilemna is that I want to get more industry people on this site and I'm still trying to figure out how to do it.  The more comments that get posted, the better and more interactive this forum can become.  I've looked all over the internet and I have not found anyplace where there is online dialogue.  ThomasNet has some places you can post notes but there's not a lot going on there really.   I'm trying to attract the people from the industry and not the person looking for a stainless screw for their model car they are building at home.  The more that people post, the better this site can become.

So, how can I get more people on here?  Any suggestions?  How about each of you that read this send it out to ten people in the industry.  Kind of like a fastener chain letter.  You know, and if you don't pass it on you'll get two mishipped orders or your bolts will rust or your most reliable supplier will do a computer change during your busiest season.  We'll threaten something really drastic like that.

Well, it is August.  So many people take off Fridays during the summer it's hard to get hold of anybody.  Throw in vacations and the summer can be quite sleepy at times.  Hope all your business picks up, our fuel prices go down and we see the industry pick up for a strong final push through the upcoming months of 2008!

Just today I had a customer stop by my office to drop off some samples.  We were discussing some people on his staff and he lamented how some of his inside sales people do not recognize the value of some of their customers.  Especialy the difficult ones.  He relayed a story of how his company had lost a customer and then got a call from that same customer a couple years later looking for one small, inexpensive item.  He told them he would be glad to get the $4.00 part and ship it and the new buyer was very pleased.  Then, he mentioned that his company used to to a lot of business with this end user and he said he would appreciate another opportunity to earn some of their business.  Based on his response on the $4.00 item the buyer said "absolutely" she would give him another shot at her $200,000 plus fastener purchases.

My visiter called his office and explained that an order from this company would be faxed in and he wanted his inside salesperson to quickly process the order.  When the $4.00 order came to the office his inside sales contact called him and said "You've got to be kidding me.  We are shipping a $4.00 part next day for this inactive customer?"  Only after he explained that his customer used to spend $200,000+ per year did his inside contact process the order.   Not that you can really blame the inside contact for asking about such a small order, but my visitor friend explained that, more often than not, his insiders seem to give him the vibe that many of their customers are headache producers.

At that point I told him to wait a minute and I walked into my office and dragged out my copy of "Customer Satisfaction Is Worthless, Customer Loyalty is Priceless" by Jeffrey Gitomer.  As I handed it to him I asked him if he ever read the book and he started laughing and explained, "One of my salesman just showed me that book last week".  Needless to say, he plans to pick up this book and check it out.

This book is one of the very best sales books you will find and I have written about it before.  I find it interesting that another salesman came to my friend with the same book in response to the above mentioned approach to customers.  If you are a salesman, sales manager or president/owner of a company and you have not read this book...I cannot impress upon you enough that you need to pick it up and read it.  It should be on your shelves along with your IFI manuals.

While I'm doing my book reviews, if you have never read "The Fountainhead " or "Atlas Shrugged" by Ayn Rand, I'd recommend those highly as well.  For you other traveling salesmen, both titles are available on CD so you can listen to them while you travel.

I have already mentioned ThomasNet as a good search engine.  I have done a lot of additional searching and I come back to ThomasNet as being one of the most useful and user friendly.  Rather than have you scroll all over to find the fastener section I have included a direct link to it below.  Happy hunting!

http://www.thomasnet.com/products/fasteners-27541200-1.html

Check out this link.  Again, not fasteners but really interesting.  My wife checked the story out on www.snopes.com which is a site you can go to in order to see if a story is legit or a fabrication.  Apparantly, this is a real film and a real story.  Pretty cool.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adYbFQFXG0U

Enjoy!

I was searching google under the words "fastener industry"  and came across the organization called the Fastener Industry Coalition.  I really only saw one article written about the organization and was wondering if it still exists.  And if it does, what does it do?

Can anyone shed a little light on this?

OK, it's back to work.  Enough of this Matt fella galavanting all over the globe doing his little Irish jig type of dance.  This ain't no party.  This is serious stuff, this fastener industry, so....it's back to work.

Still, maybe this Matt guy did inspire some international curiosity in me.  This is a web based forum and I got to thinking....what resources are there are the web for someone who wants to do some international prospecting?  Are there sites one can explore to try to market their products overseas?  Well, just follow along with the Traveling Salesman and let's see what sites there are to see!!


To explore Canada's online industrial directory, just click below.

http://www.frasers.com/directory/companies.cfm?OfficeID=0&UserSearch=B&SearchBy=A&Keyword=Fasteners&ProductID=9936&WFrom=B


If marketing in New Zealand sounds good (and I expect it would to at least one of my fastener blog visitors), just click below.

http://www.nzs.com/business/trade/building-and-construction/supplies/nails--screws-and-fasteners/


Trying to break into the market in Ireland??  This one ought to help.

http://www.browseireland.com/Business/Building_and_Construction/Fixings___Fasteners/index.shtml

Breaking into the fastener market in the UK has never been easier.  The site below shows loads of UK companies and a boat load of other countires too.

http://www.kompass.com/fasteners-fixing-devices-metal-industrial/fasteners-spring-steel-industrial/clist/CH_GS_L_3_I_en_Z_WW_F_53020906_PgP_1_PgB_1_C_3570001_Rep_2460_PgT_

And for good meaure, here a couple other UK companies from another online directory.

http://www.uksmallbusinessdirectory.co.uk/cat_count.asp?strBusinessCatergory=fasteners


So, you see.  It's easy.  Just point and click and you too can be doing business internationaly.  And just think of all the great trips you'll be able to write off with just a few business connections.  No, the write-offs aren't as good as if you were a member of the NFDA, but you don't have to be a member to be invited to explore on Fastenr Talk!

If you have not seen this already, you might find it interesting.

I know, I know.  This has nothing to do with fasteners.  However, I always enjoy sharing something that I find amusing.   A little light hearted entertainment for you...

Please click on the following:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlfKdbWwruY

As I have always said on this site, I make no money promoting companies.  At this point there is no advertising on this site and I frankly do not know if I could even have ads on here.  Recently I made reference to a search I did on the internet through  www.ThomasNet.com.    One of the readers commented that I shoul use a better seach engine and I enthusiastically welcomed any suggestions.  None have come.

All that being said, I will pass along that I have had great luck tracking down fastener companies through ThomasNet.  It has been a useful tool for me and I would recommend checking it out.

Just out of curiosity I did a search on Thomasnet.com to see what fastener distributors were located in North Dakota.  The only ones I found that were actually LOCATED in North Dakota were Fastenal branches.  Sure, a few places say the "SERVE" North Dakota but only Fastenal actually had locations there.  So what did all the good folks out there do before Fastenal?  I know, I know.  A couple of you are out there saying "Stupid Traveling Salesman, we know the accounts out there but we're sure not telling you who our customers are".  I understand.  Trade secrets.  We all got 'em.  But honestly, how can I do that search on a reputable search engine line Thomasnet.com and only get those results.  Again, I just find this interesting.  Good thing where I live there are distributors on every other street block.

I spent some time in the Pittsburgh, PA area this week.  It is really surprising to see how upbeat people are in that area.  Just a few years ago it was almost depressing to make calls in the area.  Nothing was going on, business was slow.  On this trip I had several distributos tell me they were very busy and mentioned that there was a tremedous amount of money being spent to update steel mills throughout the state.  A lot is being spent on plants that produce specialty metals including stainless.  There are cranes working in the area.  There is supposed to be a brand new steel plant being built in southern Ohio along the Ohio river by a Russian company.  I have heard that a new $3 billion steel facilty is being built in the Mobile, Alabama area.  In Cleveland, the area known as the "Flats" now has chain link fence around certain parts where renovation will be taking place.  They are strarting to clear land to build new offices and condos.  I must tell you, these areas have been some of the most downtrodden areas in the recent past.  I sure hope this is a sign of hope for the near future.  The Detroit area is still quite beaten down but it is still good to see some activity in these other areas.

I do not travel the entire country so it would be appreciated if anyone else reading this could post any information about other parts of the country (or the world).  The stock market is tanking, housing is in the dumps, the domestic auto industry is in sad shape, the truck market is not showing any great signs of life and they are planning to pour more steel in Pittsburgh.  Go figure.  I think agriculture is booming though I do not know that firsthand.  I hear there is not enough food, there is not enough biofuel and heaven forbid there not be enough grain for beer manufacturing somewhere down the road.  People will go without food but don't touch their beer.

OK, last post I spent talking about the internet.  Today I have another thought...or maybe a question about a supplier that is land based.  All over this land.  What is going on at Brighton Best?  It seems they are expanding their warehouses and their product offerings and I have heard from a lot of distributors recently that they have been offering very aggressive pricing.  I know they were bought out last year from what I thought was a Chinese company.  It seems there is some strong financial backing in place for them to be undertaking so many projects at the same time.  It has always been a strong company and I am curious to see what they turn into over the next couple years.  Who do they plan to compete with that they are not today?  The importers?  The stainless suppliers??  Should be interesting.

This blog was created to be an online communication vehicle for the fastener industry.  It was also created this way because my total investment to create this was about $10 versus thousands and thousands for other media vehicles.  On my last post I mentioned how the Ifastgroupe has an online feature that allows customers to leave messeges for the management of the company.  I know a few companies have online ordering capabilities including Kainbridge, Porteous, Metric & Multistandard and I'm sure many others.  I'd like to ask any distributors out there that use these online ordering sites to fill us in as to which companies have the best sites out there.  I'd like to check some other ones out without stumbling through the countless industry sites.

I realize that most of those sites would require a user to have a password to actually get pricing.  With some, you can get product info without a password but nothing more.  So, which are the best ones?  I think American Fastener Journal, LINK, FIN and Fastener Technology should do some research on that subject.  But, thankfully, I am only responsible for the content of this site.  And, with my limited time and resources, I have done a little field research because..well, these things intrigue me.  What happens when you type certain industry relate words into a google search?  I have already reported that if you type "fastener blog" you end up here.  But, what about some other terms?  So, here is some of what I found.

Type in "Fastener Companies" and the first listing is Smith Fastener in Los Angeles, CA.  Accidently type in "Fasteners Company"  (which I did because I'm not such a great typist) and the first listing is Mudge Fasteners out of Corona, CA.

Type "Fastener Supplier" and you get directed to FastenerIndustry.com which is more of a link to several other fastener companies.  Type in "Bolt" and the first listing is Wholesale Fasteners which I followed along a few clicks until I ended up at Lightning Bolt out of Colorodo Springs, CO.  Type "Bolt Supplier" and your first listing is Pointe Products out of Cherterfield, MI.  If you type in "Bolts and Nuts" your first listing is "NutsandBolts.com" -- kind of like it flip flops the words.  This site seems to be sposored by Northeast Fastener out of Granby, Mass.

"Rivets" will get you to Hanson Rivet & Supply.  "Locknuts"??  First listing is Long Lok.

I do not know how much it costs these companies to be so high up when you do a google search but I give credit to these companies for getting themselves up at the top of the heap.

Just got back from the Midwest Fastener Assocation Table Top Show.  I thought it was a pretty good show.  As I understand, this is their "table top" show and next year they will hold their larger, convention style show with full booths.  The tables were pretty packed into a ballroom but there was space to move around.  One good thing was you could look across the ballroom and basically see everyone else that was attending.  So, if you wanted to track someone down there were no partitions or sight barriers.  Sure, it was not a huge show but it was good.  The Chicago folks have a unique fastener community.  They all seem to know each other.  Heck, most of them probably worked with one another at some point so it's kind of cool to see how everybody interacts.  Vegas and Columbus have a lot of interaction between suppliers and distributors but Chicago seems to have more supplier interaction.  Just kind of interesting.

I must also report that (despite what people wish or think) the Columbus Show and Midwest Show seem mutually exclusive.  I did not see a single distributor from Ohio, PA or Michigan at the Chicago Show.  I saw more Illinois and Wisconsin distributors and suspect those people might not have attended the Columbus Show.  I did not see any Indiana name tags in Chicago either though they might have attended.  So, what's a vendor to do?  Do you go to both, do you choose one and skip the other?  I did hear several suppliers discussing that issue but I did not really hear what they concluded.  Chicago puts together a few additional events around the show like a golf outing and some plant tours.  They certainly have access to more plants and factories in the surrounding area.  And I have always thought the multiple hour "Bash" was a good idea as it keeps more people around networking.  In the old days, Columbus had all the sponsored hospitality suites and those were good for continuing discussions that began at the show.  As great as Vegas is, it still needs a central, social location for people to hang out when they're not at the show and they're not out losing money.  People like to go out for dinner in Vegas but even after that they like to have a place to return where they will run into fastener people.

One thing I heard about in Chicago I thought was very progressive and worth mentioning.  I was speaking to someone from the Ifastgroupe who told me they have an online program where their customers can anonymously leave comments, positive or negative, and these are reviewed by Ifastgroupe management.   Their customers must register to use this but the comments that are left are not traceable back to the person who leaves the comment.  They call it "Voice of the Customer" and you can get to it through their web site at www.ifastgroupe.com.  If I left out any details or put inaccurate information on this site, please someone from Ifastgroupe correct me and I will correct it.  It sure seems like a lot of companies say they want to hear what the customer has to say but I credit it them with providing a vehicle for it to happen.  And, for the record, I do not represent, work for or benefit in any way by passing along that information.  Truth is, I more compete with them than anything but a good idea is still a good idea.

I am looking forward to attending the Midwest Fastener Show next week.  I have not been to this event in a few years.  I recall the last time I went that the "Fastener Bash" was pretty good and that a lot of people showed up after the show to have a drink and socialize.  Networking is always an important part of any trade show and I like the idea of having a specific place to meet for three hours after the table top part is over.

Like I said, last time I went the bash was well attended.  I hope it will be again this time.  I also look forward to seeing some of the exhibitors that did not attend the Columbus Fastener Show.  My gut feeling is that there are several people that refuse to support the Fastener Show East so that the Midwest Fastener Show becomes the spring/East Coast show by default.  Just a hunch.  It is an ongoing dilemna for some companies deciding which one to attend.  I'll let you know how I think this one goes.

This is not fastener related but I thought this was a staggering atticle.

http://www.mindfully.org/Plastic/Ocean/Ocean-Plastic-Landfill-Algalita1nov02.htm

Made it into the Link Magazine industry sites.  That site is pretty cool.   If you click on any of those busienss card sized ads you will directly link up to the company website.  In this case, you get directly connected to this blog.


http://www.linkmagazine.com/industry_sites.html

I had a distributor purchasing manager tell me recently that he had moved four screws he was buying offshore back to a domestic manufacturer.  He said once his domestic cost was within 8% of his offshore parts it just was not worth it to commit to going overseas.  He had to buy more, wait longer and he just did not feel like he had the control he had with a domestic manufacturer. 

So, what does anyone feel about this?  Any manufacturers seeing parts come back?

I will be curious to hear the comments on whether or not the Columbus Show was a success.  I have spoken to several people already.  I think if people can just get over the fact that it is NOT Las Vegas, they can certainly get their money out of the show.  Columbus is, essentially, a regional show - and it takes place in a heavily industrial region, not a tourist area.  There are a few great things about Columbus.  First, you actually have time to talk to the attendees.  In Vegas, it is so busy, that the people you want to talk to are often busy talking with other people and you miss the opportunity.  I hear suppliers say that they were talking with one customer when antother big customer walked by.  I hear distributors say they tried to stop by a booth to meet "so-and-so" but he was busy talking to someone else so they never met them.  That does not happen in Columbus.

Secondly, there is nothing to do in Columbus but hang around the show environment.  The 2nd floor of the Hyatt was not nearly as busy as it used to be but there were still a lot of people hanging around the night before the show.  I am a fan of going to Las Vegas once a year and the show out there is huge and awesome, but there really needs to be a central meeting point for people to mingle/network/drink beer when they are not in meetings or out to dinner.  If you just feel like having a drink at the end of the night it is great to have a meeting point where you know you will run into some other fastener people.  The 2nd floor of the Hyatt used to be that for Columbus.  The round bar at the Paris filled that void when the Vegas show was at the Paris.  I did not see that a "meeting place" existed last year at Mandalay Bay and that is a huge void. 

The Columbus show was heavily attended by distributors from Ohio, Western PA, Michigan, some Indiana and a cross section from other areas.  Some very, very large distributors attended the show.  I personally do not call on McMaster Carr but their people were there.  I will not list the companies here but - TRUST ME - if you do any business in Ohio, Michigan or Western PA - many of your biggest customers were there talking to the suppliers that exhibited. 

It is not necessarily about the cost of the show.  It is about how much value you can get out of the booth fee you are asked to pay.

I am looking forward to the Columbus Fastener Show.  I have heard all the negative comments about how it is not Las Vegas, and it certainly isn't.  But, as much as I like the Vegas show I simply do not get an opportunity to visit people at the booths when I am there.  It is almost too hectic.  And I want to ask you this - do you have any customers from Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Indiana or Kentucky??  Yes???  Then friends, let me tell you, several of your customers are attending the show.  Eight people from one company in Cleveland.  Four from antoher.  And folks, these are not just the owners and their families.  These are the worker bees.  The buyers, the inside sales people...the folks who call your company.  I know it will not be a huge show but it could be a very good show.  I am looking forward to it.

FYI, I got a nice little ad for fastenerblog.net site on page 222 of LINK this issue.  I hope a couple more people see it and check out the site.  If you are here because you saw the ad --- welcome!

I continue to hear that import fastener costs are continuing to go up and will continue to do so.  The earthquake in China did not help as many resources were sent to the earthquake area utilizing valuable resources that might otherwise been used for fastener production or transporation.  I am not the best person to predict things but I think that distributors will be shocked as costs keep rising much like we are all shocked to see gasoline rising to the $4.00 mark.  I have been told by one purchasing manager that he has moved several parts back to the states that he had been importing as the cost difference is now very small.

I like to check out other fastener related sites and on Mike McGuire's AFJ online site I saw where he recommended a book that he thought would be useful to fastener distributors.  Stealing his idea (the highest form of flattery), I would like to also recommend a book that I think is terrific for anyone in sales or any sales organization (which, if you do not yet realize it, is EVERY company - because without sales you got nuthin').

The book is "Customer Satisfaction is Worthless - Customer Loyalty is Priceless" by Jeffrey Gitomer.  As the title suggests, when you buy a product or service, certainly you expect to be satisfied.  You give someone some money and, in turn,  they give you a product and, provided the product works as you expect it to, you are even.  You are satisfied.  You are neither high or low on the whole experience.  You got what you expected -- you are satisified.  But, to have customers come back you need them to be more than satified.

I do not need to read the book to you here.  You should go get it and read it yourself.  I did buy a copy for the sales manager of a company I represent and, after reading it, he bought copies of it for the managers of every department in the company.  Now I see where his company has posted signs around the building based on comments from the book.

One of my favorite parts of the book is when Gitomer compares the statement "It is our policy.." to basically telling the customer "Up Yours".  "Sorry, but it is our policy...to piss off everyone."   Another favorite is when he tells you to put "Grandma" at the end of each statement you are willing to tell your customers.

"Sorry, we cannot get out that shipment today, Grandma"
"Your order is for $97 and our minimum order is $100, Grandma".
"Can I tell him what this is in reference to...Grandma".
"It is our policy, Grandma".

You get the picture.  It really is a good book and even better if you are self examining your company's customer service.  Because, just in case you didn't know.........there is an awful lot of bad customer service in our industry.

The Fastener Show East is about a month or so away.  So, I made my hotel reservations for Vegas.  Don't want to have to commute too far for that show and it gets busier each year.  But, what about Columbus?  I know, I know.  "It's not what it used to be" I hear each year.  For me, I have found Columbus to still be a very good regional show.  In Vegas, I did not even get to all the booths.  There were so many people and so many vendors.  I know I did accomplish some good things but it was overwhelming.  At the show in Columbus I feel like I actually have time to stop and visit with customers and suppliers.  I also find that I have more time to take customers over to meet or visit with vendors.  You know, the old.."Come here, I want to introduce you to the branch manager.."  kind of visit.  That is really tough to do in Vegas.  So, I am still one of the fans of the Columbus show.

I saw where Barry Porteous sent out a note to the industry explaining how import prices are going up and he provided some specific information to support his letter.  It is interesting to me how he has become an industry messenger regarding what the industry can expect in the upcoming months.  I cannot tell you how many people rely on his information to go to their customers to explain price increases.  I know other suppliers (and not just other importers) that read his letters to their staff as though he is an industry prophet.  And he is!!  Please, please understand that I write this with respect and I am glad he does send these.  I just thought it was funny to see other vendors using his letter as a justification to consider raising their own prices.  In some instances I think they should send Mr. Porteous a fee for providing the industry this information and for acting as an industry spokesperson.  It is as though if Barry Porteous says so, it must be true and that is a powerful position to be in.  But again, I think it is great that he sends those letters and I wish some other industry leaders would step up and do similarly.   Certain individuals in our industry do have unique insights and it is good when those are shared.  I saw the gentleman from Nucor recently interviewed in FIN and thought that was inciteful also.

Last, but not least, is anyone else starting to see distributor business starting to pick up?  I think I see things getting a little busier and I hope it is not just my imagination.  Sure, some folks are still down in the dumps but I have called on a lot of companies that are doing pretty well or are at least seeing increased activity.  As I wrote in a previous note, has the recession already come and gone??  We'll see.  Maybe I'll hear more rumblings about this in Columbus.

And, really last.......can't we all gather at the second floor of the Hyatt for a beer the night before the Columbus show for old times sake?  Man, that was the best place to run into people and make contacts.  I found that bar area almost as good as I found the show.  The industry really still needs a good place to gather and share a beer.

I have a friend in Chicago with some very intersting thoughts about what is happening in our economy and specifically in our industry.  We are all reading about the cost of steel and the increase in the world's consumption of steel and fasteners.   Scrap prices are also going through the roof.  My friend says that as our economy slumps he could see several cold headers/screw manufacturers go out of business.  And, if they do, there will not not likely to be a lot of companies buying up the machines that would go on sale because domestic business is slow.  He says that it is cheaper for companies overseas to buy the liquidated machines and use them for scrap than to actually go pay for other forms or sources of scrap.  So....if we lose all this cold heading machinery and down the road our economy picks back up, where will we go to get new cold heading machinery??  According to him, the screw manufacturing machinery is mostly manufactured in China now.   So, if the Chinese buy our machines, melt them down, then when we buy new we will be forced to go to them to buy the new machines.

Now let me say that I have no knowledge of this subject and I cannot begin to tell you whether I think his assessment is accurate.  I do know scrap prices are through the roof and I have heard that there are some small screw manufacturers that are hurting.  But the whole theory??  Not sure.  But it's interesting.   Have we sold ourselves out??  I'd be curious to know what you think.

Whether we like to admit it or not, all fastener companies are sales driven.  Some people want to move tons of standard fasteners, others want to tell a 10 lb. box of specialty fasteners for $5,000.  But sales drive a company's growth and feeds the families.  But, how do fastener companies really get sales?

Some companies offer outstanding customer service but have prices much higher than their competitors.  Some companies have loads of inventory but have answering machines when you call them and they take 5 - 10 minutes to get a live person on the line.  Then we all have known companies that are run by accountants who determine they are better off not dealing with companies doing less than a certain dollar volume so they cut them off or send them to a "Master Distributor".  I'm not saying all three models are effective or ineffective.  Sometimes a strategy works and sometimes it doesn't work so well.

But, ideally, what is the best formula for a sale?  I am assuming that the outstanding outside sales force has already caused a willing and able customer to call into a company inquiring about needed products.

All things considered, I would say that people like to talk to another human when they telephone into a company.  I think a lot of people appreciate being able to log on to a computer and order regularly used, repetitive items online.  Buyers like to be able to find technical information on the internet.  I think price is always am important (often the most important) factor but often not the ONLY factor.  Freight is always a factor (or, it should be).  Outstanding inside sales support goes a long way especially if a good, long standing relationship is established.  Great insiders know their customer's needs better than the customer.  I am serious.  I have worked with some oustanding insiders that have managed inventory so well they continuously keep good customers out of trouble.  I am often surprised by companies that continuously turn over their inside sales staff as though anyone can punch part numbers into a computer.  Boggles my mind.  They just don't get it.

I once represented a company where the president continuously went to seminars with the presidents of other companies (though, not fastener companies) and he would come back every six months and totally change internal processes.  One month his best inside sales people would be taking calls from only the top 100 cusotmers and then the next month they would be inaccessible to people calling in.  Instead, they would be calling out to customers all day long asking how the company could do more business with them.  Meanwhile, the people that wanted to do business with this company would get inside sales people with little or no experience and they would often get off the phones frustrated.  As an outside sales rep, I would get the calls asking "Why can't I talk to Joe anymore, the new guy is a moron".    Six months later, they would be concentrating their sales efforts totaly on "lost customers" phoning out and asking why they were no longer seeing their business.  Yo, duh! 

Finally I told the president..."look, it is very simple.  Print a catalog or tell people the items that you want to sell to them.  Tell them how much that product will cost them if they place an order.  Then, once they place an order, ship that product (hopefully from stock) immediately.  Ship it with no errors."  That's it.  You do that over and over and I am pretty sure you will grow your company.

All companies are different but what do you see as the basic things that cause a company to grow their sales?

In the last month I have made a lot of sales calls on customers that have told me they are busy.  Maybe not record setting busy, but busier than a few months ago.  The bigger problem I hear about is the price increases.  Import product is up, domestic steel is up.  But people seem a little bit busier.  Not everyone, but several people I visited seemed a little more upbeat than usual.

At a recent North Coast Fastener Association meeting, I was able to tour Charter Steel with a group of about 50 other people.  This is a state of the art operation.  Great meeting, great speaker from Charter.  It was very interesting how he acknowledged that while our domestic economy is slow, the price of steel is still increasing.  The weak dollar makes our products attractive to other countries and the demand for steel worldwide is still very strong.  He seemed to suggest that until global consumption slows down a bit the demand (and cost) of domestic steel will continue to rise.  Needless to say, if the weak dollar makes domestic steel attractive overseas, our other capital goods should be equally attractive to foreign markets.  Our farm machinery for instance.  So, if you are a fastener supplier to a company with a strong export market, it would make sense that your business could be brisk.

On the other hand, I was talking to a friend last week who manages construction sites for a regional home builder.  Last year at this time, they were building 95 homes at a time.  This year, they are building 17 homes.  He told me he cannot even get the building materials he needs because local lumber yards are not even stocking common products.  He had trouble getting 2x4 lumber!  He was complaining that day because the local yard he has used for years did not have a front door he could get from stock.  He told me several lumber yards have gone out of business in our region and he wondered if our local lumber yard would be able to weather the storm.

So, are we past the recession or has it even begun yet?  Or will it even come at all?  I think the answer is this:  if you are building homes and supplying the home builders you are clearly in a recession.  If you sell to manufacturers of products that are exported, maybe you are in boom times.  We might not be able to say that the bad economy depends on your region of the country so much as what types of business your company supports.

I am not seeing prices rise as quickly as I would suspect.  At least not to the distributor customers.  But I have domestic manufacturers telling me they have seen steel rise 35% since the beginning of the year with more increases coming.  Fuel surcharges are being discussed again.  I have heard that China Steel plans to stop production three months before the Olympics in order to clean up the air.  A couple of the national importers have told their customers that prices are going to be rising soon.  I saw a memo regarding washers that suggested scrap material is way up and prices will be rising.  Ladies and Gentlemen, I think it is time to tell your customers that price increases are on the way.

I am often baffled how the larger VMI suppliers can hold prices during times like this.  I know they travel from China to Vietnam to God knows where to find a cheaper price for a fastener.  But, let me share a couple personal stories with you...unrelated to fastneners but somewhat related.

My son bought a bowling ball recently.  He and his buddies go once a week on a school night just to hang out and forget school.  The ball he bought is only about two months old and it has about three major cracks or chips in it.  I once owned a bowling ball I used for about three years without damaging it.  His ball?  Cheap thing.

Less than six months ago, I had to replace the handle on my microwave.  Last week, I had to replace it again. The stupid think just cracked into pieces under normal wear.  Cheap Thing.

I have been waiting for two week for a part to come in to repair may two year old, very expensive surround sound television.  Paid over $1500 for the stupid thing.  Now, I have old T.V. sets that I have owned for years.  Some will be obsolete next year when the analog systems no longer work.  However, the sets have functioned for almost twenty years and would still have some value if the analog deal didn't change.  But my big, expensive T.V. is down for the count because of some crappy, cheap internal part.  Cheap Thing.

So, so many things that I used to buy and use forever don't work the same anymore.  I used to wear the knees out on my Levi's but now I wear out holes where the pockets are sewn on to the pant.  Check it out.  I see it on a lot of jeans.  You can look at someone's underwear right through the hole on their butt.  And, I am not just talking fat people. They are cheaper than Levi's used to be.

And so, I come back to fasteners.  I think a lot of them are cheaper than they used to be.  Or, at least, the quality is less consistant.  If a couple pieces per box are faulty, just toss 'em.  The box of them is so cheap you can toss a few and still feel like you got a good deal, right??  This is no knock on import product.  I see it in domestic product too.  There is pressure to cut costs everywhere and it seems that quality does get compromised...at least some of the time.

I'd like to hear what others are seeing in the marketplace regarding material and fastener costs.  It might just be a temporary wave but with energy costs staying high I suspect so will our fasteners.

A gentleman from a successful, growing business recently asked me, "I wonder which is harder... to grow a business to $1MM or to grow from $1MM to $3MM or......to go from $3mm to say $10MM?"   His company is fast growing to the $1MM mark (in sales) and there seems to be a momentum that could quickly push them to that level and beyond.

Any growth experiences anyone would like to share?

I have several friends who work for Infasco, or Distributor Sales. or IFC or the Infast Group or whatever they are calling themselves these days.  You know, the Canadians who make really good cap screws and some other stuff.  But, they keep changing their name.  It's kind of crazy.  And I'm really not sure of the purpose.  But, I guess it doesn't matter.  It's not like people who want to buy thier products can't find them.  And this isn't the first time.  This has happened numerous times.  I remember when Rawl became Powers.  But, because the owner of the company was named Powers (I'm pretty certain) it was a little more understandable.  Or if you merge with a company...that could make sense.  It's less understandable to me when you take away brand names to melt products together under one name.  Like Vertex.  To me, it's still Bell and Zelenda.  Alcoa is still Marson and Recoil and Huck.  Some name changes work and some...not so much.   I got to thinking what might be more appropriate names for some of the companies that are in our industry.  I have a few I'll pass aong and maybe you can add yours.

"We're Domestic, Well..North American" ---  who's that??

"We're like the Wal-Mart of Fasteners" --  named after a company recently showcased in a post on this site

"We Used to Be Your Metric Source"

"We Got It, And You'll Pay For It...just don't call us during lunch"

You asked for it.  You did.  You wanted a forum that allowed you to post your own subject material.  You wanted to start conversations and not just comment on the posts that I had published.  Like a good vendor that listens to his customers.....like a supplier that is willing to bend just a bit to help you make freight............like a sales manager that shares credit with one of his hard working associates so that they both make budget..................I am here to bend and sweat for you.  Unless I screwed this up, if you hit on the link below you should be connected to the newest Yahoo Group Forum -- Fastener Talk:Faster Talk.  Faster talk because you can expidite your ideas fastener rather than go through a moderator.  You can post your own thoughts and let others respond to you.

We aim to please on this site.  I will continue to post my personal nonsense regularly, mostly because I kind of have fun doing it but also because I have had a few kind comments from people who actually suggested they liked the site.  And honestly, I'm trying to work this site so Traveling Salesman will be asked to be a guest columnist in one of the legitimate industry publications one of these days.  Until then, I will create my own industry source, my own medium where I can not be edited or censored because I am the editor.  What's more, this is an international site as my friend from New Zealand posted a comment (and has probably regretted doing so ever since) and you must not limit the international juggernaut that this site has become.

Please click below to be connected to another cyber-based fastener experiment.


http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/fastenertalk/


And thank you for your support,

TS

This question was sent to me by Chris and I am posting it for discussion.

I have had a few people ask if the can post their own topic on this blog rather than simply commenting on subjects I have posted.  I have contacted GoDaddy.com twice and both times I have been told "no".  The only way that could happen is if I allow people to gain access to my account and give you my password.  Now, I trust about 99% of you, it's just that 1% of evildoers out there that keeps me from post all that information.

However, if you want to begin a topic, please post a "comment" in response to this subject.  I will cut and paste and mention the name (anonymous) of the author and post it as a new subject.  It appears that is all I can do to allow you to start up new topics.

Sorry folks, I'm trying.

In case you do not read the comments that are added after my posts, I want to point out that I have a new best friend in New Zealand.  My new friend Jason was kind enough to respond and thus Fastenerblog is now an international site!  Yeehaa!!

By chance is there anyone else that has logged on to this site from other countries other that the U.S.?  Let me know.

I know of at least one supplier that had product burried in snow in China when the roof of a workshop collapsed in during the recent snowstorms.  Cargo was to be loaded in the next few days and now it will not be shipped until repairs are made to the facility.  Anyone else have any stories regarding how the Chineese snowstorms are affecting our industry?  Add Chineese New Year into the equation and we could really see some slowdowns in deliveries.

I have children that are growing older every day.  Time flies unbelievably fast and I always tell myself to slow down and enjoy every moment because they come and go so quickly.  Still, I gotta be honest.  I am always happy to see January come and go.  The quicker the better.  I live in the north and the weather is usually cold and snowy.  But that is not the only reason I'm glad to be done with January.  Every year, all salespeople face the same thing in January --- adjustments.  If someone is going to change your territory or adjust your commssion structure or fire you or hit you with an enormous increase in a budget -- more than likely it is going to happen in January.  As we all know, the previous year is history and it comes down to "what are you going to do for me this year".  I just know that every single January, someone will surprise me with an unexpected change.  I guess I'm glad they do not ruin my Christmas by doing this in December.  But it might be good to start planning things in, let's just say, October.  Just once, I'd like to get a memo in October waying "Well T.S. (Traveling Salesman), we have had a good year so far.  Looks like we should finish strong.  Why don't we do some strategic planning now so we'll be ready to relax a bit around the holidays and by the new year we'll already be off and running towards our new goals."  That'd be nice.  Instead it's "We just reviewed our sales figures from last year.  Do you realize that sales in December were down for the thirteenth year in a row and people quit buying towards the end of the year.  I'm buying a bigger whip and you'd better get your ass moving because about one more of those months and the whole bunch of us are going to be looking for work or out selling pencils".  It's not really that bad but January is the month.  It's always the month.   And , YES, I did get stuck in a a hotel room for two days in an ice storm in January this year, thanks for asking (and thank you Grand Rapids).

So, that's my griping.  Sorry to burden you.  But, hello February looking forward to March and spring.  But while I've got you, can I tell you about the new fastener line I just picked up in January...???

So, a whole bunch of folks are going to get $600.  You think any of them are going to spend their $600 on fasteners? 

OK, I'm going to try and tie together a couple different ideas here.  I might be stretching things a bit but...what the heck, let's go.  I recently was reading an investment article that spoke of some of the investment "bubbles" that have been burst in the last decade or so.  Back around 2000, the "tech bubble" kind of burst.  You remember, that time when all our 401-K plans were cut in half because all the dot.com companies went away.  So, where did investor's money go after that???   Yes, a lot of it went into real estate.  Drove the prices of real estate up like crazy to the point where no one ever thought their investment into a home in Florida would ever be a bad thing.  We have all seen the real estate market kind of burst in the last year or so.  When things get over bought, prices rise, but there always comes a time where stupid money gets invested by people who don't really know the market because they want to put their money into a "sure thing".   So, we've seen money drifting out of real estate but it has to be invested somewhere.  Mutual funds and all kinds of investors want to grow their money somehow.  So, where has money been going?  Trust me.  I am no expert, in fact I'm really far from being one.  But I have observed that all the international mutual funds and the Asian market funds have grown terrifically over the last couple years.  I'm ceratin there are very sound reasons why this has happened.  Our industry in particular has seen a lot of manufacturing move to those markets.  But you have to figure that some very uneducated investors are dumping money into the international market without any real knowledge of why these funds are performing so well at this particular time.  When market segments get overbought they eventually burst....eventually.

So, isn't it interesting that two comments written on this site recently mentioned recent price increases from overseas.  And, Fastener Gal wrote, "...it is a great time for us to rethink "Made in America".   Another post read, "I see more and more domestic accounts re-thinking their use of imports and the quality and delivery assoicated with that type of business...Overseas companies are extending lead times and prices of raw materials are ever-increasing." 

If these two comments are indicators of possible sentiments within the fastener industry, then what other industries might be re-thinking their overseas investment strategies?  And, if more and more industries have these types of feelings, then you and I better take a look the international exposure in our portfolios.

Don't forget, Warren Buffet just bought into our industry through his acquisition of 60% of the Marmon Group.  But more interesting is the fact that Marmon's roster of companies include mostly companies that manufacture products in the USA.

See, we fastener people do matter and WE ARE the Window on the World!!

 

 

In case you do not read all the comments posted in response to the postings, there was one particular one I wanted to point out.  Elvis Lugnut commented that the media is full of gloom and doom predictions for the U.S. economy in 2008.  However, he pointed out that in the month of November the U.S. still created over 100,000 new jobs.  Then on January 2 the Dow drops due to manufacturing reports.  It is January 3 and the Dow seems up a bit due to some other report.   Elvis asked, "Are we moving in to a self induced recession"?

I wish this blog had more subscribers in this industry because, like Elvis, I would really like to hear what others in the fastener industry have to say.  I have often been told that the fastener industry is the first to see the economy slow down (you don't order fasteners if you are not going to be producing) and the first to see an upturn in the economy (gotta plan ahead so you buy your fasteners in anticipation of future production ---- although I suspect most distributors would argue this point as ALL their customers seem to NEED EVERYTHING YESTERDAY --- thus the question ---does anyone plan ahead?).

Still, to some degree, we do seem to be the blood and guts of production.  Or some part of the blood and guts anyways.  What we observe DOES MATTER.  And, as far as I can tell, last year was fairly flat.  This year?????

As a salesman, I still adhere to the sales approach offered to me by my father many years ago.  Unless I have 100% of the market, there is still business to go after.  Which means we will all be busy regardless of sales this year.  Buyers buy 100 or 1,000 or 1,000,000  -- but they still buy.

Again, please comment.  And pass along this blog to others if you wish as the comments of someone you contact might be most interesting.

I spoke with a lot of customers over the last few weeks of December and it was oddly busy.  From Detroit to Cincinnati to Pittsburgh to Northern Ohio, my customers were extremely busy as the year was winding down.

Hope it keeps up in the new year.

And good luck to all in 2008!!

I tried asking this question once before but never got much of a response.  I would be interested to hear who you consider to be the top 3 vendors you buy from, compete with, represent, whatever.  Please say why you rate them highly and how they distinguish themselves from other vendors. 

I'll tell you a few that I see in the marketplace that impress me.  And I will qualify that I do not compete with (directly) or sell for either of these.  I think Star Stainless has always had the best stock, excellent pricing and fairly good service consistantly for years. 

Another company that has risen up among its peers is Lindstrom.  Back when Bossard was the cadillac of metric fastener suppliers, Lindstrom fought it out in the trenches and stole a little bit of market share each year.  When they started making money they reinvested in things like Mega Metric and in a line of metric stainless.  The big boys in distribution do business with Lindstrom.  At least, that is my observation.

What's yours?