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/

      

Thank you for this post from Mark Lehnardt.

The important ITC injury vote is Friday at 11am EST. I will post the result at www.importerhelp.com/investigations/fasteners. The ITC may vote affirmative injury with the scope langauge as is, or may split the scope and find injury only on medium- and high-grade fasteners, or vote no injury (in which case the investigation would terminate). The most likely is the first scenario - but everyone can keep their fingers crossed tomorrow morning.

      

...Distributors Under Attack!!""

Yes, that is my best attempt at sensationalism and pretending to be a reporter for the National Enquirer.  But, let's seriously consider what is going on with VMI suppliers.  I could be wrong but the VMI concept seemed to become part of our industry landscape somewhere in the later 1980's or the early 1990's.  End user customers used to have a lot more buyers buying a lot more things from a lot more vendors.  Then, somebody realized they could save a lot of money by getting rid of all the buyers and having a distributor manage their inventory.  And the concept was very successful and some large, strong distributor "chains" grew out of the process.  We all know the names.

Little by little, more and more distributors got into the mix and it became more competitive.  Eventually, end user customers could pit one distributor against another and drive down the margins for all distributors involved in the process.  I do not have direct information but I have always heard and thought that the margins on some of the largest accounts are among the lowest margins out there.  The large distribuors have had to beat each other over the head and promise the world to end users to maintain their business.  "Margin Improvement".  "Vendor Reduction".  "Partnering with Suppliers".  Eventually, the distributors were forced to turn the tables and demand (as best they could) concessions from their suppliers...sort of how there customers were doing to them.  Sometimes it probably worked and sometimes there was no more blood to let.  So they traveled off to China and cut new deals with new suppliers and improved their margins.

But, with the economy so slow, going overseas and loading up on all kinds of cheap goods became a little stressful.  Do you really want to commit to blanket orders when your customer is so far down?  Who's going to pay for the materials if something goes wrong?

Then the big bomb.  The anti-dumping petition.  No one is certain yet what the total affect will be but most people I talk to are very certain that something will happen.  And the distributors that have long term agreements will need to explain to the end user customer all about this situation - the end user who probaly knows very little about Nucor, anti-dumping and the fastener industry in general.  Those will be some tough sales calls to make.

But, tough salespeople make those tough calls and they bring pages and pages of industry publications to prove that they are not making this stuff up just to improve dismal margins.  And the end user looks at it all and ....and...and then what??

Can't go to the competitor.  They will be in the same boat.  Can't absorb that kind of price increase....their boss will kill them.  My guess is they will go out hunting.  And my guess is that the VMI program itself will be scrutininzed more than it already is.  This is just a guess.

Clearly, the VMI distributor brings a lot of value to the customer.  My opinion is that they generally deliver a lot to the end user and I find it unfortunate that they are always being asked to give back and give back and give back.  I do not think they are given credit for what they provide, especailly the risks they take.  However, it would not surprise me to see parts being shopped - at least higher volume parts.

One time I visited a large distribtor who happened to be doing an online bid.  He did not know who he was competing against and he continued to bid lower and lower.  When I asked him who currently had the business he said "I do, and I am watching my margin be reduced with every keystroke I make." Finally, I asked him why he doesn't just stop bidding and tell his customer that from that day forward they will not ship another part to that customer.  Stop it cold.  He laughed, said he wish he could but the management doesn't want to lose the sales dollars and he'd have a lot of inventory that he'd never be able to move.  This took place about 5 to 7 years ago.  He kept the business, made less on that account but lived to see another day.  I wish him well in this next round.

      

At the end of Mark Lehnardt's meeting with the North Coast Fastener Association he invited attendees to e-mail him questions that were not addressed at the meeting.  Consequently, he sent out a copy of some of the questions that were sent and they appear below.  PLEASE understand that this was not given as legal advice and should not be relied upon as a substitute for hiring an attorney to examine individual circumstances.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Question:  When will any type of additional duty begin to be assessed (for both China and Taiwan)?

Answer:  Most likely sometime between mid-December and the end of February.   That is, when the U.S. Department of Commerce publishes its preliminary determinations in the Federal Register, it will send instructions to the US Customs and Border Protection to require bonds or cash deposits in an amount equal to the preliminary dumping and subsidy rates on all merchandise entering  on or after the date of the publication in the Federal Register.  For the China countervailing duty case (subsidies) this will occur as early as mid-December (but, if extended, may not be until the end of February), and for the China and Taiwan antidumping duty cases, this will be at the beginning of March (but, if extended, mid-May).   Final collection of antidumping and countervailing duties will not occur until after the first administrative review.   The preliminary determinations will be posted at www.importerhelp.com/investigations/fasteners the day before they are published in the Federal Register, and a fact sheet summarizing the preliminary determinations will be posted a few days earlier.

 Question:  What month should importers target to have as many shipments entered into the US as possible?

 Answer:  The short answer is, the earlier the better, but it is impossible to say at this point.  Unless the Department of Commerce makes a finding of “critical circumstances,” no antidumping or countervailing duty liability will be imposed on entries before the date of the preliminary determination, as discussed above.  If there is a finding of “critical circumstances, the Department of Commerce can retroactively impose antidumping and countervailing duties up to 90 days before the date of publication of the preliminary determinations.   In practice, the Department of Commerce does not regularly find critical circumstances because it is a company-specific analysis (the factors are included in the power point presentation, now posted at www.importerhelp.com/investigations/fasteners.  If critical circumstances are alleged, information about the allegation will be posted to give you all advanced notice of the possibility.

 Question:  Can you send a copy of the October 28, NCFA power point presentation?

 Answer:  It is now posted at www.importerhelp.com/investigations/fasteners.

 Question:  Will parts purchased for automotive and trucking manufacturers or their Tier one suppliers be exempt from these tariffs?

 Answer:  There is a specific exclusion of automobile, work truck, medium-duty passenger vehicle, and aircraft fasteners:

 Excluded from the scope of the investigations are bolts, cap screws, and nuts produced for an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) part number specific to any automobile as defined in 49 U.S.C. Section 32901(a)(3), any work truck as defined in 49 U.S.C. Section 32901(a) (19), or any medium-duty passenger vehicle as defined in 40 C.F.R. Section 86.1803-01 (2009).  

 Also excluded from the scope of the investigations are bolts, cap screws, and nuts produced for an OEM part number specific to any aircraft as defined in 14 C.F.R. Section 1.1 (2009).

 If the fasteners you import or distribute qualify under these paragraphs (and the statutory and regulatory definitions), they are not subject to the investigation and will not be subject to antidumping or countervailing duties imposed as a result of these investigations.  This statement, however, is contingent upon the scope language remaining unchanged.  If you need legal advice about particular products, you may contact me at Mark@Lehnardt.com.

 Question:  If they impose a 51% duty on product at the preliminary determination, what is the trigger date for countervailing duty bonds?

 Answer:  The trigger date is the date the preliminary determination is published in the Federal Register.  After publishing its preliminary determination, the Department of Commerce will send instructions to the US Customs and Border Protection to require bonds or cash deposits equal to the entered value times the preliminary rates, for all covered merchandise entering on or after the date of publication of the preliminary determination in the Federal Register.  The preliminary determination will be posted at www.importerhelp.com/investigations/fasteners one day before it is published in the Federal Register.  A summary of the preliminary determination will be available a few days earlier.

 New Information:  The Department of Commerce will announce that it has extended the time for Chinese exporters to file their Quantity and Value Questionnaire responses to November 19.  If Chinese exporters do not file these responses, they likely will be assigned a 205.97% antidumping duty rate.  The date upon which Separate Rates Applications are due – currently December 21 – is not likely to be extended.  If Chinese exporters do not file a Separate Rates Application, they likely will be assigned the 205.97% rate.  If your Chinese suppliers have not yet hired U.S. legal counsel to assist them with their Q&V response or their SRA, they may contact me at Mark@Lehnardt.com, or any other competent U.S. international trade attorney.  A partial listing of such attorneys can be found at www.importerhelp.com/firms.html.

 

      

I am sort of a Weather Channel junkie.  I find myself watching an oncoming storm whether it is a midwest snowstorm or a hurricane about to hit the Florida coast.  Last evening, the North coast Fastener Association hosted an Anti-Dumping meeting and guest speaker, Mark Lehnardt, got to play the role of Jim Cantore.  There is a storm brewing and Mark gave an excellent forecast of what lies ahead, at least regarding the process that is underway.

There is really no way yet to predict what the end result will be from the anti-dumping proceedings.  Mark Lehnardt gave an extremely detailed account of each step that will be followed in these proceedings and then gave several examples of other anti-dumping cases and how they proceeded...step by step.  I entered the meeting thinking I would take notes and post them on this site but very quickly realized the depth of Mark's presentation would make it difficult.  He provided SO much detailed information that the task seemed impossible.  However, after the presentation, I asked Mark if he had a transcript and he said he would try to post the outline on his site which is www.importerhelp.com.   I strongly encourage everyone to check it out as soon as it is posted.

So, let me just post some of the thoughts I had after the presentation.  This is not legal advice and it is only the meager thoughts of a traveling salesman.  Please readers,,,,any of you that were at the meeting...add your own thoughts here too.  Here goes:

My conclusion is that there WILL be tariffs and duties and this is not going away.  As early as December, importers could possibly have to put up bond money or cash to in order to bring in fasteners from overseas.  Prices will go up.  How much??  Depends upon a lot of factors.  Mark pointed out that in past cases the amount of the duties have been highly dependent on things such as which Office ot the Government Trade organizations are hearing the case( just like some judges are tougher than others, he suggested each of the offices hearing these cases have their own personality).   Mark, correct me if I am wrong but I think he said that this case is in the same office that heard the threaded rod case.  Additionally, the amount of the duties or tariffs can depend heavily on the cooperation of the companies that are investigated and even on the cooperation of the Chinese government.  It is likely that only a few Chinese manufacturers will actually be investigated and the findings at those companies will affect...well, pretty much it will affect our entire industry.  They become the representative sample.  But, I am getting bogged down in detail so let me just hit the highlights.

Prices will go up.  Chances are, Chinese imports will go up more than Taiwanese imports.  The amount of the duties could change several times throughout the proceedings so putting an exact price tag on this will be virtually impossible for quite a while.  I think distributors are in the worst position of all.  If the importers are forced to increase prices they will just quote higher prices to fastener distributors.  The fastener distributor will have the task of approaching their end user customers and trying to explain why many of their fasteners will cost them 50% to 200% more next time they buy.  We fastener warriors of the industry at least know that this case is going on even if we do not know what to expect.  My guess is that most end users are not even aware this is going on.  Boy, are they in for a shock.

And, I think the mood after the NCFA meeting could best be described by that word.  SHOCK.  Mark Lehnardt presented his information is a concise, orderly fashion that did not leave a lot of doubt that something ground shaking is about to happen.  Though he wisely did not predict specifics, his presentation was so deliberate and detailed that at the end of the meeting there was mostly just silence as the audience absorbed the impact.

Final note for now -- importers, if you are hiring legal council, I hope like heck you are not skimping and you are getting the best available attornies you can afford.  The impact on our whole industry depends on how this case is handled and there are a precious few of you that will ultimately be involved in the investigation process.  The little guys will not have a voice.  But, how the investigation is handled will affect all of us.

      

Got STAFDA coming up in just a few weeks now.  Then, the Vegas fastener show.  For many, the Fastenal show in Florida follows up soon after that.  I am also going to be attending the North Coast Fastener Association anti-dumping meeting tomorrow night.  I will try to take notes and post afterwords.

I do not usually attend STAFDA but am looking forward to it.  Anybody want to give me an insight as to what I should expect?  I do see a few speakers that look interesting and I will probably try to catch them.  And then, of course, the trade show.  What can I expect?

Vegas looks to be full too.  Signed up to tour Vegas Fastener.  I am looking forward to that.  There is a little bit of "rocket science" that I believe goes on at that place.   I am always hearing good things about that operation.  Then the anti-dumping meeting there and the fastener bash and the show and just being in Vegas and cheap hotels.  It is all good.

But, first things first.  C'mon NCFA.  I'm rooting for this anti-dumping meeting to be very informative and I am also looking forward to having a large crowd of significant fastener companies in attendance.

      

In between discussions of the anti-dumping petition, once in a while I actually seem to talk to customers about the sale of fasteners.  Recently, while visiting a customer, one of the meeting participants asked, "When do you think we are going to see an upturn?  When are we going to start seeing growth again?"

In late August and September, there definitely seemed to be an increase in activity.  While activity has not screeched to a halt, it does seem to have fallen back into the mixed bag category.  Good sales a couple days, then a slow day.  Off and on.  Unpredictable.

My answer to my customer was this:  90% or so of people are still employed.  Most of that 90% are not spending their money like they were a year ago.  They are holding on to it because they are unsure of what is ahead.  They are not sure if they will lose their job or be asked to take a pay cut.  Once business improves and people see that jobs are no longer being eliminated then they might loosen up their grasp on their money and go buy things they have done without for the past months or years.  They will replace stuff that needs replacing and even do a little splurging.  Business needs to just get steadier and then maybe people will feel a bit more secure.  Eventually, pent up demand will lead to a spending frenzy never before seen in our nation.  Ok, maybe not.  But, I do think we will then see the next phase of growth we have been waiting and hoping for.

When will that happen??  Probably in 2011.  But, what do I know?  I took, like Econ 101.  Nah, I actually took a bunch of higher level Econ classes but I did not know I needed glasses then and I missed a heck of a lot of what was written on the board.  And just like this discussion has transported me back in time, I want to travel back to the beginning of this post where I referenced the anti-dumping petition.  It is an important subject that will affect many of us but it is also kind of a shame that we are having to spend so much time talking about it.  Especially at a time when we probably would be talking about the economy, the recovery and how our industry will handle itself through the next year or so.

And, that brings me to the Vegas show.  Are we going to be talking about anything other than this anti-dumping petition?  I sure hope so.  I've got products I need to sell and business networking I need to do and friends I need to link up with.  I hope the fastener show attendees can address the anti-dumping situation but not dwell on it.

      

North Coast Fastener Antidumping Meeting October 28, 2009

A wonderful way to extract some much needed information.  Come join us Wednesday, October 28, 2009.  Our guest speaker for the night will be Mark Lehnardt of Lehnardt and Lehnardt, LLC.  Mark is an International Trade Attorney who’s worked for both the US Department of Commerce and the US Court of International Trade.

Marks primary focus is Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Law.  International Trade Litigation at the U.S. Court of International Trade and the WTO are other specialties that Mr. Lehnardt possesses.

This event is important to all companies within the fastener industry.  Please join us next week for an open discussion pertaining to this hot button topic.  If you have questions or would like to register for this event please contact Lisa Graham in our home office (440.975.9503).

 

We thank you for your support!

 

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"We don't have to worry about it"

"If we all have to go up the same then I guess we'll all be in about the same boat"

"All that inventory that the importers are sitting on will go up in value instantly by whatever percentage the tariff"

"How can Nucor petition for nuts?  They do not even make nuts"

"Apparently, a company just needs to prove that they are avoiding getting into the manufacture of a certain product due to the unfair competition.  It does not even have to be something they currently manufacture but it could be something they MIGHT manufacture if the level of competition was fair"

"The end user is going to be the one that suffers.  And just at a time when we are already losing jobs and U.S. business is suffering"

"I can remember back to the 70's when there were tariffs put on hex head cap screws.  Companies like Bethlehem immediately raised their prices and kept that gap in pricing but just made more money.  If that is what is going to happen then I am against the tariffs.  Listen, I would certainly like there to be more American manufacturing.  But I remember very well what happened last time.  And, it was really strange.  The tariff on hex heads was something like 9-1/2%.  But if they sold them as machine bolts the tariff was something like .004%"

"The companies that to VMI programs are going to be totally screwed"

"You would have to think that Nucor is pissing off some of their own customers because some of them must have been mentioned in the petition"

"How great is this for Ifastgroupe?  They are not part of the petition but they are going to benefit if this tariff is applied"

"Those Chinese manufacturers are probably already moving their equipment to Malaysia or Thailand.  Indian imports will probably skyrocket"

"When would any of this take place?  I haven't even heard about it"

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What are you hearing???

      

North Coast Fastener Association invites speaker to address the anti-dumping petition
When:  October 28, 2009
Where:  Sheraton Cleveland Airport Hotel, Cleveland, Ohio
Note from NCFA and details are posted below.

RSVP: Lgraham@ncfaonline.com
440/350-1676 (FAX)
440/975-9503 (PHONE)

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The North Coast Fastener Association invites you to attend an informative meeting & discussion on the current pending
PETITION FOR THE IMPOSITION OF ANTI-DUMPING & COUNTERVAILING
DUTEIS ON CERTAIN STANDARD FASTENERS FROM THE PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC
OF CHINA AND TAIWAN

The above mentioned petition could impact our industry significantly. The
NCFA has invited Mark Lehnardt from Lehnardt & Lehnardt, LLC. to be a guest speaker. Mark
is well-versed on this topic and will be available for questions. He will discuss the details on this
petition and what it means to you and your company.
Mark joined the law firm of Lehnardt & Lehnardt, LLC, in 2009, after three and a half years at the U.S.
Department of Commerce where he advised the Import Administration in its antidumping and countervailing
duty investigations and reviews. Mr. Lehnardt’s work included legal advice at on-site verifications
in the Republic of Indonesia and the People’s Republic of China. Mr. Lehnardt represented the
United States in international trade litigation at the U.S. Court of International Trade, the U.S. Court of
Appeals for the Federal Circuit, and the World Trade Organization. He also served as a member of the
Import Administration’s delegation to the WTO's Antidumping Committee, evaluating the antidumping
and countervailing duty laws of several foreign countries for compliance with the WTO agreements governing
the imposition of Antidumping, Countervailing, and Safeguard duties.
While at the Department of Commerce, Mr. Lehnardt observed that the importing community is the least
informed group among those with an interest at stake in antidumping and countervailing duty proceedings.
Despite being under-informed, importers by law are fully liable for paying antidumping and countervailing
duties. Now out of the government, Mr. Lehnardt provides current information about antidumping
and countervailing duty proceedings to the importing community through the website
www.ImporterHelp.com, and tweets at www.twitter.com/importerhelp.
Come join us for dinner and an informative night to discuss a hot topic in our industry. Don’t
miss out on this opportunity! Space and time are limited, so send in your reservation ASAP!

COMPANY: ________________________________________________________________________
Number Members Attending: ________ @ $30/pp
Number Non-Members Attending: ________@ $40/pp
Remit payment to:
NCFA
7737 Ellington Place
Mentor, OH 44060

Reservation Deadline: October 22, 2009
Cancellations can not be accepted after deadline

For additional information, please contact our Anti-
Dumping Committee: George Hunt: 440/238-1510, Kelly
Hommel: 216/398-8668, Mike Delis: 440/248-2710 or
Marty Nolan: 216/389-2405
North Coast Fastener Association
IMPORTANT DETAILS
Where: Sheraton Cleveland Airport Hotel
5300 Riverside Drive, Cleveland
216/267-1500
Block of discounted hotel rooms available
for $99/night! Call and ask for NCFA Rate
When: Wednesday, October 28th @ 6pm
Cost: $30/pp - MEMBERS
$40/pp - NON-MEMBERS
(includes dinner)
RSVP: Lgraham@ncfaonline.com
440/350-1676 (FAX)
440/975-9503 (PHONE)

      

I continuously invite people to voice their opinions and even send me articles that they would like me to post on this site.  If you have a subject that you would like to bring up, just send it along and I will post it and credit you (or the anonymous you) with generating the discussion.  The article below was not sent to me.  I swiped it.  Yep, swiped it right off the American Fastener Journal online site.  I did notify AFJ that I was reprinting it here and they are allowing it.  I really liked the way the whole subject of the anti-dumping petition was discussed in this article.  Not some legalese reporting but just some candid thoughts written down by Mike McGuire.  Some may agree with him and some may disagree.  But I know this...there are a lot of people with a lot of very strong opinions and they are not being expressed in news articles.  I give Mike credit for just throwing out some of his thoughts, not as a "news article" but more as just some food for thought.  Kind of like a note that belongs on a blog site!!  At least that was my thought.  You can also find this AFJ's Fastener News Now.

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Nucor filed their complaint in regards to bolts & nuts manufactured in China two weeks after new tariffs were set by President Obama of 35% on tires. The Chinese have stated that was a �dangerous precedent�; President Obama has stated he will protect and stand by American jobs and workers. It is politics and trade wars as usual in Washington. The month of September saw five complaints filed with the International Trade Commission (ITC). Besides Nucor�s petition, U.S. Steel filed for steel tube protection and a few different firms filed for glossy paper protection used in art books and magazines.

China has the red target on its back. China ran a trade surplus of $123 billion for the first seven months of 2009. Imports from China have tripled since 2001 through last year. The vast majority of anti-dumping cases filed this year in the United States were about China. The common message throughout all these cases is that China was dumping at below market prices and their manufacturers received unfair government support.

Nucor�s complaint will have an impact on the American Fastener Industry! I am not here to take sides pro or con for Nucor and/or for anybody on the other side. What I want to do is bring to ones attention several of the various options or ideas and concerns that could and maybe not happen that will affect ones fastener business going forward.

I am going to be working with the assumption that Nucor wins an increase in tariffs. Because I have not seen the paperwork of the survey investigations and these comments are written before the hearing on October 14th I am going to use the number of a 30% increase in the tariff as that falls close to what other companies have won. This is the third case involving fasteners; nails and threaded rod cases were settled in the last two years. Nucor will probably win as much because of the political climate in Washington with the need of President Obama to save and increase jobs in the manufacturing sector.

With this all said, let�s look at what impact this ruling will have on the fastener industry.

First off, to clear up the petition, it covers ONLY certain types of fasteners made in China and Taiwan. NOT all fasteners are covered as many distributors think. Read the various news releases on FASTENER NEWS NOW for greater details.
Second, as a distributor, you can�t sit on your ass and wait to see what happens! Start today to analysis your inventory, purchases, customer�s usage and any contracts and in particular long-term contracts. With a 30% increase (remember that is an estimate only for this article) in the bolts, hex cap screws and nuts covered by the Nucor petition you will have to renegotiate your contracts in total or by product size(s) line by line. You will have plenty of documents to help justify your increases.

Think about buying now and increasing your inventory to beat the price increases. It might even be worth borrowing the money. Push the numbers! Talk to your CPA about your returns on an investment in inventory.

You might even start to raise your prices slowly on some products to protect your margins. Think replacement costs!

Fastener brokers and importers will begin looking for alternate countries to produce product. India, Vietnam, Malaysia, South Africa and Korea come to mind. But buyers beware of quality issues in the beginning and you should expect to see some long lead times.

Some companies in the United States might even get back into the manufacture of certain types of bolts and hex head cap screws. Question is what will happen to Nucor and can they produce enough? Will they expand and add new equipment? Will they change distributor policies and will others also change distributor policies. Will credit even tighten up some more? There are probably a dozen other questions or more I haven�t thought of�.but let me hear from you, your concerns, questions and comments.

The used fastener manufacturing equipment market has already gotten some increased interest. Where will the people come from to run these machines?

Could this tariff change affect the real small Mom & Pop distributor to force them to lay off additional people or even close their operation(s)? This one is a real tough call and only time will tell.

FASTENAL, W.W. Grainger, ILS, MSC Industrial and others like them have a whole new set of problematic challenges to address.

VMI contracts will be changing big time, along with the price and value of small quantities and packaged goods. Maybe the �Real Value� of a distributor will return to the market place and what it means by the �channel of distribution�.

This has been stated before, but needs repeating once again; get to know your suppliers and your customers real well.

This is just a starting point; there will be plenty of new challenges to add on to the already difficult times. I strongly believe the industry will be a whole lot better off in the future. Made in America will have a new meaning!

NOTE: There is also a scheduled Fastener Forum meeting November 16th at the National Industrial Fastener Show in Las Vegas starting a 4:00 in the Mandalay Bay Hotel meeting rooms to further discuss ones concerns, questions and comments.

Mike McGuire
Publisher/Editor AFJ

      

Industry representatives are scheduled to testify against the Nucor petitions as early as this week.   From what I am reading, there is a meeting with the International Trade Commission on October 14.  Each side will get an hour to present their side.  Of course, on the one side is Nucor and its representatives.  As best I can decipher, the other side is represented by a few groups.  Most notable, there is a coalition of suppliers that includes HTI, Porteous, Indent Metals LLC, Stelfast, XL Screw, Bossard North America, The Hillman Group and Earnest Machine (all this, according to an article on Global FastenerNews.com).   Reportedly, Brighton Best and NASCO Inc. have also retained attorneys.

The testimony is supposed to occur as soon as October 14.  After that, U.S. ITC Investigator, Joshua Kaplan (who will hear the testimony) will make a report to the full commission and that is due on November 2, 2009 with a vote scheduled for November 6.  As noted in Global FastenerNews .."A preliminary determination in the case must be issued by November 9, unless the Commerce Department extends the time for initiation.  Preliminary findings are due at the Commerce Department by November 17."  Also see www.fastenerjournal.com for additional details on the hearings.

So, what is our industry doing in response to this?  A few things.  I am awaiting specific details but I know that there will be a "town meeting" or at least an information session held at the National Fastener Show West in Las Vegas.  Specific details will be available soon.  Also, the North Coast Fastener Association is planning an information meeting on October 29 with speakers and a panel that will will try to educate members and local distributors on this issue.  Details to follow as soon as they are available.

While the industry titans are meeting in Washington (as they should be) distributors throughout the country are going to have to quickly digest and react to all the information.  The end users of the country have no idea what is brewing...and I say this because many, many distributors do not yet even know that all this taking place.  Large, VMI distributors are going to have a hell of a time passing along cost increases where they are tied into multi-year agreements.  Most of them are working on such small margins already that this could be catastrophic.  And the smaller and medium sized distributors are probably many of the ones that do not even realize what is potentially about to hit.

I will gladly promote any industry meetings that will be addressing this important issue.  Please feel free to post any and all information from groups that will be holding meetings to address the Anti Dumping situation.

      

As a young man I could not wait for the Sunday morning paper for my favorite columnist who listed his “notes off the cuff” pertaining to the sports world. Having spent the majority of my life in the fastener industry I thought I would throw out a few thoughts thru T.S.

I have always tried to put myself on the other side of the table when trying to hit hot buttons during negations’. *** antidumping and its ramifications throughout the industry. ** I would hate to be a fastener distributor with a firm priced contract with possible large tariffs looming*** if I am Brighton Best and sitting on 12mm of inventory do I sell this material at todays numbers?? *** when the official tariff number comes down do costs immediately go up on all importers low cost material??****it sure looks to me as if 12 million in inventory value looks like   20 million $$$ could this be a bigger cash haul than going public?? If you had unlimited money would you buy-buy-buy before tariffs?? **** what strategy does a company like IFC take?? Regardless of what number the tariff arrives at there certainly is some serious strategy going to be played out over the coming months***  I know that a lot of high level players read this blog, it would be great to see your thoughts** I am going to roam the aisles in las vegas  looking for more thoughts off the cuff

 

      

Several people have shared information with me regarding the Anti Dumping petition.  The NFDA has issued s statement to its members and some parts of it I'd like to share here.  In their note it says that according to the International Trade Commission, "the preliminary phase of the proceedings was begun September 23rd and questionnaires have been distributed throughout the industry.  Those questionnaires are due to the ITC no later than October 9th.  A determination on whether or not to proceed to the final phase will be made on November 9th and will be transmitted to the Department of Commerce by November 17th."

It adds that a similar investigation for threaded rod was undertaken and took approximately one year to proceed from preliminary phase to final determination.

I guess this gives SOME insight as to how quickly all this can proceed.

Also, someone told me about an online site called Importer Help.com.  You can click below to connect to that site.  There is a lot of useful information for importers there as well as a lot of information regarding the "Antidumping & Countervailing Duty Instigation".

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

      

I do not want to alarm anyone but the majority of distributor personnel I have spoken with in the past week are not even aware of Nucor's anti-dumping petition.  Someone at their company might know something, but a lot of the people who do this stuff day-to-day for a living...they do not know.

I also have asked a few people if they had been notified that they were listed in the petition and (at least the people I spoke with) they did not think they had been notified.  Surprise!!


I have had several phone calls from people who read this blog but do not write on it.  Based upon these calls, let me PLEASE get someone to respond to this next question....How soon could these tariffs be enacted??  Please...PLEASE if you have information on this write a response on this blog.  I am telling you...people do not have a clue.  I am hearing that these tariffs could be implemented very soon but I have no personal knowledge of that.  You would be doing your industry a great service if you could share some accurate information on this site. 

One last thing.  Can you imagine how this is going to hit the average distributor if this all starts to take affect sooner than later?  I can just see them trying to explain the situation to their customers.  "Ah yes, I have to raise your carriage bolt prices by 78% due to our government putting tariffs on these products."  That ought to be an easy sell.  Right.

      

I got a copy of Nucor's anit-dumping petition (actually, I got two copies, thank you).  I have read through some of it and will continue to do so.  Must admit, I kind of skip over the legalese a bit.  But...let me tell you this...if you have ever imported anything, you just might be in there.  The list of U.S. suppliers and distributors is huge.  They might as well have asked Jim Bannister for his list of Vegas show attendees.  Ok, maybe I am exaggerating but it is a really long list.  Lots and lots of medium and even smaller distributors are listed.

I have a question.  If you are listed in this petition, were you sent a letter advising you that you were??  Lots of Fastener Talk readers were on it.  Son of Washer Boy, Fastener Gal and many other dignitaries had their companies mentioned.  If you are not sure, send me a note and I'll look it up.

Folks, something is going to be hitting the fan very soon and I have spoken to a bunch of people that are not even aware of what is going on.  If any of this goes into affect soon, distributors are going to get price increases and they will not even know what hit them. 

I have spoken with one fastener association that is trying to get their arms around the situation and just finding people who can address the matter is difficult.  I really would invite anyone with more information to please share what they can on this site.

      

On Global Fastener News.com I read where China fastener exports dropped 45% in the first seven months of 2009.  Part of that is due to the European Union adopting antidumping duties of 85% on certain fasteners.  If Nucor is successful with their antidumping petitions that would certainly reduce that figure even more.  And Brighton Best has imported a tremendous amount of material this year which I do not suppose they will do again in 2010 - at least not to the extent they have in 2009.    Unless business picks up tremendously thru the rest of 2009 and into 2010, Chinese manufactures have got to really be nervous.  I know many people in the fastener industry have been to China and Taiwan visiting manufacturing plants regularly over the past years.  During more recent visits,  I wonder what is being discussed.  Are smaller manufacturers going out of business?   I'm curious to hear from anyone out there with more knowledge on this subject than I have -- which should include most of you.

      

Nucor's Antidumping petition lists more than 600 companies that are allegedly importing items into the Unites States...according to a news article posted on American Fastener Journal - Fastener News Now.  The source of this report is note as being SteelOrbis (www.steelorbis.com).

That is a staggering number of companies.  Not only that, but the AFJ article also states that the petition lists over 875 Chinese companies that are allegedly making and/or exporting standard steel fasteners into the U.S.

I cannot imagine who could have been left out with that number of companies listed.  I have not seen the petition so please correct me if I have misread the AFJ article.  I do not want to misrepresent anything or report any facts incorrectly.  I just read the article and it really caught my attention.

Again, I only post things that I find interesting and things that I think others might also find interesting.  But this situation really makes me think that there is a place in the industry for a blog message board.  I have a feeling that a whole lot of people are going to have opinions and comments before this is all said and done.

      

Sorry folks.  I really try hard not to be sarcastic or smug or any of that.  So, excuse these next few lines and forgive me.  But, I thought it was very ironic and a bit humorous that I read on the Global Fastener New site that the NFDA has decided to create an International Membership Category.  According to the article posted on September 17 they decided to do this "in recognition that this  is a global business now".  YOU THINK???  We don't  make hex nuts in the U.S. anymore.  Nucor is in the midst of trying to battle fastener importers that they claim are dumping materials in our country.  Heck, international suppliers dominate many product categories in the fastener industry.  It's good that you do properly recognize that at some point I suppose.  As far back as the glory days of the Columbus Fastener Shows in the 1980's there were rows of Asian suppliers selling products into the industry.  I just find it funny that it took until 2009 to acknowledge that "this is a global business now". 

Better late then never.


Again, sorry.  Couldn't help myself.

      

Well, I'll be damned.  Another fastener show has been announced.  This one will be called the All American Fastener Show and will take place in Branson, Missouri next May.  Nothing like going head-to-head with the fastener show in Columbus.  The National Industrial Fastener Show/East is scheduled for May 25-26, 2010 in Columbus.  The All American is scheduled for May 6-7.  Hmmm??  Interesting.  It's America.  We can all do whatever we want, right?? 

Already on the agenda is the Southwestern Fastener Expo to be held April 8-11, 2010 in the Dallas area and also the Southeastern Fastener Association tabletop show scheduled for March 10-12, 2010 in Orlando.  Thankfully, Fastener Tech is a bi-annual show so there are no plans for that show until 2011.

C'mon folks.  Does anybody else find this kind of funny or at least interesting?  I guess we should take this as a sign that our economy REALLY IS picking up.  Otherwise, I do not know how all these shows would be able to pull in exhibitors and attendees.  If sales managers are required to be in the booths for all these shows I don't know if they will have any time to be out in the field.  Next all I need is for Daniel to announce he is holding a Virtual Trade Show and I'll really be confused.

Good luck to all the shows.  All I can say is I'll see you all in Las Vegas!!

Your friend,

T.S.

      

I just read an article on American Fastener Journal's "Fastener News Now " that reports that Wiley Rein LLP filed antidumping and countervailing duty petitions with the U.S. Department of Commerce and the U.S. International Trade Commission on behalf of Nucor Fastener.  The petitions filed contain information establishing that the Chinese exports of standard fasteners, such as structural bolts, nuts, and cap screws, have received subsidies form the Chinese government and that Chinese and Taiwanese producers of fasteners are dumping their products in the United States.

"The petitions allege average dumping margins for Chinese imports of 145 percent and 74 percent for imports from Taiwan"...says the report on Fastener News Now.

And you guys all thought my last post about "Jumping the Shark" was just me being silly.  I think some other folks noticed some of the stuff that has been mentioned out in the marketplace.  The European Union has already imposed dumping duties on imports of fasteners from China.  Think this is a "Jump the Shark" moment for Nucor?  I guess we'll find out as the case proceeds.

      

The following is taken directly from Wikipedia:

Jumping the shark is a colloquialism coined by Jon Hein and used by TV critics and fans to denote the point in a television program's history where the plot veers off into absurd story lines or out-of-the-ordinary characterizations. This usually corresponds to the point where a show with falling ratings apparently becomes more desperate to draw in viewers. In the process of undergoing these changes, the TV or movie series loses its original appeal. Shows that have "jumped the shark" are typically deemed to have passed their peak.

The phrase refers to a scene in a three-part episode of the American TV series Happy Days, first broadcast on September 20, 1977. In the third of the three parts of the "Hollywood" episode, Fonzie (Henry Winkler), wearing swim trunks and his trademark leather jacket, jumps over a confined shark while water skiing.

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I first heard  the term "Jump the Shark" on the Howard Stern show back before he went to satellite radio.  And, I always believe it is a good idea to mix a little Pop Culture in as we discuss serious, important topics like the Fastener Industry.  This may be a stretch but let's give it a try, shall we??

First, I must explain that I want to slightly change the meaning of Jump the Shark as it is described above.  In its original state it was used to describe actions that were taken out of a desperate situation and that the show/person/company that "Jumped the Shark" was past its peak.  For my purposes here, I want to just use the term to describe a situation that is something "out of the ordinary" , whether that is good or bad.

The whole idea came to me after several sales trips where at leat 95% of the companies I visited mentioned Brighton Best.  No kidding.  Brighton is bringing in inventory at a staggering rate.  Brighton is selling product at a price level well below that of many of its competitors.  Brighton is offering discounts to companies that order online.  Brighton is changing the playing field for a lot of companies out there.  If you have not encountered this then you have not been out in the field and you probably do not know who Fastenal is either.  Needless to say, competitors of Brighton Best are responding and doing what they need to in order to battle for business.  But, in a very short period of time, Brighton's strategic approach has caused a ripple effect in the marketplace.  In a sense, I want to say that in 2009 Brighton essentially "Jumped the Shark".  To quote Wikipedia, this was the time that Brighton "veered off into absurd story lines or out of the ordinary characterizations".  But please, PLEASE my friends at Brighton, do not misunderstand me.  This is not a negative jab or, by any means, do I mean to suggest there is anything desperate.  Brighton's strategy in the market is very, VERY bold and they are providing many good things to their customers.  They could end up a big winner as this strategy plays out.  But, make no mistake, this year was the year when this strategy was really noticeable in the market place.  If they drive any competitors out of the market or if they end up being an industry leader in certain product categories (other than socket head cap screws where they have always been a leader), this will have been the year that the process really began.  A landmark change.  A "Jump the Shark" moment.

This is not meant to be a Brighton commercial.  I started thinking about other fastener companies that changed in the marketplace.  Maybe companies that went from industry leaders to just ordinary companies.  Or companies that were ordinary and made changes that caused them to be outstanding. 

Another company that came to mind was Bossard.  Bossard still is a strong, reputable company in world marketplace and also in the United States.  But, there was a time when they were the Cadillac of Metric Fasteners.  Bossard had "The Blue Bible" and they taught the fastener world that "Metric is Simple".   While they are still a good metric supplier, they are no longer the industry leader they once were.  What happened?  Was it the when they started cutting off smaller distributors and enforced a minimum dollar requirement to remain a Bossard Distributor?  I don't know, but I really don't think so.  I think maybe they "Jumped the Shark" when they started to buy out other fastener distributors and started to concentrate on selling end users instead of supporting fastener distributors.  Whether or not that was a good strategy is something they know internally.  But, their place in the marketplace changed.

What happened to Lake Erie Fastener?  At one time, Lake Erie was the Cadillac supplier of Gr. 8 caps screws.  They could sell their product at a premium because they made a superior product.  What caused them to be dethroned?

Many companies change when they are sold.  I have known many companies that were excellent at servicing huge numbers of customers - only to watch the customer service erode after the company is sold to a competitor.  The old 80/20 rule has its place but it has also caused the demise of a  lot great customer service (although I can hear those companies that implement it saying "we still offer great customer service, but just not to ANYONE"). 

Got any other examples of companies that "Jumped the Shark" - both in a positive or negative way?? 

Also, my apologies to Fastenal employees.  Most of you do not remember Fonzie or Happy Days as you are all much younger than me.  Thank goodness you can google such brilliant television moments.  I am happy to share Fonzie's "Jumb the Shark" moment with you below!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDthMGtZKa4

      

Made in the USA stainless fasteners

Any suggestions? We are getting an influx of rfq due to some stimulus money being cut loose and are having issues locating, 1/4, 5/16 and 3/4 nuts and bolts.
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This was posted by a member of LinkedIn but I thought it was worth posting here in case there are any others who can answer.

      

Below is a news release from Daniel Rivalin.  Daniel is a friend of Fastener Talk and a frequent contributor.  Daniel writes from his home in France and will have a booth at the Las Vegas Fastener Show.

htttp:/industry.bazibaza.com Goes Live!!

Launch of a Search Engine called Bazibaza you say?

There are those days in  ones life when you know things will never be the same.  You just cannot ignore it.  You have just made a major decision.  You know the path is going to be long and difficult with lots of obstacles and pitfalls, financially tough and with little choice but to keep moving forward.  That day came for me back at the end of 2007 on my way back to Europe after a long trip to Asia.

After reading "Wikinomics" a few weeks earlier, I just finished the book "The Long Tail" by Chris Anderson.  This book provided me the missing piece to my puzzle.  I told myself, "Daniel, you were looking for the next big adventure in your life and here it is in that book.  You have to make it big, enjoyable, long lasting and you need to be geneorus in the process."   That is when I decided to do a Search Engine including a strong CSR commitment.

And, 18 months later, the "baby" was born in the form of a suite of Search Engines called Bazibaza.  Fun to pronounce and easy to remember in most languages.  Naturally, I am starting my first Search Engine in the fastener industry as I was "born" into the fastener industry myself 25 years ago.

http://industry.bazibaza.com/ is that baby.

When you compete with the giants like Google, Yahoo, Bing and some smaller niche search engines, you have to bring something NEW to the market if you want to survive.  By NEW I also mean that I have to bring added value to the customers and users of this search engine.  The way we use filters on this search engine is something we feel is unique.  On Bazibaza you will be able to filter web pages by region, expertise, certifications, company types or whatever you wish from thousands of categories.  We understand that other business directories like Thomasnet or specialized ones like USfastenersources are important to the market but they are falling short of "the Long Tail" keywords quest.  This is due to the very essence of their model based on private databases.  They are limited to a few key words they have registered for your company.  Can your company really be summarized in 50 static words??  Furthermore, these directories are limited by region.  

We know that each of you update and improve your websites regularly.   The Internet is a 24 hour, 365 day/year show that and you need to keep your sites updated so you do not let your competitor take your business without you putting up a fight.  More content, better organized brings you more visibility and more traffic including more e-mail addresses, sales leads and ultimately more business.  Currently, the situation on the internet is funny because some "smart" companies make their operation seem 100 times bigger than it really is while some of the industry giants pale in comparison.

Still reading???  Great!  Here is why our Search Engine content is unique.  We add over 300 websites every week and if your website is missing or if you know of any sites we are missing, please submit them and we will add them.  And, please check the categories that we have given to your company and let us know if there are things we should change.  In return, we will help you improve YOUR website.  How??   Well, as a gift to the readers of www.fastenerblog.net, we will send you a FREE and confidential short web audit report of your website.   Normal value of this is US $50.  Send us by e-mail ten "keywords" and we will check those categories to see how your website performs.  Just mention, "I am a Fastenerblog reader" and we will provide you the results of our audit.

One other very important aspect of the ikelia Search engine project is that we want to be generous back to the industries that we serve.  We plan to build a strong partnership with the professional associations and organizations from the industry.  Professional organizations get very little exposure on Search Engines on the Internet although the print media has been supportive to them.  We plan to give more exposure and visibility to them and also to their members.  But, that is not all.  We also plan to give them financial support.  10% of the sales revenue that we generate from our sponsored categories and banner ads will be donated to legitimate industry organizations for education and training programs.  Am I crazy??  I am very sane, thank you.  By helping these organizations bring more value added information to this search engine I will be able to provide better search results and therefore more traffic and more business.  If you are interested in our Sponsored Category or Banner displays, please check our offers.  They are very competitive.

And, finally, please contact me if you would like any additional information.  Or, visit me at the upcoming trade shows in Stuttgart and Las Vegas and we can discuss more there.  See you in Stuttgart booth 6.A80 and at the National Fastener Show/West in Las Vegas at booth #755.

Alone, we achieve very little but all together - professionals, users, organizations, bloggers - we can be tremendously powerful!

Daniel Rivalin
CEO and founder of ikalia LTD, operating Bazibaza Search Engines http:industry.bazibaza.com

      

I hate when I get bills in the mail and they have little items added in, especially service fees that I cannot identify.  My wife will ask me, "Do you know what this charge is?" and I'll respond that I do not and we call the company or utility and we find out that we get charged $5.00 every month for something we can neither identify nor avoid.  Hate it.

Every now and then I will be driving around and I need an address or a phone number and I just do not have it with me.  I cannot think of someone I can call to get the number and I just cannot think of a quicker way to get it than to call directory assistance.  This does not happen often but maybe once every month or two.  Then I get my bill and there is a charge for like $1.75.  I realize I could have called home, woke up a teenager, and paid him a buck to get up and go look it up.  But then, he could directly connect me once he looked it up.  But now, I have programmed Google's directory assistance number into my phone.  I call it, they look up my number, connect me to the number and it is FREE.  Yes, FREE.

I suspect many of you internet/technical savvy people are aware of this but I thought I'd pass it along in case you do not.  Again, it is  1-800-Goog-411.  Try it just for the heck of it if you do not believe me.  If you already knew about this -  sorry to waste your time.  If you did not know about it then I just saved you and your companies money and y'all owe me a beer in Vegas!

      

I did this one other time.  I typed in a bunch of fastener terms on Google and noted the companies that appeared first under these catagories.  FYI, on some pages the first company to appear does so because it is a paid ad.  I note those with the word PAID.  The next company name (or web site) that I list is the one that appeared first as a free listing.  Except for a few exceptions, most of the names we fastener people would think of first do not appear at the top.  Intersting.  Here goes:

Fasteners - The Fastener Superstore - Paid;   Fastenal was the first free listing
Cap Screws - Smallparts.com - Paid;  Aaron's Cap Screws - free
Carriage Bolts - MSCdirect.com - Paid;  Boltdepot.com - free
B-7 Studs - TexThread - Paid;  BGMFG.com - free
Threaded Rod - Chicago Industrial Fastener - Paid;  Indiana Threaded Rod - free
Blind Rivets - Hanson Rivet - Paid;  Emhart - free
Bulk Fasteners - MSCDirect.com - Paid;  BuybulkFasteners.com - free (I think this is a site for Lightning Bolt)
Stainless Steel Fasteners - Manasguanfasteners.com - Paid;  Marsh Fasteners - free
Lock Nuts - KRFasteners Supply - free
Spring Pins - www.engineersedge.com - free
Cable Ties - www.uline.com - Paid;  www.cabletiesplus.com - free
Metric Fasteners - www.nutsandbolts.com - free
Cotter Pins - first listing was Wikipedia, then www.jamestowndistributing.com - free
Socket Head Cap Screws - Fastener Express - free

So, how do you get your company name to show up at the top when someone does a search???  I'm not sure if it is a combination of factors or what.  I do know what comes up first if you Google "Fastener Blog".

      

Never in my life am I happy to write those words -- "Summer is Over".  I'm still not real happy about it.  I realize that in Australia or New Zealand I might have that backwards but in the good old Midwest, summer is over.

But...maybe this time it is different.  Maybe writing that line is a good thing.  We have all been crossing our fingers and hoping and praying for business to pick up and we pretty much knew that it would not happen during July or August.  Too many vacations, too many shut downs.  It's kind of like expecting fastener business to increase in December.  Generally. it does not happen that way. 

So, now we are in September.   Let the flood gates open, let the orders flow.  Recovery...c'mon down!!   Can anyone really believe that this whole downturn started less than a year ago??  It was in November.  No doubt about it.  One month, business was OK, the next...BOOM!  It just blew up.  So, why can't we have it the other way now?  Let's see if September brings us some relief.

I do not suspect that you are buying all this.  I'm optimistic but I am also skeptical.  Let's see how this month starts out and before you know it we'll be talking about all of this in Las Vegas at the show.

      

I've got to get this thought off of my mind before I lose it so here is a quick post.

I wrote the other day about Fastener College.  It is good to see that someone recognizes the need for further fastener education, particularly in specifying or engineering in fasteners.  However, as I read the book "What Would Google Do", it strikes me that fastener college is not all that is needed.  Maybe it is not EVEN needed.  What we really need is a Fastener Engineering Platform on the internet.

In the book, it explains about internet platforms.  For instance, we do not go to Facebook or to LinkIn to see those particular sites.  We go there to see each other.  We go there to exchange with other people - the sites just serve as the platforms that allow us to gather together.  So, if I were to set up a fantastic website where I list all the fastener knowledge know to mankind, I'd still have to get that site out into the world for people to use.  What is needed is an accessible place where information can be exchanged.  The Fastener Colleges will train some people to be more specialized but for the industry to really progress there needs to be open access to this information in a place where it is organized and easily accessible.  Maybe Daniel's "bazibaza" search engine will provide that. 

In the book, a story is told about the founder of Facebook.  While he was in college at Harvard, he was so busy creating the Facebook site that he failed to go to a single Art class that he was signed up for (he was sort of busy creating a billion dollar business).  As it got closer to his sememster final, he created what he called a "Final Exam Review" where he showed pictures of all the art that had been studied that semester.  He sent the pitcures with blank answer boxes to all his classmates and suggested they fill in the boxes with pertinant info that would be on the test (think Tom Sawyer here).  Because Harvard students are usually pretty smart kids, the information that was filled in and shared amongst the students turned out to be enough for Facebook's founder to quickly review the information and get a good grade.  The book also notes that the other students who participated in the exercise did better than average on their exam.   It turned out that by sharing the information they were also picking up other good observations by their classmates.

Our sons and daughters(and the young people in our industry) are very comfortable with these "platforms".  They also are comfortable with texting versus talking. and e-mailing versus faxing.  Do not fool yourself thinking that today's young people do not know how to communicate just because they do not pick up a phone and dial someone.  They communicate more and fastener than has ever been done in the past and they do not feel in the least bit that they have lost the "personal touch". 

      

A few weeks ago I read where American Fastener Journal was donating materials to the Fastener Reference Library at the New Fastener Research Center located at The Ohio State University.  As was noted on the American Fastener Journal site, for the first time a "College of Engineering will be offering a course or courses in fasteners and fastening application engineering".  They will even be exhibiting at the National Industrial Fastener Show/West according to the article.  Take THAT University of Florida!!

Then, in a recent posting on Fastener News I saw where El Camino College in Southern California started an "Aerospace Fastener Boot Camp".  The article said that "El Camino projects a need for 200 to 400 workers each year for the next five years.  Southern California aerospace fastener manufacturers and distributors employ more that 10,000 people".  This program sounds pretty cool too.

For years now, Bengt Blendolf has been holding technical training classes for the fastener industry and he has worked in conjunction with Clemson University.

I have two thoughts regarding these developments.  First, will those of us with 20 to 25 years in the industry be eligible for honorary degrees?

Second, how many more universities will we need in order to keep engineers from specifying ridiculous, specialty fasteners that could have been avoided had they just asked someone from the industry what fasteners were available from the shelves of 95% of fastener distributors?

      

http://www.jobvent.com/

Interesting site.  Recently, I posted  a note about how companies can get feedback about their own companies by reading what their customers have written on blogs and other information sites.  I referenced Dell computers and how they took some negative feedback and used it to transform their company into one that offered excellent customer service.  Job Vent is a site where employees can post about their work experience after having worked for a particular company.  I was pretty shocked by what I read regarding a few fastener companies.  Folks, I'm not out here trying to stir up anything.  All I can say is that this information is out there and available in the cyber world.  How you react to what is out there.....that's your issue.  This information exists...I'm just pointing it out.

      

Since sales for this year have been so low for so many companies, the only way to stay afloat or at least not lose too much money has been to make cuts.  Personnel cuts, inventory cuts, cuts in the hours worked per day, benefits cuts.  Cuts, Cuts, Cuts.  So, when you add it all together, what have we actually cut.  Well, I'll tell you what I'm hearing.

Employees have been cut.  We all now know people who are out of work that would like to have jobs.  A friend of mine (from the industry) pointed out to me that two years ago you really did not find people out of work in our industry if they, in fact, wanted to work.  Sure, every now and then someone would get fired or would be in between positions.  But, there were not the number of people out of work that we see today.  I know at least 5 to 10 people looking for positions in the fastener industry.  If the economy picks up, hopefully these people will find work.  The web site www.fastenerjobs.com  was just started this year but their timing might be perfect.  Unlike in the past, there will be a lot of folks changing addresses if the economy does recover.  Just recently I got a call from an industry friend who lost his job in February.  He called me from his new job at another fastener company.  The old place did not need him and the new place was very glad to add him.  It was a reshuffling of the workplaces.  I hear people say that this economic downturn has provided many companies the opportunities to get rid of some "dead weight".  I kind of hate that expression.  My friend is a perfect example.  His old company lost a lot of business and needed to make cuts.  No fault of his but his company no longer needed him.  The other place did need him.  He was reshuffled.  It was not a dead weight cut but more of a toning up or a cosmetic surgery.  He is still there but maybe just in a different form than he was before.   Our industry will lose some people after this all shakes out but I think many will be back with new companies.  I also think it is safe to say that most employers will wait as long as possible to call back workers or hire new ones.

Which brings me to another subject regarding cuts -- the cuts made to the work day or the work week.  I know many companies that have cut the eight hour work day down to seven hours.  They just stagger the employees starting time to make sure they have enough personnel to cover their customer service needs whether that be in sales, purchasing or the warehouse.  Just this week, I called on a customer that told me they brought back all their employees to eight hour work days.  While they were on seven hour days, they did not see any salespeople.  If you called for an appointment they politely told you they were not seeing anybody and that they were too busy.  They were trying to jam eight hours of work into seven hours.  And, it was very interesting to hear what happened during that time period.  The purchasing staff really had to determine which of their daily tasks and functions were truly necessary and which were not.  I'm glad to see that I was welcomed back for a visit once they increased their work day.  But what they said really changed during the period of shorter days was their interest in sending out quotes to "too many suppliers".  They did not really have the time to send out quotes to 5 or 8 different companies for each opportunity.  They streamlined a lot of their processes and concluded that the extra $.50 they save from the 5th source they contacted was really not worth the time it took.  I might have the math wrong but they essentially reduced their payroll by about 12% when they reduced their work day.  As they come back to full time, they have decided that they sure as hell do not want to squander that savings on inefficient procedures that they eliminated during their slower period.  They are back at full staff so that their customer service does not suffer...not to just go back to the way they did things before the cutbacks.

Let's jump to another thing we have cut -- inventory.  Everyone has cut their inventory.  EVERYONE.  Your customer has reduced inventory and your customer's customer has reduced inventory.  But, you know what??  Your supplier has reduced their inventory and your supplier's supplier has reduced their inventory.  I know a lot of people hope that lack of inventory is their biggest problem because that will mean that they are selling existing inventories.  And, we all know that we should have loaded the shelves a month ago when prices were at such a low price.  I hear that China Steel intends to increase prices in September and October and several distributors have said they hear grumblings of price increases.  One fastener manufacturer I spoke with said he has heard grumblings about raw material increases which could also lead to shortages or longer lead times.  Most of this depends on whether or not business actually does pick up.

Lastly, I think we can also conclude that there has been a pretty significant cut in profit margins.  Everyone wants to unload the inventory that is cluttering up the warehouse.  And, with replacement costs being lower than inventory costs, many companies were anxious to just write some business.  In the field, I have had several distributors complain that even Fastenal has abandoned their traditional margin requirements and they are out there quoting some very aggressive prices and stealing away some business.  When Fastenal cuts their profit margins, you know times are desperate.  Going after other people's business has never been easier for distributors.  If you have no existing stock for a customer and you can quote off of current product costs, you can come in much lower than the current source.  I hear of that happening a lot.  On the other hand, if prices do go up....it will be interesting.

So, we have cut employees, inventories, hours, margins and....well. I'm sure there are other things.  That is why this blog has the feature that lets you readers fill in the blanks and add to what I forgot.

And, by the way.  If you read my last post you will appreciate the following...just today I was asked by a distributor where they could get domestically manufactured nuts in 316 stainless.

      

I have been asked this question a few different times in the last two weeks.  I also have been asked where someone could get domestic 2H huts.  I tried a few people I knew and there was no quick answer.  It is pretty stunning really to realize that almost all hex nut used in the United States are manufacturered in Taiwan.  If you think about it, our need for hex nuts in huge.  Millions are used continuously in the production of countless products we make and use.  Yet, we do not make them, we do not have a back-up source and, more alarming to me, we have no ability to directly protect the producers of nuts.  If somehow the nut factories were to stop producing (by choice or catastrophe)...we'd be screwed (no pun intended).  I would have to think that our national security depends to some degree on a steady flow of hex nuts into the market.  Maybe not directly on to tanks or other military vehicles but certainly on other products.  We make bolts here.  We make screws, rivets, eyebolts, lifting hardware, anchors, rod and many other prodcts pretty competitivly...but not nuts.

Please let me know if I am forgetting a company or if I am missing the boat on this observation.  And, better yet, if there is a competitive manufacturer of nuts out there I am missing, please contact me.  I would like to sell your products!

      

I am just starting to read a new book..."What Would Google Do?".  Google is a fascinating company.  I always enjoying reading about Google.  But I have just started the book.  At the beginning, the author talks about how he once bought a Dell computer and had serious issues with it.  He was able to go on to several blogs that discussed techno-stuff and leave posts about his "Dell Hell".  In fairness to Dell, I have not even finished the chapter and I already am suspecting that somewhere along the way Dell became cognizant of the fact that they could get millions of dollars worth of market research for FREE if they just read what their customers were saying on the blog sites.

And I ask...do managers and owners of fastener companies really want to know what their customers think of them?  I think many of them do not.  In fact, I am almost convinced of it.  But still, there would be some progressive companies that would love to know what their customers think.  What is their fastener industry reputation, so to speak.

Over the years, I have heard things like:

"They always have what I need but thier price is always high"

"Their price is always good but they screw up on almost every shipment"

"Thier price kills the other guys but they never have everything in stock...they do not have a complete line"

"I call in and get an answering machine and I sit on there for ten minutes before I get someone to answer"

"She never answers my e-mails so I have to call in and get her on the phone to get my quote done"

"They make me fax in if it is more that two items.  They will not tell me the prices over the phone"

"Sometimes I sit with an order on my desk for two weeks just waiting to make their minimum order"

My absolute favorite and the one that every owner should know about their own company but probably does not because they are not tuned in is...."By the time I get their quote back I have usually already placed my orders"

These are all lines I have heard.  I am sure you could add to the list.  If you are the company that will not do a phone quote you might very well have a great reason for that policy and it might be something that has freed up your inside sales staff to do more efficient work.  You might read that line and say, "Damn right...they can fax or e-mail or whatever".  But, it would be good for you to know what your customers think of that policy.  They might be fine with it or you might lose business because of it.

I wish there was a site where distributors could log in and openly discuss vendors.  If it were a national forum then people might not mind sharing as much.  A lot of distributors do not want to share their good suppliers with other local distributors....and maybe that is why this type of site does not exist.

Still, I think some open and honest feedback would do the whole industry a lot of good.  But, I guess for now we'll just stick to the fastener grapevine.

      

I remember hearing comedians talk about certain public figures...like a president...making their lives easy because of all the noteworthy things they would do that ended up in the news each day.  For the comedians, these were generally things that they could make fun of.  Writing an industry blog requires that there be newsworthy items to talk about from the industry.  No company I know of is making more news or being talked about in the fastener industry more than Brighton Best.  Now, before anyone starts sweating, I am going to avoid too much controversy here.  The subject I am going to talk about is going to be one of the dullest available to me.  But first, here are a few things that I consider to be facts and that are talked about almost daily as I am out making my calls.

First, Brighton has expanded most of their warehouses to over 100,000 square feet.  Next, they are bringing in tons and tons of material.  They are starting to stock anything and everything they can think of.  Needless to say, they are ruffling the feathers of companies that used to not consider Brighton the competition.  They are starting to compete with a lot of different companies in a wide range of markets.  They are pricing aggressively and taking market share from many companies.  So far, I'm not stating anything other than what each and everyone of us have seen.  It will be interesting to see how this plays out over the next few years.

And now, here is one of the things I wanted to discuss.  Brighton seems to have a very sophisticated website that allows customers to check stock and to purchase online.  There is even a cost saving for customers that buy online.  When they first introduced this feature I heard many positive comments on this feature.  Lately, I have heard some negative comments and, frankly, I was pretty surprised.  One purchasing manager said he did not want his buyers taking up their time doing all the work online.  He wanted them to fax in the quote and have the supplier do the work.  Some people just want to have the personal touch of talking to a human - yet, they do not want to lose the discount available online.  Although this feature streamlines business there is a certain loss of the personal touch.

I am fairly active on the computer and this blog exists only online.  I do not publish a "hard copy" nor can anyone call me up and have me tell them my thoughts.  Well, you could call and I'd be happy to speak with you but it would not be that efficient.  So, I guess you could say I am a computer guy.  So, like I said, when I heard anything negative about online buying I was pretty surprised.  I suppose it boils down to two things.  First, people who like talking to other people do not want to lose their online discount.  Second, if the site takes too long to use then people do not want to use the site.

So, you can see, this is not a post on Brighton.  It is more a post about technology....technology that Brighton has most recently introduced to the happiness of many people in the industry.  But, like I said there are a few dissenters.  I would welcome any comments on this subject.  Brighton -- has this been a real totally positive introduction for you or are there haters out there?  Anyone one else with a website purchasing function, how is it working for you???

      

First of all, I just wanted to say thanks to my friends at Jay-Cee Rivet.  From past comments, I knew they were readers of Fastener Talk and had passed along encouragement about this site.  Each month, Jay-Cee e-mails out a newsletter promoting new products or passing along information on what is new at the company.  I am on their mailing list and I receive their newsletter.

Well, Jay-Cee let me know that on their most recent newsletter they mentioned this site just to drive some more readers to it.  There was a direct connect from their site to this one and I just wanted to let them know that I appreciate it very much.  FYI Allan, I did see a spike in readers this week so I think at least some people checked in due to your efforts.  Again, thanks.

As you probably know, Jay-Cee is located in the great state of Michigan.  With the automotive industry struggling over the last year, business in that area has been rough.  However, I can report that there has been several distributors in that area that have seen an increase in business over the last two months.  I understand that Chrysler and GM are back up and operating and there is finally some activity in that area.  Just heard today that Arceletor Mittal steel is calling back workers to their facility as early as next week due to an increase in steel demand.  As many as 800 workers could be back to work fairly soon although initially it will be only 190 or so.  Still, that is 190 hard workers that were sitting idle last month.   Activity is increasing for many distributors yet there are still plenty who tell me they are not yet feeling any progress.  Hey blog reader....what is happening in your neck of the woods?

As Jay-Cee has directed some people my way through their newsletter, in my last post I directed readers to the Ikalia Search Engine.  I did hear from Daniel that over 30 people have registered and I was very glad to hear that.  He will be in the Vegas Fastener Show so be sure to stop and chat with him.

And one last thing I want to pass along is another blog site that I have found interesting.  As I have said from the beginning, there is room enough for all of us on this great big internet so I never hesitate passing along another person's site.  Charlie Accetta has commented several times on Fastener Talk and I was that he started his own site which you can reach at www.doublethreaded.blogspot.com.  I will say that Charlie is a straight shooter and he will tell it just like he sees it.  I have found his posts to be enjoyable and I'd encourage you to have a look.

One struggle I have on this site is deciding whether or not to post everything I hear through the fastener grapevine.  I have been encouraged to tread lightly and post only on those things that are known and documented in the fastener world.  But folks, the rumors are flying and what people are discussing is very interesting.  should be an interesting Las Vegas Fastener Show.  Going to the STAFDA show too but I do not hear as much from that side of the street as I do the fastener side.

      

I google everything.  Google is a great tool for all kinds of searches.  But...what if you are searching for info specifically related to the fastener industry?  There is a new search engine still just in the testing stages but it is really interesting.  From what I have seen so far I would go as far to say it is awesome.  For starters, go to the following site:

http://blog.ikalia.com/

If you wander around this site for a while you will find a lot of interesting information.  But, once you are there, you want to register and check out the search engine which is called "bazibaza".  I know, it is a little bit of a different name but just register and have a look.  This is not just a North American search engine, this is a worldwide search engine. 

Daniel Rivalin is a long time "Fastener Talk" reader and and he is the developer of this search engine.  Daniel emphasized to me that this site is still in the beta stage and he welcomes any feedback.  You can reach him at drivalin@ikalia.com.

The amount of fastener related content on this site is substantial.  I think this will be a great resource and contribution to the fastener industry.

Daniel, when you read this, please feel free to further explain your site and help direct the readers so they get the full benefit it provides.

      

Very soon, I will be posting a note with some new blogs and websites that you will need to check out.  I am finding some very interesting fastener related sites and I want to share them.  As I have always said, I am surprised that I was the first person (to my knowledge) to start a fastener blog and I'm sure there will be many others to come.  There is a lot of creativity out there and rather than be jealous of them (which, honestly, I am to some degree -- man, there are some talented people out there)  I prefer to share their sites for the betterment of all!!

One I will mention here is actually an older one that I have referenced many other time.  American Fastener Journal has always had a great online site and they have recently added some industry specific "E-zines" to the site.  There are magazines that can be accessed though their online site.  So far, I have seen one on the aerospace industry and it is very good.  I am looking forward to the Construction E-Zine.  I think that one will be available next month.  Very innovative and very interesting.

Speaking of construction, I am curious how many of you out there are involved in STAFDA.  I think I might be attending that show this year and it has been probably 7 years since I have gone to one.  One comment I have heard is that STAFDA is heavily attended by people from buying groups like Sphere 1 and the Evergreen Group.  It is interesting how those buying groups exist more in the construction supply market but not in the fastener industry.  And, I understand, there is a cross pollination between the construction industry and the fastener industry.  But, there are also some big differences.  Fastener Houses don't generally carry extension cords.  STAFDA houses do not generally get calls for clinch fasteners.  On the other hand...we all see masonry anchor business and probably calls for drill bits.  Close, but different.

Is there a place online where buying groups are listed?  (like Evergreen and Sphere 1)??

      

"Grainger posts 13% sales drop."

"Motion Industries reports 22% sales decrease."

"Fastenal Sales drop 21.4% in Second quarter."

Those are just a few of the headlines I saw online today on various web sites.  We all knew that sales have been bad but the reports are coming in and now what we have all been feeling and experiencing is being documented in published reports.  Unfortunately, when things do start picking up, all the reports will be from previous quarters so we might not have a accurate picture as the year goes on.  Most people agree that business will not be "what it was" for quite a while but I think any pick up will feel good.

I traveled with someone this week who was regulary checking in back at his office.  Each time he called he was told how busy it was at the office.  But, as he reviewed the sales for the day he concluded "they must have shut down by 1:00 or 2:00 in the afternoon".  Busy?  Yes.  Good sales day?  Not so much.

The rosters have been trimmed and we are all down to working with less people.  Whoever is left is working harder or will be as soon as the economy improves.  Just like we hope not to get stuck withot enough inventory when we start to see some actual growth I guess we should hope that we'll be staffed well enough to handle improved business.  But....that could still be a long ways away.  Just read the headlines!