Fastenal Show to Finish Up Year
It's not really the end of the year yet, but it is the end of the Trade Show Year. At least for me it is. This coming week I will have the pleasure to once again attend the Fastenal Trade Show in Orlando. This show is amazing. It really is. Fastenal has mastered the company sponsored trade show and almost every vendor I see at the show says it is one of the best shows they attend all year.
More interesting to me will be hearing the latest and greatest news from Fastenal management as they talk about how the year has gone and what they see in 2012 and beyond. To me, Fastenal is like a huge Index Mutual Fund. They are a barometer of our industry and as their business goes, so goes the business of a lot of other fastener companies. I am not suggesting that Fastenal alone makes up the majority of every companies' business, though for some it could be the case. Rather, I think almost every fastener supplier does some business with Fastenal, whether that be corporately or at a branch level. And, Fastenal has a mix of MRO and OEM business. I am always interested in hearing how many branches they have open and other statistics. Whether you like Fastenal or not, they are a major industry player and what they say does impact the industry. I'm very much looking forward to the show.
I have written all year that this has been a good business year and I do not see that changing as the year winds down. I have heard from many distributors that they have had strong November sales. With Christmas landing on a Sunday this year (no extra days off but you only have to go to church one time) there will be even more business days in December so this month could also be stronger than some past Decembers. Heck, even this year the retail industry is not complaining and they are notorious for saying that "sales did not meet expectations". It always makes me wonder, exactly what do they expect that they are always disappointed. If you are disappointed year after year then maybe, just maybe you are bad at forecasting!
Just want encourage all the readers to listen to the next episode of Fully Threaded Radio. Well, you should listen to all the episodes, but on the next one I am part of a segment where we do a "Fastener Year in Review" along with some other industry colleagues. I cannot imagine that you are not familiar with the show by now but, just in case, you can check it out at www.fullythreaded.com. Eric Dudas assures me that, after some editing, the segment turned out good. Hope you listen and enjoy.
I've got the show next week and then a couple more trips set up before Christmas. So far, the weather has been cooperating so I just keep hitting the road and getting in as many trips as possible. At some point, the weather does become a factor in my travel plans, but for now it is full steam ahead.
I'll write some more after the Fastenal show and share anything I find particularly interesting or startling.
More interesting to me will be hearing the latest and greatest news from Fastenal management as they talk about how the year has gone and what they see in 2012 and beyond. To me, Fastenal is like a huge Index Mutual Fund. They are a barometer of our industry and as their business goes, so goes the business of a lot of other fastener companies. I am not suggesting that Fastenal alone makes up the majority of every companies' business, though for some it could be the case. Rather, I think almost every fastener supplier does some business with Fastenal, whether that be corporately or at a branch level. And, Fastenal has a mix of MRO and OEM business. I am always interested in hearing how many branches they have open and other statistics. Whether you like Fastenal or not, they are a major industry player and what they say does impact the industry. I'm very much looking forward to the show.
I have written all year that this has been a good business year and I do not see that changing as the year winds down. I have heard from many distributors that they have had strong November sales. With Christmas landing on a Sunday this year (no extra days off but you only have to go to church one time) there will be even more business days in December so this month could also be stronger than some past Decembers. Heck, even this year the retail industry is not complaining and they are notorious for saying that "sales did not meet expectations". It always makes me wonder, exactly what do they expect that they are always disappointed. If you are disappointed year after year then maybe, just maybe you are bad at forecasting!
Just want encourage all the readers to listen to the next episode of Fully Threaded Radio. Well, you should listen to all the episodes, but on the next one I am part of a segment where we do a "Fastener Year in Review" along with some other industry colleagues. I cannot imagine that you are not familiar with the show by now but, just in case, you can check it out at www.fullythreaded.com. Eric Dudas assures me that, after some editing, the segment turned out good. Hope you listen and enjoy.
I've got the show next week and then a couple more trips set up before Christmas. So far, the weather has been cooperating so I just keep hitting the road and getting in as many trips as possible. At some point, the weather does become a factor in my travel plans, but for now it is full steam ahead.
I'll write some more after the Fastenal show and share anything I find particularly interesting or startling.
Nice write-up! First time this mechanical engineer's seen a trade-show review like this (sorely needed - keep it up!). Sadly, Daniel Rivelin (France fastener OEM) - who pointed out this blog piece to me within a LinkedIn group - won't be attending in Florida. He's be skiing in the French Alps instead!
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*** CORRECTION: "He'll be skiing..." ***
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