Fastenerblog.net

Training is Vital to Compete and Survive!

2012-05-25T16:25:22Z

In a recent post, I mentioned how regional organizations are so important to networking and training in our industry. The following was submitted by the Fastener Training Institute ® explaining some of the programs they offer. I am personally pleased to post this as I had the opportunity to participate in a seminar hosted by Bengt Blendulf back in....back in...let's just say a long time ago. Bengt, on the other hand, I'm sure is as yourng and spry as ever!

Economist Adam Beaulieu posted an entry on his blog recently advising company owners to “invest in your firm now in order to maximize your growth potential over the next 18 months and to prepare yourself for 2014.

Invest in efficiencies, training, customer satisfaction efforts, new products and new marketing efforts.” (http://itreconomics.com/blog/measure-of-reality)

The Fastener Training Institute ® has a full menu of employee training programs to help you maximize your company’s growth potential.

Advanced technical training

The Fastener Training Institute® (FTI) offers a variety of highly acclaimed advanced technical training programs throughout the U.S.

Our Certified Fastener Specialist™ advanced technical training program is offered in two different formats. Each of the seven classes is offered individually in Southern California beginning in April of each year. Or consider the intensive version of the program offered in Southern California in the winter and again in Cleveland (taught at IFI headquarters) in the summer. This year’s Fastener Training Week-Cleveland will take place July 23-27.

FTI also offers an advanced class on Automotive Fastener Technology, taught every spring in Troy, Michigan.

Customer training

Do your customers need more information about fastener technology? FTI has a class for that too. Bengt Blendulf offers a two-day seminar, Fastening Technology and Bolted/Screwed Joint Design, specifically to give OEM engineers a better understanding of the bolted joint. This course will be taught in Rosemont, Illinois June 6-7.

Product Training

This three-course program was designed to teach employees in the fastener industry about the products they buy, sell and warehouse. While it is intended for people new to the industry, it will be beneficial for all who want to expand their knowledge.

The curriculum for each class is different, focusing on different products and fastener industry information. Classes do not need to be taken in sequence. If a class is missed, it can be made up the following year. Upon completion of the program and passing a take-home exam, students receive an engraved plaque.

We also offer one-day condensed versions of the product training program, called Fastener Basics. These are scheduled for August 21 in Southern California and November 8 in Scottsdale, Arizona.

In-House Training

If you want in-house customized training, FTI can put together a curriculum that meets your needs and bring trainers to your facility.

Certified Fastener Specialist

To receive the CFS™ designation, students must complete seven full-day training programs offered throughout the year or the week-long intensive version and pass a final exam at the end of the training. Upon completion of the program, students receive an engraved plaque designating their certification as a fastener specialist, according to the requirements established by the Fastener Training Institute™.

Individual classes in the CFS series include:

* Fastener Manufacturing Plant Tour
* Fastener Secondary Processes Plant Tour
* Fastener Specifications & Terminology
* Understanding the Bolted Joint
* Dimensional & Material Specifications
* Fastener Quality Assurance
* Fastener Testing

More than 800 students have participated in the program since its inception. We now have nearly 300 graduates. Classes do not need to be taken in sequence. If a class is missed, it can be made up the following year. Classes are taught by recognized industry specialists and include every-day hands-on case studies and lots of real-life information.

Our Instructors

Bengt Blendulf was on faculty at Clemson University in the College of Engineering and Science until 1996, when he formed EduPro US, Inc. to focus on education and consulting in the area of fastening technology and bolted/screwed joint design. He is a founding member and formerly served as chairman of the Bolting Technology Council (now ASTM F16.96 Bolting Technology). Educated in Sweden (mechanical engineering), Mr. Blendulf moved to the U.S. in 1974 to start a subsidiary for a leading European fastener manufacturer. He is the author of more than 100 technical papers in addition to published articles related to fasteners and international standardization.

Salim Brahimi is president of IBECA Technologies, a consulting firm that provides engineering and business process improvement services. He is a licensed member of the Quebec Order of Professional Engineers and is an active voting member of numerous ASTM, SAE, IFI, and ISO standards and technical committees. In May 2004, he was awarded the Fred F. Weingruber Award, bestowed by ASTM Committee F16 for his outstanding contributions to the development of fastener standards, especially in the field of hydrogen embrittlement. Mr. Brahimi is also currently completing a doctorate at McGill University in Montreal on the topic of fastener hydrogen embrittlement.

Joe Greenslade is Director of Engineering Technology for the Industrial Fasteners Institute (IFI). He has served in many capacities in the fastener industry since 1970 and has written more than 300 technical articles for fastener trade journals. Mr. Greenslade serves on all of the fastener standards organization committees for the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, the American Society for Materials and Testing, SAE, and ISO. He also served as the technical representative for fastener distributors on the Fastener Quality Act Task Force that worked with the federal government during the creation of the FQA.

Carmen Vertullo CFS is the founder of CarVer Consulting, a San Diego-based consulting, engineering and training company specializing in fasteners and bolted joints. He has experience in fastener quality assurance, manufacturing, sales, and inventory management programs. He has developed and teaches a series of advanced fastener training classes for the Fastener Training Institute®. Mr. Vertullo is a Certified Fastener Specialist through FTI, and he holds a BS in Manufacturing Engineering Technology from National University, San Diego, CA.

The Fastener Training Institute®’s core purpose is to enhance fastener use, safety and reliability.

For more information about the Fastener Training Institute® and its programs, visit www.fastenertraining.org

Planes, Trains, and Automobiles – One Distributor’s Fastener Fair Hannover Experience

2012-05-23T17:19:21Z

Dave Audia of Advance Components recently traveled to the Hannover Fastener Fair and, as one Traveling Salesman to another, I asked him to share with us some of his experience and observations. Dave was kind enough to be a guest blogger and submit the following:

As a pure master stocking distributor of specialty fasteners, Advance Components is always looking for new ways to grow our business. We had noticed a small yet intriguing group of customers in Europe who were buying some of our products and having us ship them across the pond. We considered going to individually visit these customers to explore what other opportunities may exist but considered that to be an inefficient option. We researched the many Fastener Fairs that exist around the globe and decided to purchase a “stand” and exhibit at the 2012 Fastener Fair Hannover in Germany.

After a refreshing combination of 2 flights from Cleveland thru Newark totaling 9hrs 47min plus a 2 hour layover, I hit the ground in Zurich Switzerland to meet my boss (who had flown in from Texas) in need of a shower and a nap – of course we got neither as it was already 8am Saturday morning and our hotel would not be ready until later that afternoon. I had never been to Europe and I must say the city of Zurich and its architecture were absolutely stunning – we spent all day Saturday and half a day Sunday exploring the area and just when we had finally figured out their bus system it was time to leave.

The more business you can fit in on a trip like this the better and we were fortunate enough to be able to set up a visit at A Raymond Tinnerman’s manufacturing facilities in southern Germany. We took a train from Basel to Lorrach on Sunday night arriving just in time to miss dinner as all restaurants in this small German city were closed – fortunately our hotel manager was able to order us a pizza which we ate at the lobby bar (which was closed by the way). So much for European cuisine!

Monday morning we had excellent visits at 2 of A Raymond Tinnerman’s plants as well as promising conversations about new products and markets that we should be able to participate in with them – then it was back to the train station for a 5+ hour train ride north to Hannover – we arrived after 8pm and had to rent a car to drive 45 minutes to our hotel. Note: if you don’t know how to drive a standard transmission specify that BEFORE you rent the car – and a GPS that speaks only German is kinda useless. We finally reached our hotel well after 10pm, ate subs purchased at the train station for dinner - again in the lobby - and hit the hay in preparation of the big show for the next 3 days.

The show itself was a tremendous learning experience for us. What I did not realize is how drastically the people and business cultures differ from country to country in Europe. We were able to meet with several of our current customers who were also attending the show, including Earnest Machine who helped us out considerably as they have both a US and European presence. We were pleasantly surprised at the interest from both the show attendees and the exhibitors in the products that we displayed, but the fact that we currently have no warehouse or sales presence currently in Europe will be a barrier to overcome. But you don’t learn and grow by sitting in your ivory towers right???

After 3 full days of the show it was back to train station for another 2+ hour train to Frankfurt on Thursday night, then back to the airport early Friday morning for the long flights home ( I won’t bore you with the details of having to be evacuated from Newark airport before finally catching the plane home). But to end on a serious note, there were over 30 countries exhibiting at the show that included several German and Italian companies, excellent representation from the US as well as China, Taiwan and India. There were also companies from Turkey, Great Britain, France and the Netherlands. We learned a lot, have several leads that we continue to follow up on, and own a much better understanding and respect for what it takes to succeed in the global market. I would also be happy to discuss further or try to answer any questions that you might have concerning this experience. My e-mail address is daudia@advancecomponents.com.

Future of the Fastener Industry

2012-05-20T17:57:22Z

April gave out a lot of mixed signals. A lot of people I spoke with about April shared with me that April was not bad but a little bit flat. For instance, I spoke with someone from Fastenal who confided that while year-to-year growth in April was still impressively high for the company, the rate of growth over 2011 was down from the previous months. April was good, but not as good. And I have heard that from many other places I visited. Sure, there were plenty of companies that had crazy good Aprils, but from what I can see that was more an exception.

Further supporting this notion are the results from the Fastener Distributor Index (FDI) as reported by Holden Lewis of BB&T Capital Markets in his newsletter dated May 2, 2012. Specifically, the report read "April's reading suggests more tepid growth to begin Q2'12" and then later "Why april was not so robust is hard to say". To learn more about the Fastener Distributor Index go to http://www.fdisurvey.com.

So, what is in store for the immediate future of the fastener industry? Does May seem better? I think so. And I still think the rest of the year will be strong. I just think that 2011 seemed busy everywhere I went and this year is not as consistently robust. Another question asked in the FDI questionnaire was something like "What will the economy look like in six months" and 70% of respondents said it would look better than it does today.

But what about longer term? Where is the industry headed? The Holden Lewis interview on Fully Threaded Radio was very interesting, so much so that I was taking notes while I drove. No driving and texting, just some casual note taking and mostly on uncrowded highway miles. The comment that caught my attention most was the idea that distribution was a "lifestyle business". In more detail, Lewis suggested that, historically, distribution was a great cash business that could "provide a living", "send the kids to college", let one "take a few vacations" and "earn a living". And then he suggested that, increasingly, the business is moving away from that as distribution consolidates and moves more towards cost cutting and increasing of services. Lewis, made several comments about Fastenal installing over 10,000 vending machines in customer locations. This information was reported by other news sources where it was also noted that the rate of new store openings has reduced in recent years. I have had an opportunity to see the Fastenal vending machines and they come in all sizes. They have vending machines that remind one of their high school gym locker (open it up and you could fit a power tool or 1/4 keg) and others that are smaller and look like old gum dispensers which they can use to monitor the expensive cutting tool inventory at a customer. And they have every size of vending machine in between. I mentioned Holden's comments because he was responding to a recent question about how fastener companies are investing in order to grow. Many companies are adding sales people, while others, like Fastenal, are investing in new technologies. But, does that mean we are moving away from the old family run fastener distribution business?

It is an interesting question. Clearly, when I started in this business some 25+ years ago, there were a lot more small distributors popping up on a fairly regular basis. Some outside salesman would get hassled by his boss about not turning in his expenses properly and BOOM!! there would be a new fastener distributor running out of a garage with a new name and and old face. That does not happen nearly as much anymore. But, will small Mom & Pop distributors just go away in 10-15 years?

I think vending machines are going to make a huge impact on MRO accounts. No more throwing gloves away at coffee breaks and no more battery tools slipping out the back door at Christmas time. The vending machines track everything and the user I.D. lets the company know just where the stuff is going and who is taking it. But, will kegs and kegs of bolts really ever end up in vending machines? I don't know. Maybe, but I don't see that yet. Furthermore, I just do not see fastener specials falling into a category where a vending machine dispenser is the way to go. That is why I love "specials". Better margin, more value and you just cannot replace them as quickly. "Son, let me tell you...the future of fasteners is in SPECIALS!!"

While I cannot pull out my crystal ball and give you a real good idea of what the fastener future might look like, I can offer a few ideas here and there and at least start up some conversations. And for today, there is still a lot going on within the industry. Out in the midwest there is a lot of talk about two upcoming events: The North Coast Fastener Association's Distributor Social and the Mid West Fastener Association Fastener Show. Both will take place in June and are right around the corner. The regional fastener associations are so important to promoting great networking opportunities and educational programs. Also, I am proud to say I have booked my Vegas flight and made hotel reservations for the show in October. Two non-stop flights and a hotel rate that suits the budget of a thrifty Traveling Salesman. So, I'll just go about my business with both eyes wide open but feeling OK that the fastener distribution marketplace will not change SO quickly that I get caught off guard. But, it is always wise to read, listen and blog about what is happening so we move forward with as much knowledge as possible.

Changes at NFDA

2012-05-04T00:29:23Z

Congratulations to Vickie Lester, the new Executive Director of the NFDA. We also know Vickie as the Executive Director of the PacWest organization. This recent appointment is particularly interesting to me as it comes on the heels of Nancy Rich becoming the Executive Director of both the MWFA and SEFA. These women are both dedicated workers and active in every area of fastener industry promotion whether that is coordinating trade shows, promoting fastener training seminars or totally embracing social media opportunities such as Twitter and Facebook. If anyone out there thinks these social media and technology developments are not relevant to the fastener industry, go ask Amazon because they seem pretty interested. As Bob Dylan sang, "The times they are a changing" and the fastener industry organizations are gathering their resources. Should be interesting.

I still meet with people who seem surprised when I tell them that the fastener industry has a regularly broadcast radio program called Fully Threaded Radio. Not that I expect everyone will catch every episode but I'm surprised when they suggest they have never listened. They have several very reputable sponsors including Stelfast, Volt Plastics and Beacon Fasteners. Oh yeah, and some other fastener company called Fastenal. Heard of them? Those folks must figure that somebody is listening. I think they are correct...a lot of movers and shakers are listening and they hear people like Vickie Lester and Nancy Rich on the programs. And guess what? Between the two of them they are Executive Directors over four major fastener industry organizations. I think it has something to do with being aware and actively involved in the industry.

The times are changing and my plane is loading and this Traveling Salesman is heading home. Gotta run.

All American Fastener Show 2013

2012-04-26T19:57:42Z

Just was included on a private note from Heidi Voltrauer and thought I would share it below. Looks like the All American Fastener Show is on again in 2013!

Hey guys,

I just wanted to let you know the good news! The All American Fastener Show will be held in Kansas City, MO in the Intercontinental Hotel at the Plaza and it looks amazing. I went to visit the hotel and area last week and I am very impressed. The show dates will be May 8-9, 2013 with rooms available on the 7^th as well. Golf tournament will be the 8^th along with set up and fastener bash that evening. The 9^th will be the show with a lunch available and a presentation on social media. The website is in the process of updates and it will be up and going very soon! Take a look at kansascityic.com for more information about the venue.

Thanks,

Heidi Volltrauer

All American Fastener Show

Alert! www.amazonsupply.com

2012-04-25T01:40:41Z

If you have not heard about it yet, you will. The Tweetersphere was abuzz all day with people reporting on Amazon's new website www.amazonsupply.com. Amazon has introduced a new website that offers fasteners and over 500,000+ (I've been told) industrial distribution products. Yes, the same people that brought you an online source for purchasing literature has now invaded our industry and is competing with all the other industrial distributors that offer products online.

I have heard mixed reviews so far about the product offering, the pricing, etc. Candidly, I think all that talk might be missing the point completely. Search Engine Optimization is critical to so many industries and I just wonder how Amazon will stack up against the other online giants like Grainger and Fastenal. A couple years ago I did google searches for a lot of different fastener products and I posted which company came up for each category. I noted the top results for cap screws, rivets, socket heads, stainless, etc. A few years ago these companies did not dominate the searches like the can today. I am not AT ALL an authority on these subjects but, I wonder, if at some point when you look for a fastener item will the top name for the search continuously be a company like amazonsupply.com?

Some will smugly sit back and say "Amazon knows nothing about fasteners" and, compared to many fastener distributors that might be true. Fastener distributors that add value will always thrive. But if some random engineer or OEM buyer is looking for "some parts" and uses the internet to search for those parts, the guy that does not really know fasteners might win out anyways.

I imagine there are people out there that know a lot more about amazonsupply.com than I do. Please, join in this discussion. For one thing, where is their product coming from? Is it all drop shipped??

This could be an industry game changer. Part of me really wanted to hold off writing about this until I had more information. On the other hand, I hope this post will encourage others with more knowledge to add what they know and share with the industry.

The 4-Hour Workweek?

2012-04-22T17:04:01Z

I am reading Timothy Ferriss' book, "The 4-Hour Workweek". Possibly you've seen it on a Barnes and Noble book shelf and maybe you've read it. I'm not entirely sure why I got it (from the library, cheapskate that I am) as I am one of the people who like their job. God made me just simple enough to think that the fastener industry is a great place (hence I write fastener posts on weekends) and so when I read how to have a 4-hour workweek, I think of how I could have like three full time fastener jobs just crammed into less time. Sick, I admit it. But the title of the book was just so intriguing. The 4-hour workweek? For real?

I am sure there are some people who have read this book and figured out a way to reduce their workweek down to 4 hours. I'm not sure really but, I suspect it could be the case. More intriguing to me is the fact that Ferriss is just an outstanding source for online business solutions and opportunities and he writes about many of them in his book. There are countless sites he uses to market his products, to test his sales promotions for effectiveness, to reduce his administrative obligations, to...well, to run his company while he travels around the world. And, while I think I would personally have a bit of a hard time adopting all the ideas he presents, many of them would certainly be adaptable to my mundane fastener business.

Not only does he reference countless internet sites dealing with everything from drop shipping products to site analytics to having virtual receptionists to free sources of information to setting up domains and on and on and on... he also recommends many books. Everything from "80/20 Principle" by Richard Koch and the "Secrets of Power Negotiations" by Roger Dawson to "Six Months Off: How to plan, negotiate and take the break you need without burning bridges or going broke". Good luck with the last one.

I am not real confident that many people read the book and actually then proceed to work 4 hours a week and maintain their current (or better) standard of living, but their is a gold mine of interesting ideas on how one can better run certain parts of their business.

Recently, I was told by my brother about a company he used called oDesk. Google it and you will see that you can outsource all kinds of jobs that you might not be good at. Within days of him mentioning it, I read about the same internet based company in a Kiplinger newsletter. So, I thought I'd walk the walk and not just talk the talk and I signed up, posted a job and said that I was looking for a graphic designer to create a new logo for my company. When you post, you tell them how much you are willing to pay for that service and what you are looking for. I received 20 responses, or proposals, from people all over the world who have graphic art skills. Many of them send samples of their previous work and they tell you how much they would charge you to do the work, whether it is more, or less, than you offered. I did choose one applicant based upon his previous work. Many of the other samples I received were very artistic but this one gentleman's work had sort of an "industrial" style to it which I thought was good for the fastener industry. Not colorful and flowing but more of a nuts & bolts type of feel. Within a week I had several samples sent to me and I asked for a few small alterations and he responded. It was actually pretty awesome. My new graphic designer, Sergiu, lives in Sibiu, Romania, so I guess you could kind of say my company is now international.

This was a simple task to outsource and not one that needed to get done right away. I just wanted to try this out and it worked well. I'd really like to spend some time updating this blog site but I'm a bit afraid of screwing it up totally. So, I've dipped my foot into the water and we'll see where it goes from here. As I always encourage, you just gotta try something sometimes and see where it leads.

U.S. Fastener Report

2012-04-12T13:13:05Z

I just got a chance to read through the April edition of the U.S. Fastener Report. I received the inaugural editions and looked them over too. I do not think it is wise to form an opinion on something to hastily (but, somehow that still never seems to stop me) so I wanted to see a few editions. At first, I found the report to be very similar to American Fastener Journal. Since I am already a regular subscriber to AFJ I kind of concluded that maybe I had seen most of what was there already. I don't know what it is about the April edition but I think it opened my eyes a bit and I think I like the U.S. Fastener Report.

For one thing, the price is right. I don't have to pay for it. And, I looked it up on my IPad as well as my computer and was able to scroll through the report very easily. But what hooked me was page 25. The title on that page is "Wha'Cha Think'?" To tell you what the page is about I will copy here the description of the page:

"This column is about ideas and concepts in the fastener industry to start some conversations among you and your co-workers, friends in the industry, and associates at trade show and fastener association meetings. These are topics that come across my desk day-to-day from fastener distributors, fastener manufacturers, importers and master distributors."

I'll just list a couple here to give you some examples:

1. Is your freight department a profit center?
2. How should you react to a "price war"?
6. If your competitor posts negative comments on social media about your company, how should you react?
14. What are the best "advertising specialty items"u have ever given out, or received, and to they produce any results.

I have an awesome answer for #14 but I'm not sure I will share it here. Trade secret!

Anyways, this is just one page from the report. The whole report is very good and I even think I will take the fastener quiz this time.

For the record, I have nothing to do with this report. It is produced by Mike McGuire and he will read this post because he is a fastener info sponge and keeps a pulse on everything going on. Early on when I started Fastenerblog.net, I told Mike someone like him or another fastener magazine editor should have started this. Kindly, Mike has supported this site and I appreciate that. The truth be told, I would like to put this edition of "What'Cha Thnikin?" on this site and see if anyone responds to the questions. I get a lot of personal notes after I post something and I often wonder why people to not respond on the site. I wonder, but I do not lose sleep over it. The questions posed on P. 25 of U.S. Fastener Report belong on a blog page where they can be discussed and responded to. Maybe the belong on LinkedIn or Facebook or the like. But, I also think this site would serve the same purpose. That being said, I would feel a little awkward just "heisting" Mike's article as I think it is very good, it is valuable and it asks some good questions. So, feel free to subscribe to U.S. Fastener Report and then come back here and we can discuss the topics.

All that being said, I think this is a nice addition to the fastener industry publications.

Final quick note. I get asked often how I see things in the fastener marketplace. Last year, everyone was busy all year. That is how it seemed to me. This year, things are still pretty good but as I travel I do encounter distributors that say stuff like "business is pretty good. We were a little slow the end of last month but it seems to be picking up again." Lots of comments that suggest things are still good but not busy every single day. End result though, it does seems as though things are still pretty good.

What's up in your world?

Trade Show Locations

2012-03-29T23:51:38Z

It seemed like a lot of industry people were on the road last week. There were a lot of Tweets from the PacWest meeting in San Francisco and also a lot from Houston, the location of the Southwest Fastener Show. Just about a week before that I received notice the the All American Fastener Show had to be canceled for this year due to tornado damages at the hotel where the show had been hosted the last few years. While I did enjoy the Shows in Branson, I look forward to attending the one in 2013 at the new location, wherever that ends up being.

If you are a STAFDA attendee then you know that the show moves from city to city each year. NFDA also moves their meetings regularly. I think the NIFS show has pretty much nailed down the best location in the nation for its trade show although even they have moved the show up and down the trip. But, no matter what your taste is in entertainment, you can always find something to do in Vegas.

For me, I like to attend the Mid-West Fastener Show whether it is the table top show or the Fastener Tech show. Chicago is pretty much the Industrial Fastener Mecca and so many suppliers and manufacturers are located there that it seems like a natural place for a national show. Lots to do and plenty of great places to eat and eat and eat.

Because the All American Fastener Show has suggested that it was looking to hold the 2013 show somewhere other than Branson, it made me wonder - where would be another great location for a fastener show. I think Heidi is pretty committed to holding the show in the central area of the U.S., and that's a fine idea. But, if someone were trying to decide where would be a great place to attract the most fastener industry people, where would that be?

Before you answer, remember that Columbus, Ohio was that place for a couple decades.

I'm going to toss this out as a topic for #fastlink Friday for all you Tweeters. And, if you are not on Twitter, you should be.

Changes in Importing Fasteners

2012-03-25T19:36:51Z

Recently, there has been a lot of talk about "re-shoring". The idea that manufacturers are bring jobs/manufacturing back to the U.S. after they had been sent overseas to take advantage of real or perceived cost savings. It is a fairly common point of discussion. There is still a question of whether or not fastener manufacturing would be brought back to the U.S. Clearly, there are products that do not seem like they will be manufactured again in the U.S. any time soon, at least not in any large quantities. Hex nuts come to mind. I was recently having a discussion with a customer of mine about importing fasteners directly from overseas and we were talking about whether she had seen any changes in the way she was doing business. The following note was sent to me as a follow up to our discussions:

"The fastener buzz these days seems to be re-shoring. While I believe it would be fantastic for our economy and make my job a lot easier, I don’t think even small distributors like me will completely stop importing. After 20+ years of working with Asia, I know it’s not difficult to develop sources that are willing to work with smaller volumes and that allows us little guys to remain competitive. But the market has definitely changed post-HTI. Handling fees that used to be waived are now being enforced. Quote turn-around time has increased. Suppliers are not following up on quotes. There was a time when you could email a quote, have a response in 24 hours and have a follow up in 48-72 hours asking for the order. It is strangely quiet these days. " --- Janet Schiopota, Senior Manager, Procurement - Great Lakes Fasteners Inc./ CMI Industries Inc.

I found Janet's note interesting for many reasons. Sure re-shoring would be great for fastener distributors, even if the fasteners themselves are still imported. If more things other than fasteners are made here it is good for anyone supplying parts or MRO materials to the manufacturers.

More interesting to me was her comment that she has seen a change in how she is being treated by her Asian sources. As she noted, Janet has imported products from Asia for over 20 years, some of the time importing fasteners and part of the time importing other non-fastener products. She is suggesting that she has seen a change ever since Heads & Threads went out of business. It makes sense that Asian suppliers would be more careful with companies importing fasteners because if a concern as large as HTI could fail, what would keep smaller companies from failing? I suppose there could be many reasons why she is having longer turn-around time on quotes, more handling fees, etc. If business is brisk, that could be a reason.

Are other small or medium sized companies experiencing a change with their dealing with overseas suppliers?

I remember when Heads went out of business, an experienced importer friend of mine warned that the Asian suppliers were going to have to make up their losses somewhere. You don't just say "oh well" when you do not get paid for large amounts of product. Either prices go up or fees go up or credit is restricted or companies just get a lot more careful about how they do business. SOMEBODY lost money, and probably a lot of it. But this note from Janet was the first time a smaller/medium sized company directly suggested that she noticed the change post-HTI and I was curious to hear from others out there if they have noticed the same.

Why Tweet?

2012-03-18T16:40:47Z

I've got an older brother. Coached high school sports, kind of acted line a teenager his whole life so it is no surprise he was a good coach. He could kind of relate to the mentality of the players he coached. He was not such a good husband because, frankly, he thought (and still does) like a teenager in many ways. He was 5-night-a-week-softball-guy. Those kind of guys are great buddies. Not always great husbands.

He is also the "I'm not doing THAT" kind of guy. "I don't Toot or Tweet, I don't Facebook, I don't do LinkedIn, I don't do any of that crap" he says with great Guy Pride. This is the guy that fought using e-mail and did not want someone to be able to reach him whenever they wanted...so you can imagine his reluctance to getting a cell phone, let alone texting. He has fought it all.

He now has a cell phone, he has added texting, he has a LinkedIn account and continuously is shown family related Facebook posts by his children. Believe it or not, he would really enjoy a Twitter account if he wasn't...well, if he wasn't HIM.

Why would he enjoy a Twitter account? Because every news agency in the modern world is posting the latest information on any given subject the minute it happens. If you are a sports junkie (which my brother is), there are countless local and national commentators Tweeting about sporting events the minute they happen. Or, you can follow the good columnists and they post information daily with their opinions and observations.

If you are into technology I am sure there are plenty of technology Tweeters to follow. Fill in the blank. For anything that interests you, there are numerous people flooding Twitter with interesting links to articles or quick commentaries on a subject.

That being said, I really do not care if you are on Twitter or if you like it. I do not hold stock in Twitter and I gain nothing if you are, or are not, on Twitter. It does not change my life one bit.

We have been experimenting with #fastlink Friday and I think it has gone pretty well. But, like anything new, it is kind of a mystery still how Twitter can be used by the fastener industry. I know that young people today use it A LOT to communicate with their friends and different groups. And, tomorrow those young people will be working in our industry because there's a whole bunch of old people working in it right now (except for at Fastenal who has cornered the market on young people in the fastener industry). Maybe a use for Twitter in the fastener industry will present itself, more than I have been able to observe so far. Then again, maybe not.

I just look at our industry and I see a good many people who remind me of my brother. "We don't ship after 3:00." "You didn't meet our $75 minimum and our accountant told us we lose money on every transaction under $75". ""If you don't do $2,000 with us, we cannot serve you". "We're not a plater. NO, we will not quote it complete." "We only ship in our boxes". "We cannot do EDI". "We need a hard copy of an order before we will ship it". "We have one e-mail account that all e-mails go into to. Just send it and I'll get it". If I tried, I could come up with 50 more objections I have heard. Often, new companies or competitors gain business from their competition by saying "I'll break a box and ship in a plain box with your part number and provide a packing slip with your name and it is fine that it is just a $45 order because, by the end of the year, I will have gotten in the door and might get a piece of that $200,000 spend you do in my product line".

Sometimes you have to bend a rule, or drive a part out to a customer who is two hours away. Sometimes you have to make something happen to keep a customer happy. You have to earn loyalty.

Sometimes you have to try something different. A few years ago, a distributor customer of mine brought in the son of the manager to work at the company. When he was given a standard cell phone he objected and said the phone was too basic and was not really good for conducting business. It was explained to him (by the older managers) that this was standard issue technology but he argued, "If you get me a smart phone I'll be able to answer e-mails and look at spreadsheets. Also, I will be available to you 24-7 as my generation does not turn off their cell phones even after 5:00 or on weekends". He got the smart phone and so did the rest of the managers once they saw what he was able to do with a smart phone. That was only like 3 or 4 years ago. Does anybody out there now not have an IPhone or Droid or Blackberry?

Companies used to mail out flyers and advertise their products in magazines. Still do. Eventually, companies started to fax advertisements out to customers. Eventually, the e-mail blast became the thing to do. We have an industry Podcast (Fully Threaded Radio) with fastener company commercials. I recently received a note from a rep friend who was watching business news and told me he saw a commercial from Aztech Locknut! Crazy. Grainger advertises regularly on radio stations in my home town and Fastenal (and probably others) advertise on race cars. It takes all kinds of creativity to sell a fastener.

So, why Tweet? I don't know. Why fax, why e-mail, why text? Because we can! And to the Victor go the Spoils!

#fastlink Friday, Part 2

2012-03-16T01:52:43Z

Let's give it another try. Twitter users, check in tomorrow and join in on #fastlink Friday.

#fastlink Feedback

2012-03-10T19:39:09Z

Here's a quick post on our attempt to get fastener people involved in using Twitter. We posted a blog and sent out some Tweets asking Twitter users to use the hashtag #fastlink so we could try to get a feel for how many people in the fastener industry are using Twitter. We tried doing this on Friday, March 6. Here are some of the results.

Using a site called HashTracking.com, we were able to generate a report that showed there were 138 Tweets generated that included #fastlink. This report gives you data for only a 24 hour period. Specifically, the report said: "138 tweets generated 44,830 impressions, reaching an audience of 22,935 followers within the past 24 hours".

I tried counting how many different Tweeters were involved in #fastlink Friday and I think there were 45 of us.

I'm not sure what the Hashtracking.com report is referring to when it says that "44,830 impressions reached 22,935 followers". Clearly, 22,935 people were not Tweeting about fasteners. Maybe someone can provide some more insight on this data.

I did meet link up with some people through #fastlink Friday that I did not know before. Now I am following several new Tweeters. I cannot tell you that these new connections will lead to me adding new customers or new suppliers but I did link up with a few more people who are interested in the fastener industry. That is good for something, I suppose.

It is interesting to see who is on Twitter. Some of the industry magazines and online news organizations were involved in #fastlink Friday, while others were not. Honestly, I would think every industry media source would be involved on Facebook, LinkedIn and, yes, Twitter just to keep on the cutting edge. Several of the regional fastener organizations were involved as was a representative from NFDA. The WIFI group participated, the domestic fastener show groups did not but then a representative from Fastener Fairs took time to Tweet and promote the upcoming show in Hannover, Germany. Several importers checked in but not all of them. I checked and there is at least one major importer without even a Twitter account, as far as I could see.

Please feel free to comment if you were involved in #fastlink Friday. I have already had suggestions that we do this every Friday so that those who are not actively involved will at least check their accounts once a week. Again, all new and creative ideas are welcome.

#fastlink Friday

2012-03-09T11:37:52Z

If you are on Twitter, log in today and use the hashtag #fastlink. By the end of the day we will let you know how many Twitter users from the fastener industry were active in the Twitter community.

Tweet on Friday, March 9

2012-03-07T13:33:12Z

I know a lot of fastener people and companies have Twitter accounts. You sign up to follow them and then you find out they are not active on Twitter. And, that is fine. It is still hard to exactly figure out what Twitter is all about. There are some active Tweeters out there for sure and Vickie Lester is still the Queen of Twitter. As the head honcho of Pac-West, she Tweets out links to educational articles and points of interest to those interested in Social Media. She is definitely a leader in this arena.

Just for the heck of it, if you have a Twitter account, check in this Friday if you can. I just wonder how many people we can actually get Tweeting.

I can tell you this. If you are a sports fan, Twitter is the greatest medium for getting the most up to date news. I have gone to professional basketball games where a player is not warming up with the team and if I go to my Twitter account, without question, some beat reporter will have announced "Kobe will not play tonight because of a stomach flu" or something like that. It IS the most instantaneous news source out there. How that all translates into the fastener industry is still a bit of a mystery.

We should have a hashtag to go along with this so I propose we try #fastlink. Let's give it a try. Spread the word.

Fastener Case Study

2012-03-05T01:50:41Z

The post I want to write here might not be that interesting. I'm not sure it will strike a chord with readers but I'm going to delve into it anyways. But first, in an attempt to appeal to the masses, let me make a few comments about what I see in the market place. Not long ago I was speaking with a sales manager who waxed poetic regarding his sales performance from 2011. "T.S., last year was a very strong year for our company. We were fairly conservative with our forecast but we hit our numbers all year long". I did not want to burst his bubble but I had to be honest. "John, if you didn't hit your numbers last year then I don't know when you ever would." Let's be honest, last year was a very good year for many companies and many industries. If a large portion of you business is tied to one industry, like housing, then maybe you get a free pass. Otherwise, you should have had a good year. If you did not...then you better do some looking in the mirror. Which is leading me to the subject I want to talk about, but one more quick diversion before I proceed. 2012 seems pretty good so far but I will admit that I am not encountering the same high spirited attitude across the board like I did in 2011. Many companies are doing great but it seems like I am hearing just a little more frequently that companies are experiencing some down days. A few more "last week was slow" conversations. Nothing terrible, but more comments like "we did not seem very busy the last few weeks but a few big orders made our month". Again, nothing alarming, but some comments worth noting.

Now, back to that looking in the mirror concept. Do fastener companies stop and look in the mirror? Do they hire consultants to come in and analyze their operations? One of the things that got me thinking about this was Heads & Threads. A lot of people have opinions about what went wrong and caused Heads to go out of business. But, what really happened? In college, part of our business curriculum was doing case studies on companies. Our bible was a book written by Harvard professor, Michael Porter who was recognized as a guru on competitive analysis. We studied company after company analyzing their financial information, their competitors, their challenges and, as best we could with our limited business experience, we would suggest what these companies should do to survive and thrive in their respective marketplaces. One year, after we completed our final project, a group I worked with was actually flown in by a company in Florida to present our competitive analysis. Let's just say that this Traveling Salesman was very fortunate to be working in a group that had a lot of students a whole lot smarter than he was. But, I was part of the team and I still got to go on the trip!!

Do fastener companies have case studies done on them? I would really like to hear from anyone out there with information on this. I'll tell you another reason I am curious. I have seen few examples where fastener companies are purchased by companies (or investors) outside of the industry that have then had great success once in the industry. There ares some but, more often, I see the opposite. These "outsiders" see something that interests them and causes them to get into the fastener industry, but unless they first learn about the industry they find that business practices that applied to other industries don't adapt as well to the fastener industry (e-mail privately if you want a list of examples). Certainly, there have been newcomers who have learned the business, brought a new approach and have done quite well. The one academic, business strategy that I see implemented fairly often is the 80/20 rule. Several companies have decided to implement this strategic approach by limiting the distribution of their product, some with great success and others with disastrous effects. Often times, new competition has sprung up in response to a company implementing the 80/20 rule and I can give you countless examples of THAT if you want to send me a private e-mail.

What would someone doing a case study even look at? I suppose things like: competitors in the marketplace, company use of technology, new product introduction, company use of marketing tools including social media, cost analysis including freight and processing costs, inventory management, procurement costs, etc. I imagine most companies do some of this already, though perhaps not on thorough and regular basis. There are probably some companies that don't really want anyone telling them how they should be running their company. They could be tempted to shoot the messenger. But, more likely there would be some information that is found to be useful and some that is ignored.

So, what happened to Heads & Threads? Not sure, but maybe some day one of our kids will do a case study as part of their business studies.

NIFS Fastener Hall of Fame

2012-02-19T02:39:12Z

A couple weeks ago, Eric Dudas (of Fasteners Clearing House and Fully Threaded Radio) tweeted something about the National Fastener Show "Hall of Fame". His comments ended with something like "google it". I did.

I googled it but no where could I find a listing of the Hall of Fame members. Heck, a bunch of you readers, especially younger ones, probably do not even know that there is a National Industrial Fastener Show Hall of Fame. So I wrote a quick note to Fastener Show General Manager, Susan Hurley, and she was able to quickly send me the list of all the HOF members. I will post the list below as it was sent to me by Susan. I was surprised to see that there have been no new inductees since 2008. I have another post in mind for after this one and I hope you readers will help me out with your input. I want to know who is missing from this list. I've got several names that come to mind immediately but, for now, let me just share with you the NIFS Hall of Fame inductees so it exists somewhere on the internet:

NATIONAL INDUSTRIAL FASTENER SHOW & CONFERENCE

"Hall of Fame" Inductees 1982 - Present

1982

Richard B. Belford (deceased 1994) -Industrial Fasteners Institute

Walter F. Borges (retired) -Wrought Washer Mfg., Inc.

George S. Case, Jr. (retired) -Lamson & Sessions Co.

H. Thomas Hallowell, Jr. -SPS Technologies

James G. Rayburn (deceased) -Flexalloy, Inc.

Norman R. Sackheim (deceased) -Former Partner in SL Screw Corp. Founder of Heads & Threads, Inc.

Roy P. Trowbridge (retired) -Engineering Standards Section General Motors Corp.

1983

Charles Wilson -Industrial Fasteners Institute

Abe Bellikoff (retired) -Formerly of Atlas Screw & Specialty Co.

Paul Lemke, Sr. -Thruway Fasteners, Inc.

John Maclean -Maclean Fogg Co.

Robert O. McGuire (retired) -Formerly of Capitol Sales, Inc.

Asta Ball -Minature Nut & Screw Corp.

1984

A. Craig Hood -ACH Technologies

Michael Herling -Infasco Div. Of Ivaco, Inc.

Edger C. Seitz, Jr. -Service Supply Co.

John C. Wasmer, Sr. -Lake Erie Screw Corp.

Irwin Goldhart (deceased) -Automotive Hardware Ltd.

Fritz Jensen (deceased) - Southern Screw

1985

Kenneth A. Honroth (deceased) - Kendale Industries Inc.

Howard Griffith (deceased) -Flexalloy, Inc.

Bernard Golden (deceased) - Formerly of Carter, Milchman & Frank

& Star Stainless Screw

Rocco Sacco - Radax Industries

1986

Paul Tyson - Tampa, Florida

Douglas V. Miller - Bamal Fastener Corp.

J. Bud Porteous - Porteous Fastener Co.

Don Broehm - Mid-State Bolt & Nut Co.

Bill Ziegler - Ziegler Bolt & Nut Co.

Bernie Feldman - Industrial Fasteners, Inc.

1987

Stanley C. Adamek - Pheoll Mfg. Co.

John J. Lohrman (deceased) - RB&W Corporation

Paul Zehnder - Earnest Machine Products

Dale Holl - Darling Bolt Co.

Dick Rech - Reynolds Fasteners, Inc.

Perry Rosenstein -Brighton-Best Socket Screw Mfg.

1988

Bill Gassaway - Tennessee Bolt & Screw Co.

George F. Wasmer - Lake Erie Screw Corporation

John F. "Jack" Sullivan - Accurate Fastener Inc.

Luke Sullivan - Sullivan Bolt Co., Inc.

1989

Harold C. Benson - Consolidated Bolt & Nut Co.

Bernie Jonas - General Fasteners

Harry Branson - Threaded Rod Company

Jim Layden - Porteous Fasteners

1990

Richard W. Kerr - Kerr Lakeside, Inc.

Moses E. Cordova -Cordova Bolt, Inc.

Joseph Kuchar - American Fastener Corporation

David Tuttle (deceased) - Spencer Products Company

1991

Mary Ann Langholz - National Fastener Dist Assoc

Larry Stanley -Empire Bolt

Jack Fatica (deceased) - Champion Bolt

Joseph Hoyt (deceased) - Hoyt Fastener Corporation

1992

Joe Greenslade - Greenslade & Co., Inc.

John Allen - Wrought Washer Mfg., Inc.

John L. Eames (deceased) - Soc-Pro, Inc.

Jack A. Trilling (deceased) - Trilling Technical Services

1993

Richard J. Callahan - Fastener Industry News

Edith Cameron - Allmetal Products Co.

Edward E. Ferry (deceased) - Loesch Associates, Inc.

William "Bill" M. Dickson, Sr. - Texas Bolt Company

1994

Bob Lehman - Pacific Warehouse Sales

Michael McGuire - American Fastener Journal

Alfred "Alf" Prout - Specialty Fasteners, Ltd.

1995

James Revercomb Sr. - Rev Car Fasteners, Inc.

James Schiele - St. Louis Screw & Bolt Co.

J. Joseph Fuller - Hunter-Stevens Company

1996

Dan McIlhon - Iowa Industrial Products, Inc.

Michael Turnbull - Purchased Parts Group

James Zehnder - Earnest Machine Products

John Zehnder - Earnest Machine Products

1997

Mary McClure - Capitol Bolt & Supply

Bobby Barnhill - Barnhill Bolt Co., Inc.

Jim Barnhill - Barnhill Bolt Co., Inc.

Martin Calfee - Copper State Bolt & Nut

1998

Max F. Dorflinger - Nylok Fastener Corporation

Frederic B. Powers, Jr. - Powers Fastening Inc

Lee Bookman - Heads and Threads Company

1999

H.M. “Bus” Young, Jr. - Western Wire Products Co.

David Johns (deceased) - Mid-West Fabricating Co.

Winston L. Adams - Adams Nut & Bolt Co.

2000

Bob Endries - Endries Fastener & Supply

Mel Kirsner (retired) - Pell Mell Supply

Barry Porteous - Porteous Fastener Company

2001

Thomas S. Doppke - Technical Presentations Company

Richard A. Malson - Ramco Specialties, Inc.

Ron Sackheim - XL Screw Corporation

2002 – Las Vegas

Edward A. Kaufman - Hardware Specialty Co

Mr. Wayne Golden - Star Stainless Screw Co

2003 No Inductees

2004 – Las Vegas

Jerry Hancock - Mega Metric

Patrick O’Toole - Atlantic Fasteners

2005 No Inductees

2006 – Columbus

Bruce Darling - Porteous Fastener Company

Edward Werner - E Z Sockets Inc

2007-Vegas

Barry L. MacLean - MacLean-Fogg Company

Marty Schneider - Continental-Aero

2008-Vegas

Richard Lassiter - Vegas Fastener Manufacturing

William Liao - Fastener World Magazine

A note of gratitude from a Manufacturers Rep

2012-02-15T01:27:10Z

Tony Van Hoozer called me recently to let me know that after 23 years as a manufacturers agent in the Indiana and Kentucky markets, he is closing his agency V H Sales Associates due to ever increasing demands as Partner/VP Sales of Cable Tie Express. He wanted to express his gratitude to those who have supported his efforts at V H Sales and looks forward to continuing those strong relationships through Cable Tie Express.

Tony has always been, and still is a class act and he has offered me advice numerous times over the years, one traveling salesman to another. Over the years we have represented similar lines and got a chance to know each other at sales meetings and shows. I'm sure Tony will still be traveling, most likely covering more territory as he concentrates his efforts on Cable Tie Express.

MWFA, Pac-West and NCFA news

2012-02-11T19:09:02Z

After my recent post regarding Fastener birthdays, I received the following note from Nancy Rich, Executive Director of the Mid West Fastener Associations:

"I read with interest all the anniversary celebrations. I always thought MWFA was old but I see there are groups, companies etc older. Kudos to them for surviving the good, the bad and the ugly times through the fastener industry to prevail. Last year the MWFA spent the whole year celebrating their 65th anniversary. I learned more about 1946 than I wanted to but found it interesting as I researched to celebrate at each meeting."

MWFA might be 65 years old but they continue to come up with some excellent events including the Fastener Tech show, their table top show, and regular fastener related meetings/programs. On February 16, they are hosting Harry Moser who will discuss the Re-Shoring Initiative. Then on March 15 they are hosting a Social Media Seminar. June 25 is the 31st Annual MWFA Fastener Show at Eaglewood Resort & Spa in Itasca, IL. I imagine there are some other events sprinkled in between those events and you can get an entire roster on their website at http://mwfa.net/.

I'm not sure how old the Pacific-West Fastener Organization is but Vickie Lester and her group are also a very active bunch. And, Vickie is an excellent communicator and keeps me posted on all of their upcoming events. I am not West Coaster but I hope to attend a Pac-West event sometime. I've got to admit, the Pac-West Spring Conference in San Francisco on March 22-24 is about as attractive an event as I can think of. There is a session called "Hiring, Building and Growing a Sales Team" that should be interesting to any Traveling Salesman or sales lady. Another session during that conference is "Fasteners and the Golden Gate Bridge". C'mon now...haven't we all been guilty of looking at some product and turning to our spouse or kid and saying, "I sold parts that are in that thing". How cool would it be to say, "Yeah, I sold some bolts that are in the Golden Gate Bridge". My personal best...I have parts on Progressive Field (formerly Jacobs Field) where the Cleveland Indians play, and if you think my kids have not heard about that a hundred times over the years, well then you are mistaken. They most certainly have. Back to Pac-West. San Francisco is one of my favorite cities and it would be awesome to write that trip off in the name of fasteners. Just can't do this one but I hope they repeat a trip to San Francisco in the future when I'm an empty nester. I should point our that on February 28, there is a meeting in La Mirada, California called "Maximize Marketing to Accelerate Profits in Mexico" which also sounds like a really great event.

I just attended a meeting of the North Coast Fastener Association this past week where a speaker from MAGNET (Manufacturing Advocacy and Growth Network) spoke about working with manufacturing companies in Northeast Ohio to increase business and manufacturing jobs. Similar in theme to a "re-shoring" meeting, I think there are a lot of groups hoping to see more domestic manufacturing which is certainly good for fastener companies. They also announced that the annual NCFA Distributor Social will take place on June 7 and the plan is to have their friends from Fully Threaded Radio come to town for some interviews, insights and cold Old Rusty Bolts.

I am always glad to share information about the regional fastener associations. I think they do a tremendous amount of good. The table tops, plant tours, guest speakers and other events are great opportunities for networking and learning. I think the regional associations contribute a great amount to the industry, and for the most part, the work is done by volunteers from the industry. If I did not mention your organization, please comment here and fill us in. Or, send me a note and I will post your info in the future. Nancy, Vickie and Lisa Graham of the NCFA are very good at keeping me posted and I am more than happy to pass along any details that help the regional fastener associations.

Got some questions on Fastener Shows

2012-02-05T19:39:49Z

I noticed on several of the fastener news sites that they were reporting on upcoming fastener shows or expos. We are all aware of the Vegas Show, the All American Fastener Show (front cover of the latest LINK magazine), the MWFA show and numerous other table tops and regional shows hosted by various fastener associations. But, in particular, there was one that caught my eye. In May of 2013 there is a Fastener Fair in St. Petersburg, Russia.

I clicked over to the site to check out the show and found myself connected to a site for Fastener & Fixing Technology. I am not sure of the connection but on the Fastener & Fixing site they are promoting the following "Fastener Fairs":

Fastener Fair - Hanover, Germany - April 24-26, 2012
Fastener Fair - Bangkok, Thailand - September 6-8, 2012
Fastener Fair - Brazil - November 20-21, 2012
Fastener Fair - St. Petersburg, Russia - May 12-14, 2013
Fastener Fair - Mumbai, India - April 17-18, 2013

Global Fastener News has a tab for "Trade Shows", which lists a lot of upcoming trade shows including table tops, the STAFDA shows and other national shows mentioned above. I went to that site and found these shows:

International Hardware Fair- Cologne, Germany - March 4-7, 2012
Taiwan Fastener Show - March 13-14, 2012
10th International Trade Exhibition of Fasteners - Moscow, Russia - March 13-15, 1012

And, they mention another Fastener Fair, Eastern Europe for Autumn, 2012.

Anybody going to these?? That is a lot of shows!! And, I'm sure there are others that I did not even find in my 15 search this morning. I did go to a list of exhibitors for the Hanover Fastener Fair in April and scrolled down quickly to see if I recognized many exhibitors. Advance Components was listed near the top as it is an alphabetical listing. Other than that, there were surprisingly few U.S. based companies. Almost none. So, I'm wondering, do U.S. companies participate in these international shows? Check it out yourself. There are a lot of Chinese companies and several from other parts of the world, but few from the U.S. Do we ignore these markets? Can we not compete in these markets? Are these newer shows without track records or do we just not think they are worth the effort?

I would invite the folks from Fastener & Fixing Technology to share with us what they see at these shows. Should more U.S. companies be exhibiting? Are there business opportunities for U.S. companies at these shows? Daniel Rivalin, please feel free to check in on this subject as you offer a European (and global) perspective that we might be lacking. Fasteners Clearing House - do you have a lot of subscribers from outside of the U.S.? Any data you might share?

Everyone is looking to grow their sales. Sometimes we battle those people right in out own backyards to the detriment of gross profit. It is a big old world of fastener opportunities out there. Not sure if it is worth buying a booth for the Moscow show, but I bet I'd run in to a whole different group of competitors if I did.

Trying to finish this post early so I can kick back and enjoy the Super Bowl this evening. Just looking for a good game as my team is not (and has never been) in the Super Bowl. May the best team win. The playoffs, thus far, have been really competitive. One side note - do you realize that both AFC and NFC Championship games were affected at the end by plays made (or not made) by the Special Teams. Missed field goals, fumbled punts, etc. Sure, defense and offense were important, but in both games the the offense and defense pretty much played to a stalemate. The offenses and defenses, for all intents and purposes, were about tied. Special Teams decided the games - good or bad! Just goes to show you, you cannot ignore any part of the game. One last comment - why is there no football team that really uses the specials team personnel creatively? Why doesn't Devin Hester learn to punt so he could just as easily run with the ball as punt it. Why does no team practice the hell out of the fake field goal and use it more than once every 2 or 3 years. Sam Wyche (I believe, though I could be wrong) was the first to use the no huddle offense, other than at the end of the game as time was running out. Everyone acted like he was cheating or something. Today, it is commonly used. I say you teach a running back to kick field goals when they are within 25 years or so and it would open up the chance for fake field goals immeasurably. Let the ex-soccer player kick when they are out further. OK, OK, I'll stop now. Enjoy the game!

One last thing - Do you know where the 40 yard dash came from? It has an interesting history.