TS: Last year was your first Fastener Fair USA. Were you pleased with the results and the attendance? Can you share with us some statistics on the show?
Carroll: The inaugural Fastener Fair USA in Cleveland last year was a big success – with 30% of the exhibitors resigning for Detroit 2019 right at the show! All said and done, we had over 2000 fastener professionals from 20 countries participating in the first US event representing the whole fastener supply chain from aerospace , automotive, construction, machinery and other sectors.
TS: This year you are in Detroit. What will be different this year?
Carroll: Our attendees in Cleveland told us how much they appreciated the industry education sessions included with registration – so we doubled the number free education sessions and added a second stage in Detroit. The Tech Talk Theater will focus on specific solutions, new products and technology and the Distributor Innovation Theater will feature sessions on business operations and leadership development.
Also, we have over 125 first-time exhibitors joining us in Detroit. Fastener professionals who were with us in Cleveland will have a lot of new solutions and potential business partners to check out.
The theme of our May 22 Welcome Party — which is the must-do networking and social event of the week – is, of course, “It’s MoTown!” Networking, music, munchies, drinks and live music start at 5:00 p.m. at the GM Renaissance Center, a short walk from the expo floor. Tickets are available on-line at FastenerFair.com/usa or on-site at the registration area.
TS: Can you share with us a list of your breakout sessions and how you will be presenting them?
Carroll: I have to tell you about our great keynote: 5x business author and mid-market transformation specialist Steve Blue will open up the show with his 9:00 a.m. Wednesday morning key-note called, “Transform. Ignite. Disrupt.” Steve is going to be giving out copies of his most recent book, “Metamorphoses: From Rust-Belt to High-Tech in a 21st Century World.”
And, we’ll have two education theaters right on the expo floor, making it convenient for attendees and exhibitors to pop in and out of sessions.
Tech Talk Theater sessions include Fundamentals of Threaded Fasteners, Specialty Dry Film Lubrication, Bolted Joint Consistency, Consistent Global Quality Assurance, Counterfeit Fasteners and the new SAE Standards, Flexible Fastener Automation and Torque-Angle Signature Analysis. I’m really forward to the excellent Tech Talk panel on Wednesday from 4:00 – 5:00 p.m. – right before the Welcome Party – on “Fastener Technology in the Automotive Sector”
The Distributor Innovation theater schedule kicks off with a panel on “Disruptions Affecting Distribution.” Also, we’re are thrilled and so lucky to have FANUC America doing a session called “Automate or Evaporate” and global industrial marketing powerhouse Finn Partners will be doing a session on “The Nuts and Bolts of Industrial Marketing” about generating leads and winning business on value vs. pricing.
TS: The show is geared towards both distributors and end users. What was the mix last year and what does this year look like based upon current enrollment?
Carroll: Registration numbers are great for Detroit – running slightly ahead of Cleveland’s attendance at this point. What makes Fastener Fair so unique is that it’s really is a marketplace for fastener professionals from the whole supply chain. As we did in Cleveland, we expect to have great representation from the whole fastener community: distributors, end users, manufacturers, specifiers, purchasers and others.