Fastenerblog.net

Several of the fastener industry publications do a nice job of using Twitter to publicize articles from their sites or magazines.  I was just scrolling down Twitter and saw Bazibaza Tweeting links to articles from their site, which seems to happen pretty often on Sunday evenings.  LINK frequently put up links (no pun intended) to articles from their most recent publication, and Fastener News Desk has made an art form out of this with more Twitter links than most.  Yet, the one that caught my eye this morning was a Tweet from Global Fastener News.  The link was to an article, “47 Years Later, Articles Give Glimpse of NFDA’s Role in Industry History”.   I’m not entirely sure why I clicked on this one as I am not an NFDA member, but it turned out to be a pleasant surprise.  Rather than talking about the NFDA, Global Fastener News listed 30 different news headlines from past articles that had some connection to the NFDA.  The dates of the articles ranged from 1979 to 2014, and by clicking on the headline you could pull up the old articles.

The first headline from 1979 stated “329 Attend NFDA Autumn Meeting”.  329 to a meeting??  Wow, that better than most regional trade shows.  Very interesting.

The next article from 1983 read “10 Fastener Associations Representing 1,000 Companies with 30,000 Employees Hold First Joint Meeting”.  So, our industry has been trying to do this since 1983??  The Fastener Industry Coalition (FIC) is still working on this today.  Check out their website at www.fastenercoaliton.org to see more about this organization and their current efforts at “working together” as the 1983 article put it.

The list of headlines was like a walk down fastener memory lane.  A 1994 article headlined “Marbacher & Unferth:  Metric is Coming” made me smile.  I remember the countless “Metric is Simple” seminars I sat through with Bruno Marbacher, back when Bossard, Metric & Multistandard and maybe Zeleda were the major metric suppliers.  While two of those companies were absorbed into other companies, Metric & Multistandard is still around supplying fastener distributors with those pesky, difficult to find metric parts.

How about this one from 2002: “Why Does The Internet Scare Distributors?”  In 2003, there was an article “Enter the Dragon:  China Emerges as Industrial Superpower”.  Yeah, I’d say that article accurately foreshadowed some things to come.    As recently as 2006 there was an NFDA panel discussion that caused FIN to write the headline, “NFDA Panelists:  No Question About Globalization”.  You think?? But it 2006, I guess there must have been questions about this before the panel set everyone straight.

Almost all of the major fastener industry publications do a nice job of using Twitter to direct readers to specific articles.  I enjoy reading from all of them, including Fastener Technology International and American Fastener Journal, which I had not mentioned earlier.  But, for looking back at fastener history, I have found Global Fastener News to be particularly enjoyable.  And, I suppose as I grow older and have more history in the fastener business, these articles become more interesting.  Nostalgia!!  Please let me know if the other publications have similar archival capabilities because I do find it enjoyable to look back and see what has changed and what continues to stay the same.

Just saw a link to an Industrial Distribution magazine article saying that Anixter’s fastener division has been sold for $380M to American Industrial Partners.  Let the google searches begin!

Global Fastener News reported this week that Fastenal intends to develop an abandoned industrial site in Indianapolis, Indiana and start producing fasteners that they currently import from Thailand.  I know they manufacture parts in Winona near their headquarters and they also own Holo-Krome so this is another interesting development from one of the industry’s more powerful distribution companies.   It is always nice to see more product being made domestically and the Fastenal people are smart, so it must make financial sense for them to do this.  I will be interested to hear what kinds of parts they intend to make at this new facility.

At this particular moment in time, I’m guessing that Fastenal wishes they already had this plant up and producing.  I just read an article, dated February 5, that quoted the Pacific Maritime Association President, James McKenna, as saying the “union-led work slowdowns could shut down the 29 U.S. West Coast ports in five to 10 days”.    If you are not feeling the impact of this development yet, keep close tabs on how this is affecting the material flow from your suppliers of import products.  If you directly import yourself, you already are feeling the affects.  Domestic manufacturers should have a unique opportunity to run fill in orders during this period.  Distributors need to get out that list of cold headers and other manufacturers and keep them handy in case of emergencies.

Speaking of domestic manufacturers, I just had the opportunity to tour The Auto Bolt factory in Cleveland, Ohio.  It was a terrific tour and I have posted a few pictures on the Photo section of this site.  Thank you to the North Coast Fastener Association for setting up this tour.  On the topic of fastener associations, I recently got a copy of the current Fastener World magazine, and the Pac-West organization had a news release about their upcoming Spring Conference.  I found this interesting for a number of reasons.  First, it was the only U.S. based regional fastener organization with a news release in the entire 565 page magazine, so give credit to Vickie Lester for getting that advertisement out there.  Secondly, the overall coverage of the U.S. market is kind of a hodgepodge of articles and news snippets.  One specific article was a report that Fastenal was moving its branch location in Sydney, Ohio to a 40% larger facility.  Hmm, interesting, but not quite the news breaker that they plan to soon be manufacturing in Indianapolis.  It just seemed like kind of a small news item to be reported on in the international fastener magazine.  Fastener World is a 565 page magazine filled with colorful ads and every kind of fastener imaginable.  It is interesting to get the Fastener World perspective on the world market and the Asian market in particular.  If anyone from Fastener World reads this site, I enjoy your magazine and glad I get my copy. Also, if you would like a contribution from the U.S. side of the fastener business from a slightly unconventional source, just give me the word and I’m there for you!