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I did the first “10 Minute Interview” in January of 2019. Since then, there have been 25 of them and I’m including a list of them below. I want to thank each of the people who took the time and effort to make those happen. I enjoy doing them and I like to try to ask a few questions that fall outside the normal industry based interviews. Additionally, it enables me to not have to come up with content every few weeks as used to be the case in the early days of this site. I may try to do a little bit more personal posting in 2021 than I have lately, as long as the ideas and topics come to me naturally and are not “work”. One last thing…I’d like to tip my hat to Brian Musker and Eric Dudas of Fully Threaded Radio who do such a magnificent job interviewing industry members on their podcasts. Sometimes our guest lists overlap and I really enjoy hearing the voices of the people they interview. And they have been supportive of my media, which I appreciate, and as you can see below Brian is one of the people I have interviewed. There is room for different vehicles on this long, dusty road and I enjoy sharing the lanes with these two gentlemen. Their podcast website is www.fullythreaded.com and www.fastenersclearinghouse.com is their sourcing network site.

I have several new interviews in the works and you will see a few of them as we turn the page and enter 2021. I look forward to posting those but more so I look forward to seeing you all in person at industry events. And, please let me know if there is anyone out there you think would make a good interview candidate. I have a bunch of ideas but would welcome other people’s ideas.

And a special thanks to Mike McNulty of Fastener Technology International who posts many of these interviews on his website and in his magazine. You can find their content at http://www.fastenertech.com. Printing these interviews was all Mike’s idea and I thank him for being creative and reaching out with the idea.

Rudor (Dori) Tech – Asphalt Anchors www.asphaltanchors.com/

Marc Strandquist – Optimas optimas.com/

Rob Lemann – Fairwind Fasteners fairwindfasteners.com/

Charlie Kerr – Kerr Lakeside kerrlakeside.com/

Peggy Hsieh – Brighton Best International www.brightonbest.com/

Rich Cavoto – Metric & Multistandard www.metricmcc.com/

Morgan Wilson – International Fastener Expo www.fastenershows.com/

Phil Matten – Director, BIAFD www.linkedin.com/in/philmatten/?originalSubdomain=uk

Deepak Arneja – Mohindra Fasteners mohindra.asia/mfl/index.html

Fanty Fan – China Fastener Magazine www.chinafastener.com/Magazine/

Javie Gomez – Fuerza Industrial fuerzaindustrial.com

Scott Hinckley – Cable Ties Unlimited www.cabletiesunlimited.com/

Jason Wagner & Ilian Dimitrov – Richard Manno & Co. www.richardmanno.com/

Tim O’Keeffe – G.L. Huyett www.huyett.com/

Allan Weitzman – Jay-Cee Sales rivetsinstock.com/

Larry Kelly – Buckeye Fasteners www.buckeyefasteners.com/

Mark Robbeson – 1Shot Steel Anchors 1shot.ca

Kristen Holub – Wodin Inc. www.wodin.com/

Nancy Rich – Midwest Fastener Association www.mwfa.net/

Rick Rudolph – Rudolph & Associates rickrudolphassociates.com/

Carroll Henning – Fastener Fair USA www.fastenerfairusa.com/en-us.html

Brian Musker – FCH Sourcing Network www.fastenerfairusa.com/en-us.html

John Radel – Solution Industries www.solutionind.com/

Mike McGuire – Worldwide Fastener Resources www.worldwidefastenersources.com/

Rosa Hearn – Brighton Best International www.brightonbest.com/

TS: Asphalt Anchors? There definitely is a need for them and it’s kind of funny that there haven’t already been products to deal with anchoring in asphalt. How did you get involved with anchoring in asphalt? There must be a story here.

Dori: In 2004 my company Designated Parking developed a self-powered parking barrier. When it came time to field test, we discovered that most of the applications would require installation of the barriers on asphalt. As we were not able to find reliable anchors for asphalt, we developed our own. Within 5 years sales of the anchors exceeded sales of the barriers.

TS: Where are people using your products?

Dori: There have been hundreds of applications, and we learn of new ones every week. The most popular are for mounting bike racks, outdoor furniture, sheds, tents, carports, sign posts, fences, ramps, speed bumps and bollards. The highest volume applications are for flood control, road delineators and to arrest airplanes from overrunning landing runways.

TS: Your product makes a lot of sense for certain applications. What are the limitations for the product? Where should you not use these anchors?

Dori: The limitations of anchoring to asphalt is the asphalt’s tendency to yield to long term stress. Our anchors are great for resisting relatively short bursts of forces, such as wind, impact and mild collisions. We discourage use of the anchors for any structure that is inherently unstable and thus applies a continuous pull on the anchors. In the case of tents, we recommend de-rating the anchors to 20% of their pull resistance when anchoring straps that are supporting the structure from collapse.

TS: What is your biggest challenge in getting people familiar with this product?

Dori: We find 2 obstacles to wide acceptance:
(A) Most people do not know that there is a valid and economical solution to anchoring directly in asphalt. Most architects, engineers and contractors are taught that the only reliable solution is to replace patches of asphalt with concrete.
(B) Many contractors use expansion anchors in asphalt. These anchors, that are so effective in concrete, are guaranteed to fail within hours or days in asphalt, because asphalt flows under pressure. That give “Anchoring in Asphalt” a bad name.

TS: Tell me more about your background. What else have you been involved with before your venture into asphalt anchoring?

Dori: I am an electrical engineer by education and training. I started 4 ventures before Asphalt Anchors. All were essentially electronic in nature, such as DPC mentioned earlier (parking barriers). Others were supplying General Motors with car burglar alarms, and a manufacturer of advanced hotel guest room controls (now a Honeywell group).

TS: Do you have any new products coming?

Dori: We recently introduced a powerful anchor that is rated for 5,000lbs. pull in 3” asphalt. That is approaching the capabilities of some concrete anchors in concrete. We are expanding our product offering to be a one-stop supplier for related products, such as low-temperature epoxy adhesive to bind our anchors to asphalt.

TS: Has Covid hurt your business at all?

Dori: To the extent that some customers shut down permanently or temporarily, we found a new source of revenue from the Covid-related demand for tents and sheds for medical testing and restaurants. All told we feel fortunate to have our business actually grow in 2020.

TS: Is there anything else you would you like to share with our readers about your product?

Dori: How do we get the trade organizations, trade schools and engineering schools informed about anchoring in asphalt? How do we get specified into projects? If your readers can help me with that it would be a big help.

For more information on Asphalt Anchor products visit https://www.asphaltanchors.com/

TS: To start, congratulations on your recent promotion to CEO of Optimas.  I read where you will oversee the planning and execution of the company’s strategic plan for both the Americas and International operations.  So, you leave Wurth and it feels like a week or two later you are knee deep right back into this great fastener industry.  I know it was longer than that but you really did not take a lot of time off. So, how did the Optimas opportunity come about?

Marc: The old fashioned way by word of mouth. They had a need and two people were talking and my name came up as a good candidate. Optimas owners American Industrial Partners reached out and it was love at first sight. 

TS: You were at Wurth for many years and had a similar position with them.  You are in very rare company to have been CEO of two of the largest fastener distributors in the country.  That’s not so much a question as it is a comment but can you share your thoughts on this experience?

Marc: Until you asked that question I had not thought of this situation that way. But yes I am unaware of anyone who has run two separate large companies of this size in the fastener industry. I know of a couple who ran big fastener companies and went to bigger companies outside of fasteners but not within the industry.  I think my ability to do this was my good fortune of working at some excellent companies with great people who worked together as a team. 

TS: Just for those who are not familiar with Marc Standquist, give us a short history of your fastener career.  Where you started, what jobs you have had.  I think the first time I spoke with you was when you were with Dokka.  But please, share with us the career path one takes to be CEO of Optimas.

Marc: I started as a sales trainee at fastener manufacturer Rockford Products in 1986. Came out of the training program as an inside sales person. From there became a traveling salesman with a geographic territory then became a Key Account sales guy and ended at Rockford Products as the Ford sales guy. Then off to RB&W as a sales manager and ended there as Director of Sales. Then I went to General Fasteners and handled the 30 branches outside of Michigan. Important for me as this presented me the opportunity to get distribution operations experience. Then I became a plant manager of a fastener manufacturer called Reliant Fastener. This got me my manufacturing operations experience. From there I became the President of GenFast Canada’s largest automotive fastener manufacturer. This also exposed me to doing international business. Then I joined the Wirth Group in 2001 and went from a President of a single company to EVP overseeing a dozen companies in five countries. Was there until June of 2019. Working for Wurth was my greatest and most fulfilling experience of my career. Great culture and great people. 
One thing of note is the companies I worked for during this time. Everyone one of them an Iconic name in the industry. All of them with rich histories. It was an honor working for such industry legends. 
With this new position my challenge is to take this excellent group of people and through culture, innovation and best in class products and services develop Optimas into an iconic name in the industry. 

TS: I had no idea of several of those positions. I’m fascinated by your work history. Absolutely, those are a lot of great companies and a lot of great steps along the journey. Moving on…The entire distribution model has changed a lot and yet in some ways it stays the same.  There is more private equity in the industry.  How has that affected the marketplace?

Marc: The private equity interest in the fastener industry has been around for a long time. P.E. sees how fragmented we are and recognizes the opportunity to build a platform based on multiple acquisitions. I don’t see a big change other then more activity with the availability of cheap money. 

TS: You have been in the industry a long time and seen a lot of changes.  But I almost feel like the rate of change has accelerated the most in the last 5-10 years.  Consolidations on both the distributor and supply side.  What are some the biggest changes you have seen in recent years?  How has technology affected it and have we only seen the beginnings of those changes? 

Marc: I think the explosion of vending machines led by Fastenal is a surprising change. Now everyone is doing it. Next would be the technology upgrade for JIT programs and the development of RFID. 
I think we are just starting the innovation evolution. I believe the Covid virus will see even more improvements as people race to find marketable solutions. 

TS: What changes do you anticipate in the next 5-10 years?

Marc: More automation, stronger ties between distribution and manufacturing. If companies are smart, a much more focused approach with their employees. Employee retention will become a strategic issue for all. 

TS: A few years back you were the President of the NFDA.  Talk a little bit about national and regional fastener associations.  Why have you been involved and how have they been of value to you?  

Marc: Well first off I put a lot of value on belonging to NFDA , they offer a lot of services that really help the smaller companies. Also the opportunity to network with other people in the industry has lots of value. I was never one of those people who hated the competition and was bitter. We all are just trying to make a living and good honest competition is healthy. I always felt they will take some of my customers and I will do the same. Nothing personal.  For me the value is when we have an annual meeting that includes suppliers. To meet so many of them in one place reduces my travel needs. 

TS: I have heard you a few times on Fully Threaded Radio and I know you are an avid fisherman.  In addition to fasteners and fishing, how else does Marc Strandquist spend his time? 

Marc: I like to hunt as well.  But for right now my focus is work and positioning Optimas to be the selection of choice for our customers. That actually is great fun for me. I love it. 

TS: You have moved around a bit in the industry and had success at many different companies.  So, let me ask, do people buy from people?

Marc: There is no question relationships are important. Especially relationships based on trust. 

TS: Some people who have worked for a long time get asked things like “how long are you going to keep doing this?”  And often the answer is something like “till I stop having fun”.  Do you just enjoy the work you do or do you still have something to prove to people or even to your self? 

Marc:  I am genuinely having a ball doing what I do. I don’t want to sound arrogant but I don’t think I have anything left to prove. I have traveled the world and been blessed with being presented opportunities that I was able to take advantage of. I did my best for every company I worked for. So for me the reward is taking on a challenge and successfully solving the problem. 

TS: Have you got any particular life philosophy you live by that guides you from day to day, either a business philosophy or a personal one?

Marc: I think there are several beliefs I have that make up my core philosophy: 1) do what you say you are going to do.  2) do not under estimate the power of being a mentor and or role model.  3) be open, honest and speak with great candor.  4) hire talented people and then be smart enough to get out of their way.  5) never be afraid to make a decision.  6) push authority down to the lowest level. Avoid having corporate make all decisions. Empower your people. 

Note from TS:

I have a regular column in Fastener Technology International (FTI) magazine, called 10 Minutes with the Traveling Salesman, which can be read online at www.fastenertech.com. Subscriptions to FTI, print and digital editions, are free-of-charge for fastener manufacturers, distributors and users as well as suppliers to the industry.”