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Business picked up in June as the economy opened up. We now see cases spiking and regrettably hear talk of things shutting down again or slowing down. But, is that happening in the industrial sector or mostly with restaurant, entertainment, etc.?

Are you hearing of factories slowing down? I am thinking that the industrial sector will just be stricter and more serious about temperature taking, quarantining people, masks, etc. but not moving to shut things down.

What are you hearing? The only thing about July so far has been the number of people out on vacation. It is hard to determine if July will be like a “normal” July with lots of vacations or if things are still slow due to Covid. Hard to tell the difference in some ways. Also, I am noticing that a lot office personnel are still working remotely from home. While some companies have switched back there are still a lot at home. You can tell when you video conference and see kids and dogs in the background and not bookshelves and office people. Not such a big deal. Long term, will we allow for some of this to continue? Are some people more productive from home or less productive?

TS:  On LinkedIn and other platforms I saw that Chinafastener.com will be holding an online Fastener Show in August, 2020.  I have never participated in an online show and I am not sure there has been one in the fastener industry.  Tell me how the show will work?

Fanty : Online shows are prevailing in China now. Alibaba.com Online Trade Show is being held from June 8-28.

https://sale.alibaba.com/pages/ds2bu0p1z/index.html?spm=a2700.8293689.face.3.2ce267af1PS8Mx&tracelog=20200608_ICBU_PC_HOME_BG_FACE_ICBU_PC_HOME_BG_FACE_LINK_LIST_T.

Online Canton Fair, the most influential exhibition in China, will be held from June 15-24. https://www.cantonfair.org.cn/cn/

China Fastener Show Online provides an all-weather data exhibition hall, live broadcast, real-time negotiation, supply and procurement connection, real-time transaction, online activities and other scenes to create an interactive and immersive shopping experience for visitors. What’s more, multiple business development settings, such as E-business card and E-catalog, provide buyers with valuable information.

It is expected that more than 500 fastener manufacturing enterprises, including equipment mold enterprises and other related enterprises, will participate in this show. Special zones such as Haiyan cross border exhibition area, brand area and 1-on-1 communication area are created so that buyers can quickly find suitable suppliers according to their needs. Meanwhile, a series of wonderful online activities will be held, such as face to face online purchase meeting, keynote speech, live broadcast, etc.

TS:  So, people be able to talk live with other people who are exhibiting?

Fanty: Yes, people can have live talk with exhibitors. Meanwhile, exhibitors will be doing live broadcasts to do demonstrations.

TS:  You are promoting the show online where people from all over the world can read about it.  Are you hoping to attract people from the United States to attend the show?

Fanty: Yes, absolutely! We welcome people from around the world to attend the show. It would be better to register in advance so that participants can receive the latest news in time, and receive more services. Here is the registration link:  http://en.fastenershow.com/

TS:  Who will be exhibiting?  Can suppliers from the U.S. sign up to be exhibitors and sell their products?

Fanty: At present, exhibitors are mainly from China. Some foreign enterprises also want to attend, and they have branches or offices in China. I’m not sure whether suppliers from the U.S. can sign up to be exhibitors. I’ll get back to you later.

TS:  Does the show aim to attract fastener distributors or end users or both?

Fanty: The show aims to attract both distributors and end users.

TS:  So far, how many exhibitors do you have?

Fanty: We have 2 websites. One is www.chinafastener.com and the other is www.luosi.com. They are B2B platforms specialized in the fastener industry. We provide free tickets for super VIPs. At present, we have more than 200 exhibitors. It is expected that the number of exhibitors will reach 500.

TS:  You are doing an online show do to Covid-19.  During normal times you have other, in person trade shows.  Tell me about your other shows and where they are held.

Fanty: We have Fastener Expo Shanghai, and 11th edition of this expo will be held at Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai) from August 18-20.

We all have our ways of coping during difficult times. During the COVID-19 shutdown, I found myself turning off the news stations when I was in the car. After watching news at home, and reading about it online and I just found myself wanting to tune it out for those short drives I was taking from my house to my office or the grocery store. True confession, I found some temporary relief listening to the Jimmy Buffett station on Sirius radio. For the couple minutes I was in the car I thought of vacations and beaches and fruity drinks and all the imagery Jimmy Buffett songs produce. And that led to me thinking about my friend Javier Gomez and his fastener business located in Puerto Rico. Now Javier and his family have had to deal with the Coronavirus just like the rest of us. But over the last few years, Puerto Rico has dealt with hurricanes and earth quakes, just to make things extra interesting. So, I wanted to check in on Javier and ask few questions about what it is like doing business in the Caribbean located U.S. territory where I wish I was sitting with boat drink and ocean view right now!

TS: First of all, the name of your company is Fuerza Industrial, but you are known locally as “La Casa de los Tornillos”.  Where did the name come from?

Javier: Most of our suppliers know us as “Fuerza Industrial” (which is our corporate name), but in Puerto Rico everyone knows us as “La Casa de los Tornillos”. The interesting thing is that name was placed unto us by our own customers. When we started selling fasteners, my father’s philosophy was to stock a little bit of everything, so we built a good rep around that. So, over the years customers started referring other customers saying stuff like “I bet you could go to that place that sells fasteners on Pinero Avenue… Hmmm, I think its name is something like the house of bolts (La Casa de los Tornillos)”. By 1980 we had to add that name to our building signage so people could find us. Eventually, the name became so popular that in the 90’s we had dropped our corporate name from all signage, logos and promotions in our stores. Now that I think about it, it was like we were engaged in social media before it became social media.

TS: Tell us about the history of your company.

Javier: Our company was started in 1971 in San Juan, Puerto Rico as a very small store in the same place our headquarters are now located.  We have grown tremendously over almost 50 years and now we operate 11 locations around the island and our group has over 300 employees.

When we started, our focus was other industrial products like hydraulic hoses, paints and so on. As luck would have it, my dad (Midel Gomez Sr.) was offered a lot of 10 trucks of fasteners from a company that went bankrupt which he bought for $1000 (with an installment plan). After unloading those trucks (and realizing that he did not know much about fasteners) he decided to learn everything he could so we could organize and sell them properly. Over a short period of time, he realized that fasteners were a great business to be in and started concentrating most of his efforts there.

My older brother (Midel Gomez Jr.), who has been working with the company for over 35 years and oversaw most of our expansion into what we are today, took over as president when my dad “retired” in 2001. I use the term “retired” loosely because although he no longer actively participates in day to day operations, he is always monitoring and looking out for us. At 82 he continues to be as sharp as a tack.

TS: How did you got involved with the company?

Javier: I like to say I was born into the fastener industry. My dad encouraged me to “work” at the store since I was a little kid. I worked there all summers and pretty much every Saturday. By the time I was a teenager, I knew more about fasteners than many of our employees. Most of my fondest childhood memories have to do with working at the store and interacting with customers.

I knew I wanted to continue in the family business, so I went to college and got my degree in Chemical Engineering, then I went to grad school at the University of Delaware. After that, I came back to Puerto Rico and started working full time for the company since 2004. Since then, I have been working as the “Director of Operations” for the whole group, which is a made-up title that really means something different every day.

All kidding aside, I’m very happy to be a part of our family business. Looking at what we have together along with our employees accomplished over the years makes me feel immensely proud.

TS: Many people on the U.S. mainland probably have no idea of the kinds of challenges an industrial supply house like yours has just procuring materials.  Do you pretty much have to have everything shipped in?  Where does it generally come from?

Javier: There are many challenges to operating a business in Puerto Rico. However, I would say that our biggest challenge is having enough inventory in our stores. In fact, we attribute much of our success over the years to investing more in inventory than all our counterparts. I think many people in the US are used to ordering something via UPS/FEDEX and having it in their hands a couple of days later, without giving much thought to their shipping costs. However, the cost of doing that in Puerto Rico would be prohibitively expensive (particularly for heavy low-cost items like most fasteners).

We mostly buy from US distributors, but even with them it’s a challenge. Items ship out from different branches; all arrive at our cargo consolidation point in Jacksonville, Florida, where we need to wait until everything arrives and then ship it on a container to San Juan and then to our branches. With all the logistics and paperwork involved, it can take 2-3 weeks from the moment we place an order until it’s on our shelves.

To complicate matters even more, due to US cabotage laws, ocean cargo between two US ports must be moved using US-flagged vessels. This has the effect that shipping costs between the US mainland and Puerto Rico, Hawaii and Alaska are very expensive. In fact, the cost of shipping between Florida and Puerto Rico is almost twice what it is from Asia directly to Puerto Rico.

TS: Is there a lot of competition in Puerto Rico?  How many other supply houses are there?

Javier: Although we are the leaders in fasteners in the island, we certainly have a healthy number of competitors. In addition to several local businesses that have overlapping product lines, both Fastenal and Grainger have stores here. We also have to compete with web and catalog orders from all major suppliers in the US, including Amazon and their Prime Shipping options (which I sometimes wonder how it can make money selling a $5 item with free shipping).

TS: What are some of your largest challenges?

Javier: Puerto Rico being a part of the United Stated, but not quite a state, creates a lot of confusion among many people. We sometimes need to create awareness on how things work down here. In particular, some vendors don’t understand that sometimes small changes can help us become better partners and help each other out. That’s why we love having people over to visit us and see our operation. When people visit us, they realize that our business model is somewhat different than our US counterparts and we eventually become better partners.

We also struggle with issues like any other business in the world. For example, one of the biggest growing pains of any business is that you need to reevaluate periodically the way you do things. Just because it has “always been done this way” doesn’t necessarily mean it’s okay to continue to do it that way. Conversely, just because you got a newer system in place it doesn’t mean it automatically will be better than what you had. In this day and age, where technology seems to be moving at the speed of light, keeping updated with the latest technologies and making strategic decisions so you don’t get left behind is a challenge.  

TS: Over the last few years Puerto Rico has been hit by some terrible hurricanes that shut down large parts of the island.  We saw news coverage where power was out for months.  How were you affected and how did you cope with that?

Javier: Hurricanes Irma and Maria were certainly terrible for Puerto Rico and most of the Caribbean. The level of devastation in the aftermath was incredible. Our main office was without power for over 100 days and some of our stores did not get it back for 5 months. Even with our backup generators, there was limited internet and phone service for many weeks. 

As a company, we were lucky; we only suffered minor damages in some of our stores. In fact, 2 days after the hurricane, half our stores were already open and the rest opened within 5 days. However, it was not easy. For the first two weeks there was no way to contact anybody outside the San Juan metropolitan area. We had to drive around the island and stop in each store to gather up information and give instructions. Everything got disrupted and it took a while to figure some things out.

The repair and reconstruction were a significant boom for our business, but also represented a challenge. Since FEMA and the government seized most cargo space coming to the island, for the first 4 to 6 weeks we couldn’t get any shipments in. There was also a myriad of other problems with logistics, fuel, employees, vendors and so on.

I’m particularly grateful for the support of the Fastener Industry during that period. Most of our vendors contacted us right away and asked what they could do to help. They helped us in so many ways, some even sent us care packages without us ever asking.

At the end, I think it was a humbling experience but made us grew as a company and brought our employees closer together.

Note from TS:

I have a regular column in Fastener Technology International (FTI) magazine, called 10 Minutes with the Travelling 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.”

Mike McGuire, President of Worldwide Fastener Sources.com is pleased to announce the 2020 Class of Fastener Innovation Award winners.  The awards are presented annually to recognize those individuals and companies where their specific fasteners are innovative in assemblies today and that they will be tomorrow’s standard.

Fastener innovation is so strong and ongoing, it is called a “Technology Trend” in the fastener industry.  In fastening application engineering today, the engineers and designers now dictate that fasteners are an important part of product design and assembly and are now thought of “first” in specifying fastening applications, not an afterthought of how to assemble the product.  Our philosophy is continuous improvement with innovative solutions for customers’ fastening applications.

Introducing the second class of honorees 2020:

Gesipa®                                                         PolyBulb®

Hilti USA                                                       “Smart Bolt”

KATO Fastening Systems                          LockOne®

Leland Industries                                        Thermal Expansion Fasteners    

Nord-Lock®                                                  “Original Wedge-Locking Technology”

Nylok®                                                           NyShield™

Smalley                                                         “Edgewinding” Process

Twister™ Fastener                                     Coil Washer Design

Valley Forge & Bolt                                    Load Indicating Fasteners           

The Certificate of Recognition and the unique innovative model design Reploge Crystal Marquise globe will be delivered to each award winner. 

The Fastener Innovation Award is an ongoing, year around project and will accept nominations at any time.  We look forward to hearing from fastener innovators around the world.

Worldwide Fastener Sources.com

11305 E. Monument Drive

Scottsdale, AZ  85262-4746

TS: OK, tell me why I should not think of cable ties as anything other than a low cost commodity product?

Scott Hinckley: Cable ties, also known as zip ties or tie wraps, have an unlimited number of applications and come in various lengths, strengths, materials and colors. One of the most innovative products ever created is the simple, but high quality and practical, cable tie. Used each day for tying, bundling, hanging, securing, identifying, color coding, harnessing, or the million other uses, we offer one of the largest selections available of almost every type of cable tie.

Some cable tie applications require a simple low cost cable tie solution while others may require a more specific “specialty material” tie that is made to hold up in harsh environments or for special applications. Materials can range from the standard Nylon 6/6 to 316 Stainless Steel. In either case,cable ties are a necessity of our everyday life and are used by individuals, businesses, schools, colleges and universities, industry, retail and by government agencies. Our cable ties are used by such companies as Tesla, Boeing, Apple, ExxonMobil, Amazon, General Electric, General Motors, Ford, Nestle and Coca Cola. They are also used by government agencies in the U.S. such as NASA, The Forestry Service and the FBI. 

TS: How did you get yourself involved in the cable tie industry?

Scott Hinckley : After working for a leading appliance company for 16 years and growing their business from $10 million to $100 million, I made it a goal of mine to take all of the skills I learned in that role to either start my own business or buy an existing business. After looking at 30-40 businesses a day for 18 months, I made an offer on a “cable management” company in Hilliard, Ohio. What began as that small, regional business in a tiny office and warehouse space in Columbus, Ohio has evolved into a 9 acre campus in Brunswick, Ohio. The rest is history.  

TS: What makes Cable Ties Unlimited different than other companies supplying cable ties?

Scott Hinckley : We consider ourselves very unique in that we carry more cable ties and associated products that anyone in the industry. That One-Stop-Shop approach enables the industry to make one call for pricing and availability for virtually any cable tie known to man. If we don’t stock it, we can get it. Our customers have grown to rely on us for all of their sourcing needs and consider us the cable tie experts when it comes to the solutions they require. Our extensive inventory allows us to ship 98.5% of our orders the same day we receive them! Our dedicated operations and warehouse teams ensure we have the proper inventory levels to meet our customer’s ever demanding needs when it comes to our extensive inventory levels and product mix. We also stock many of the well know brands of cable ties and related products that customers require, such as Thomas & Betts, Panduit, HellermannTyton, 3M,TE Connectivity and Velcro Brand. We also have a department focused on custom packaging, private and special labeling, cable tie imprinting and kitting. This gives our distribution customers an extra level of customization that we can do for them so they have a turn-key program to offer their customers without having to take on those projects internally. When it comes to sourcing those hard to find products, no one has the extensive sourcing abilities like Cable Ties Unlimited. We work with both domestic and overseas suppliers that produce first rate products with the highest quality standards in the industry.  

TS: What trends in business do you consider as you are making business decisions?

Scott Hinckley : We are very customer focused. We listen to our customers needs and tailor our business to those needs. Many of our new product introductions come from the needs of our customers. They rely on us for solutions and we pride ourselves in solving their issues. We also follow a lot of the trends in the up and coming industries, such as solar, electric vehicles, charging stations, growers and security. As our distribution partners come to us with new projects for their customers, we work together to find or create the appropriate solutions making it a win-win for all. 

TS: Cable ties are part of the fastener industry but also kind of part of the electrical supply industry.  What other industries am I missing?  Where are cable ties used that the average fastener distributor doesn’t think about or know about?

Scott Hinckley : Cable ties are not only used for bundling cables, they are also used in such industries as electrical, HVAC, construction, manufacturing, automobile, marine, packaging, appliance, electronics, and many more.The fastenerdistributors need to make sure their customers know they can source cable ties from them. Many end-users don’t see cable ties as being a “fastener” like nuts and bolts, they see it as a supply item. We talk to many large fastener distributors who tell us their customers don’t buy cable ties, but when we ask who some of their customers are, we find that they’re actually large consumers of cable ties, they’re just not getting the business.  

TS: How do you advertise?  Any particular unique ways you promote your company?  (i’m thinking Strongsville football games here!!)

Scott Hinckley : We do a lot of non-traditional marketing to build brand awareness, including optimizing our website and extensive email marketing. We are also suppliers to a buying group which gives us an opportunity to promote our products and services to their large group of members. We also do local advertising and participate in many fastener related association activities and advertising opportunities. One of our successful local marketing efforts is the sponsorship of our local high school football program. For the last 5 years, at their Friday night games, whenever the home team gets a first down, the announcer says, “And that’s another Cable Ties Unlimited First Down!” giving us great name recognition in the local communities. 

TS: You have a strong, veteran inside sales staff.  Tell me a bit about your team.

Scott Hinckley : We have 8 inside and outside sales people. Of those, 7 have extensive sales experience, with 1 being a newly hired trainee. Our sales staff has a combined 55 years of cable tie sales experience, with most of them being true cable tie experts. They spend their time taking care of our large customer base and prospecting for new business. We receive a large number of quote requests each day and it’s our goal to respond to each of them within 30 minutes of receipt. Our customers really appreciate this quick response time and has been a key factor in our overall high rating in customer satisfaction. One of the keys to our success is the friendly voices and personalities of our salespeople. Years ago, a trusted advisor of ours, Hall of Famer, Marty Nolan, told us we needed a friendly voice and face answering our phones. We went out and hired Frank Hocevar, who fit that bill and has been our number one contributor for over 6 years. Frank has extensive knowledge of cable ties and is an expert in helping our customers find the right solutions. Our other salespeople, Bob Allison, Bob Roach, Neil Keim, Jim Hocevar, Rich Michelson, Burke Bruening, and Honorio Torrez round out the team. Each has their areas of expertise and have been extremely valuable to our growth over the years. Our customer service staff is also second to none when it comes to their professionalism in customer satisfaction and product support. 

TS: Where do you see your business in the upcoming years.

Scott Hinckley: Growth is something we know well at Cable Ties Unlimited. Our top 3 goals for the business in 2020 are 1. Growth 2. Growth 3. Growth. 
In 2019, we were recognized for the fourth year in a row as one of the fastest growing businesses in America. The Inc. 500/5000 is an annual list produced by Inc. Magazine that catalogues the fastest growing privately held companies in the U.S. Only 11% of companies ever named to that list have been recognized 4 years in a row, quite an accomplishment! We were also awarded the additional honor of being one of Inc.’s picks for Top Cleveland Companies, ranked #14. Our team at CTU is so passionate about the work they do, because they enjoy seeing the company grow and being a part of it. Watching them develop new processes that enhance our order fulfillment time, quality of work and overall customer service, makes me honored to be working with such a dedicated team of professionals that look out for the business, almost more than I do, which is what makes us so successful!
We are focused on growing the business through expanding into new products, channels and markets. We doubled the size of our warehouse in 2019 to handle the growth we’ve experienced and at the rate we’re going, we are going to have to expand it again! We have also determined that we can grow the business faster through an acquisition versus growing it organically. We are working with an M&A firm to help us find the right opportunity in 2020.  While we have received many inquiries from potential buyers for the business, it’s always been our goal to keep it in the family. My wife and I have 6 kids and all of them have been involved in the business at one point or another. While our oldest son, Kyle, works for us full-time, the others have worked after school and summers while in middle school and high school and others have worked remotely while attending college. 
As far as products go, we currently sell nylon cable ties, stainless steel cable ties, specialty ties, special material cable ties, cable mounts and clamps, cable tie tools, wire connectors and terminals, electrical tape, spiral wraps and split looms. We are committed to serving our customers so that list will grow as our customers needs dictate. In order to meet customer demand, we have recently added a line of security ties and seals that includes customers imprinting and sequential numbering. At Cable Ties Unlimited, the product offerings are UNLIMITED!

Note from TS:

I have a regular column in Fastener Technology International (FTI) magazine, called 10 Minutes with the Travelling 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.”

I really do not have a good way to ask someone in Asia or Europe how things are going in their fastener workplaces. Sure, a lot of people I work with are in contact with factories and get some feedback on deliveries, etc. but I would welcome some responses from anyone out there that would like to share a little bit on how their work atmosphere has changed and how they are adapting.

Have any of you figured out how COVID-19, or the disease also know as coronavirus is going to affect your business yet? I see supply chain updates and realize some factories have temporarily shut down in other countries. Are domestic manufacturers seeing an increase in fill in orders? Anybody out there from the state of Washington? I think half your state is working from home now. I’m curious to see if ITR Economics offers any updated projections based on this situation. Fastener Fair says the show is still on in Charlotte in May but several others have been postponed. Friends in other industries are cancelling travel plans like crazy and several have told me that their trade shows and larger meetings have been cancelled. Curious if you have any thoughts on the matter.

And just like that, January is gone and we are in mid February. I tried to start a post at the end of December but there was too much tariff and impeachment talk and I just couldn’t wrap my head around it and figure out if and how it was affecting the fastener industry. And I don’t know if we can gauge from January how the rest of 2020 will look but several people have told me that their February is looking pretty good so far. We have the Caronavirus causing airlines to cancel flights to China and factories sending out notifications that they are temporarily shutting down. Stuff will not ship, people will change their travel plans (especially if they are stuck on cruise ships) and this will all have a ripple effect. Caronavirus just kind of got tossed into our 2020 forecasts and no one can predict exactly how this will all play out.

Fastener people might have to find domestic sources that can fill in product that will not be shipped from Asia. And the domestic suppliers a anxiously hoping that is the case. And if your customer ships product into that region, you might need to update your forecasts. But once this is settled, there is still a lot to consider going forward.

I just saw an article in Fastener & Fixing Magazine from their January 2020 issue where Jun Xu, president of Brighton Best International shared some thoughts on the fastener and industrial marketplace. It was a great article and you should find it and read it. In the article, Jun shared some thoughts on electric cars when he wrote:

“Electric cars uses 1 /3 of the components of a gas powered car. There is no transmission, no engine block, no axle or exhaust system. There is nothing but a battery and a motor. How will this change our industry when there are 66% less components being used but 3 times more of the 33% of the components being used? From my experience, when there is a higher volume but lower SKU count, it means margin shrinkage and consolidation.”

Caronavirus is a ripple, but what Jun is talking about is a tidal wave. Tariffs are a ripple, but industry consolidation is a tidal wave. And, allow me the liberty of using the lyrics from a Jimmie Dale Gilmore song, where he laments his girlfriend telling him, “babe, you’re just a wave, you’re not the water”. That line just about nails that relationship, doesn’t it?? He knows where he stands.

From the Fastener & Fixing article, clearly BBI is diversifying and striving to stay ahead of the curve, to remain part of the water and not just a wave or ripple. Jun identifies the waves (tariffs, politics) but also the changes in the water itself – technology, markets like the auto industry rapidly converting to battery powered vehicles (just this morning there was a story on the morning news of both the Mustang and Hummer EV’s being introduced). These are huge trends that are completely changing industrial distribution. And clearly, supplier and distributor consolidation are both changes affecting the waves and the water.

There are several fastener industry conferences coming up in the next several months. The Southwestern Fastener Association is having a Distributor Social event later this month. Next month Pac-West and the NFDA will have a table top in California. May brings the Fastener Fair show in Charlotte – but prior to that will be the NCFA Distributor Social on May 7 in beautiful Cleveland, Ohio. Then comes the Mid-West Fastener Show in June and I’m sure I’ve missed several others. These conferences are great and allow us to network and compare notes. See if we are all on the same page. Gives us a chance to sort out the waves from the water.

This was my first attempt at a two person interview and I couldn’t think of a better team to do it with.  Jason Wagner and Ilian Dimitrov are respectively the Executive VP and General Manager of The Richard Manno Co.  While The Richard Manno Co. has been around for many years, Jason and Ilian are the current management team and have been instrumental in taking the company “to the next level”. 

The company was founded by Richard Manno in 1978 and sold to current owner, Vincent J. Manno in 2004.  Richard eventually retired in 2009 and the company has continued to grow under the management team of Jason and Ilian.  Through continuous improvements in their processes and investments in new facilities, equipment & personnel, the company continues to make every effort to “exceed customer expectations”.  The Richard Manno Company is an ISO 9001:2015 and AS 9100 Rev D certified manufacturer.   They are ITAR Registered as well as a QSLM/QSLD Class 2 government approved supplier.

TS:  You two are “guiding the ship” at Richard Manno & Company.  How long have you two been working together and how did you end up at the company? 

Jason:  Ilian and I have both been with the company for over 9 years.  I came from a finance background and Ilian was in print media. 

TS:  Ilian, you are from Bulgaria.  How did you end up in the U.S. and then specifically in NY at Manno?

Ilian:  I was second year in college in Bulgaria, when a friend of mine asked me to go with him to an interview for students who wanted to study abroad. The interview was organized by Ohio State University. I decided to give it a shot and actually got picked right away. A month later I was in the USA starting a new chapter of my life. I completed my internship in Ohio and moved to New Jersey where I graduated from Montclair State University with a major in Business. A few years later I got an opportunity to join the Richard Manno Company. I didn’t hesitate because I always enjoyed manufacturing. I went to high school which specialized in CNC programing and also worked for my uncle’s machine shop. RMC was a perfect fit for me and I finally realize why they say people who work in this industry always stay in it.

TS:  So, in the last few years you guys have been responsible for re-inventing the Richard Manno Co.  You’ve essentially recreated the company. Tell me about some of the changes that have taken place over the last several years. 

Jason:  While Richard Manno Co remains a stocking manufacturer for large catalog houses, up until mid-2014 we were just a job shop for spot buys and small runs on per print items.  At that point we had nearly 150 machines but did not have any CNC Swiss Lathes.  We knew that in order to be competitive on long running high volume jobs as well as intricate Aerospace, Medical and Military parts we needed to move into CNC Swiss machining.  In 2014 we purchased our first 2 of these machines.  In 2016 we purchased another building and expanded our CNC Swiss, CNC Lathe and Escomatic departments.  By the end of 2019 we maxed out the capacity of that building and started replacing some of the older equipment at our original location with CNC Swiss machines in order to continue our growth in that area.  During this process we have maintained our QSLM Class 2 approval, ITAR Registration and transitioned from ISO9001:2008 to AS9100 REV D in 2018.  

TS:  In the past people might have thought “electronic hardware” when they thought of the Richard Manno Co.  What new market segments are you targeting? Where are you seeing your biggest growth?  What kinds of parts are you making today that maybe you did not make in the past? 

Ilian:  The areas that we are targeting are Aerospace, Military and Medical with our biggest growth being in Aerospace.  Some of the parts that we have made in the past would have required numerous secondary operations, most of which had to be completed one piece at a time.  With our investment in equipment and personnel, we can drop those parts complete or near complete which makes us competitive on higher volume runs.  We can be the source for prototypes, mid-size runs and long runs from commercial parts to tight tolerance precision components.  Not only did we expand our capacity in terms of production volume we are now able to produce parts with features that we were not capable of producing in the past. 

TS:  You still stock product for stock and release programs.  What kinds of parts do you have in stock for someone looking to just buy product from your inventory?

llian:  We stock shoulder screw, dowel pins, thumb screws, thumb nuts, captive panel screws, spacers and standoffs in a variety of materials and finishes some of which are certified to Military and Aerospace Standards.

TS:   The commitment to become AS 9100 certified is substantial.  There is a large investment of time and resources to achieve that certification.  Why did you go after it?  Did you have business you knew you could go after with AS 9100 certification? Did your customer base request it of you?

Jason:  This decision was customer driven as we had numerous requests from various customers to become certified.  By becoming certified it has opened up additional opportunities with existing customers as well as with new customers.  Simply put, there were parts that we couldn’t produce without it.

TS:  The Richard Manno Co. has been in business for many years.  What business trends do you see affecting Manno and affecting the fastener industry in general?

Ilian & Jason:  Automation, overseas pressure, and cost and availability of skilled labor.

TS:  Look into your crystal ball and tell me what you see for the Richard Manno Co. in the next several years?

Jason:  Growth through re-investment in the company and continuous improvement.

TS:  What is one thing about the Manno Co. do you think would surprise people who think they know the Manno Co.? 

Ilian:  We stock over 6,000 different SKU’s. Not too many manufacturers stock as much as we do. While we are not a huge company, a lot of people do not realize how much benefit there is to doing business with us.

Note from TS:

I have a regular column in Fastener Technology International (FTI) magazine, called 10 Minutes with the Travelling 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.”