The Gilchrist Foundation has awarded three scholarships from the 2024 applicants. Congratulations to the recipients, we wish them well and are pleased to assist them with their education.  

They are as follows and their sponsoring companies:

Preparations are underway for the 4th edition of Fastener Fair Italy, the biennial event dedicated to the fastener and fixing industry. The event will kick off on October 29th in Milan, in hall 3, at CityLife - Allianz MiCo. Starting today, online registrations are open for free access at this link.

This is an unmissable two-day event dedicated to fastening and fixing technologies, where national and international producers and distributors will showcase their products, equipment and services. At the show, attendees can expect to see the latest innovations and technological advancements in the industry.

Fastener Training Week, the flagship fastener training program from Fastener Training Institute (FTI), returns to Chicago this year from August 19 to August 23.

The event will be held at the Lincolnshire Marriott and hosted by the Mid-West Fasteners Association (MWFA) as part of their annual FSTNR Week.

The Fastener Training Institute (FTI) will offer two training classes during the Fastener Fair Conference at Fastener Fair USA in May. Each class will be presented by Laurence Claus, Industrial Fasteners Institute’s Director of Education and Training. 

• The Making of Fasteners & the Cost Drivers Behind this Engineering Marvel, is planned for Tuesday, May 21, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. In this full-day class, Claus will take students into the fastener manufacturing world to explore why these sometimes-underappreciated components are complex engineering marvels. Topics will include fastener production methods (cold heading, hot heading and screw machining); the advantages and disadvantages of each manufacturing method; and thread rolling, grinding, machining, heat treatment and plating. 

The Fastener Training Institute (FTI) is pleased to announce Würth Industry North America (WINA) will continue as sustaining sponsor in 2024. 

FTI is the leading nonprofit provider of fastener product and technical training with content-rich and expertly instructed courses. WINA is a division of Würth Group, the world’s largest industrial distributor. The partnership between FTI and WINA is now in its sixth consecutive year. 

Fastener Training Institute (FTI) is excited to announce a four-part webinar series for its Fastener Basics course. 

Students can learn over lunch and complete the training across four Thursdays this spring - March 28, April 25, May 30 and June 27. Each webinar will be held from 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Pacific Time and will include time for audience Q & A.  

The Gilchrist Foundation scholarship application is available at: http://www.gilchristfoundation.com

Robbie and Gina Gilchrist established the Gilchrist Foundation Fastener Scholarship in 2000. Their goal was to return something to an industry that was very good and supportive to them.

The Fastener Training Institute (FTI) announces it will offer Fastener Training Week in Southern California, December 4-8. It comes on the heels of a sold-out session, so advance registration is encouraged.

“We had an incredible full class in Chicago last month and are eager to be on the west coast for an equally successful training week,” shared Jo Morris, FTI marketing director. “It’s wonderful to support students on the path to acquiring advanced knowledge, skills and confidence,” she added.

Fastener Training Institute (FTI) announces upcoming Fastener Basics classes in three separate locations in Colorado and California.

September 22: Denver, CO
September 27: Los Angeles, CA
November 16: Union City, CA

The Gilchrist Foundation has awarded two scholarships from the 2023 applicants.  Congratulations to the recipients, we wish them well and are pleased to assist them with their education.  

They are as follows and their sponsoring companies:

The Industrial Fasteners Institute (IFI) has announced it is starting the development of a groundbreaking new apprenticeship program for machine operators that will be recognized by the U.S. Department of Labor. This program aims to address the pressing issue of workforce shortage in the fastener manufacturing industry. With an increasing number of skilled machine operators retiring each year, the need to transfer their knowledge and expertise to the next generation has become critical. IFI has partnered on the development of the apprenticeship program with the Marshall University Advanced Manufacturing Center (MAMC), located in West Virginia. Marshall’s MAMC is well versed in the development of apprenticeship programs, having successfully written and implemented multiple such programs in use across the country today.  

"The shortage of workers in fastener manufacturing will not resolve on its own. With each passing year, our industry continues to lose skilled machine operators to retirement, and that knowledge must be passed on to the next generation," stated Dan Walker, Managing Director of IFI. "IFI and its members have decided to roll up our sleeves and create an apprenticeship program for our industry to help solve this ongoing problem." 

Fastener Fair Mexico will take place September 7-9, 2023 at Expo Guadalajara.

Fastener Fair Mexico is the only business platform that brings together the growing fastener and fixing industry in Latin America. For more than 5 years, the show has helped to strengthen the industry by exhibiting products from manufacturers and distributors, and being the ideal space to create business networks with professional buyers from Mexico and Latin America.

Fastener Training Institute (FTI) is excited to announce the next Fastener Training Week in Chicago, IL from August 21-25. The event will be held at the Lincolnshire Marriott and is hosted by the Mid-West Fasteners Association (MWFA). 

FTI’s advanced technical training program is for fastener distributors, manufacturers and end-users and is part of FTI’s Certified Fastener Specialist™ (CFS) advanced technical training program. It combines small group classroom education, discussions and hands-on exercises along with plant and testing facility tours and networking opportunities. At weeks-end, students test for CFS designation.

The 9th Fastener Fair Global, international exhibition for the fastener and fixing Industry, ended last week after three successful show days at the Messe Stuttgart exhibition center in Germany. Almost 11,000 trade visitors from 83 countries attended the event to discover the latest innovations, products, and services from all areas of fastener and fixing technology and to connect with other industry professionals from various manufacturing and industrial sectors.

Fastener Fair Global 2023 welcomed around 1,000 exhibitors from 46 countries, filling up halls 1, 3, 5 and 7 of the exhibition venue. Covering a net exhibition space of over 23,230 sqm, a 1,000 sqm increase compared to the previous show in 2019, exhibitors presented the complete spectrum of fastener and fixing technologies: industrial fasteners and fixings, construction fixings, assembly and installation systems and fastener manufacturing technology. As a result, the 2023 edition represents the biggest Fastener Fair Global to date.

Join us at Fastener Fair USA 2023! Register for FREE as our guest and visit us in booth #844. Click here to sign up with our discount link.

Fastener Fair USA is the only exhibition in the U.S. dedicated to the full supply chain–distributors, mechanical and design engineers, purchasers, wholesalers and OEMs. From automotive to aerospace, construction to HVAC, furniture to appliances, fastener professionals from every segment of the market find the latest products they need at Fastener Fair USA.

The Fastener Training Institute (FTI), the leading nonprofit provider of fastener product and technical training, is excited to announce Würth Industry North America (WINA) will continue as sustaining sponsor in 2023. This will mark the fifth year of partnership between the two organizations. 

“Würth’s continued support is instrumental to our ability to offer frequent and robust educational opportunities which enhance knowledge, safety and reliability across the fastener industry,” said John Wachman, Managing Director for FTI. Thanks to Würth’s support, FTI will continue to offer an extensive menu of in-person fastener training classes taught by leading industry expert instructors, as well as live webinars and an on-demand Online Learning Library (OLL).  

Attend the 2023 Taiwan International Fastener Show onsite or online.  To register, scan the QR code below or contact [email protected]

You're invited to attend Sourcing Taiwan 2023 – Taichung. This will be a procurement meeting event that connects buyers and suppliers from various industries including machinery, hardware, and hand tools. It will be held in person on April 27th in Taichung, Taiwan.

After four years, Fastener Fair Global 2023, the 9th international event dedicated to the fastener and fixing industry, returns from March 21-23 to Stuttgart. The exhibition represents once again an unmissable opportunity to establish new contacts and build successful business relationships between suppliers, manufacturers, distributors, engineers and other industry professionals from various production and manufacturing sectors looking for fastening technologies.

Taking place across halls 1, 3, 5 and 7 at the Messe Stuttgart exhibition center, over 850 companies have already confirmed their participation at Fastener Fair Global 2023, covering a net exhibition space of over 22,000 sqm. International firms from 44 countries exhibit at the show, representing SMEs and large multinational enterprises from Germany, Italy, China, Taiwan, India, Turkey, Netherlands, the UK, Spain and France. Exhibitors include: Albert Pasvahl (GmbH & Co.), Alexander P A A L GmbH, Ambrovit S.p.A., Böllhoff GmbH, CHAVESBAO, Eurobolt BV, F. REYHER Nchfg. GmbH & Co. KG, Fastbolt Schraubengroßhandels GmbH, INDEX Fixing Systems, INOXMARE SRL, Lederer GmbH, Norm Fasteners, Obel Civata San. ve Tic. A.S, SACMA LIMBIATE SPA, Schäfer + Peters GmbH, Tecfi Spa, WASI GmbH, Würth Industrie Service GmbH & Co. KG and many more.

Ahead of the event, Liljana Goszdziewski, Portfolio Director for the European Fastener Fairs, comments: "After four years since the last edition, it is rewarding to be able to welcome the international fastener and fixing industry at Fastener Fair Global 2023. The high turnout of exhibiting companies confirmed at the event reflects an eagerness for the sector to get together face-to-face and participate in the show to allow plenty of business networking activities and enable new sales and learning opportunities in a fast-growing market."

The Fastener Training Institute will host its next Fastener Training Week April 3-7 at the Industrial Fasteners Institute (IFI) near Cleveland, OH. This advanced technical training program is offered in partnership with IFI and is for fastener distributors, manufacturers and end-users.

Fastener Training Week offers five intensive days of education and plant tours as part of the FTI Certified Fastener Specialist™ (CFS) advanced technical training program. After completing this industry training in a small group environment and passing a final exam, attendees are eligible for the Certified Fastener Specialist™ (CFS) designation.“FTI’s Fastener Training Week (FTW) offers fastener professionals a compact yet thorough opportunity to gain knowledge, skills and the eligibility for CFS designation while learning from expert industry leaders,” shared Jo Morris, Marketing Director for Fastener Training Institute.  

Fastener Training Week in Cleveland will cover timely topics such as manufacturing processes, consensus standards and quality control and be taught by leading industry experts Salim Brahimi, IFI Director of Engineering Technology, and Laurence Claus, IFI Director of Education and Training. Participants will also tour manufacturing, secondary processes and testing facilities.

Learn more at fastenertraining.org.