News from TAITRA about their upcoming conference:

We of the Taiwan Trade Center, Los Angeles (TAITRA) are a nonprofit organization supported by the Taiwan government to promote trade between the US and Taiwan. It is our pleasure to invite you to attend the hybrid 2023 Taiwan International Fastener Show. Possessing a unique industrial cluster that synergizes fastener-related supply chains, Taiwan's fastener industry is perfect for international buyers to find large scale and niche market suppliers through either the physical or online exhibition.

• 2023 Taiwan International Fastener Show (Onsite): May 3rd - May 5th , 2023
• 2023 Taiwan International Fastener Show (Online): May 3rd - May 9th , 2023

A FREE Hotel / Flight Reimbursement Travel Incentive is available for qualified buyers, consisting respectively of free hotel lodging (up to 4 nights) for one room / reimbursement on round-trip airfare for one person from your company.

Member news from Hanger Bolt & Stud: 

David Fretz has announced his retirement from Hanger Bolt & Stud Co, after nearly 35 years. Initially heading up the sales and marketing effort of our fastener division, Dave quickly assumed a major role in the design and marketing of our emerging line of automatic Drill n’ Drive machines. More recently, his efforts have helped build our HBS wire drawing operation which now overshadows our fastener footprint. His sound leadership in our organization and the industries we serve will be greatly missed. We wish you well Dave!

SPIROL recently launched their new and improved corporate website: SPIROL.com. The new corporate website is a culmination of over 74 years of engineering knowledge and experience in the fastening, joining and assembly arena. Simple to use and easy to navigate, the new SPIROL.com makes it effortless to connect with SPIROL’s global locations, request technical support, submit an RFQ, as well as purchase product through their integrated eCommerce website: Shop.SPIROL.com.

Available in 10 languages, the new SPIROL.com has a specific Fastener & Assembly Resource Center for easy access to:

NFDA Members are invited to attend the 2022 Taipei Building Show:

We of the Taiwan Trade Center, Los Angeles (TAITRA) are a nonprofit organization supported by the Taiwan government to promote trade between the US and Taiwan. It is our pleasure to invite you to attend the 2022 Taipei Building Show. The largest building show in Taiwan and the best opportunity for meeting Taiwan suppliers and exploring new products.

2022 Taipei Building Show (Onsite): December 8th - December 11th
(Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center, Hall 1&2)

Four years after the last edition, Fastener Fair Global, the International Exhibition for the Fastener and Fixing Industry, returns from 21 – 23 March 2023 at Messe Stuttgart in Germany to bring the industry together face-to-face. At its 9th edition, Fastener Fair Global is the largest exhibition worldwide specifically dedicated to presenting and promoting fastener and fixing products and technologies. 

In advance of the exhibition, there are already 780 exhibitors confirmed from some 40 countries across the world, with the strongest representation from German, Italian, Chinese, Taiwanese, Turkish and Indian firms. Over 21,170 square metres of net exhibition space has already been booked, covering halls 1, 3, 5 and 7 at the Messe Stuttgart Exhibition Centre. Among those exhibiting at Fastener Fair Global are Alexander P A A L GmbH, Böllhoff GmbH, Carlo Salvi S.p.A., Eurobolt BV, F. REYHER Nchfg. GmbH & Co. KG, Fastbolt Schraubengroßhandels GmbH, INDEX Fixing Systems (Técnicas Expansivas S.L.), INOXMARE SRL, Lederer GmbH, MKT Metall-Kunststoff-Technik GmbH & Co. KG, Norm Civita San. ve Tic. A.S., Obel Civita San. ve Tic. A.S., PGB EUROPE NV, Pühl GmbH & Co. KG, SACMA LIMBIATE SPA, Schäfer + Peters GmbH, SPAX International GmbH & Co. KG, Tecfi Spa, TOBSTEEL GmbH, WASI GmbH and Würth. 

MSC Industrial Supply Co. (NYSE: MSM), a premier distributor of metalworking, maintenance, repair, and operations supplies to industrial customers throughout North America, today announced that it has acquired Tower Fasteners, a Holtsville, New York-based valued-added distributor of Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) fasteners and components. 

Under the equity purchase agreement, Tower will continue to operate under its current name after becoming an MSC company. Mark Shannon, President of Tower, will continue to lead the business, which has approximately 100 associates. Tower’s revenue in calendar 2021 was approximately $35 million. MSC’s acquisition of Tower, made through its All Integrated Solutions (AIS) subsidiary, expands the company’s presence in the OEM fastener market, which it entered in 2018 with the acquisition of AIS, a leading value-added distributor of industrial fasteners and components, MRO supplies and assembly tools based in Wisconsin. 

Big Bolt expands its presence in the strategic secondary services growth category.

Big Bolt, LLC (“Big Bolt”), one of the largest specialty fastener manufacturers in the US, announced it has acquired Delta Secondary, LLC (“Delta”), an Illinois-based manufacturer of fasteners and provider of secondary services.

NFDA Members,

My name is Jim Ruetz. Through our family businesses -All Fasteners & All Tool Sales (now All Integrated Solutions (AIS)- div of MSC Industrial, I’ve been an active member of the NFDA since 1995.

LindFast Solutions Group (LSG), a leading master distributor of specialty fasteners in North America, today announced the completion of its purchase of Star Stainless Screw Company (Star). Together LSG and Star will be even more effective at meeting the needs of their diverse customer base, ranging from stainless to inch, to metric, to value-added services, and more.

"We believe the combination of LSG and Star will give our collective customers unparalleled ability to meet all of their fastener needs with one company," said LindFast CEO Bill Niketas. "With Star's 14 branches and distribution centers across North America and the 16 locations we have, this collective footprint will allow our customers to access product even more efficiently than in the past."

Sherex Fastening Solutions, a global leader in engineered fasteners, tooling, and automation, is proud to announce its relationship with Budd Sales Company, an engineered fastening specialist, to be a sales representative in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana.

Budd Sales, owned and operated by Tom Buddenbohn, has over 40 years’ experience working with manufacturers to find the right fastening solutions for their applications. Sherex’s wide-range of quality fastening products, including rivet nuts, clinch nuts, threaded inserts, wedge-locking washers and nuts through its Disc-Lock® and TEC Series® product lines, and the tooling to install these fastening products, makes the match an ideal fit for Budd Sales. 

Field Fastener, a family owned, global supplier of inventory management, technical support services, and complete supply chain solutions for fasteners and other “c” class items, has announced the company’s leadership succession plan. Jim Derry, President and CEO of Field, has announced that Adam Derry will be promoted to succeed him as President, effective immediately. In addition, Chris Pauli will be promoted to Executive Vice-President and Chief Financial Officer. Jim Derry will remain the company’s CEO. The new roles reflect the tremendous impact Adam and Chris have had on Field’s growth and culture, and a testament to the confidence Jim and Bill Derry have in their ability to execute on its future growth plans.

In 1990, Jim and Bill Derry acquired Field from Dick Field. Since that time Field has seen aggressive growth; achieving an 18% average growth rate per year due to its world class culture and staying customer centric. Field currently has operations in Rockford, IL, Tyler, TX, Florence, SC, Troy, IL, Monterrey and Monclova, Mexico, and Kaohsiung, Taiwan. Under Jim’s leadership, Field grew beyond $100 Million, and rolled out the 30-Fieldamentals, which is at the heart of Field’s culture. As CEO, Jim will focus on key customer relationships, acquisitions, and facilitating strategic planning.

NFDA member Mid-States Bolt and Screw Co. recently stepped up to fill 320 backpacks with supplies and send them to families in war-torn Ukraine.  Click here to read the full article.

“In proposing duties of up to 86.5 percent on Chinese fasteners, the EU is creating a permanent supply problem for the European industry thereby putting ‘Made in EU’ at risk. The excessively high duties will hit European companies at a time when they are already suffering from massive supply problems. It is completely incomprehensible that the European Commission wants to make the supply situation even worse under these exceptionally difficult circumstances." This was the response from Volker Lederer, President of the European Fastener Distributor Association (EFDA), to the Commission’s disclosure of its conclusions from the AD676 anti-dumping investigation issued on 14 December 2021.

The European Commission intends to impose an anti-dumping duty on imports of screws and other iron and steel fasteners originating in the People's Republic of China. A duty of 39.6 % is planned for a limited group of Chinese fastener exporters. However, the general duty rate is to be a whopping 86.5 percent. The Commission initiated the investigation on 21 December 2020, following a complaint lodged by European fastener producers. According to the Commission, the duties are to be imposed by 17 February 2022 at the latest. Before that, the governments of the EU Member States will vote on the definitive measure.

From the NAW Blog:

There is a silent but growing profit drain leaking away at wholesale distributors this year, and according to experts, it’s likely to double next year and beyond. For the average distributor with an EBIT of four percent, it could potentially reduce their profitability by 60 to 150 basis points, or 15 to 25 percent. However, for a select group of companies, it will increase profitability by the same percentages. What’s going on here?

From the NAW Blog:

AI is an incredibly beneficial tool for distributors who want to transform their offerings and get ahead of the competition. Artificial intelligence can analyze complex data and provide unique insights into customer patterns, product demand and future sales. With it, you can support various sales channels and enhance how your team interacts with customers.

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The Fastener Training Institute (FTI) is proud to announce Marketing Director Jo Morris has been named the “2021 Woman in Business” by Women in the Fastener Industry (WIFI). WIFI defines a Woman in Business as a champion and community advocate who works to unite, educate, mentor and encourage other women to reach their full potential.

“I am immensely grateful to belong to such an outstanding association and honored to receive this special award,” said Morris. “There are many women in the fastener industry I look up to and respect, especially my fellow WIFI members, who have worked hard over the years to advance women in the fastener industry.”

S.W. Anderson Company, a specialty and class C component distributor, has made two acquisitions: Jet Fitting & Supply Corp, a specialty and standard fastener distributor in Santa Ana, California, since 1946; and The M.E. Martin Company, a standard fastener distributor in Cleveland, Ohio, since 1977.

"We're thrilled to add both the Jet Fitting and M.E. Martin employees to S.W. Anderson," stated Jim Degnan, President of S.W. Anderson Company. "Their ability to work on applications with customers will pair well with S.W. Anderson's technical sales model and access to engineered products. We look forward to supporting our newly acquired customers with more products, services, and technical resources to help grow their businesses.

As one of the world-class industrial fasteners trading platforms, the sixth edition of "The Taiwan International Fastener Show (Fastener Taiwan)" will be launched from April 19-21, 2022 in Kaohsiung City, Taiwan. This long-awaited gathering of the world-leading B2B fastener industry leaders is a one stop shop to conduct business with stakeholders across the global supply chain.

In 2022, the exhibition provides exhibitors and buyers with a complete virtual and real integrated digital marketing platform. Hybrid online & offline events such as online exhibition, online product seminar, live tours, global fastener forum, online procurement meeting and on-site guide for online visitors.