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."

We are saddened to learn of the passing of Ed McIlhon. We’d like to share with you the obituary lovingly written by his family.

Edward (Ed) James McIlhon journeyed peacefully to Heaven on July 11, 2022. He was surrounded by his loving wife of 52 years and his four children every step of the way.

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.

Get new-hire sales people trained now with The Four Pillars of the Sales Profession Course.

The same powerful, comprehensive sales training course that Don Buttrey has provided for thousands of sales professionals (rookie and veteran) is now available without the cost and travel time of attending a one-time seminar. Register salespeople easily for the complete E-learning course by clicking below. Give them disciplines and skills before they make any more unproductive sales calls in 2022!

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.

Don Westby passed away on November 22, 2021, at the age of 78. Don is survived by his wife Linda and two children Pamela Westby and Matt Westby (Lisa), and granddaughter Audrey.

Don grew up Michigan’s upper peninsula and attended Western Michigan University from 1961-1964. Don played football four years for Western Michigan. In 1961 he played in what Don referred to as the “original Ice Bowl,” the Aviation Bowl, in Dayton OH. Don earned a mechanical/auto engineering degree while at Western Michigan, which included work study at Ford Motor Company.

The National Fastener Distributors Association (NFDA) recently awarded a scholarship for Fastener Training Week, an advanced fastener technical training program produced by the Fastener Training Institute, to Teja Jampani, a quality engineer for Specialty Bolt & Screw. The scholarship was sponsored by Brighton Best International.

Scholarship applicants were evaluated based on the recommendations from their employers, personal achievements, work experience, and an essay. Identifying information was redacted, so that the team evaluating the applications did not know the names or employers of those applying.

Matt Boyd of Parker Fasteners recently sat down with the Traveling Salesman for a quick interview.

Click here to read the full interview

From the NAW Blog:

Marketplace pressures continue to evolve and change the competitive landscape, ranging from commoditization to eCommerce to the changing workforce. These factors are beginning to negatively impact the bottom line for many distributors. Distribution is traditionally a thin-margin business to begin with, so these new pressures are challenging many distributors. What is your company’s profitability outlook for the years to come?