ROCKY RIVER, OH—May 14, 2018–-Earnest Machine is now offering domestic hex nuts in response to increased demand for U.S.-made products.

“The federal Surface Transportation Assistance Act of 1982 requires the use of domestically made products in transit projects that receive more than $100,000 in federal money,” said Patrick Ginnetti, marketing director for Earnest Machine. “As the country’s infrastructure ages, maintenance, and repair spending on transportation infrastructure continues to grow in the U.S., which means increased demand for products made here.”

A Press Release from the Fastener Training Institute

Officer elections were held at our most recent Board of Directors meeting. We’re pleased to announce the following:

Fastener Fair Stuttgart 2019 will take place from 19 – 21 March 2019 at Messe Stuttgart in Germany. The 8^th International Exhibition for the Fastener and Fixing Industry will once again occupy halls 1, 3 and 5 at the Stuttgart Exhibition Centre. Less than one year ahead of the show stand bookings are already well underway. The organiser Mack Brooks Exhibitions also announces that, for the first time during Fastener Fair Stuttgart 2019, there will be a special area for bonding and adhesive technologies, the “Bonding & Adhesive Technology Area”.

Over 700 companies from 38 countries have currently already secured their stand space at the International Exhibition for the Fastener and Fixing Industry. Amongst them are companies from Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, the United Kingdom, Turkey, China, India and Taiwan. To date, more than 18,000 square metres of the available net exhibition space have been booked or reserved. Hence, 85% of the total available stand space has been secured by exhibiting companies, around one year ahead of the show.

A Message From NAM

White House Continues Suspension of 232 Tariffs on Steel and Aluminum Imports until June 1 for European Union, Canada and Mexico; Reaches Deals with Argentina, Australia and Brazil

Thermal expansion is a common problem in applications that are exposed to high temperatures or that use materials sensitive to temperature changes. The usual problem is that internal components become loose after external components expand due to an increase in operating temperatures causing unwanted movement, vibration, and noise within the application. Design engineers plan to avoid this situation by pre-loading components with spring elements that compensate for thermal expansion and fix the components tight in place, avoiding unwanted movement within the application.

High-volume production drilling makes custom easy

ROCKY RIVER, OH—April 4, 2018–-Earnest Machine has added new equipment at its Rocky River, OH, facility that enables the company to do high-volume production and specialty drilling of holes from 3/64” to 13/32”. “Earnest has always offered low-volume drilling of parts,” said Al Shannon, manufacturing manager at Earnest Machine. “This new equipment opens up additional opportunities, enabling us to bring more drilling services in-house and allows us to take on higher volume runs of up to one million pieces.” Shannon noted that adding high-volume drilling capabilities equips Earnest Machine to offer one-stop shopping for customers who need specialty work, making custom jobs quick and easy. In addition to the ability to drill small diameter holes in small parts in large volumes, Earnest continues to offer hex head and socket head drilling up to 1-1/4” diameter; thread drilling up to 2” diameter; core drilling up to 2-3/4” deep and tapping up to 2-1/2” deep. “One of the common complaints in our industry is that machine shop work is rarely on time,” added Shannon. “At Earnest Machine, we track our shop metrics and our on-time delivery rate is 97.4%. That’s because everything we do is wrapped in the Earnest customer service experience, including the custom work in our shop. If it’s not a quality part, the job’s not complete.”

Mastering RPA: How to Maximize ROI with Minimal Investment

Leading the charge for Industry 4.0, robotic process automation is capable of digitally transforming distribution through small initiatives that drive big results

Sherex Application Spotlight: Replacing Welded Hex Fasteners with Full Hex Rivet Nuts!

• The OEM was experiencing low throughput rates and creating toxic emissions by utilising weld nuts.

• Sherex's engineering team designed and produced a full hex rivet nut to be installed using the FLEX-5 rivet nut installation tool.
• The new solution increased throughput by 50%, eliminated toxic emissions, AND provided a significant cost savings to the OEM.

The National Fastener Distributors Association (NFDA) has awarded six scholarships for Fastener Training Week, an advanced fastener technical training program produced by the Fastener Training Institute.

• Alexander Broadworth, Mid-States Bolt & Screw (Flint, Michigan)
• Dan Fordham, NSK Industries (Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio)
• Danette Gralfs, Empire Bolt & Screw (Spokane, Washington)
• Megan Somers, Mid-States Bolt & Screw (Flint, Michigan)
• Chris Trifari, Fastener Supply Company (Charlotte, North Carolina)

Applicants were evaluated based on the recommendation from their employer, 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.

National Fastener Distributors Association (NFDA) and Caliper, a New Jersey-based firm that helps businesses to select talent and develop their workforces, have announced a business partnership designed to make personnel decisions – from hiring to succession planning – more seamless and precise for association members.

Through the relationship, Caliper will support association members with their hiring and employee-development solutions. Specifically, NFDA members will receive exclusive access to, and discounts on, Caliper’s pre-employment assessment tools and other services that have been shown to align talent with strategy, hire better people faster, and develop leaders, teams and mission-critical employees.

Wynnchurch Capital, LLC ("Wynnchurch"), announced today that it has completed an investment in Anderson Metals Corporation, Inc. ("Anderson" or the "Company"). Anderson is a manufacturer of brass fittings, valves, pipe nipples and related products to the plumbing, hardware and general industrial end-markets. The Company is headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri and was founded in 1947.

Chris O'Brien, Managing Partner at Wynnchurch said, "Anderson has built an outstanding reputation and strong leadership position in its industry during the past 70 years. We feel very fortunate to partner with Keith and Kent Anderson going forward. In addition, we believe this is an ideal opportunity for Paul Ciolino, a Wynnchurch Operating Partner and former CEO of US Pipe, to work with management and leverage his leadership, industry expertise and relationships to take Anderson to the next level." Greg Gleason, Managing Director at Wynnchurch added, "We are excited to invest in Anderson and to build on the Company's history of success. We believe that Anderson's focus on providing customers with industry leading quality, availability and service, combined with Wynnchurch's experience, positions Anderson to be a strong platform for growth."

A Message From Bruce Merrifield

Following Amazon innovation news and making sense of it for legacy-distribution-channel players is a full-time job. I’ve been doing my best at this quest for most of 2017. Now, the University of Innovative Distribution (http://www.univid.org/aws/AEA/pt/sp/uid_home) has asked me to do a “NEW” day long course on this topic on March 13 in Indianapolis.

Würth Industry North America (WINA) today announced the appointments of Mike Buchanan and Miseal Mena. Buchanan has been named Vice President of Finance, and Miseal Mena, currently Project Manager for Central and South America, as well as Sales Manager for Mexico, has been promoted to Head of Business Development for Latin America. Buchanan and Mena will both report to Marc Strandquist, Executive Vice President of the Würth Group.

Buchanan will be responsible for directing the finance strategies, analysis, forecasting, and budget management for the business unit, as well as ensuring that financial policies and practices are compliant with corporate and accounting standards. He comes to the team with a broad background in finance, support services, and business planning. Most recently, he held the position of Vice President, Finance and Support Services for SUEZ – Advanced Solutions in Atlanta, GA. Buchanan received his B.S. degree in Business Administration from The Citadel, and his MBA from DePaul University. He is a Certified Management Accountant and Certified in Financial Management.