“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?

By Nancy Friedman: founder and chairman of Telephone Doctor Customer Service Training

There certainly are times when we don’t get a person’s name at the start of the call, or of course, even in person.

This month, APPI's Energy Update will focus on the value-add components that they provide clients as related to energy supply contracts. As with most contracts, these can be cumbersome. In an effort to make this content more digestible, APPI has provided a terminology “cheat sheet” to help you know the key areas to focus on when reviewing contracts.  As a benefit to our members, APPI can audit your energy costs.  To learn more about this and other benefits available to our members, click here and log in.

Read on for NAW's Government Relations Update 2021-25 - October 22, 2021:

1. Latest on Reconciliation/Build Back Better (BBB) and the Infrastructure Bill (BIF)

Caleb Rier, lead quality control tech and warehouse supervisor for Empire Bolt & Screw (Spokane, Washington) has been awarded an NFDA scholarship for Fastener Training Week, an advanced fastener technical training program produced by the Fastener Training Institute®.

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.

With YRC Freight, shipping to Alaska is simple.  NFDA members receive a discounted rate with YRC.

READ MORE

Franksville, WI, March 2, 2021 – All Integrated Solutions (AIS), a division of MSC Industrial Supply Co. (NYSE: MSM), today announced that it has moved into a new distribution center in the Minneapolis-Saint Paul, Minn. metro area. The new facility, located at 10680 Fountains Drive in Maple Grove, covers 52,000 square feet and is 170 percent larger than the company’s previous distribution center in nearby New Brighton.

The new facility features a state-of-the-art warehouse system utilizing narrow aisles, wire-guided material handling equipment and 32-foot ceilings to improve storage efficiency.

“In response to growing customer demand, we are pleased to move into a larger distribution center that can accommodate our warehouse and kitting capacity needs to better serve assembly and manufacturing customers in the Greater Minneapolis/St. Paul metro area and beyond,” said AIS President Nick Ruetz.

In addition to the new facility in Maple Grove, Minn., AIS operate eight facilities in Franksville, Wisconsin; Fargo, North Dakota; Cedar Rapids, Iowa; Grand Rapids, Michigan; Traverse City, Michigan; Connersville, Indiana; Atlanta, Georgia and Monterrey, Mexico.

(May 12, 2021) – Field Fastener has been named to Inc. magazine’s annual list of the Best Workplaces for 2021. The list is the result of a wide-ranging and comprehensive measurement of American companies that have created exceptional workplaces and company culture whether teams are operating in person or remotely.

Collecting data from thousands of submissions, Inc. singled out 429 honorees this year. Each nominated company took part in an employee survey, conducted by Quantum Workplace, on topics including management effectiveness, perks, and fostering employee growth. The organization’s benefits were also audited to determine the company’s overall score and ranking.

Franksville, WI, May 26, 2021 – All Integrated Solutions (AIS), a division of MSC Industrial Supply Co., announced that it has received an Outstanding Quality Award from Motus Integrated Technologies for a second consecutive year. The award recognizes AIS for shipping more than 10,000,000 pieces with zero defects in 2020 to Motus, a Tier 1 and Tier 2 supplier of automotive interior products to the world’s automakers.

"Although the global pandemic created many challenges for companies in 2020, the entire AIS team was focused and worked hard to ensure that our customers received best-in-class products and service throughout the year. Being recognized by a leading company like Motus for our efforts is very special and rewarding for our team." stated AIS President Nick Ruetz.

From the NAW Blog:

Personalization is table stakes for any successful e-commerce website that offers more than a handful of products. As the diversity of products grows and each item becomes more targeted in use, it’s not practical to present one’s full selection to all customers (i.e., “Results 1-25 of 151,432 products”). It falls to site merchandisers to refine those results and decide which products to present to each customer.