Tough Nutters George “GHIII” Hunt of Brighton Best, Bobby “Tater Tot” Wegner of Beacon Fasteners, Bob “GQ” Baer from Abbott-Interfast, and BTM Manufacturing president Jake “Valdez” Davis put on their jerseys to relive highlights of the dirtiest fastener networking event of 2025. Run time: 47:07 […]
Year: 2025
Special Report: IFE 2025 Floor Interviews
Floor interviews from the International Fastener Expo 2025, the largest fastener industry event of the year. The lovely and talented Lynn Dempsey traveled to Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas to get in on all the action. Golf results, break out sessions, Fastener Hall of Fame, special events and more. Run time: 01:04:18 […]
FTR Unthreaded: Scott Camp Remembers Bob Kierlin
Atlas Distribution Services president Scott Camp remembers legendary Fastenal founder, Bob Kierlin. Scott explains how he came to travel with Mr. Kierlin during the early stage of his career, observing and learning lessons he carries with him as he builds his own company today. Bob Kierlin was known for his practicality, common sense and efficiency. […]
Read More… from FTR Unthreaded: Scott Camp Remembers Bob Kierlin
Episode #219 – BrAInstorming
Thinking hard about tariffs, AI tech, reshoring and keeping stock on the shelves, the fastener industry heads to Vegas for its largest annual conference of the year. Director of strategic sourcing for Würth Industry USA, Brian Schommer explains the critical role of sourcing and the reboot of the Würth Knowing podcast (14:11). Young Fastener Professional […]
Special Report: MWFA FSTNR Week ’25
Midwest Fastener Association table top show floor interviews featuring the lovely and talented Lynn Dempsey with Rick and Morgan Rudolph, Tom Blakely, Heidi Voltrauer, Josh Winkler, Tom Buddenbohn, Mallory Nichols, Matt Delawder, Sid Hirsch, Jill Coar, Luke Radtke, TJ Munson, Mike McNulty and many more. PLUS: Golf results including winner of the coveted FTR award. […]
Episode #218 – Tariffic Times
Fastener veteran, metric legend of the midwest, Mr. Rich Cavoto of Metric and Multistandard shares his experiences dealing with tariff confusion (1:36:00). AFC Industries CEO Kevin Godin joins newsman Mike McNulty to question the shocking spike in the FLI on the Fastener News Report (48:42). Joanne Bialas celebrates International Fasteners 30 years in business (39:37). […]
FDI July 2025
Written by R.W. Baird analyst David J. Manthey, CFA with Quinn Fredrickson, CFA 8/7/25 Key Takeaway: The seasonally adjusted Fastener Distributor Index (FDI) continued to move higher in July, reaching 53.1 (June 52.0), reflecting slightly better seasonally-adjusted sales trends and higher employment. The Forward-Looking Indicator (FLI) was even more positive, coming in sharply higher m/m at 57.3 […]
FTR Unthreaded: Another Throw with Jason Baines
With tariff talk deadlines looming, Canadian locknut provider J. Lanfranco VP and part-time Highlander Jason Baines provides an update on where things stand. He also explains his entry into the realm of Scottish hammer throwing, how Canada could address some of its challenges right now, and the therapeutic aspect of raising chickens. Run time: 39:08 […]
Read More… from FTR Unthreaded: Another Throw with Jason Baines
Episode #217 – SW Threaded
MW Components VP of sales, Kara Bosse sees the exciting side of the fastener sales game as she works to make manufacturing an attractive career for the next generation (8:07). Meanwhile, pitmaster Rob “Big Country” Reynolds of INxSQL Software explains how his ERP platform has expanded to support fastener manufacturing as well as distribution (1:40:25). On the Fastener News […]
FDI June 2025
Written by R.W. Baird analyst David J. Manthey, CFA with Quinn Fredrickson, CFA 7/7/25 Key Takeaway: The seasonally adjusted Fastener Distributor Index (FDI) improved sequentially for the second consecutive month, reaching 52.0 (May 50.4), reflecting re-acceleration in sales and customer inventories. However, the Forward-Looking Indicator (FLI) fell back below 50, landing at 47.4 (vs. May’s 50.2), consistent […]