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
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 […]
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. […]
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). […]
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 […]
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
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 […]
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 […]
MWFA FSTNR Week ’25 is right around the corner, that means it’s time to start prepping for fastener mud racing! Team leaders Bob “GQ” Baer of Abbott-Interfast, Jake “Valdez” Davis of BTM Manufacturing and Bobby “Tater Tot” Wegner of Beacon Fasteners set the stage for another memorable year. Once again, they hope to avoid electrocution, dehydration, excessive grass stains, and of […]
In this episode, Eric Dudas of FCH Sourcing Network is joined by Fastenal veteran turned homesteader Sam Aldinger and ERP code-slinger Anders Green of ALOX4 to dive deep into the evolving world of fastener sourcing, exploring why it’s still very much an art—despite rising interest in AI, B2B e-ecommerce and automation. They discuss the […]
