Episode #207B – MFDA Revealed

 

‘Tis the season to reveal new fastener association officers, as industry veteran rep Robert Rundle of R.W. Rundle Associates takes the lead at the MFDA (8:36). On the Fastener Training Minute, Carmen Vertullo explains a critical aspect of plating (18:30). Plus, the next winner of the IronClad Gloves Out of The Rut contest. CHRISTMAS BONUS: J. R. Prahl’s “The Gift” redux edition (43:55). Run time: 49:01

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Listen to the podcast here

 

Important Links

• Robert Rundle on LinkedIn
• Carmen Vertullo on LinkedIn
• Eric Dudas on LinkedIn
• Brian Musker on LinkedIn
• Fully Threaded Radio Email
• MFDA

 

MFDA Revealed

Fully Threaded Radio: MFDA Revealed – Part 2

This is Episode 207, Part 2 of Fully Threaded Radio. We got another short episode for you. We’re continuing our reformatting experimentation here on the show. This one features a conversation with Robert Rundle of RW Rundle Associates. He’s a Manufacturer’s Rep out there in the Northeast and he’s the new President of the Metropolitan Fastener Distributor Association, one of the trio of mystery associations up there, Bri.

I know. The New England Distributor Association, one of them.

That’s another one, yeah, and the Mid-Atlantic. They’re the three that we really haven’t covered too well on the show over the years, but we take care of a little bit of that on this one. Rob’s a great guy. I had a nice conversation with him. That’s our feature. Also on the show, we’ve got Carmen Vertullo with a Fastener Training Minute. This time, he’s going to discuss reducing the risk of inspecting plated fasteners. Everybody in this industry has to deal with plating and it presents its own set of challenges when it comes to keeping those sizing’s correct.

Stick around to the closing segment, folks, because we’re also going to announce the second winner in the ongoing Ironclad Gloves Out of the Rut Gloves giveaway contest. Yes, we’ve received a couple of different photos since the last episode, where Sam Aldinger was our first winner, and this time, we’ll announce an equally compelling photo that was sent in. Who’s going to take home these amazing tactical gloves? I still have to get a photo of these up on LinkedIn, Bri. I guess I haven’t been doing my marketing as well as I could.

It’s very much the keeping with FCH’s marketing, though.

 

They’re amazing gloves. They deserve a photo. Anyway, we’ll get to that. Plus, if that’s not an enticement in itself, we’re going to close this one out with something that’s become a chestnut for the show over the years. It’s JR Prahl’s The Gift. It’s a little segment he whipped up for us several years ago. All voice characterizations and production done by JR. It’s a great holiday piece that is quite flattering to the show, but it was his gift to us and to the fastener industry. We’ll close out our final episode to the 2024 season that way. We are lucky to get that.

We feel also very lucky to have you clicking into every episode, folks. We appreciate it a lot and we appreciate the support of our partners. The title sponsors of Fully Threaded Radio are Brighton Best International, Goebel Fasteners and Star Stainless. Fully Threaded is also sponsored by Buckeye Fasteners, BTM Manufacturing, Eurolink Fastener Supply Service, Fastener Technology International INxSQL Software, J. Lanfranco, Solution Industries, 3Q Inc., Volt Industrial Plastics and Wurth Industry North America.

I’d just like to say we’ve had long years of great experiences with these companies that are our sponsors. I would encourage you to make sure that if you are really thinking fasteners, why not think of these companies first.

Excellent advice, Bri. In ‘25, we’re going to be doing a lot more to bring these partnerships to life. Lots more to say on that as the show unfolds. I also want to point out that one great thing about our partners is you see them all across the industry. They’re supporting not only what we do here at FCH with the show, the Sourcing Network, and of course the Fastener Distributor Index, but they’re also highly involved in all the associations. You see them at all the trade shows doing good things. Also, with the Fastener Training Institute. I noticed a release went out announcing Wurth Industry North America is continuing their sustaining partner role with the Fastener Training Institute. It’s a great service to the industry. Salute to them.

We all need training. It’s one of those things that it’s very easy to let it slide because training costs money, but it also brings about huge rewards.

We all need training. It’s easy to let it slide because it costs money, but it also brings huge rewards. Share on X

As with everything else, these programs require ongoing development. It’s one thing to keep running them, but they’re not standing still in place. They’re developing and they’re always coming out with new offerings. Let us know what you think of the show, everybody. The email addresses FTR@FullyThreaded.com. You can catch Brian or myself out there on LinkedIn as well. Always glad to talk to you.

MFDA: New Leadership, Regional Impact, And Association Collaboration

We cover all the associations on the Fully Threaded Radio show. Longtime readers know that. There are several associations tucked up there in the Northeast that are something of a mystery to us, although not intentionally. I saw a headline fly by on LinkedIn. New board of directors elected to the MFDA and that is among that trio of mysteries to me. I decided to invite the new president of the MFDA. He’s Robert Rundle of RW Associates. He’s on with us now.

Eric, how are you?

I’m doing very well. It’s been good to make your acquaintance and congratulations on your new position with MFDA.

Thank you. Thank you very much for having us on. I appreciate it. I’ve heard a lot of great things about the show and I’m excited to be a part of it.

It’s great to finally get you guys on here. What took us so long? That’s what I want to know. Why are you guys such a mystery to us?

I don’t know. We keep to ourselves up here. The MFDA’s been around since 1963 and I started coming to meetings with my dad who started our company in 1974. I got on the board many years ago and then became Vice President in 2018. COVID happened and time flew by and our existing president said, “It’s been long enough. Thank you very much.” I’m excited to take the group into the second half of this decade.

Now lay that out for us. Who do you have on your board in 2024 and then who are the real anchors of the MFDA that people might recognize?

Sure. I appreciate that. Thank you. I’m excited about the people on the board who’ve stepped up to volunteer. We’ve got Nick Penney from Vogelsang, who you folks might know. Nick is our vice president in 2024. He’s very generously agreed to join me. Mike Asaro from AFC Fastbolt Corporation is our treasurer. We’ve got Kelly Neidermeyer from Cambridge on the board. Jason Vanderhee from Star Stainless, Peter Caminos from Raw Products Albany County Fasteners. Sal Presti from Intercorp is one of our new board members. He joined us in 2023. Dan Pereira from Fastener Solutions is our newest board member. Our President Emeritus Michael White from Brighton Best who I’m sure you’re familiar with.

That’s right. A very familiar name. Certainly, a lot of companies at least that are familiar and regional superstars.

You had asked about that. We’ve got some of our very active members, Cambridge has been a great member for the association for as long as I’ve been around. Brighton Best has been huge. Star Stainless has been a great member. We’ve also had people like Albany County Fasteners, Fastener Solutions, Esco Fasteners on the island, and Fastar is a distributor who have been with us for as long as I’ve been around.

We’ve also got some national organizations. Fall River International. I don’t want to go through the whole list because I’ll end up missing somebody. People that cover various different indices in our area, whether it’s construction or military or general commercial fasteners, a wide variety of folks both big and small. It’s a great group. I’ve been thrilled to be a part of it over the years and we’re looking forward to growing.

We’ve got readers from all over North America and elsewhere, actually, on this show, but principally North America. Give us a thumbnail of what your region is like in terms of fastener activity. What’s the real strong point, or what are the real growth opportunities up there right now?

As far as where our group is located, actually, if you go back into the original bylaws it says 65 miles from the Center of Manhattan. If you think about us from a geographic perspective, that’s New York City, Long Island, Southern New York State, Westchester County, New Jersey type of thing. Our business here is obviously the local business, which is moving. As with a lot of industries, there is some change in locations from where the end users have been to where they are now. Our distributors have been able to expand themselves to where their presence is both regional and national in many cases, which has been exciting to see their growth.

 

As with elsewhere in the fastener industry, you’ve seen a lot of consolidation. How’s that impacted your association over the years?

It certainly has affected us. Our numbers are not what they were in the ‘70s and ‘80s just because there has been consolidation. The members that we have are strong and are growing and seem to be engaged in from what I’ve talked to them about, a lot of positive momentum moving forward.

I guess that’s all you can ask for. In terms of consolidation of associations, I talk about these three groups up there that are something of a mystery to me, and I’m sure others, but is there ever any talk of bringing your groups together, or do you already interoperate or is there a lot of cross pollination? How does that look?

There is a lot of cross pollination, as you put it. I was trying to come up with a phrase, but that was even better than what I was thinking of. The MAFDA, the Mid-Atlantic Fastener Association, actually came out of those. The people that founded that organization came from the MFDA. Talking about moving locations, some folks who had moved into the Philadelphia area, so they set it up. I don’t want to take credit for it, but they’re based on organization that has certainly grown into a great group themselves. The New England Group I’m not as familiar with, I was a member for a couple of years, but I don’t travel up into that area for work as much anymore.

I’ve seen a lot of great activity from them as far as growing their organization. The big challenge we have, and I’m sure we’re not unique with that, is getting people to travel to events. Especially with COVID, the in-person events seemed to fall out of favor. There was a lot of virtual growth as far as doing events that way. It does seem like the organizations, that in-person is, as it is in the world, you talk about the returning to work and everything, and some of these big corporations.

It seems like the in-person is coming back into favor. I know that, that any FDA has had a bunch of great events the last year or so. The Mid-Atlantic group has done a super job and we’ve had a couple of really nice events in 2023 that we’re excited about, and there’s a lot of enthusiasm for what we’ve got moving forward.

No talk of really any merger there in what you just said. I’ll just leave it there. I don’t want to step on any toes here, Rob.

No, we do have we do talk to each other quite a bit. It’s a little early to say, but we are working on a potential combined event in ‘25 with any FDA and then ourselves and the Mid-Atlantic have combined on events in the past. I’m excited about working with their board. I was in touch with their board. Eric, I’m still new to this. I’m looking forward to talking with everybody and really bringing value to our distributors, the independent sales reps like myself who are part of the organization to our manufacturers, and really bring events that will encourage people to participate.

Along with the education and training and everything that all of our organizations do, it’s a great way to network, great way to meet people and just talk to folks. Your audience is all fastener folks, so they know what it is. You tell people, “What do you do?” “I sell screws.” “Okay.” To talk to people who know what we’re talking about is always a lot of fun to me.

Along with the education and training our organizations provide, the event is a great way to network, meet people, and have conversations. Share on X

You don’t meet them just everywhere, do you?

Not as much. The PTA meetings don’t have a lot of that.

Do you go to those?

No, not anymore.

I’ve never met anyone who does, but somebody must. Do you go back far enough to remember the Fastener Quality Act in those days and the genesis of the Fastener Industry Coalition?

I do.

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Fastener Training Minute: Inspecting Plated Fasteners

This is Carmen Vertullo with your Fastener Training Minute, coming to you from the Fastener Training Institute and Carver Labs in beautiful El Cajon, California. This episode’s topic is one that I’m sure we have addressed before on the Fastener Training Minute, but I can’t remember how long ago or to what extent we addressed it. However, it comes up regularly, so it’s worthy of a rerun.

This topic has to do with inspecting threads on fasteners that have been plated. They have a coating or a plating on them. As we know, plating fasteners can be risky for a variety of reasons. One of which is we could end up with fasteners that don’t work because the plating is too thick. We have to know how to get the plating right, and we have to know how to inspect the fasteners. I’ll give you some tips on how to take the risk out of plating fasteners when it comes to the thread dimensions. There are several good facts that are relatively easy.

We are talking about inspecting fasteners that have been plated or actually how to reduce the risk involved with plating fasteners when it comes to thread dimensions. I’m going to give you several fundamental rules and tell you a little bit about where you can find them if you want to look them up. The first thing to know is when we’re talking about inch fasteners, the vast majority of our inch fasteners have a thread class that is a tolerance called 2A prior to coating. We have one particular category of fasteners, the socket head cap screw from ASME B18.3, which has 3A threads.

Now that Class 2A accommodates plating, that is, it has an allowance for plating. Think of it as if you were going to go to Starbucks and buy some coffee, and they say, “Would you like room for cream in the coffee?” That’s like an allowance in the top of the cup to make room for the cream. We do the same thing with fastener threads. We leave room for the plating, so the nut will go on.

However, the Class 3A threads in their specification do not have that allowance for plating. It doesn’t mean it’s not there necessarily, it’s just not required. The 3A class is slightly smaller than the 2A, about 75% of the size of the total tolerance. However, it’s allowed to be right up against the limit, whereas the 2A has that little bit of a tolerance. It’s supposed to be away from the maximum by about 25% of its tolerance.

It turns out that we have another egregious problem, and that is that plating thickness affects the pitch diameter of the screw thread by more than you would think. It affects it by four times the plating thickness. That’s because of the geometry of the thread being 60 degrees and the fact that we have two sides that we’re plating. It’s not a radius, it’s a diameter because there are two sides to the screw.

Plating thickness affects screw thread pitch diameter more than you'd think. Share on X

When you think about how the plating lays down on the screw thread, think about snow on a pitched roof. If you measure the depth of the snow with the ruler that is perpendicular to the pitched roof, that’s like the plating thickness. However, the effect on the pitch diameter is as if you had measured the depth of the snow on the roof by putting the ruler perpendicular to the earth, not perpendicular to the roof.

That is double what the normal plating thickness or the normal depth of the snow would be. That’s why we have a four times plating thickness effect on pitch diameter. Even though plating is relatively thin, only about 2/10,000 of an inch, our allowance is only about 8/10,000 of an inch. We really have a very good possibility of busting through that.

As we often do end up plating these socket screws, which theoretically don’t have an allowance for plating. How can we do that without risk? We can check them beforehand. It turns out that socket screw manufacturers are pretty smart, and they generally make their screws so that they will meet both the 2A and the 3A tolerance. We can check them with a 2A go ring gauge. That’s the ring gauge we are supposed to use to check the threads prior to plating. Once we have plated the fasteners, we’ve used up the allowance. Now the thread is technically a 3A thread, so we should check it with a 3A go ring gauge.

The screw thread still is a 2A. It’s not a 3A. It’s just a 2A that has been plated, so we check it with the 3A go ring gauge. An important thing to remember is that 3A go gauge or the 2A go gauge, if we’re checking prior to plating, must pass freely through the entire length of the product. By freely, that means you can’t force it, you can’t help it, you just spin it. It just has to go on by hand. When you send product out to get plated, it’s a good idea to be prepared to check it with the ring gauge. It’s a good idea to make sure that the plater has ring gauges, or maybe you can even send them your 3A go ring gauge so they will be sure and not overplay the parts.

Similarly, in the metric world, we have a tolerance class called 6g on our external threads. It turns out that all of our metric fastener threads have an allowance for plating similar to what the 2A thread class in the inch world has. That’s one of the risks that you can control pretty easily when it comes to plating screws and bolts. When it comes to nuts, we don’t have to worry. Nuts do not have an allowance for plating. Though it turns out that when we plate nuts with internal threads, they actually don’t get much thickness on the internal thread because the plating does not throw that well into that internal part of the nut.

Sometimes we could have issues with other types of coating, such as dip spin coating, but that’s a topic for another Fastener Training Minute. Now you know how to control the risks associated with your threads going out of dimension when plating screws and bolts. I hope you’ll be able to put it to use. This has been Carmen Vertullo with your Fastener Training Minute. Thank you for reading.

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Flashback To The Fastener Quality Act: A Pivotal Industry Chapter

Now, do you go back far enough to remember the Fastener Quality Act in those days and the genesis of the Fastener Industry Coalition?

I do. I was not involved other than just being very aware of that. I represented a company at the time that was very involved in that. Certainly, just from being in the area, listening at the meetings when I would attend with my father to the MFDA meetings and listen to the people and the challenges and also some of the folks who went afoul of things, we had a series of arrests and sting operations and whatnot.

As a salesman, I always represented domestic manufacturers for the most part. It wasn’t really something that that I had to worry about. A lot of my business was not in that military world. I know it was a big deal for the industry and the fact that the industry was able to rally to get legislation that helped everybody. I was a young pup, but I know that was critical and really helped us all as an industry moving forward.

Help me remember what years those were.

I don’t know, Eric. I started in ‘92, so this would’ve been ‘93, ‘94.

I’m way off.

I’m trying to remember. And I could be wrong. Don’t take my word for it. It was certainly when I started, and that was just from being brand new in the business. I was aware of it, but only peripherally.

We can leave it there. It’s way before my time in the industry also, but I was getting at the thick which allegedly, after it lost its purpose there with the Quality Act, then it went away for a while, at least as far as I knew, and then it resurfaced several years ago, and it was doing a few things. One of them being acting as a traffic cop for all the different associations and the regionals and things, making sure nobody overlapped or minimizing that. I saw that previous MFDA president, Mike White, has gone off to a position there. He is, I think, the vice chair.

He’s left us for greener pastures. No, that’s not, that’s that. If you’re reading, Mike, I’m sorry.

You can’t keep guys like that down. He is moving up.

He’s been such a great resource, not only as our president, but also to me behind the scenes and a great encouragement. I think he is going to continue to be a great thing for the industry and, selfishly, for our association. I’m excited to have Mike as part of it because I’d like to know more about it. I don’t know as much about it as I should, I’m sorry to say. I’m looking forward to hearing from Mike and learning more about the coalition.

Maybe we’ll have him on. When we were talking there about the Fastener Quality Act, it sounds like we have to recruit a few people who can take us back to that time, because it actually is a fascinating chapter in the fastener industry. It led to some very material changes. Let’s face it, you don’t really get that many fastener-related stories that wind up with a few people going to jail.

Let's face it, you don't often get fastener stories that end with people in jail. Share on X

It really was a great thing. I know there were a lot of people and I know there were people from our association. I want to say Ed Werner might have been involved in that, but unfortunately I don’t remember. I was the young kid, so I wasn’t as involved, but I certainly could find some people for you who might know more about it.

We’ll talk. Speaking of names like Ed Warner, does the name Jay Mont ring a bell to you?

A little bit, yes. I’ve heard about Jay over the years.

Yeah, he’s a legend. I’ve got to get him back on. I haven’t talked to him in a little while. He’s probably in Florida playing tennis right now.

Those guys are amazing. I’ll give a shout out to one of our former members and former presidents, Irwin Tanson, who is now down in Florida, but he was at Long Island with Merrick Stru and then Vassard. He’s a member that every year, around midsummer, I’ll get a call from him just checking in. It’s always fantastic a chance to talk to him.

That’s part of what I love about being involved in the association is that you make those connections. Irwin was not somebody I did a lot of business with the principals that I represent, but just a connection that I made and a friend that I made and somebody I love talking to and really look forward to hearing from as every summer approaches.

 

You’re going to have a lot more of that now that you’re the president of the MFDA and Rob, since you’re looking at your calendar for the upcoming year, you’re probably setting your agenda. What is it, a one-year term?

It is. It tends to roll over without being renegotiated. Hopefully, I’ll be able to keep it to a year or two. We’ll see what happens.

No surprise there. That’s how these associations go. For the next year, you must have some idea about what you’ll be doing. Why don’t you lay the calendar for the MFDA out for everybody? I know you’ve got a big event coming up in January with the ITR people. That ought to catch a few people’s ears. Lay it out for us. Rob Rundle with RW Rundle Associates. He’s the President of the MFDA.

Thank you, Eric. We’re very excited about our return to the Economic Forecast Dinner. This was something that we did in the early 2000s for a number of years, and then are bringing back in January our. It’s January 30th of 2025 at 6:30 at the Fraunces Tavern in New York City. We’re excited to be coming back to New York City.

A quick history thing, Fraunces Tavern is the oldest bar and restaurant in New York. It was where George Washington said farewell to his officers before leaving the revolutionary war to go back to Virginia. ITR is going to come in. I just love hearing their presentations, talking about what the coming years are going to bring, the economic indicators.

We actually had a meeting with our speaker, Lauren Saidel-Baker and talked about the things that we’d like to see discussed as far as the faster industry and material prices and world economic trends. I think it’s going to be a fantastic event and we’re looking forward to people joining us. If I can do a shameless plug, they can go to MFDA.us and pick up information on it and the registration form and whatnot.

As far as other events, we do an annual scholarship drive. It’s actually the oldest scholarship drive in the industry. We’ll be having that dinner in June 2025. We’ve got a golf outing that we’re aiming for the fall. We do a Toys for Tots Drive that is now in our 27th year that we’ll be doing in December 2025. We’re looking to do some after-hours events in different parts of our territory.

It’s tough to, as I’m sure it is with everywhere, getting from one end of our territory to the other. It can be 2, 3 hours in the car and a lot of money in toll. It’s a challenge to get everybody together in one place. We’re going to try to do some regional events to try to hit up folks and get them to come in and see if we can continue to grow the organization. It’s been solid for years and we’re just looking to see how much we can add to it in the coming year. That’s a long-winded description of what we’re up to.

That was not a shameless plug at all. Folks, MFDA.us is the website. You can get info on that ITR event coming up January 30th, plus all the other stuff that he mentioned. You never know, you might want to go out there and take their money home on the golf event. Look into that, folks. One other shameless idea for you. Ask your ITR buddies to discuss the Fastener Distributor Index, will you? I’ve been sending them the report for a long time. Our guys over there keep turning over, so I don’t know if we maybe lost traction with that.

I will absolutely send it over to Lauren and ask her to have that be a part of her presentation.

Thank you. I send it every month. Rob Rundle, it’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance and I think we’re going to be talking again in the future, because now that we’re aware of the MFDA, what you’re all about, you’re not such a mystery to me or Fully Threaded readers. I think mission accomplished.

That’s great. Really appreciate it. Thank you so much for reaching out and I’m excited to be a new reader to the show.

Excellent. Rob, we’ll catch you real soon.

All the best. Thanks, Eric. Take care.

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Episode Recap, Sponsor Shout-Outs, And Ironclad Gloves Winner Announcement

There you go, Brian. Finally, we hear from the MFDA on the show. Rob Rundle is the new president of the Metropolitan Fastener Distributor Association. Sounds like he’s got an enthusiastic agenda for the year ahead and it’ll be good to hear how they progress. There’s so much going on with all the associations and the Fastener Industry Coalition, for a while there, they were trying to act like the traffic cop for all the different events. Do you remember that?

Yes.

I remember briefly, Jay Minichino, he’s from up there in the East somewhere. He was presenting periodically I guess it was on the News Report, and he would do a rundown of what was going on with all the associations. Maybe we’ll try and resuscitate that idea.

The idea was good.

Another thing to put on the resolutions list.

I know. He hit one more buddy thing.

It was good of Rob Rundle to jump on with us. Appreciate that a lot. Also, Carmen Vertullo with a Fastener Training Minute. Another great episode. Another great year. While I’m thanking guests last episode, I completely forgot to thank Marco Rodriguez for his contributions. He’s been slipping in a few of his commercial real estate reports, and then last time, he did a report on the Fastener News Report summarizing the situation with Over the Road Trucking. He drops a nice, tight report in there for us and I appreciate it a lot. Look forward to more of those coming in the new year as well.

Given the expansion or the consolidation of the industry, the whole issue of storage space becomes important. Not only is it interesting for some people, but it’s also very interesting for people who are actually looking to work out how to expand their company.

 

If you’re going to distribute things, you’ve got to find a place to store them. It’s all part of the business. If you’re going to run a show, you’ve got to have good partners. The title sponsors of Fully Threaded Radio are Brighton Best International. Tested. Tried. True. Brighton Best. Goebel Fasteners, quality the first time. Go Goebel. Star Stainless. Right off the shelf, it’s Star.

Fully Threaded is also sponsored by Buckeye Fasteners, BTM Manufacturing, Eurolink Fastener Supply Service, Fastener Technology International, INxSQL Software, J. Lanfranco, Solution Industries, 3Q Inc., Volt Industrial Plastics, and Wurth Industry North America. Once again, the email address FTR@FullyThreaded.com. Let us know what you think.

If you still have a photo that you want to enter into the Ironclad Gloves Out of the Rut Contest, this is where you send us a photo of you or somebody, maybe some fellow fastener friends, doing something outdoorsy that requires potential hand injury, let’s put it that way, in our vaguely defined contest. Send us a photo. If it catches our attention, we’ll send you a pair of Ironclad tactical gloves. These are camo gloves with the trigger finger and thumb exposed for doing all those kinds of things you might need to do when you’re out in the field. We’ve got another winner.

I’m trying to imagine what you’d be doing in the field. Maybe you could be planting. It didn’t have to be carrying a gun, Eric. Maybe it’s planting your onions or something like that.

We left the instructions intentionally ambiguous to keep it open to all interests, but it’s geared towards people who gravitate towards the forest in the fall for various reasons and leave it there. The point is, this one was taken by a fellow semi-rural Northeast Ohio resident. As it turns out, it’s John Kovatch of AFC. He’s quite an avid outdoorsman. He sent us this photo of him out there in all his garb, but conspicuously absent was suitable handwear. Not only was it a compelling photo just from what he sent us, but it also demonstrates his need for these Ironclads, and they’re on their way out to them.

Thanks, John, for your entry and hope you’re having a great season. John Kovatch. Of course, if you’re a Fully Threaded Radio reader, that’s a familiar name because people know John to begin with. He’s out there in the industry, but he is also an occasional contributor on the Fastener Distributor Index Report with Mike McNulty. I love his dry sense of humor, Bri. That’s his signature. These are the kinds of things that make the fastener industry a lot of fun. Speaking of fun, JR Prahl from OneMonroe, who acquired JHP Fasteners. That was when we first met him. He put the gift together and we’re going to roll out with that one.

It’s very appropriate because it’s really one that he produced really for Christmas time.

Here in 2024, it keeps on giving. We appreciate it and we appreciate everybody reading the show. Here’s to another great season coming up. Thanks so much, everybody. Get out there, sell some screws. Have a great Christmas, everyone, and we’ll talk to you next time.

Yeah, we’ll see in the new year.

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The Gift: A Timeless Holiday Story

Where the heck is that place? I know it’s around here somewhere. Here it is. Hello. Is anybody here? Hello?

Hello there, young man. Is there anything that I can help you with today?

Yeah, I really hope you can. You see, I’ve been struggling to find my boss the perfect Christmas gift. He really is a guy who has everything. The bizarre part of my visit is really how I found out about your shop. I had a layover last night at O’Hare, and I went down to the Rock Bottom for a few drinks. I sat down next to this guy and we started to chat. He told me about his years in the fastener business and how he’d seen the good times and the bad. His presence felt almost like a mysterious guru guy. Everything he told me about life just struck a chord. It was like he knew me inside and out.

I told him that I was looking for a gift for my boss, and he scratched his head for a moment, finished his old rusty bolt, and told me to come here. He wished me good luck in my search and started to leave. I said, “Thanks for the conversation and the good advice. What’s your name, anyway?” He said, “People just call me the traveling salesman.” He tipped his hat, stepped out into the whirling snow and disappeared. Here I am. Pretty strange, huh?

The truth of the matter is, it actually doesn’t sound odd at all. I’m sure at some point you’ll see exactly what I’m talking about. Let’s forget about that for now. Why don’t you come over here and see what we have? A 1947 RCA. It’s an immaculate shape. It’s really quite a wonder of technology for its day.

I don’t mean to cut you off, but my boss has a lot of antique radios and I’ve seen a lot that looked just like this one. Is there anything here that’s really unique?

I actually have a brand-new Bose Wave Radio System over here that you put your ipod in.

Sir, I really don’t want to waste your time. He has one of these. He has everything. If you don’t have something truly unique, I’m afraid I’m just going to have to move on.

Truly unique, you say? I do have one thing. Follow me. Vladimir, could you watch the shop for me while I take this gentleman upstairs?

Vladimir will watch shop with eyes like eagle and rule employees with iron fist until you return.

Thank you, Vladimir. I appreciate your help. Do be careful on the stairs.

This may sound a little odd, but where exactly are you taking me?

You said you wanted something unique. Here it is.

What, that rusty old box? Is that what you’re going to show me, a rusty old box?

I guess you’re not really interested then in opening up the lid.

No. I came this far. It can’t hurt to look, right? What is it? It’s the most beautiful thing my eyes have ever seen.

This is what you seek. This is what you have been after. This is where your heart has been drawn to. It speaks of the future. It speaks of the past with such loving tones that soothe the savage beast. This is Fully Threaded Radio.