Episode #210 – So Long Steve

 

As he rides into the sunset, Steve “The Sasco Man” Dunham stops by to take stock in a fastener career well spent (9:08). On the Fastener News Report, Mike McNulty welcomes Würth Industry USA COO Jeff Schmitt to read into sinking FDI numbers, plus major strategic announcements from Würth (35:16). Carmen Vertullo explains proper nut lubrication for structural applications on the Fastener Training Minute (1:13:18). Following the MFDA economic meeting, Brian and Eric consider safe asset classes before anything hits the fan. Run time: 01:29:37

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Listen to Podcast here

 

So Long Steve

Unveiling The Fastener World: Episode 210 Kickoff

It is Fully Threaded Radio, the voice of the mighty FCH Sourcing Network. If you buy, sell, manufacture, import, or distribute industrial threaded fasteners, you clicked on the right show. Everybody, Eric Dudas here with you again, coming to you from semi-rural Northeast Ohio. The co-host of Fully Threaded is with us as well from the balmy Chicagoland area. It’s Brian Musker. How are you doing, Brian?

I’m doing good. It is very balmy. It’s above freezing. It’s amazing.

It is a nice break. This is episode 210 of Fully Threaded Radio. We’ll be publishing this time on February 11th, 2025. It’s been a good old-fashioned winter. We’re getting a little reprieve. I expect it’ll be back, but here’s a show to help you, going down the road if that’s what you do, driving to work, or sliding down the highway to work, which has happened a few times this winter, too.

Sliding, not even on a highway in your backyard.

I was talking to Steve Dunham over at SASCO Fasteners up there in Medford, Oregon. He’s going to be our featured guest on this episode. He and his wife, Cheryl, are retiring from SASCO after many years, as you’ll read. He was all thrilled that he was going to get to go to his second home. It’s not a summer home, but because they were going to get snow.

Tell him to come to Chicago any old day of the week.

Don’t worry, Bri, hang tough. We’ll make it to spring.

I keep dreaming of spring.

This is a great conversation with Steve. He’s been such a longtime friend of the show. Sorry to see him go.

We interviewed him years ago.

He’s been on the show several times, most recently when his company got hacked with ransomware. We’ll say, “So long,” to Steve on the show as we open it up here. On the Fastener News Report, Würth Industry USA Chief Operating Officer, Jeff Schmitt, joins Mike McNulty. The Fastener Distributor Index shocked a few people. It took a little bit of a dip. Jeff has some thoughts on that. It turns into quite the conversation. Another episode of the Mike McNulty Show is what we got here, Bri. Those two go at it. Mike’s got a nice Back Page story plus another goodie or two tucked into this one.

On the Fastener Training Minute, Carmen Vertullo talks about the lubrication of nuts used in structural applications. Hinging on his Skidmore-Wilhelm episode is what I’m thinking here, Bri. He was on the road. I snuck up on him and said, “We’ve got to record it right now.” He just pulled this one out of his hip pocket, but it’s another good one, Fastener Training Minute. Stick around to the closing segment on this one, folks, because Brian and I are going to take a look at ITR’s recent pronouncement on their predicted worldwide depression.

It’s been around the corner for years.

Those of you who have followed ITR economics show up here and there. The NFDA has them and others. They’ve been predicting this depression. The MFDA held its annual economic meeting in January. We got the takeaway on that one for you, at least as far as their depression goes, because let’s face it, we’re all on the edge of our seats for that. A lot of people pay attention to ITR, Bri.

They should, but they’ve been harping on this whole same subject for years. It’s always long enough, far enough in the distance that you can forget about it.

It’s getting a little closer. That’s the problem. A lot of people do pay attention to them. We’re glad a few people pay attention to us, too. That’s because of the wonderful support of our sponsors, who make Fully Threaded Radio a reality. The title sponsors of Fully Threaded 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, Volt Industrial Plastics, Fastener Fair USA, and Würth Industry USA. The email address over here, should you care to comment or send a question our way, FTR@FullyThreaded.com. We got some pretty good ones after the Skidmore-Wilhelm episode. Some of them were actually pretty humorous. I got a lot of eyebrows raised also with that segment on the truck tires falling off on the highway because they’re improperly torqued.

I haven’t seen that. I’ve had a tire blow up on a truck just next to me that gave me a fright.

I’ve seen that, too. I don’t know, but I’ve never seen a truck wheel going down the highway. Like they said, supposedly, that happens three times a day in the US.

That’s amazing.

Sure is. We’re going to say goodbye to Steve Dunham and Cheryl in just a minute. During the conversation, he mentions that he is going to attend the Pacific-West Fastener Association Spring Conference and Tabletop. That’s nice because I’ll get to see him out there. That is happening, by the way, folks, March 13th through the 15th in Anaheim, California. Get out to Pac-West.org to register. They’ve got a very nice lineup of attendees already. Their tabletop event is always quite well attended. That is going to happen this time, March 14th, 3:00 to 7:00 PM.

For some people, that’s all they’ll see of the conference. Others will be there all three days for the lineup. That’s all on the website, Pac-West.org. It is well worth your time. A lot of people will be there. I know who will not be there, though, Bri. That’s our old buddy, Dee Ward. You might remember he’s been relocated to Malaysia. Here’s one for you before we cut over to Steve. Did you know that Dee Ward is a doctor?

No, I did not.

I didn’t either. I was scanning through LinkedIn the other day. I saw this post from the International Prime Awards. Dee has been presented with their Outstanding Leadership in Global Business Expansion Award for 2025. There’s this giant slide with his name on it in front of the presentation committee. It says, “Dr. Dee Ward.”

He kept that very well hidden.

We’ll have to look into that. He’ll be on in March. He promised we could record sometime in March. We’ll get with him on that then. I don’t think he is based in Malaysia. I think it’s Singapore.

They’re very close.

This award was presented in Malaysia. He might have taken the copter over there for the evening. You never know. That’s the way these high rollers do it. On the other side of the spectrum, we have hardworking in the trenches guys like Steve Dunham with SASCO. We’re closing an era with this one. We could not not have him on the show to let him tip his hat to the industry. Let’s get to that right here.

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Steve Dunham’s Legacy: A Journey Through SASCO, Industry Evolution, And Personal Connections

This sounds a little weird. Joining me, formerly from SASCO Fasteners, it’s Steve Dunham.

Good morning from beautiful blue skies in Central Oregon, where I live a portion of the time.

You can live wherever you want, now is the way I hear it.

Pretty much, I’m not totally retired, but I still got the train to keep on the track.

I should start this conversation by saying congratulations. We dropped on the last episode. It was 208. I’m all messed up with the order these days. Congratulations on your retirement. It’s been a long ride. You’ve been a friend of the show for a long time. What’s the synopsis for the Fully Threaded audience?

I have been tuning in to Fully Threaded since episode one. I listen to it up here in Sunriver, where I’m at right now. You had either Bob or Joe Truckey on with you, who are good friends of mine.

It would have been Joe.

It was probably Joe. We’re sitting in the lodge contemplating buying property up here because we thoroughly enjoy this area of Oregon. It has four golf courses, 30 miles of bike trails, walking trails, and a fly-fishing river that runs through it. It’s an absolutely beautiful place.

You know how to do it. You certainly earned a fancy retirement like that. You’ve been at it a long time, you and Cheryl. For folks not familiar with SASCO, give us a thumbnail of what you’ve been doing leading up to this moment.

For 35 years, Cheryl and I have owned a small distributorship in Medford, Oregon, which is just 30 miles over the Oregon-California border, called SASCO Fasteners. We are fairly small because we’re a small community, taking care of MRO accounts, OEM accounts, contractors, both big and small, but we’re in the scheme of things, small potatoes. After 45 years of being in the fastener business, all told, after ten years in LA, I decided it was time for us to make a move to someplace smaller. I wasn’t stuck on the freeway in Los Angeles for a good portion of my business day. We moved up to Oregon with two small kids, found a way to make a living, enjoyed the heck out of it, every bit of it, and made some good friends, not only customers, but associates.

We ran into each other originally through the Pac-West. The Pacific West Fastener Association is a great place to meet people. Hats off to you because, in my opinion, you guys are the heartbeat of this industry. That was one of the reasons we hit it off right away.

We did. Like you say, small business in general is the heartbeat of the nation. The fastener business is typically full of a lot of small business entrepreneurs. A lot of us have a lot of the same philosophies. That’s what I’ve found anyway.

Small business in general is the heartbeat of the nation. The fastener business is typically full of a lot of small business entrepreneurs. Share on X

You’ve seen a lot of changes in the fastener industry over this time. Do you have any observations looking back on it?

When I started in the fastener business many years ago, I was hired by a company, which some of the old timers might know, called Dave Grattan and Sons. We were a fastener packager and also a manufacturer’s rep. Our biggest line at the time was Rawlplug, which has become Powers, which is now called Powers by DEWALT. We were a rep for Powers Fasteners Rawlplug at the time, Milford Cutting Tools, and Vulcan All-Thread. Our territory was Southern California, from the Central Valley down to the California border.

My job was primarily to call on lumberyards, hardware stores, fastener houses, staff houses, and anybody who was reselling the product. I would go in and physically write orders and then have to call those orders in. There were no faxes. There were pay phones. That’s how you communicated with the office. We graduated into a courier system where I would write orders and then put them in an envelope. They had subscribed to a courier service that would pick up these envelopes from different drop spots in Southern California. All of us would put our orders in an envelope. The courier system would pick them up and deliver them to the office in the San Gabriel Valley.

You accumulated all this knowledge and got all these ideas for your own operation. When you moved up North to Medford, I’m sure you deployed a lot of that. What operation did you run up there?

It was the same. We weren’t a manufacturer’s rep, but we called on OEMs, MROs, large and small contractors, and anybody who used the product. We had a pretty significant will-call business. We still do. It’s a rural community. A lot of people would drive on in and figure, “I could get what I need at SASCO.” They’d walk in. They’d get what they needed. We’ve cultivated relationships with a lot of the rural farmers and small contractors.

 

We still don’t get into nails and staples, so we’re out of that business. I always figured, “We need to have a minimum order just to make it cost-effective.” Out of the air, I figured, “We’ll make a $5 minimum order. If you can’t figure out that you need $5 worth of stuff, we’ve got a whole showroom full of hand tools, abrasives, and stuff that you use day in and day out anyway. Figure something out.”

Once upon a time, $5 would actually buy you something.

$5 wouldn’t actually buy you something anymore.

How about if they came in with a couple of chickens, and they needed to trade for a case of drywall screws?

We never did that. We never traded for goats or chickens.

It wasn’t that kind of place.

No, not that.

I remember when you visited us on the show. You had gone through that ransomware. You lost your ERP for a little while. You had to go back to paper. That was a hair-raising episode.

That was scary. It was upsetting, but you plod on through it. As I’ve eased into retirement here, my day-to-day routine is going in and seeing customers that we’ve dealt with for some 35 years or that I’ve made relationships with. I’ve categorized. I’ve got friends who are customers. I have customers who are friends. I have customers who many of them I plain don’t know. A lot of my friends who were customers, who were close friends with Cheryl and me, knew of this transaction for probably six months before it happened. We signed a non-disclosure agreement.

Most of my friends are retiring or retired and are pushing me as to, “When are you going to retire?” I said, “There’s light at the end of this tunnel.” With that experience, when we had our ransomware, I was sweating it. There’s no getting around it. I had to go in and hand-enter purchase orders, sales orders that we had lost during that time. I had two or three customers who would come into my office and check on me. “How are you doing?” I had a couple of customers who would come in and say, “Let me sit down here in your office. Let’s pray because you could use that.” I said, “I really could.” That meant the world to me, those people who would come in and just say, “Let’s pray together.” As a Christian businessman, that means a lot.

You made some deep connections there, Steve.

Yes, I have made deep connections, not only with my customers, but with my associates and with my vendors as well. That seems to have changed post-COVID. The vendor relationships have wavered. There were a few vendors, either manufacturers’ reps or factory people, that I’ve still got close relationships with. A lot of them couldn’t see their way to come down all the way to Medford. You see them at a show. They say, “I’m going to come see you.” I’d say, “Do you know what you’re saying here? You’re going to fly into Portland. It’s a five-hour drive south. You don’t have a lot of places to call on. There are maybe three or four. You get to Eugene. You go south on I-5. You’ve got a two-and-a-half-hour drive before you get to Medford. You might want to rethink this plan of coming to see SASCO in Medford.”

The ones who made it out there really made a statement, didn’t they?

That’s right. I knew that if you had the tenacity to come out to see me, I’m definitely going to make the time to see you.

As you approached this time in your career, in your business, did you anticipate selling the company, or was that just something that came up and you took the advantage of the offer? How did that go?

I had figured that this was going to happen eventually. I knew that my business was successful, whatever that means. We weren’t making a ton of money. We weren’t a $5 million corporation, but we had the trust and the goodwill of the community. That was something that was sellable. As things went on, people contacted me, knowing that “Steve’s getting to that age. He’s got to be thinking about it.” My kids wanted nothing to do with the business.

My son is an architect in Los Angeles. My daughter is a physical therapist on the Oregon coast. They wanted nothing really to do with it. I figured, “The time will come. Somebody will step up and say they were interested.” It happened. I had a number of inquiries. Nothing seemed like it was going to click. They were looking for somebody a lot larger than I was. I had talked to other people who had sold their businesses to private equity firms and larger groups. They just trashed the business from a personal standpoint. My employees had worked for me. I still have an employer.

He’s not really my employee anymore. He’s their employee. I had a fellow who had worked for me since I bought the business in 1990. I told the new owners, Rob and Troy Hilfiker from R&S, “Bob here knows where all the bodies are buried in this warehouse. You can come to him.” I’ll find something in the computer and go, “What the hell do we have that for? Where would we keep it?” I go out in the warehouse and go, “Bob, do we have this?” He goes, “Yes, it’s right here.” He would take me right to it and point it right there.

Every warehouse needs a Bob.

I would go back, look at the part, and go, “Yes, you just counted it six months ago.” He was the guy who was my inventory control guy because he knew where everything was. Most of my employees had been with me for 5, 6, or 7 years, if not 10. I never had a big turnover of people.

You must have been doing things right.

I guess, yes.

It sounds like you’re doing things right on this side of it, too, because you and Cheryl told me that you headed out to your summer place. I don’t know if it’s necessarily summer.

It’s not summer. We’re expecting 6 to 12 inches of snow.

It is your getaway. Put it that way. You told me that over all these years, you’d never spent more than a couple of days there. This will be your first ten-day stint. Was that it?

This is a ten-day stint. It’s Cheryl’s birthday. Our daughter is coming over from the coast with her husband and her big, old, gigantic 90-pound puppy dog to play in the snow. I’m looking out the window, going, “There’s a little bit of snow.” Our place looks right out on the golf course. I said, “There’s a little bit of snow on the fairway. Duncan could go romp in the snow on the fairway, but we can probably take him up to Mt. Bachelor.” It is our ski area that’s not too far from us. I said, “There’s snow up there because Mt. Bachelor’s running. We can take him up to the snow park and let him play in the snow up there. That’s great.”

Fastener dogs love to romp around in the snow. Good going on that. It sounds like a great place. I hope you make it all ten days. This is the first that you’ll be doing it. It’s appropriate that it’s Cheryl’s birthday, also, because I’m not going to let this conversation wind all the way down, Steve. We’ve got to smooth out one little point of tension before we close the door on this, right?

Yes.

All those years ago, what was it that rubbed Cheryl the wrong way? Why did Fully Threaded rub her the wrong way?

It is probably because when we would drive up here, it’s about a three-hour drive from Medford up here to Sunriver, which is in the center of the state of Oregon. We’ve got to go up and over the Cascades. In the early days, I would listen to the podcast on my phone. It wouldn’t pipe through my earplugs because I’d typically be driving. She’s going, “Why do you listen to this stuff? It’s driving me crazy.” I said, “It is because it’s of interest to me.” I kidded with you. I’m going, “That’s another two and a half hours of my life I won’t ever get back,” because the podcast tended to be rather long.

It is a perfect drive time.

It’s a great drive time. No, it was perfect for drive time. That’s when I would listen to it. Either that or when I was spending time on the road, flying to a Pac-West meeting, a staff meeting, or a Sphere 1 meeting. That’s my time. I’ve got this open time area. I can listen to that podcast. The other podcasts I listened to are maybe half an hour long. That’s usually my attention span.

I hope that she has forgiven us over the years.

She has forgiven you. She’s upstairs getting ready for the day. I asked her, “Do you have any messages for Eric?” She looks forward to seeing either one of you. We’re planning on going to the Pac-West meeting in March in Anaheim because Bob Reynolds, Kim, and I have become very close friends over the years. I saw Bob’s name on the attendee list.

I said, “Bob, are you really planning on going?” He goes, “Yes, Kim and I are going. Are you guys going?” I said, “Yes, we’re thinking of going. I don’t need to go to the educational meetings, but I’d like to go to the social functions. I haven’t seen these people in a while because I have just been busy trying to prep this business to sell.” He says, “We’ll come a couple of days early. We’ll go play golf with the Truckeys. We’ll go to dinner. We’ll have some Cap’n Jack.” That’s how we would golf. We would golf with Cap’n Jack.

That is going to be epic. You’re going to have some stories to tell on that one.

You can rap me out to Bob. You’ll know exactly what, not so much Rob, but Bob.

Long-time INxSQL users, you were, too. I should have mentioned that earlier on.

We were one of the originals. One of the nice things with this sale is that these R&S Industrial Supply, who bought us out, are really good guys. They use INxSQL. They have the same business philosophy as I do. They’re a family-first Oregon-run business. They have three branches up and down the I-5 corridor. It’s just a win-win thing. All my employees are taken care of. They’re in place. They’re having to learn a little bit of the new system or new ways of doing things, which are different from mine, but that’s fine. They can deal with that. It’s a good company. I’m happy with the way things have turned out.

What a story. I’m glad that we stumbled into the fact that you’re going out to the Pac-West because I’ll be heading out there, too. I’ll get a chance to shake your hand.

I look forward to seeing you. Like I said, I’ve talked with Jamie. I saw that Jim and Cathy Law are coming from ABABA. He’s retired. I’ve known Jim forever. Years and years ago, I called on ABABA when I was with Dave Grattan. There are still some people who are around that I used to call on, but there’ll be some retired people there. I don’t know if Russ Dorn’s going to come out from Colorado. I should probably reach out to him and see if he’s coming out.

Steve, you’re getting the band back together. How about reaching out to Bob and Barry?

They sometimes make a cameo appearance.

It is not for a while.

They have not made an appearance for a while, but every now and then, they both still live in Newport Beach. It’s really not that far. One of them had shown up at one of the Pac-West meetings. Speaking of Pac-West, I go back to the WAFD days, the Western Association of Fastener Distributors. Before they changed their name, I was the past president. I’m trying to remember the year I was President. It was probably the early 2000s, 2001, or 2002, just right after Ron Stanley. I can’t tell you how many close friends I’ve made from that fastener association group, just some great people that I’ve met through the years. I encourage anybody who’s reading to get involved with your local fastener association. You will make some dear friends.

Get involved with your local fastener association. You will make dear friends. Share on X

Good advice. That’s the way to do it. You did a lot of things right, Steve.

Thanks. I tried to do what I thought was right. Most of the time, that worked out. It doesn’t always work out, but you still can hold your head up high and say, “It was the right thing to do. Maybe it wasn’t the profitable thing to do, but it was the right thing to do.”

You’re encroaching on my territory. It’s great to talk to you. Again, I apologize for all these wasted years for Cheryl. Happy birthday to her, also. I’m glad we’ll be seeing you in March.

Good deal. Good to talk to you, my friend. I’ll continue to read the Fully Threaded Radio, just so I can keep up on what Tim Roberto is doing, Kevin Chavis, and a lot of those people.

You’re certainly still well-connected. It sounds like you’re going to stay that way for a while.

I plan on it.

Steve Dunham, formerly of SASCO Fasteners.

Good to talk to you, my friend.

You’re the same. We’ll talk to you in a bit. We’ll be right back with more Fully Threaded Radio.

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Fastener News Report: Industry Insights With Mike McNulty

Brian and Eric, back with you. It’s the new segment, Bri. I’m getting used to it happening so quickly in the show, but it is a fan favorite. McNulty’s got quite the rendition this time.

He’s totally focused on fasteners this time.

No football distractions this year.

Just as well.

He leaves off commenting that his team was not in it. Speaking of which, I bet Jake Davis is not feeling too good.

I’d say that, too.

Sorry, Jake. We’re not going to get mired down in that whole thing.

I did watch it.

I know you did. We do have a little bit of news before we get to this. Again, the news segment is sponsored by Volt Industrial Plastics. The title sponsors of Fully Threaded are Star Stainless, GOEBEL Fasteners, and Brighton-Best International. This actually ties into two things. One, it was pointed out to me last episode or the one before, I botched the dates on the Brighton 100-year anniversary.

That’s rather important.

You didn’t catch it either, though.

No, I did not.

It’s 1925 to 2025, 100 years. Brighton-Best International, hats off to all of you.

It’s a huge achievement.

It is. They’ll be celebrating that all year. I’m very sure. Already, we’ve seen they’ve issued a fantastic commemorative logo with the 100 years on it. That is the second tie-in because McNulty is going to have his Back Page Report dealing with milestone anniversaries and that. Way to roll these together. On the same note, Eurolink Fastener Supply Service, 25 years. They’re celebrating that. I should have also mentioned that Craig over there at Eurolink is sponsoring the NASCAR simulator at Fastener Fair. Remember when we had Blanca on the last episode, and she was talking about that simulator? It turns out Eurolink is sponsoring. If you register for Fastener Fair, you can get a free exhibit pass using the exclusive code FFUSAFCH.

How did they get such a very worthwhile code? Who dreamed that up?

They have technical people over there who work with that.

I wish we had technical people.

One day, Bri, we’ll have people.

I’ll look forward to that.

FastenerFairUSA.com and punch in FFUSAFCH as your code. You’ll get that free exhibit pass.

It is such an amazingly good value.

Free is always good. I presume the NASCAR simulator is free, too, courtesy of Eurolink. We’re going to be talking to Craig pretty soon, too. We’ll zero in on that. Right now, it’s time to zero in on the Fastener News. Bri, take it.

For news about screws that you can use, here’s Mike McNulty.

Thanks, Brian and Eric. This is Mike McNulty from Fastener Technology International Magazine, bringing you the Fastener News Report, which is sponsored by Volt Industrial Plastics, makers of the world’s finest plastic fasteners. The vain and childish electric vehicle mandate in the USA is dead. Tariffs are the talk of every town. My favorite National Football League team finished tied with two other losers for the fewest victories this season. I am still focused on fasteners and ready to deliver the Fastener News Report.

In this episode, Würth Industry USA Chief Operating Officer Jeff Schmitt joins us to reveal the latest results of the Fastener Distributor Index, also known as the FDI. Also in this broadcast, we have our top story on the Würth Group and newsmaker headlines from US Anchors, Threadline Products, Endries International, Brighton-Best International, Lederer, Women In The Fastener Industry, the Metropolitan Fastener Distributors Association, and more. On the Back Page Report, we’re going to talk about anniversaries and logos. We’ll get to all of that and the latest FDI results right after this.

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FDI And PMI Analysis: Economic Indicators And Market Trepidation

The seasonally adjusted Fastener Distributor Index for January 2025 dropped slightly to 47.6, versus 48.1, the third straight sub-50 result. The forward-looking indicator, also known as the FLI, also dropped below 50 to 49.9 versus 51.4, breaking a streak of four straight months above 50. Fastener Distributor Index data is collected and analyzed by the FCH Sourcing Network and Baird. The FDI seeks to identify demand, pricing, and outlook trends within the American fastener distribution industry. To get some insight into these results, we’re going to talk with Würth Industry USA Chief Operating Officer, Jeff Schmitt. Hi, Jeff. Thanks for joining us on the Fastener News Report.

 

Thank you, Mike. I’m glad to be here.

This is your first time in the FDI seat. What do you think about the latest FDI results?

To be honest, I’m actually a little surprised that we saw the decline that we were seeing going into January. I was expecting there to be a little bit more of an uptick in January, but based upon the new administration coming into office and new executive orders that are being placed in, I guess it may not be that much of a surprise to see a little bit of a softening in January. We’ve seen that in some of our customer forecasts, and what we’re seeing out in specific industries that our customers lie in. We’re going to continue to monitor those trends as we move forward into 2025, hoping that we see an uptick with the economic indicators, but also with our customer base at large, hoping that we see US manufacturing start to pick back up again.

It is maybe a little bit of trepidation. Baird cautioned about January that there was the holiday timing with New Year’s Day coming in the middle of the week, and then some bad weather started the month off a little bit soft. That was one of their observations.

I would agree with that. We actually had a number of locations that we had to close for a couple of different days, even including our Texas location, with some of the inclement weather that hit there. That definitely impacted us. It impacted our customer base. We felt that in the first half of January. We saw that the second half of the month picked back up. We’re seeing that into the first part of February. We’re really happy to see things continuing in that trend.

You mentioned the executive orders. I’ll mention a comment that I read. It used to be with the new administration. They say you’ve got to get everything going in the first year. It became the first 100 days. Now, it’s maybe the first few hours with the executive orders.

So true, especially here. It was one of the most rapid numbers of signings of executive orders in a new president’s entry into the administration. It is so exciting to see, but then also can be a little weary in regard to how you have to go about looking at that with our customer base.

Take a step back and say, “What does this mean?” Let’s dive in. Let’s look at some of the numbers in general. The sales, employment, customer inventories, and year-to-year pricing went up a little bit. Everything else was down or about the same. How about what you guys were seeing?

For January, we definitely saw where the sales were coming down. One of the surprises that I saw was actually the employment indicators. They announced the employment rate and the jobs that were added in December. We saw that the number came under expectations. To see that having a little bit of an uptick comes as somewhat of a surprise. Going back to your comments around what’s going on with the new administration, seeing the number of jobs specifically in the government, where that’s being offset, and the new initiatives that are coming into play, that’s going to have its impact on what we see with the employment sector.

Inflation, pricing, and labor pricing as a whole are still influencing that. We’re continuing to monitor that situation very closely. That’s where, for us, in particular at Würth, we are looking at new ways of automation and what we can do in introducing and offsetting those areas. In supplier deliveries, we’re continuing to see that the Lunar New Year is a little bit earlier. We had some larger deliveries in January than what we were anticipating, offsetting for that in preparation for the Lunar New Year, and then just seeing how the ebb and flow of the market is going right now. As we know, January had its ups and downs like a roller coaster.

The number that got my attention this time around is the PMI, the Purchasing Managers Index. It jumped above 50 to 50.9 versus 49.3. I went back. It’s the first time it’s been above 50 since October of 2022. That is going a little bit different direction than the FDI, the Fastener Distributor Index.

I was honestly quite shocked to see the manufacturing PMI jump in that area. If you saw some of the indexes that were rising in price versus falling in price, steel being one of those, hot rolled steel being one of the main drivers of pricing that was falling. I believe that’s helping attribute to what was going on in the manufacturing PMI. To be honest, there was probably a little bit of hedging going on with people trying to get raw materials, potentially looking at an economic uptick at some point, and trying to get ahead of the market because my crystal ball is telling me that steel prices are going to be impacted later on in the year. We’re going to see prices go up both domestically and internationally. That’s definitely attributed to some of the uptick that we saw.

 

That makes sense. The next number we’ll look at is the six-month outlook for January. It receded from the December result. Fifty percent of the respondents expect things to be better in a half a year, 33% the same, and 17% expect things to be worse. That was a little bit of a tempering or reduction from 61, 24, and 15, with that low number being about the same, but the high number dropping down.

That’s a direct result of some of the new administration coming in. The tariffs, specifically those that are being in place with China, are definitely having an effect on that and the unknown manufacturing sector. A lot has shifted towards the AI realm in regards to what needs to be done with data centers and semiconductor manufacturing. You look at the cash and what companies are doing in order to preserve cash and preserve profits for their organizations. I don’t think that capital expenditure is coming as much into play, which in turn is going to impact the output of the consumer base. Those areas have been affected by this new administration coming in and these new orders coming into place. I do anticipate that the six-month outlook is going to pick back up as the year unfolds.

I look forward to that. That makes sense. Anything else on any of the numbers that you want to add before we move on to the commentary section?

The only thing that I would say, and going back to the pricing piece towards this, is what the shift in the impacts of these tariffs is going to have. That’s going to impact the domestic manufacturing base, dependent upon what happens with the tariffs that are just put on a 30-day delay with Mexico and Canada. Those actually have the potential to have a bigger ramification on domestic manufacturing, as well as the redistribution of where manufacturing is being done.

You shift from China to Taiwan. Taiwan is going to take that as an opportunity to say, “I’m going to increase the price.” China is more than likely going to take a position where they look at the value-added tax and make adjustments in that area to try and offset. All of these variables and economic factors are going to have implications for pricing through the balance. Something that we have to keep a close eye on is the capacity and the capabilities of our manufacturers and what they’re going to be able to keep up with, especially if the economy recovers and manufacturing recovers in the way that we all hope it does.

That could be interesting. The tariffs are definitely on the minds of the people who commented on this FDI survey this time around. Let’s jump into those. Most of the comments are a little bit of commentary on soft January. The rest were on tariffs. We’ve got five comments. The first one was, “January sales were slightly below expectations, especially early in the month, but rebounded as the month closed, signaling hope for the rest of the quarter.” The rest, everything is about tariffs.

Number one, “Worried about tariffs from Canada and Mexico. If they happen, it will be a challenging year.” The second one, “Continued trepidation with how Trump’s trade policies will affect international business on both the sell and buy side, and their effect on the supply chain and logistics.” The next one, “We are concerned with the effect of the new tariff situation we’ll have on our supply chain.”

The last one is the longest. He says, “Join the wild tariff ride. No telling what may happen. Expect delays at the ports for 1 to 3 weeks as the deadline approaches to clear customs before the increase hits. Domestic manufacturing should heat up. Material prices are expected to increase as domestic manufacturers take advantage of the ability to improve pricing while tariffs are increased.” Anything to add to that?

All of those comments are spot on. These are all things that we are keeping a close eye on and having a close connection with our supply base, with our customer base, and just trying to see how things will develop. You hate to say it, but you never know how things are going to work. We also know that some of the positioning that was held with Mexico and Canada in this was a negotiation tactic to help in protecting the borders, as well as to stop the flow of drugs into the country. We see that they’ve responded to that. It’s a question of how that’s going to continue over the next 30 days and whether or not we’re going to continue to see that actually die down in the way that we would all like to see. That’s the bigger thing. That’s going to have an effect or an impact on what we’re going to see.

Hopefully, it’s not a long-term trade war in North America. It doesn’t make any sense.

We all know that these tariffs are going to hit the consumer, which is going to impact the manufacturing base here in the US. We have to make sure that we keep a keen eye on that because, as we’ve seen, we haven’t seen the deflationary measures that the country was hoping for. We are obviously expecting numerous Fed to cut rates. That’s not materializing. It seems like those are going to be holding fast, which is going to impact what’s going on in the housing sector as well as the economy at large. Again, we have to keep a close eye on all these different activities that are going on because of the ripple effect that it has.

These tariffs will inevitably impact consumers, which in turn will affect our manufacturing base here in the US. We must keep a keen eye on this. Share on X

It’s a two-headed coin because people who abuse trade laws and policies should be punished, as well as people who don’t follow laws. Border laws and things like that should be punished. Hopefully, some good things come out of it.

I think that they will. I’m optimistic for the year. If you were to ask me about it days ago, I would have been hoping that by the end of Q1 that we’ll see a larger uptick. That has been kicked down for about 90 days. I’m expecting the end of Q2, or maybe in early Q3, for things to start to recover and for the economy, as well as manufacturing in the United States, to pick back up.

It could be a good year or should be a good year.

I hope so.

In the next part of the show, we’re going to give you a chance to tell the readers what’s going on at Würth Industry. Before we do that, anything else you want to close out with the FDI or the FLI?

No, I just want to thank you, Mike, for presenting the numbers and giving me the opportunity to speak to them. I’m optimistic for 2025 and what we’re going to see. Everything is a little bit of an uncertainty, but looking forward to seeing how things develop throughout the balance of the year.

Würth Industry USA: Rebranding, Innovation, And The Future Of Fasteners

I like that optimism. Let’s roll into the part. There are a lot of things going on at Würth Industry, I understand. What do you have to report?

There’s obviously been a lot going on with Würth Industry. We’re continuing to move on the journey that we want to really establish ourselves as a single powerhouse in the United States. We’ve taken some next steps in that area. We are now rebranding as well as becoming a new entity as Würth Industry USA, which consists of a number of legacy companies that were known in the market over the years as Würth Industrial US, Würth Revcar Fasteners, Marine Fasteners, and Würth Construction Services. Those four operating companies are coming together, merging, and are going to be known as Würth Industry USA. We have taken our executive team. We have merged those teams.

 

We have Daniel Schmidt, who is our Senior Vice President of the Würth Group and CEO of Würth Industry USA, newly appointed Chapman Revercomb as the President of Würth Industry USA, me as the COO, Alex Mikros as the Chief Sales Officer, Tim Harris as the Chief Financial Officer, and then James Valdez as our Chief Human Resource Officer. I am excited to have this new executive team coming together under Würth Industry USA. We’re very excited about the opportunities that we have to take all of this together to position ourselves in the market, expand our product offering, expand our systems, solutions, and offerings to our customer base, and really continue to grow within the US marketplace.

It sounds like you’ve got a lot going on. You put together a good team. I do like the name Würth Industry USA. It sounds pretty good. I know people are looking forward to all the things you guys have going on.

Thank you. While we’ve had a lot of this activity going on in regards to what we’ve been reorganizing, we’ve also taken this to focus on what our innovations are going to be and what we can introduce to the market. I know that there’s been some social media posts and other things like that about our partnership with Dot Ai. It is a big position that we would like to look at ourselves in the market. We are introducing a new Asset Intelligence Solutions Department that is going to be led by Chad Baker.

He is going to look at what we can do with real-time asset tracking through Kanban solutions, as well as through any type of inventory management solution as a whole. It is a real-time tracking, whether it’s a Kanban bin or any type of assembly-manufactured good, as it’s moving throughout the country. You can look at it as the start of a replenishment within our plants or our warehouses, to being on the trucks that are being delivered to our customer base, and looking at the movement of material within our customers’ facilities.

This is going to enable us to get more real-time data and be able to take that data to create a more robust and accurate supply chain. If you combine these efforts with some of the automation, artificial intelligence of all the data, it’s about big data. Everybody is talking about Industry 4.0. I want big data transparency between my organization and my supplier. We want to take that and step that up to Industry 5.0. We’re taking this big data, this transparency of information between us, our customer base, and our supply base.

We can be able to say, “We’re going to introduce the automation elements as well, the artificial intelligence models, and the machine learning. We can have more real-time and more accurate information that can be spread to our customer base to make more informed decisions, to make adjustments within their production lines, and to make adjustments within their supply chain. It is going to give us a cutting edge or an advantage in the market in what we can actually provide to our customer base.” I am very excited about this partnership with Dot Ai and what we’re going to be able to grow with that moving forward.

It sounds like you guys are definitely on the leading edge of the technology. It’s changing quite a bit.

Technology, as we know, is rapidly changing. When we first started talking about artificial intelligence and what can be done, we started looking at things in relation to process mining, robotic process automation, and how we can integrate those into various areas of our supply chain and with our day-to-day processes. Real-time information is the critical component to that. Being able to take all that data, you’re talking massive amounts of data that has to be consumed, digested, and put into a single data language.

It is for us to be able to have an output that can lead to quick decision-making and making pivotal adjustments. It is to make sure that we always have inventory for our customers at the place they need it when they need it. That’s the most critical thing, especially in today’s environment, given all of the economic factors that we talked about earlier. We have to make adjustments. We have to be able to ebb and flow through that. This positions us to be able to support our customer base and be able to drive that to a new level that has not been seen within our industry.

 

As I recall, someone once said, “If you don’t have anything to sell, you can’t make a sale.” That’s what it comes down to.

A quick little tidbit on this. Doing some research on this, what I learned is that a lost part typically takes about 4.8 hours to identify, recover, and be able to react. If you can think about that from a fastener or to an assembly, 4.8 hours to be able to find that missing component that can impact the production line and impact something getting out your door. The soft cost savings, as well as the hard cost savings that come into play with that, are going to be unprecedented with the data that we’re going to be able to capture and put together to be able to provide that transparency to the customer base in our industry.

We’re talking about all this high-level stuff. I want to bring up a story that was announced, which is more on a basic level. You guys are, again, a sustaining partner for the Fastener Training Institute. You’ve been doing that since 2019. There’s a story about it in the upcoming issue of Fastener Technology International on pages eighteen and nineteen. What can you tell us about that?

It is employee development, making sure that we continue to demonstrate the importance of training people that is within an industry, unfortunately, that is aging, and trying to get people energized and enthusiastic about fasteners, as well as what we have to look at in the overall knowledge base that comes with it. When you hear about Hederman, what’s being done in the manufacturing sector, how that’s also aging, and the training programs that have to be put in place, the trades craft is becoming a larger focus again within various industries compared to scholastic efforts that are being done to educate the workforce.

That is going to continue to be something that Würth will always be a supporter of and continue to invest in. We will make sure that we are at the forefront of making sure that we can continue to expand that knowledge and train up a large workforce that is going to be able to take us into the future of how we need to make sure that we can continue to support our customer base and the industry as a whole.

It’s great as we talk about this high-level stuff, but then you also have to start with the fundamentals, too. You guys are on both ends of that, as well as everything in between.

It’s something that we love to be a part of and love to be a partner in. I appreciate and thank you for the opportunity for that.

I’m going to share a quote here. This is from Jo Morris. She’s the new Managing Director for the Fastener Training Institute. She says, “Since 2019, Würth has been by our side, prioritizing the importance of fastener education for all levels of our industry. We’re humbled by Würth’s ongoing commitment and truly value our partnership.” That’s a good story. Your AI stuff is good as well, and everything in between. I was looking at your LinkedIn background. It looks like you started at Würth Revcar as a Territory Sales Manager in Virginia. You’ve moved on to Minnesota. What do you what can you tell the readers about Virginia versus Minnesota?

Virginia is a lot warmer. I can tell you that much.

We were talking ahead of time. You said it’s 5 degrees out there, and you got snow coming?

Yes. It’s definitely a different dynamic up here. I lived in Virginia and was a part of Würth for nine years out there. I had the opportunity to come up here to Minnesota right at the onset of the pandemic and look at some new endeavors. The difference is that in reality, your customers are the same, but it’s a question of what they want to hear, how they want that story conveyed to them, and what value proposition and solution you can provide.

The bigger thing that I’ve learned is you can’t talk to the people the same way in Virginia as you do in Minnesota, or if you want to say the East Coast to the Midwest. It’s something that you learn. It was one of the biggest learning curves that I had when I moved up here. It’s something that I continue to look at. I am a military brat. I had the fortunate opportunity to live all over the world growing up and experiencing many different cultures.

You can't talk to the people the same way in Virginia as you do in Minnesota. Share on X

It’s amazing that various cultures reside within the United States alone, versus when you’re talking country to country. You see the differences between Virginia and Minnesota. Würth has given me one heck of a career path and one that I’m very appreciative of, loyal to, and embedded in Würth for. I’m looking forward to the future and what that’s going to entail for us as Würth Industry USA positions itself in the market.

Isn’t there some phrase like Minnesota-friendly or something like that?

It is Minnesota nice. It’s where Minnesotans may not always speak the truth.

Looking at your picture, it looks like you’re in pretty good shape. Eric and some of these guys are doing fastener mud runs and things like that. Are you involved in that group or thinking about it?

I am thinking about it. Eric actually talked to me about that. They’ve been doing tough mudders and have been doing some of these courses. I have not taken part in a Tough Mudder or any of these obstacle-type challenges. I do like to stay in shape and workout pretty routinely, but I’m not sure if I’m going to be up for this challenge or not. I don’t know. Eric’s going to have to do some pretty good convincing for me to be part of that team.

On your bio, it says you played football, baseball, and track and field, so you could probably run to the front of the pack.

We’ll see. It’s in August. It’s funny. One of the reasons that Minnesota has also been nice to me is that I’m naturally a hot-bodied person. Doing a Tough Mudder in August, that’ll be tough. No pun intended.

We’ll look forward to that. I know they’ll be posting a lot of information about that on LinkedIn as well as talking about it on Fully Threaded Radio. Anything else you want to close out with Würth or with the FDI before we wrap it up?

No. Again, I just want to thank you for the time and the opportunity to speak. I want to say that Würth Industry USA is going to continue to invest in the market, going to invest to better supply our customer base, and going to continue to look for innovations and new opportunities to strengthen our value proposition and what we do as an organization moving forward. I am very excited about our future. I am excited about what 2025 will entail and the years to come. Thank you, Mike. Thank you for allowing me to be a part of the show.

Würth Industry USA will continue to invest in the market, better supply our customer base, and seek innovations to strengthen our value proposition. Share on X

You’re welcome. It’s good to have you on. I look forward to the next time you come back on.

That sounds great. I will be glad to come back.

Todd McRoberts: Welcome Back To The Fastener Industry

That was Würth Industry USA Chief Operating Officer Jeff Schmitt. The FDI number for January 2025 was 47.6 versus 48.1 in December. Visit FDISurvey.com to participate in the process and get a detailed PDF copy of Baird’s monthly analysis. For the top story, the Würth Group closed the year 2024, reporting sales of €20.2 billion. It corresponds to a year-over-year decrease of 0.9% and a drop of 0.4% when adjusted for currency effects.As a result of the lower sales volume and higher costs, the group’s preliminary operating result stands at €90 million, which is below the previous year.

Nevertheless, Würth expects the group’s 2024 consolidated financial statements to show an increase in equity to €9.2 billion compared with €8.8 billion at the end of 2023. Robert Friedman, Chairman of the Board, said, “Given the economic and political conditions, I am pleased to report that the Würth Group was able to maintain its sales level of €20 billion. This development was primarily driven by trade-related areas, which showed a stable sales trend. In 2024, we stuck to our counter-cyclical strategy and invested when others scaled back. Our focus is on keeping goods available and maintaining our delivery readiness for our more than four million customers worldwide.”

An example of this focus is the inauguration of Würth’s highly automated logistics expansion in Germany. The company’s new facility features an automatic shuttle system with more than 104,000 container storage spaces that enables the picking of 48,000 additional order lines each day. The new building is seamlessly connected to the existing logistics center via an advanced conveyor system.

For the strategic development of logistics, the Würth Group has a goal of achieving an automation level of 75% in its companies with the highest sales volumes by the year 2030. The use of artificial intelligence and robotics will help the group achieve this goal by increasing automation and digitalization levels across operations. You can see images of the new facility on pages 134 and 136 of the February-March 2025 issue of Fastener Technology International Magazine.

Next up, the newsmaker headlines. In corporate news, Kinderhook Industries acquired U.S. Anchors. Schwihag, a supplier of railroad rail fasteners, selected Winfield, Kansas, for its new USA headquarters and manufacturing facility. Threadline Products expanded its production capabilities and geographic reach with the asset acquisition of the former Atlantic Fastener Würth facility in Greensboro, North Carolina. Endries International refreshed its corporate brand. Brighton-Best International, also known as BBI, completed the relocation of its Edmund facility in Alberta, Canada.

In personnel news, Sebastian Ovenhausen is the new Sales Director at Lederer. The Women In The Fastener Industry Association, also known as WIFI, announced the winners of its 2024 awards. Holly McDaniel, Sales Manager at WCL Company, was named the WIFI Woman of the Year. Jennifer Strum, Chief Operations Officer at Empire Bolt & Screw, won the WIFI Women in Business Award. Dan Duffield, Sales Manager at Wyandotte Industries, took home the WIFI Man Up Award.

REISSER Schraubentechnik appointed Thomas Enzensberger to the position of Managing Director. The Metropolitan Fastener Distributors Association, also known as the MFDA, elected its 2025 officers and board as follows. The President is Rob Rundle of RW Rundle Associates. The Vice President is Nick Penney of Vogelsang Fastener Solutions. The treasurer is Michael Asaro of AFC Industries Fastbolt. The directors are Kellie Nirmaier of Kanebridge Corporation, Jason Vanderhee of Star Stainless Screw Corporation, Peter Cominos of Raw Products Corporation, Sal Presti of Intercorp, Danielle Piera of Fastener Solution, and Michael White of Brighton-Best International.

You can get details on all of these stories and more in Fastener Technology International Magazine and the Fastener News Report Monthly Newsletter, both available online at FastenerTech.com. Finally, before we get to the Back Page Report, it is often said in jest that nobody leaves the fastener industry. This story underscores the reason for that old joke. Industry veteran Todd McRoberts announced on LinkedIn that he has come out of his brief retirement. After retiring from Cleveland-based Auto Bolt in August, McRoberts has returned to action as VP of Business Development for Taylor, Michigan-based B&D Cold Headed Products. Here is Todd with the details.

Nobody leaves the fastener industry. Share on X

I made it six months. When you’ve been in this business for 36-plus years, retiring is a little difficult, but it’s on the list of things to do like everybody else. After three months of playing golf and fishing, I realized your identity is within this industry. All your friends and colleagues are here. You really miss it. When they say you don’t get out of the business, you do, but I’m back in. I’m pretty excited about that. Plus, my wife said I need to find something to do, so here I am.

I’m looking forward to reconnecting with all of my friends I’ve known through the years. I’m looking forward to getting back into the Fastener Fair and the Vegas show. I don’t know how many years I’ve been doing the Vegas show. After a while, you think it’s too much, but it is a fantastic place to be. I’m looking forward to getting back into the realm there. I’m currently at B&D Cold-Headed Products out of Taylor, Michigan.

Pretty exciting opportunity, great outfit, carriage bolts, flange bolts, wheel bolts, double-headed studs, you name it. Small runs, large runs, we can entertain all inquiries. They are a good group of people. I am looking forward to it. I’ll be a VP of Business Development. I’m going to help train some people and teach them what I’ve known over the years, who I’ve known, and how to do some things. I’m going to bring some good value to the team and help us grow the business.

That was Todd McRoberts. Welcome back to the fastener industry, Todd. See you at the Fastener Fair. Let’s turn to the Back Page to talk about anniversaries and logos. It’s always a good thing to take the time and spend the resources to celebrate anniversaries of important things like the birth of a child, the beginning of a marriage, or the launch of a company or organization. In particular, these celebrations seem to gain importance and high levels of attention when the anniversary year contains a five or zero at the end.

Personally, I am fond of the excitement that these milestones generate in the fastener industry. In addition to the good events and activities plans for these accomplishments, I enjoy seeing the special logos that are created to mark the importance of these events. For example, there are more than half a dozen good anniversary logos on the pages of the February-March issue of Fastener Technology International Magazine. Here’s a summary of them, starting with the highest number of years completed.

A forward-looking 110-year anniversary logo from Surface Combustion can be seen on page 67. Brighton-Best International’s 100-year anniversary logo in gold and black is on page 128 and on the back cover. A Torx head-inspired 65th anniversary logo from Crescent Manufacturing can be seen on page 99. The bold and proud 55th anniversary logo from Ken Forging is shown on page 55. The Southeastern Fastener Association, also known as SEFA, has its fastener-friendly 50th anniversary logo on page 24. The hexagon head 30th anniversary logo of SouthWind International is on pages 49 and 56.

Finally, Eurolink Fastener Supply Service is sporting its robust Roman numeral-inspired 25th anniversary logo on page 138. Congratulations to all for a job well done, for taking the time to celebrate, and for making great and attractive logos that are sure to be seen and probably worn with pride. If you have an important milestone coming up, be sure to commission the creation of a special logo and send it to us for publication in an upcoming issue of Fastener Technology International. This has been Mike McNulty at Fastener Technology International Magazine, bringing you the Fastener News Report. Please send your news, pictures, comments, corrections, or complaints to me at McNulty@FastenerTech.com.

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Fastener Training Minute: The Critical Role Of Nut Lubrication

This is Carmen Vertullo with the Fastener Training Minute coming to you from the Fastener Training Institute in beautiful Spanway, Washington. Our topic is one that comes up occasionally, if not regularly, but every time it comes up, it seems like we have an industry that is not well-informed about it. That topic has to do with lubrication on nuts used in structural applications. I’ll tell you the importance of the lubrication on nuts used in structural applications.

We’re talking about the nuts used in structural bolting applications and particularly those that require lubrication. These would be nuts that are used primarily in ASTM A325 structural bolts, which are hot-dip galvanized, and also ASTM A325 and A490 tension control bolts. For these bolts to work properly, the nut must be properly lubricated. In the case of the ASTM A325 hot-dip galvanized fasteners, the nut has a coating of wax on it as required by the standard when you’re selling an assembly, which consists of the bolt, the washer, and the nut. The lubrication on the nut is critical for the performance of the assembly when we test it in the Skidmore-Wilhelm bolt tension calibrator, and also when we install it in the steel.

The problem that we have is that this wax does not last forever. You might have some product that is a few years or many years old. Even though the wax generally has a color, and it’s usually blue, it may or may not be effective as it was the day it was installed. This will cause our fasteners not to reach full tension because the K-factor, the lubrication effectiveness of the nut, will have been diminished. The same is true with the tension control bolts. Generally, these lubrications are required to be dry to the touch. It is not generally. They should be.

Just like with the wax on the hot-dip galvanized nuts, the lubrication, whatever it is, and everyone has their secret sauce, may not be effective over the long run. It’s also very important that these fasteners be stored properly in clean, dry containers in what’s called protected storage, as required by the Research Council on Structural Connections. Whenever I’m on the job site or end up doing troubleshooting where the tension control bolt or the A325 hot-dip galvanized assemblies are not performing, it almost always comes back to something having to do with the lubrication.

In the case of the A325 hot-dip galvanized bolts, this can sometimes be corrected by adding supplemental lube. You’re allowed to do that as long as you do it in the steel. However, with the tension control bolts, you cannot do it. Only the manufacturer can re-lubricate those nuts. Possibly, with their supervision, you can do it as a supplier or the end user. Always inspect your structural bolt assemblies, that they’re fresh, that the lubrication is present, and that it’s effective.

If you have issues with the performance of your structural bolting assemblies, the first thing you should suspect is that the lubrication has been degraded. It is either by age or by contamination, because we did not have a good job site or possibly even good protection during transportation, shipping, or storage from the distributor. This has been Carmen Vertullo with your Fastener Training Minute. I hope you learned something. Thanks for tuning in.

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Fastener Week And Tough Mudder: MWFA’s Expanded Timeline And Noble Causes

Your bright Jeff Schmitt is in very good shape.

I haven’t noticed that, but I’m sure he must be.

He’s in great shape. His thinking that he wouldn’t be able to make it through a mud course, I’m not buying that. He’s a busy guy, but come on. He could do it, probably in his sleep.

He has lots of other things in his life to do, too, though.

I’m starting a draft Schmitt for the mudder.

I can tell.

It starts right here. Fastener Week is August 23rd to the 29th. August 23rd, out there in Rockford, Illinois, is the Tough Mudder. There’s a nice team forming for that. This will be our fifth year. We did three mud races, then the walk, because of the cancellation. This is the fifth. What I find really interesting, Bri, is that I went to the MWFA website to see details on this. I noticed that they actually expanded the date timeline to include the mudder. It’s from the 23rd to the 29th, when the main festivities are from the 25th to the 29th.

Why would you not include the Tough Mudder as one of the main festivities?

It was off record originally. That’s why I’m saying it’s cool now that it’s rolled into the official thing. Well done, MWFA. The day after will be the Bed Build. Info is not up on their site yet. That’s MWFA.net, but I’m sure it’ll be up there very soon. Francesca is hustling over there these days. Have you noticed?

Yes. That’s good, too. The Bed Build things are very good because it’s such a noble cause. You can use a Sunday morning to do some pretty good public service.

Mudder, Bed Build, Fastener Week, the week with no vowels continues. Let’s get Jeff Schmitt in there. Whether or not he actually joins the team, he might not have time, but we’ll have fun with it anyway. I’d like to thank him for hopping on the show with us, as well as Mike McNulty. Steve Dunham with SASCO, hat tip to you again, buddy, and Cheryl.

Enjoy your retirement.

We’ll see you out there in Anaheim in March. Carmen Vertullo had the Fastener Training Minute. Let’s just say it right now. Welcome back, Todd McRoberts. Glad he was able to make a little cameo, too. Hope to see you at Fastener Fair, my friend. The title sponsors of Fully Threaded Radio are Star Stainless, GOEBEL Fasteners, and Brighton-Best International.

Fully Threaded is also sponsored by Buckeye Fasteners, BTM Manufacturing, Eurolink Fastener Supply Service, Fastener Technology International, INxSQL Software, J.Lanfranco, Solution Industries, Volt Industrial Plastics, Fastener Fair USA, and Würth Industry USA. You know the email folks. It’s FTR@FullyThreaded.com. Fire away. Go easy on Bri, though. Come on. He’s doing the work of three people. He doesn’t have people. It’s all him.

I want people.

You got a good story for the next episode. 211 is going to be the all-Brian episode, I’m thinking.

No, but it’s an interesting story.

Plus, you got another one coming up, too. Let’s keep that one in the can, but you have an interesting week ahead.

I have a very interesting week. It could be a complete nothing week depending.

ITR Economics: Navigating The Predicted Worldwide Depression

No, it’ll be pretty good. Let’s talk about something that is not nothing. That’s the MFDA Economic Meeting that took place in New York in January. ITR Economics was there.

We’ve seen a couple of times, mainly with NFDA and Pac-West.

They turn up here and there. A lot of people pay attention to what they have to say. I have the press release here. I did not actually see the presentation. However, I have the summary. We’ll cut to the chase here because we are closing this out. It’s another of the tighter Fully Threaded Radio episodes that our fans apparently like a lot better, especially Tom Buddenbohn, but others, too.

I would think Bob Baer, too. He wouldn’t have to listen to it on triple speed.

He complains, but he likes it. He spends hours and hours every week on the treadmill. What else is he going to do? He’s listening to sports. He’s listening to what the White Sox are doing in Pineapple League. Back to our story. This was a meeting where attendees heard ITR Economics’ Lauren Saidel-Baker present ITR’s forecast for the year to come. They also learned about the prediction for the depression that ITR believes will occur in the early 2030s.

She warmed up by telling the group, “The economy is currently at somewhat of an inflection point. The 2025 leading indicators are turning up. An accelerating growth trend for the US economy, which is still the biggest economy in the world, is on the horizon.” Lauren cautioned, though, that not everything is rosy. ITR predicts that inflation will rise during 2025 into 2026, which may cause the Fed to either pause lowering interest rates or lower them by a smaller amount than the market was hoping for. It goes on and on. We’ll go down to the money shot.

ITR predicts that between inflation, federal spending, and debt, the next depression will occur in the early 2030s. This will affect all sectors. ITR’s recommendation is to identify safe assets that can be turned to in order to protect ourselves. Fear not. There’s an upside. Lauren told attendees to be ready to invest at the trough of this cycle. This is going to be the greatest wealth-generating event of our lifetime.

 

It is the trough of the cycle in 2030.

You’ve got to survive the trough is what it sounds like to me, Brian. You have to identify those assets that aren’t going to get hosed and then invest them in the trough. That would be the Brian and Eric takeaway.

I don’t seem to be very good at predicting those things.

I’ve just been trying to get out of the trough this whole time.

Me, too.

We’re going right back in it? There you go, folks. If that made you feel a little depressed, I know that the Beaulieu brothers wrote a book called Prosperity in the Age of Decline, which I have sitting here on my bookshelf. I did read it. Maybe I’ll have to crack that open again and identify some of these asset classes that they favor because they seem to know a lot, Brian.

Tell me what you decide. I’ll be waiting with bated breath.

Insider information? You can get your own insider information from the fastener industry on the next episode of Fully Threaded Radio. We’ve shared enough.

These ITR people didn’t say whether nuts and bolts would count as a safe asset.

Good point, Bri. Food for the next episode for sure. I’m sure you’re talking to the right audience when you throw that one out. Maybe we should all stock up now. You got the right crowd for that one for sure. With that, we’re going to put this episode of Fully Threaded Radio in the can. We sure do appreciate you joining us. For Brian Musker, this is Eric Dudas. Get out there. Sell some screws. Try and identify safe asset classes. We’ll talk to you next time.

We will. See you next time, folks.

 

 

Important Links

• SASCO Fasteners on LinkedIn
• Steve Dunham on LinkedIn
• Würth Industry USA
• Mike McNulty on LinkedIn
• Carmen Vertullo on LinkedIn
• Episode #209 – The Skidmore-Wilhelm Story – FCH News
• Pacific-West Fastener Association
• Episode #208 – When We Do – FCH News
• Brighton-Best International
• Eurolink Fastener Supply Service
• Fastener Fair USA
• Jeff Schmitt on LinkedIn
• Dot Ai
• Fastener Distributor Index
• Fastener Technology International
• Mid-West Fastener Association
• Prosperity in the Age of Decline