Fair Comments

00:00 — Cold open

[00:00:00] Speaker: It’s Fully Threaded Radio episode 227

[00:00:04] Speaker 2: As it stands right now for the fastener industry, uh, we’re fortunate that even though prices are going up quite a bit, distributors have been able to pass those on for the most part, and, uh, there hasn’t really been much in the way of demand destruction. In fact, the demand seems to be going the other way, which tells me to a large extent that the buyers of fasteners and these other industrial products that are seeing levels of inflation we haven’t seen in many years are incorporating that into their decision-making process and moving forward.

[00:00:33] Jason Baines: The big thing is inventory, I think. It’s a time where investing in your production and inventory is gonna pay off down the line because there’s certainly, we’re already seeing it squeezes on the supply chain, and we’ve talked about it before. I don’t think it’s a question of, oh, how do we mitigate or navigate this world event?

[00:00:53] Jason Baines: There will always be an event coming.

[00:00:56] Speaker 4: There’s no such standard as grade nine. There certainly is. It comes from FFS 85, and there’s no such thing as a grade eight bolt over inch and a half. There certainly is, and that also comes from FFS 85, and I’m sure there are plenty of people that are listening to this who are saying, “No shit, Dick Tracy.”

01:24 — Theme

[00:01:24] Speaker 5: Time for Fully Threaded Radio

01:48 — Opening segment

[00:01:48] Eric Dudas: It is Fully Threaded Radio, voice of the mighty FCH Sourcing Network. Yes, it’s another multilobular ASTM-certified odyssey into the realm of industrial threaded fasteners. So if that’s your keg of screws, welcome to the podcast. Hi, everyone, Eric Dudas here, and the co-host of Fully Threaded is with us as well.

[00:02:07] Eric Dudas: He’s a man who knows a good cut of beef as well as he knows fasteners- … and he’ll be heading out to semi-rural Northeast Ohio as soon as we finish recording this to prove it. He’s Brian Musker. You all set to go, Bri?

[00:02:20] Speaker 7: Yep, I’m packed I’m, I’m a little unsure as to how many coats I have to bring ’cause if it’s like the weather, your weather’s like over here in Chicago, it’s pretty weird

[00:02:29] Eric Dudas: Well, it’s fluctuating a lot.

[00:02:30] Eric Dudas: We’ve had a spring like that, but the forecast for Brisket Fest later this week is pretty fair, so we’ll take it. We’ve been on the road quite a bit lately with Fastener Fair USA, among other things. We’re gonna be going wall to wall with the recordings that we got there. The lovely and talented Lynn Dempsey made sure she got a good survey for you today, folks, so we’ve got two big packages of sound on that.

[00:02:54] Eric Dudas: But overall, Bry, impressions on Fastener Fair?

[00:02:58] Speaker 7: Well, it’s, it’s a, it’s a different show to the IFE, okay? It’s, um… I don’t know why. You can just tell it’s a different sort of a vibe to it. Um, I thought it was a little smaller than previous shows or previous years, and I was talking to one of the guys at the show, and his view is that it’s largely because the younger people in the fastener industry simply don’t talk to anyone else, and so going to a show where you talk to people is just isn’t their bailiwick.

[00:03:28] Speaker 7: So that’s sort of a, an interesting warning, I guess, for shows. We- I hope that’s wrong, actually.

[00:03:35] Eric Dudas: Speculating about what’s going on with the shows and the future of them is a favorite parlor game of the fastener industries these days.

[00:03:44] Speaker 7: True.

[00:03:45] Eric Dudas: And I know management of both shows, both of the major ones I’ll say, are wrestling with that.

[00:03:51] Eric Dudas: Overall, however, offsetting that, Bry, and I think you’ll get a flavor of this on the interviews today, there was a lot of high quality conversation going on, and well, we’ll just have to see. We had a lot of fun. A lot of people did turn out.

[00:04:05] Speaker 7: Yeah. No, that’s true.

[00:04:06] Eric Dudas: Even if they were the old timers, you know?

[00:04:09] Eric Dudas: And we’re going wall to wall with it today, much like the carpeting on the floor of Fastener Fair USA. Yeah. This episode 227 of the podcast will be publishing on May 13th, 2026, just a few days after we wrap that one up. And now we’re moving on to the next big event, which is the NCFA Social.

[00:04:29] Speaker 7: Yes.

[00:04:29] Eric Dudas: Et cetera, et cetera.

[00:04:31] Eric Dudas: Since we do have so many irons in the fire, or should I say in the smoke pit, we’re gonna keep this one real short on Bryan and Eric Prattle, but we do have some really good quality content for you, including the Fastener News Report today. Mike McNulty welcomes Baird Senior Analyst Dave Mantey, and they take a look at the Fastener Distributor Index, which has remained strong, and Dave Mantey always does an excellent job of analysis there.

[00:04:59] Eric Dudas: Brings in a perspective outside the fastener industry, I think, Bry.

[00:05:03] Speaker 7: Yeah, the technical analysis part of it. It’s good.

[00:05:06] Eric Dudas: On Mike’s Back Page Report today, he does his own sort of mini analysis of Fastener Fair also, so another view Warming up the Fastener News Report, Jason Baines with Jay Lanfranco checks in.

[00:05:20] Eric Dudas: He’s working with Hans Fuller and some other Canadian fastener people And they’re responding to various tariff issues. This is a good setup for a redux of Hans and Jason for an extended conversation on that subject. On the Fastener Training Minute, Carmen Virtulo made a mistake. He made a mistake explaining grade nine hex cap screws and the standards related thereof.

[00:05:45] Eric Dudas: He fixes that on today’s Fastener Training Minute.

[00:05:48] Speaker 7: Oh, interesting.

[00:05:50] Eric Dudas: We also have the Cresa Industrial Real Estate update for you. It’s more actionable information. Ever think about effective lease negotiation as a strategy for protecting margins? On today’s update, Marco Rodriguez has five tips for you to do just that.

06:06 — Opening sponsor roll

[00:06:06] Eric Dudas: The title sponsors of Fully Threaded Radio are Brighton Best International, tested, tried, true, Brighton Best, and Linfast Solutions Group, including Star Stainless and the rest of the family of Linfast Solutions. Fully Threaded Radio is also sponsored by Buckeye Fasteners, BTM Manufacturing, Eurolink Fastener Supply Service, Global Fasteners, InSQL Software, J.

[00:06:31] Eric Dudas: Lanfranco, MW Components, Fastener Technology International, Cresa, Solution Industries, 3Q Inc., Volt Industrial Plastics, and Wurth Industry USA. You know, Bri, I’ll mention right here that Jake Valdez Davis and BTM were not at Fastener Fair this year.

06:52 — Opening segment continued

[00:06:52] Speaker 7: True.

[00:06:53] Eric Dudas: Yes, he was tied up with an ISO audit, so no U-bolt blend coffee.

[00:06:59] Eric Dudas: And I did notice conspicuously that the coffee stations, which were conveniently stationed on the show floor this time, were sponsored by Wurth.

[00:07:07] Speaker 7: Right. I’d noticed that too, and I’m glad there was at least someone was sponsoring the coffee because it’s very important.

[00:07:14] Eric Dudas: And very much appreciated.

[00:07:16] Speaker 7: Yeah.

[00:07:17] Eric Dudas: Many of our partners had great contributions at Fastener Fair USA, including Eurolink Fastener Supply Service and their NASCAR simulator.

[00:07:27] Eric Dudas: NASCAR was the theme of this year’s Fastener Fair, and you’ll hear from Lynn during some of these interviews a little bit about that. She even got in the car this time, didn’t she?

[00:07:36] Speaker 7: Yep. Right.

[00:07:37] Eric Dudas: And also, before we cut to a quick break, like to shout out Mark Madelin over at 3Q. He recently reached out to us.

[00:07:45] Eric Dudas: He’s back with the podcast. That’s awesome. And you and Lynn took a ride out there the other day. I want to hear a little bit about that. Great people at 3Q.

[00:07:54] Speaker 7: Right. Yeah, we, we… So we spent on a couple of hours with Mark, an hour more than we, he had time for. He took us around, showed us his whole operations, and he’s a very, very confirmed Fully Threaded listener, and he says he learned so much from Fully Threaded, and he mentioned particularly the, the thing that you did really about the Kanban.

[00:08:17] Speaker 7: He said it was He was so fascinated by it, he just started looking it up, and when it came in, he was all ready for it.

[00:08:23] Eric Dudas: Oh, CBAM, yeah.

[00:08:24] Speaker 7: CBAM. Sorry. Yeah, CBAM. Yeah, I’ve got my Kanbans and CBAMs sort of mixed up at the moment.

[00:08:29] Eric Dudas: Yeah, I know you’re looking at Kanban because it’s part of the agentic AI platforms Hermes and OpenClaw, which are kind of at war now.

[00:08:38] Eric Dudas: We’re gonna keep this one as far away from AI as we can, Bryan.

[00:08:43] Speaker 7: Okay.

[00:08:43] Eric Dudas: By popular demand.

[00:08:45] Speaker 7: Right. But it is very good. He’s got a very interesting operation, and he’s been steadily expanding it since he started it in

[00:08:56] Eric Dudas: 2008. Glad to have 3Q back on board, and glad to have you with us. Thanks for listening to Fully Threaded Radio, everybody.

[00:09:02] Eric Dudas: When we return, we will jump right into these floor interviews with the lovely and talented Lynn Dempsey.

[00:09:09] Speaker 8: Cool.

[00:09:09] Eric Dudas: It’s Fully Threaded.

09:11 — Station identification

[00:09:11] Speaker 8: Radio. Two men, one server, a fastener dog, and a stunning lack of more lucrative alternatives. It’s Fully Threaded Radio.

09:26 — Advertisement

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[00:09:52] Speaker 9: Available in steel, stainless, and three-sixteen stainless with some product availability in silicon bronze and aluminum. Carrying a full line of special and hard-to-find socket inventory, BBI is your one-stop shop for all your industrial needs

10:09 — Advertisement

[00:10:09] Speaker 10: Downtime and inventory surprises cost time and money and pull focus from what matters most.

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[00:10:34] Speaker 10: Visit worthindustry.com today.

10:39 — Advertisement

[00:10:39] Speaker 11: Hi, I’m Larry from Lindstrom. In our family, my focus is simple, making your job easier. When you’re trying to keep production moving, you need a partner you can count on, and that’s why we stock over a hundred and eighty thousand SKUs, so the parts you rely on are ready when you are.

[00:10:54] Speaker 11: And we don’t stop at inventory. Our packing, labeling, and sorting services makes it easy for your team to stay organized, efficient, and on schedule. If you’re juggling supply challenges, our managed programs help streamline your flow so you can focus on what matters most, your customers. My goal is to help your workday run a little smoother every single time.

[00:11:13] Speaker 11: Linfast Solutions Group, one family, endless solutions.

11:20 — YLT

[00:11:20] Christian Reich: Hi, this is Christian Reich with Global Fasteners. We are your leading rivet source, offering blind rivets, threaded inserts, and setting tools. See our extensive catalog online. You’re listening to Fully Threaded Radio.

11:39 — Fastener Fair USA floor interviews, part 1 (Lynn Dempsey)

11:39 — Andrew Gadzik, Boomax Fasteners

[00:11:39] Speaker 5: Okay, I’m here with

[00:11:41] Andrew Gadzik: Andrew Gadzik. I’m the technical director for North America for Boomax Fasteners.

[00:11:45] Speaker 5: And we just finished a lecture by Carmen talking about failures, the 12 step to failures. Hopefully, you’re gonna tell me more about it.

[00:11:54] Andrew Gadzik: Yeah. Well, a- again, it was, uh, you know, Carmen always has so much, uh, really good practical information and, and how to approach these things.

[00:12:01] Andrew Gadzik: So, um, you know, everything from some things that might seem obvious, you know, putting the information together to, uh, things that may not always be so obvious when, you know, try to get more help when you need it.

[00:12:12] Speaker 5: Have you had a failure?

[00:12:13] Andrew Gadzik: Um, we luckily don’t have many failures. Uh, you know, we have some really specialized fasteners.

[00:12:18] Andrew Gadzik: Uh, but of course, every company, you know, has failures, and, you know, uh, having a plan to sort of address them and, and, and sort of, uh, react to them is really important.

[00:12:27] Speaker 5: Yeah. I’ve often wondered, do failures happen all the time?

[00:12:31] Andrew Gadzik: Uh, not really. I mean, they … Of course, they do happen occasionally, and as Carmen mentioned, you know, there’s a myriad of reasons, right?

[00:12:38] Andrew Gadzik: There could be, uh, sort of paperwork confusion, things like that. You know, very rarely do you have something that’s, uh, sort of really catastrophic that was unforeseen. You know, sometimes, uh, it’s usually, uh, the Swiss cheese principle, right? A lot of little things, uh, line up, and something goes wrong, and, uh, that’s usually the cause of a failure, but not

[00:12:57] Andrew Gadzik: You know, usually it’s … Uh, everyone’s quick to blame a fastener, let’s say, but that’s not usually the case.

[00:13:02] Speaker 5: I think the big takeaway is you have a failure? Call Carmen. E-

[00:13:05] Andrew Gadzik: exactly. When in doubt, call Carmen, yes.

[00:13:08] Speaker 5: Thank you.

13:09 — Samuel Hirsch, One Monro

[00:13:09] Andrew Gadzik: Pleasure.

[00:13:09] Speaker 5: All right. We’re at the learning, uh, theater here, and we just listened to Tariffs, Turbulence, and Opportunity: Reclaiming Margin Via Duty Mitigation.

[00:13:19] Speaker 5: And I’m here with …

[00:13:20] Samuel Hirsch: Samuel Hirsch. I’m an outside sales executive at One Monro.

[00:13:24] Speaker 5: So you’re gonna know more about tariffs than I do, so give it to me in a nutshell.

[00:13:29] Samuel Hirsch: Well, in a nutshell, the presentation was about identifying areas where you can make more money based on where you buy things from or government programs that you can re- reclaim money from after the goods are imported and then hit the end user.

[00:13:45] Samuel Hirsch: Really, that’s the long and the short.

[00:13:47] Speaker 5: And they talked about IEPA, and they talked about duty drawback, government duty drawback- Yeah … which I wasn’t familiar with.

[00:13:54] Samuel Hirsch: Duty drawback is generally just getting a refund from the government based on the usage of the good that you imported. So if the good is exported again in its original form, then you can reclaim money based on that import and d- the duties that you paid to the government before you exported it, if that makes sense.

[00:14:11] Samuel Hirsch: Mm-hmm. So it’s really just, like, optimizing. The, the whole presentation was really optimizing and making sure that you’re not getting overcharged on tariffs in one way, shape, or form, whether that’s on the front end, which is purchasing from the correct country to minimize your tariffs, or on the back end, identifying how much money the government should give you in a duty drawback or if you’ve overpaid or whatnot.

[00:14:34] Samuel Hirsch: Okay.

[00:14:35] Speaker 5: And the company’s name was Quickcode.

[00:14:38] Samuel Hirsch: One was Quickcode, and the other was Pax AI. So both companies are using AI to help smaller businesses identify where they’re getting overcharged or how to optimize their, their tariff spend, I guess you could say.

[00:14:51] Speaker 5: So d- would the information help you going back?

[00:14:54] Samuel Hirsch: Um, I don’t know about me specifically, but I, I think our company, if we’re not doing anything with duty, uh, drawback or duty mitigation, a- a hundred percent, I think they could help- Yeah … us make more money, really.

[00:15:06] Speaker 5: Yeah. Well, that’s all good, right?

[00:15:08] Samuel Hirsch: That’s great. That’s great.

15:10 — Adam Coulter, Manufacturers Hardware

[00:15:10] Speaker 5: Thank you. All right, I am here at the learning theater and I happened to grab

[00:15:15] Adam Coulter: Adam Coulter from Manufacturers Hardware, uh, also known as HOT Drill Screws

[00:15:21] Speaker 5: All right.

[00:15:21] Speaker 5: And our, uh, lesson was how to get ISO certified by Sean Donelan from PJR. So you were here for the whole lecture. I only came in, like, halfway. Tell me about it.

[00:15:34] Adam Coulter: He gave a very informative talk on the process of getting ISO certified, uh, the quality systems a company has to have in place, um, how to go about it, different options, different pitfalls of doing it, and yeah, just how you can have an internal process that is approved worldwide.

[00:15:53] Speaker 5: And were you… Is your company thinking about getting I- ISO or are they?

[00:15:58] Adam Coulter: We are thinking about getting ISO certified.

[00:16:00] Speaker 5: All right. So this was very informative for you.

[00:16:03] Adam Coulter: Yes. He was very informative, and it was a great talk.

[00:16:06] Speaker 5: Uh, I noticed some of the things that I wrote down that I loved was when he talked about time kills all projects without a date.

[00:16:13] Speaker 5: What do you think?

[00:16:14] Adam Coulter: Yes. Setting goals definitely helps you keep on track because as you’re doing so many different things, if, uh, you don’t prioritize, you, you will never finish anything.

[00:16:23] Speaker 5: All right. So are you, uh… Do you have a booth here, or are you walking?

[00:16:27] Adam Coulter: I do not have a booth. Uh, I’m walking around. Uh, a lot of vendors I use have booths here, and I think it’s great to meet people in person and put a face with a name.

[00:16:35] Adam Coulter: Uh, over my years in the business, uh, some of those relationships I’ve made have been the most- Mm-hmm … beneficial.

[00:16:41] Speaker 5: And you heard about Fully Threaded Radio?

[00:16:43] Adam Coulter: Yes, I heard about Fully Threaded Radio. I’m not sure where, but I’ve listened to it also.

[00:16:48] Speaker 5: Wonderful, and now you’re on it.

[00:16:50] Adam Coulter: That’s great.

16:52 — Jill Lewis, MWFA / Associated Fastening Products

[00:16:52] Jill Lewis: Jill Lewis, MWFA president and Associated Fastening Products president.

[00:16:57] Speaker 5: All right. And she’s walking the show, so tell me about walking.

[00:17:00] Jill Lewis: So far, it’s been a great day. You know, there’s a lot of great vendors and a lot of great people and friends that I know that I’ve been able to connect with during the day today.

[00:17:10] Speaker 5: Have you gone to the NASCAR? Have you driven?

[00:17:13] Jill Lewis: I do. I’m in second place, actually.

[00:17:15] Speaker 5: You didn’t crash that car? No. I crashed… Oh.

[00:17:18] Jill Lewis: Oh, I was so upset that I didn’t get first. They told me I was doing so well, but I was- am in second right now.

[00:17:23] Speaker 5: Oh. Who’s in first?

[00:17:24] Jill Lewis: Max from Brighton Best.

[00:17:26] Speaker 5: You’re kidding me.

[00:17:28] Jill Lewis: No.

[00:17:29] Speaker 5: Now, I’m just, like, I’m… The reason why I’m amazed is I did it, like, last year or two years ago, and I kept crashing that damn thing.

[00:17:37] Jill Lewis: I didn’t crash one time. I don’t know how, but I did not.

[00:17:41] Speaker 5: I think you ought to drive then. You might have a new

[00:17:44] Jill Lewis: occupation. I should be in, I should be in the girl version. There should be a girl first place, right?

[00:17:48] Speaker 5: Well, I don’t know. Well, I

[00:17:54] Speaker 5: don’t… Wouldn’t Dana, Danica Patrick- Yeah, right … wouldn’t she say something about that?

[00:17:58] Jill Lewis: I guess, but- … I’ll let Max win this one.

[00:18:02] Speaker 5: Yeah. Yeah. All right. So have you done any of the other… Did you go to Wi-Fi and do the cars?

[00:18:07] Jill Lewis: Oh, yeah, I did, actually. Brandon, my purchasing manager, he beat me.

[00:18:11] Speaker 5: Oh. And he’s smiling over there.

[00:18:14] Speaker 5: You can’t you know, uh, not on video, but he’s smiling

[00:18:17] Jill Lewis: I’ve blocked that out of my memory that I did that, yeah Yeah.

[00:18:20] Speaker 5: Yes, and I did that, and, um, gosh, I can’t remember who- Honest to Pete … uh, Patrick over at, uh, Continental Arrow beat me.

[00:18:27] Jill Lewis: We tried. We’re in second place. Yeah. So

[00:18:29] Speaker 5: There

[00:18:29] Jill Lewis: you go … it’s fine.

[00:18:30] Speaker 5: So it’s been a fun show.

[00:18:31] Jill Lewis: Yeah. Yeah. It’s been a great day so far.

[00:18:33] Speaker 5: Now you have to go try Thor’s Hammer. That’s where they do give us- Oh … a little bit of help.

[00:18:39] Jill Lewis: Oh, perfect. I’ll give it a try then.

[00:18:41] Speaker 5: All right. So all in all?

[00:18:43] Jill Lewis: Good show so far. Yeah.

18:45 — Aaron Traum, Brinoff Manufacturing

[00:18:45] Aaron Traum: Aaron Traum, Brinoff Manufacturing.

[00:18:47] Speaker 5: Domestic manufacturer, so tell me, how’s business?

[00:18:50] Aaron Traum: We’ve seen an uptick the last few months.

[00:18:52] Aaron Traum: Um, we’re sourcing only USA melt material right now. Uh, lead times are decent enough, so haven’t seen the hiccups that we saw first time around with Trump point, 1.0. But, um, no complaints. Obviously wouldn’t complain if we had more business, but things are looking brighter as of right now.

[00:19:10] Speaker 5: Your customers must be happy because they don’t have any of that little tariff coat.

[00:19:14] Aaron Traum: Right, yeah. What we decided to do was, uh, do a different line item for a tariff surcharge, but since we’re only sourcing the USA melt material, those are few and far in between. So that makes them happy. We can provide the certs that they need to show USA melt, USA made, and they’re happy, their end user’s happy, we’re happy.

[00:19:34] Aaron Traum: All

[00:19:34] Speaker 5: right, and he’s smiling. He’s really smiling here. So he must be happy. So All right, I’m here with one of our favorites

19:42 — Chris McAffrey, Atlanta Rod / Birmingham Fastener

[00:19:42] Chris McAffrey: Chris McCaffrey, Atlanta Rod, Birmingham Fastener.

[00:19:45] Speaker 5: Talk to me about the show.

[00:19:47] Chris McAffrey: Well, it’s been pretty good. One thing that shocked me a little bit is the show floor seems a little smaller this year, but the activity’s been pretty good.

[00:19:55] Chris McAffrey: Started a little slow, but the last couple hours it’s been slammed with, with customers and conversations, and it’s good being in front of people and having those conversations face-to-face, and being able to r- refer people to other organizations within the Birmingham organization that I can’t help them here, but someone here can, and we can push them in the right direction.

[00:20:12] Chris McAffrey: So these shows are always good for things like that.

[00:20:15] Speaker 5: Have you done any of the amusements, like gone over to the NASCAR that’s over there, or pulled Thor’s hammer, or raced the little cars as Wi-Fi?

[00:20:25] Chris McAffrey: So we’re involved with Craig Finlay, uh, at Eurolink, putting on the, uh, NASCAR. We’ve got our logo for Atlanta Rod on the NASCAR.

[00:20:33] Chris McAffrey: So I did get in there and drive it, but I spent more time hitting the wall than hitting the track. Oh. So not good.

[00:20:39] Speaker 5: I did that last year or two years ago when we had it, and I kept doing that, and the guy who helps run it from NASCAR, he said some things, and I said, “You want to go on radio with that?” That’s right.

[00:20:52] Speaker 5: He didn’t want to do that.

[00:20:53] Chris McAffrey: No, I would imagine they had to do some repair work on that car, ’cause I hit the wall pretty good- Yeah … a couple times. Fun, though, and it’s fun to have, and it looks to be popular. People are lining up to-

[00:21:02] Speaker 5: Yeah …

[00:21:03] Chris McAffrey: to take the drive.

[00:21:04] Speaker 5: It is, and so thank you. I didn’t realize- You’re welcome

[00:21:06] Speaker 5: Birmingham, so thank Birmingham for that.

[00:21:09] Chris McAffrey: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. We like to get involved wherever we can. Yeah.

21:14 — Boris Elbaum, “Mr. Washerman”

[00:21:14] Boris Elbaum: Boris Elbaum, known as Mr. Washerman. Show is doing great. I’m busy. I’m keep talking. The, I cannot stop. Maybe just me trying to, uh, enjoying to talk.

[00:21:27] Speaker 5: Well, that’s true, and Boris, you do like to talk.

[00:21:31] Boris Elbaum: Of course, of course, because if you don’t like to talk, how are you gonna make sales?

[00:21:35] Speaker 5: That is true. Are you going to the event tonight?

[00:21:39] Boris Elbaum: Yes, definitely. We, we even try to do the dry run yesterday. We dress up, me and my wife, and went over there and impressed the security guards. Uh, they like it a lot, but they say, “Come back tomorrow.”

[00:21:53] Speaker 5: Oh, okay. Well, that happens, right?

[00:21:57] Boris Elbaum: Absolutely. Absolutely. You see, the beauty of the life, the things happened without your plan. They happened with the plan from above-

[00:22:06] Speaker 5: Ah …

[00:22:06] Boris Elbaum: which you don’t know, and that make life intriguing.

[00:22:10] Speaker 5: All right, and we’re gonna say the end. We’re not gonna say anything else, ’cause that’s so good.

[00:22:15] Boris Elbaum: It’s, it’s a pleasure by itself.

22:19 — Ben Belzer, EZ-LOQ

[00:22:19] Speaker 5: All right. I’m wandering the show, and I happened to stop at-

[00:22:21] Ben Belzer: EZ-LOQ …

[00:22:23] Speaker 5: and I’m talking with?

[00:22:24] Ben Belzer: This is Ben Belzer, the, uh, the owner, president, CEO.

[00:22:26] Speaker 5: How’s the show been?

[00:22:28] Ben Belzer: The show’s been good. Yeah. We’ve had a lot of visits here. Always good to see some of our current customers and, and, uh, familiar faces, but some new ones as well.

[00:22:36] Ben Belzer: So, uh, it could be busier, but, uh, I think we’ve seen a pretty good showing so far. Mm.

[00:22:40] Speaker 5: Any new products on the … going on the line?

[00:22:43] Ben Belzer: Actually, we have. We do have a 3D kit that we’ve just come out with, which has 10 different sizes of inserts for plastic, um, in our SonicWall version. So it comes with a soldering iron, heat stake tips, and a series of, uh, 10 inserts, uh, useful for prototyping or for those that are doing 3D printing and need a complete kit to, uh, you know, insert their inserts and, uh, find a thread.

[00:23:08] Speaker 5: Well, that sounds very cool. It looks very attractive, so everybody has to check it out. Tell me about Steve, our friend Steve.

[00:23:16] Ben Belzer: Uh, one of the greatest guys that I’ve ever met, Steve, uh, uh, Shaper, we’re talking about here. He’s been with EZ-LOQ for 25? 25 years. 25 years, and has finally decided it’s, uh, it’s time to retire.

[00:23:29] Ben Belzer: Mm. And, uh, we’re gonna miss him dearly. The guy knows the industry. He knows everybody. In fact, when I’m here, people say, “Oh, EZ-LOQ. Where’s Steve? How’s Steve doing?” Mm-hmm. Because he’s just a, a genuine guy, so we’re gonna miss him.

[00:23:41] Speaker 5: Is he running off to Florida? There was some other guys that ha- uh, told me they were retiring, and they’re all moving to Myrtle Beach or something.

[00:23:50] Ben Belzer: He is not moving to Florida. Uh, uh, California’s a nice place to be anyway, so, uh, he’s gonna stay local down there. He’s got family in the area. He wants to be close to his grandkids. So, uh, he’s staying local and staying available, and, uh, one of those guys that says, you know, “Even though I’m gone, I’m still here.”

[00:24:06] Ben Belzer: Yeah. So we appreciate that.

[00:24:07] Speaker 5: So please tell him Lynn, Brian, and Eric say enjoy your retirement.

[00:24:11] Ben Belzer: I certainly will. I certainly will. Thank you.

[00:24:13] Speaker 5: Good. All right. Wonderful All right. I’m over here with

24:17 — Kelly Pohlers, Setko Fasteners

[00:24:17] Speaker 22: Kelly Pohlers from Setko

[00:24:19] Speaker 5: Fasteners. And I heard you guys had to do some quick action.

[00:24:23] Speaker 22: We, we did. You know, we showed up to the booth, and we expected a full pallet of all of our product.

[00:24:27] Speaker 22: It’s about 200 pounds, and literally we had two little boxes. Fortunately, we had all of the fasteners for our table, so that was exciting. I was happy about that. The flooring was missing, the table was missing, the chair was missing, the banner stands were missing, everything, all gone. So all I have is enough stuff for the table.

[00:24:46] Speaker 22: And this happened, uh, I came in on, you know, Monday. I started setting up and immediately went into action, got a new table, got another side table to hold all of our supplies, called the office, had them next day air out our banner stands, got those. Fortunately, we had some extra ones, so that was exciting.

[00:25:03] Speaker 22: Got the carpet down, got a table, and boom, there it is. It’s, it’s all ready to go. Wow. So the logistics company got everything over to us and filled in in minutes, and they did a really good job. So that was, that was impressive. It was good.

[00:25:15] Speaker 5: So where is the stuff that’s missing? Do you know where that is?

[00:25:18] Speaker 22: Yeah. We found out this morning it’s in Atlanta at a- Oh. … some place. Yeah, it just decided to go to Atlanta for no reason, and, um, so we’re supposed to get it back now in Chicago. Oh. So we’ll see what happens. Yeah.

[00:25:28] Speaker 5: That’s good. So tell me what’s new with Setko.

[00:25:30] Speaker 22: Oh, gosh. You know, we have so many things happening.

[00:25:33] Speaker 22: The nylon and the brass tip, uh, screws, those are big movers for us. A lot of people are coming to us. We manufacture in four to six weeks. We stock all of that product, uh, stainless steel and alloy in both, uh, metric and inch sizes. So those are big movers for us. All the hex keys, the Torx or six lobe keys, those are great, and just a lot of secondary work that we do.

[00:25:55] Speaker 22: We carry all the standards and then of course do all the secondary operations to make sure that the customers are getting the final product to them instead of them sending out bolts. Bolts are heavy, right? I don’t want you to have to send things out. We want you to touch it once. We take care of everything else.

[00:26:11] Speaker 22: We do all the secondary work and deliver it to you on time and, and make sure you’re taking care of your customer.

[00:26:16] Speaker 5: Well, it must work because, boy, your booth looks good considering that the original is in Atlanta.

[00:26:22] Speaker 22: Yeah. We lost … Our big thing is we have a holographic 3D, uh, image thing, and that is gone. But besides that, you know, it was great.

[00:26:31] Speaker 22: And we had a lot of foot traffic. It was really, really good today. Oh,

[00:26:34] Speaker 5: that’s-

[00:26:35] Speaker 22: So yeah,

[00:26:35] Speaker 5: very happy … that’s very good. Very good. Yeah. Had some

[00:26:37] Speaker 22: good conversations.

26:39 — Rolf Schultz, Spin Guard

[00:26:39] Rolf Schultz: type of thing

[00:26:39] Speaker 5: or Yeah. All right. It’s Meet the Neighbors, and right next to us is

[00:26:44] Rolf Schultz: Spin Guard.

[00:26:44] Speaker 5: And I’m talking with

[00:26:46] Rolf Schultz: Rolf Schultz.

[00:26:47] Speaker 5: And I see your thing, Spin Guard, and I thought dryers.

[00:26:52] Rolf Schultz: Yeah. Well, I, I suppose it could be used for that- Yeah. … but that’s not what it’s for. It’s, uh- Uh- Okay …

[00:26:56] Speaker 5: why don’t you tell us what it’s for?

[00:26:57] Rolf Schultz: Okay. So, um, what this is, it’s a new product that takes any existing hex bolt and turns it into a security fastener, right? So if you are someone that you run a prison, or let’s say you have some street light equipment, and you have the bolts that you need that are s- you know, a certain length, a certain size, you can use that existing bolt and just add this security cap to it, and that makes it so that people can’t disassemble it.

[00:27:20] Speaker 5: And if I add the cap to it, I have a key? How do I get it off?

[00:27:24] Rolf Schultz: Yes. There is an access tool that fits specifically into the top of the cap that protects it from access, and then you take that security tool, and you can unscrew it.

[00:27:32] Speaker 5: And why did you do this? Who thought of this idea?

[00:27:35] Rolf Schultz: Um, because there is not a lot out there in terms of tamper-proof security.

[00:27:40] Rolf Schultz: Um, for when you order a, a, a bolt or screw, um, they generally are in s- smaller sizes, and you have to get a special head for it. Like, es- the, the bolt has a special head, and, um, so that really limits what kind of bolts are available. So if you need a stainless steel one or you need a certain thread count or you need a certain length, you’re very limited to what’s available.

[00:28:02] Rolf Schultz: What this does is the bolt that you already have, so let’s say you order a dryer that you need to, um, to bolt down because you’re worried about being stolen out of a laundromat, um, you can just take the bolt you already got, and you add that cap to it. So it’s very flexible and very easy for the c- the end user.

[00:28:16] Speaker 5: Oh, that would be nice. All right. For the listeners who did not come to the show, where can we find you?

[00:28:21] Speaker 24: Website, you can find us at spin-guard.com.

[00:28:25] Speaker 5: Wonderful. Thanks, fellas. All right, it’s Meet the Neighbor time here, and our neighbor across the aisle is

28:32 — Tim Ziegler, JPB Système

[00:28:32] Tim Ziegler: Tim Ziegler from JPB System.

[00:28:34] Speaker 5: And you know what? We’ve never heard of JPB System.

[00:28:37] Speaker 5: Tell me about it.

[00:28:38] Tim Ziegler: Sure. Well, we’re a French-based company just outside of Paris, France. We do self-locking innovation solutions for the, uh, aerospace, automotive, military, energy, oil, and gas segments. Our primary OEMs are Pratt & Whitney, GE, and Rolls-Royce.

[00:28:54] Speaker 5: Now, Brian was over there and he was talking about, I don’t know, some…

[00:28:59] Speaker 5: You guys were showing him something. Sure. What were you showing him?

[00:29:01] Tim Ziegler: Well, we started off, uh, Damien Marc, our president, took over the company from his father when his father was ill, and at that time we had some mechanical solutions. They were self-locking bore scope plugs that are used on turbine engines in the commercial and military aircrafts.

[00:29:16] Tim Ziegler: Then they, we made a LoliLock product that was named after his son and daughter, Lily and Luca. That’s a self-locking V-nut, and that’s used primarily right now on tubes and hoses for hydraulic, pneumatic, air, fuel lines, things like that. But Damien was a computer science student in college and wanted to put his own product on the market, so we came up with several software-based solutions.

[00:29:43] Tim Ziegler: One’s called Bolt tracks. It measures the tensions in a joint, like would be highly critical, like on rollercoaster rides where you have nuts that loosen due to the vibration. If you have Bolt tracks on that as a sensor, it gives you real-time measurement of what that torque is, if you need to shut the ride down to tighten it to ensure the safety.

[00:30:01] Tim Ziegler: And also we have KeyProb, which is a, uh, production OE measuring tool that m- monitors the machine runtimes and reports real-time information back in case there’s any issues with the machine while it’s running.

[00:30:15] Speaker 5: Well, everybody, Brian was very impressed with them. Now, if you’re not at the show, for the listeners who aren’t here, where can they find you on the web?

[00:30:23] Tim Ziegler: They can find us at jpb/system, S-Y-S-T-E-M-E, .com.

[00:30:30] Speaker 5: Thank you very much.

[00:30:31] Tim Ziegler: Thank you for your time. I appreciate it.

30:33 — Matt Kelly, Modern Plating

[00:30:33] Speaker 5: All right, again, it’s Meet the Neighbors, and across the way we are with

[00:30:37] Matt Kelly: Matt Kelly from Modern Plating.

[00:30:39] Speaker 5: Plating. So tell me about it.

[00:30:41] Matt Kelly: So Modern Plating, we have two facilities, one in Freeport, Illinois, and one in Elizabethtown, Kentucky.

[00:30:47] Matt Kelly: So we specialize in alloy finishes, all electroplating in Illinois, and in Kentucky we have zinc in barrel and rack, as well as Dorken and GeoMat zinc flake coatings.

[00:30:58] Speaker 5: All right. Now, for my listeners who aren’t here at the show, where can they find you on the web?

[00:31:03] Matt Kelly: Www.modernplatingcorp.com. We also on that website have a finish finder under Illinois where you can search through OEM, specification, or the finish.

[00:31:14] Matt Kelly: So if you’re looking for a zinc nickel, you can pull up every single zinc nickel spec we can do. Makes everyone’s lives a lot easier when they don’t know the automotive specs.

[00:31:22] Speaker 5: Ooh, very good. All right. Thank you.

[00:31:24] Matt Kelly: Thank you.

31:26 — Jeff Harris, Yarde Metals

[00:31:26] Speaker 5: All right. We’re still meeting the neighbors, and now I’m with

[00:31:29] Jeff Harris: Jeff Harris with Yard Metals.

[00:31:31] Jeff Harris: We’re a metals distributor based out of Southington, Connecticut, with branches up and down the East Coast.

[00:31:36] Speaker 5: Any problem with, uh, what’s happening globally, getting the metals?

[00:31:40] Jeff Harris: Yes. Uh, the, the problems to date are, uh, obviously material pricing, especially with aluminum, and what’s becoming an issue is material availability.

[00:31:52] Jeff Harris: So it’s becoming scarce. The lead times at the producing mills keep getting extended, and prices keep going up.

[00:31:59] Speaker 5: The other metal that distributors are telling me they’re having trouble with, brass.

[00:32:03] Jeff Harris: Brass seems to always have been an issue. Um, it’s very pricey. Uh, there’s very few domestic sources for it. A lot of foreign entities, uh, you know, just offer a, a, a cheaper product.

[00:32:17] Jeff Harris: So that’s, that seems to always raise its ugly head.

[00:32:21] Speaker 5: All right. Sorry. Here you meet- No … the neighbors, and I put the neighbor on the spot. Uh, for people who are not at the show, where can they find the company?

[00:32:29] Jeff Harris: So we’re at Yard, Y-A-R-D-E, .com. And again, we’re based out of Southington, Connecticut, with, uh, branches up and down the East Coast.

32:37 — Blanca Delgado, Fastener Fair

[00:32:37] Speaker 5: Thank you. All right. I am here with Blanca. Blanca, great show. Ah, thank you. Thank you. It’s been great. It’s been fun. I’m glad it’s over though. Well, you’re on second day. It’s, uh,

[00:32:52] Speaker 27: not quite over.

[00:32:53] Speaker 5: I’m almost there. I’m almost at the finish line.

[00:32:55] Speaker 27: Yes.

[00:32:56] Speaker 5: So let’s talk about the venue.

[00:32:58] Speaker 27: Uh, the g- the Charlotte Convention Center, it was, it was good.

[00:33:01] Speaker 27: We were, we were right by a lot of hotels and, um, and, uh, what is it? Restaurants, things like that, the NASCAR Hall of Fame. Had a lo- a huge attendance for that. Um, so that was, that was good to see. Um, it was good to see the whole industry get together and have a couple drinks and race and, uh, do all that, that sort of stuff.

[00:33:22] Speaker 27: And we have wider aisles and it’s carpeted. Duh, I love the carpet. We, we always carpet. And, uh, our aisles were a little, uh, were a little bit bigger. We wanted to see, you know, if it would be more helpful to, to have more room for people. We also wanted to add a couple things in the aisles, like certain signs and certain, uh, the coffee stations and stuff like that.

[00:33:45] Speaker 27: Mm-hmm. Like, we provided the, uh, the free coffee for, um, for all our attendees and exhibitors, uh, that was sponsored by Wurth, so the, we’re really grateful for that.

[00:33:55] Speaker 5: Oh, yes, and that is true. Thank you, Wurth, on, on the coffee. Uh, we’ve got the learning theater and the, um, learning leaders lounge. Leaders lounge.

[00:34:06] Speaker 5: Tell me about that.

[00:34:08] Speaker 27: Uh, the leaders lounge is… We’ve had the, um, loyalty lounge for the last three years, so we just changed the name to leaders lounge just because we wanted to get more of a VIP, uh, experience in tho- in those lounges, and we also wanted to provi- we wanted to, um, invite more purchasers and buyers and give that as an extra.

[00:34:28] Speaker 27: So in that leader lounge you were able to get, have… We provided you with lunches, uh, drinks, and, uh, coffee of course, and like a private area that, you know, you could sit and relax. But we prettied it up. We’re hoping that it grows more for next year. Uh, but it’s something that we’re really, uh, trying to, trying to build off of that, just because we’re, we’re really trying to get better customers into the show.

[00:34:53] Speaker 27: And I attended a lot of the learning theaters, and the talks were very

[00:34:57] Speaker 5: good, and I think they were well-attended.

[00:34:59] Speaker 27: Yeah. Yeah, we, this year we, we did it a little differently again. Uh, we really wanted to focus on things that the industry wanted to hear about. Uh, we did get counsel from the, the FIC that helped us to kinda like know, you know, hey, what’s something that they wanna learn?

[00:35:16] Speaker 27: What is something that, um, is out there that’s, that’s going on? And like earlier, we talked about the tariffs and everything like that, and so we had someone here to speak about that. We also had an awards ceremony, um, that, uh, we’re trying to grow too, and we ended up, uh, giving a scholar- the scholarship winner for Wi5- And, um, the, um, the FIC, um, gave their media award, and that went to Rosa for L- LumFest.

[00:35:44] Speaker 27: That was really great. Uh, yes, Rosa’s running around with a winner sash on there. Yeah, yeah. No, she does a great job, and her, you know, the media award, I think, is an, an amazing idea, and it’s, it’s been great that it’s been growing

[00:35:58] Speaker 5: Now, can you tell me exhibit- exhibitors, are there more, less than last year?

[00:36:03] Speaker 27: Uh, there’s a little bit less. Um, a lot of the exhibitors are, like, alternating years of, like, when to exhibit. They also … I mean, a lot of consolidation is happening, so that’s one of the biggest things that, uh, the industry’s facing. So, you know, it was, I think, maybe, like, 10% less than it usually is. We’re hoping to grow the show, so we’re really wanting th- those fastener groups to come back and get a little bit more mom-and-pops machinery going into springs and bearings and washers and, uh, and inviting them to the show, adhesives, coating, anything that, um, is used with a fastener, like a secondary group.

[00:36:42] Speaker 27: So hopefully for next year we’ll have more of that in the show, um, just to help it grow.

[00:36:48] Speaker 5: Talk to me a little bit more about, um, targeting the audience or the walkers.

[00:36:54] Speaker 27: Well, we want our exhibitors to have a good time or, you know, to actually get leads and, um, and make it worthwhile. So we’re really going after the exhibitors to give us the information of who are their customers and really, um, inviting them to the show, getting

[00:37:09] Speaker 27: finding … getting feedback back of why they’re not at the show. Um, some of the feedback they- they said is that they wanted to see more stuff. Like, they wanna see … If they’re coming in for fasteners, they also wanna see, uh, springs. They also wanna see, you know, uh, the additional products that come with that fastener.

[00:37:25] Speaker 27: So that- that’s one of the big things that we’re- we’re trying to do for them and vice versa. We’re also … Like, we had Wurth, we had Optimus, um, who are, you know, major distributors. So, uh, we gave them meeting rooms so that they had space to have groups, uh, their team come in and have a space for them to meet with people or to relax in, to have meetings outside of the fastener industry.

[00:37:49] Speaker 27: Um, or, um, you know, any kind of, like, team meetings that they needed to do. You know, we provided them the room to do it and then give- gave them the opportunity to walk the floor at the same time.

[00:38:00] Speaker 5: Very good. So that’s a good thing to know for people who are thinking about coming in with a team or they’re in the area.

[00:38:07] Speaker 5: Where is our next fair?

[00:38:10] Speaker 27: Our next fair is in Louisville, Kentucky. Um, it’s going to be May 19th and 20th. Right. We’re going to co-locate it again, once again with Aluminum USA. Um, so that’s- that’s gonna be the co-location for that. And then we also, uh, we’re looking at the ven- different venues for the networking party.

[00:38:29] Speaker 27: Um, but of course, you know, like, this year we had the NASCAR Hall of Fame, and, uh, Optimus was one of our major sponsors for that, so that was, that was really good, and we’re hoping to, to work together again for next year. Okay. So let’s talk about the app, because everybody is, like, scanning … Every time I go somewhere, they’re like-

[00:38:48] Speaker 27: “Let me scan you.” Um, yeah, we, so we, we’ve always had the lead retrieval that is included with your booth, but something that also we added for visitors is to, um, to actually they have the, uh, capability to scan booths. And as a result, the exhibitor and the attendee gets the, uh, the full information of both parties, and you can arrange meetings and things like that that way.

[00:39:12] Speaker 27: But within the attendee app, you could see there’s a map, there’s the sessions. There’s actually even an area where, where it provides offers, and all the offers that are going on on the show floor, you can find them there. Like, oh, you know, you get a free hat if you’re the 20th person to come to my booth.

[00:39:29] Speaker 27: You know, those kind of offers. So it’s, um, it’s been a pretty easy app to use. I’ve been using it, so it’s, it’s, it’s pretty, you know, it’s pretty, uh, self-explanatory. Also, for exhibitors, you know, they can scan, of course, like any badge, and get the full information of, of who they’re talking to. You know, the, the age of, uh, giving out business cards is, is getting less and less.

[00:39:54] Speaker 5: Hmm. True. It seems like o- o- only the oldies, like Brian and I have them.

[00:39:59] Speaker 27: Um, the other thing that, that we’re starting to develop, and, uh, you might have seen it, uh, but it’s not fully, fully developed. We’re still kind of trying it out this year, is that we have a booth that is, um, recommendations. And attendees could go there to like, if they’re looking for a certain, um, application or whatever, they could type it in, and it’ll give them recommendations of different booths to, to look at that have that bolt or that washer that they’re looking for.

[00:40:26] Speaker 27: Whatever they’re looking for.

[00:40:26] Speaker 5: It’s very cool, and that it’s free- Yeah … is really cool.

[00:40:30] Speaker 27: And that’s free. That- Yeah … you know, um, later on we’re gonna have, you know, you could sponsor certain things in the app. But as of right now, any, like, attendees can use it for free, and exhibitors are, like, have the lead retrieval, and that’s included with their booth.

[00:40:44] Speaker 27: So if you’re not using it, use it. All right. Get that Brian to do that. All right.

[00:40:50] Speaker 5: Thanks. Thanks, Blanka.

41:11 — Advertisement

[00:41:11] Speaker 29: Hey, sport, you don’t look so good.

[00:41:14] Speaker 30: Man, all this walking at the fastener show is wearing me out. I don’t know if I can keep going.

[00:41:20] Speaker 29: I think I have just the thing to help you out, son. Have you ever heard of Old Rusty Bolt Beer?

[00:41:24] Speaker 30: No. What is it?

[00:41:26] Speaker 29: Why, it’s only the tastiest, most refreshing, ice coldest beer around.

[00:41:30] Speaker 29: The amber goodness of Old Rusty Bolt Beer is enough to jumpstart any weary fastener salesman.

[00:41:35] Speaker 30: I’ll try one. Wow, I feel better already. Hey, mister, what’s that name again?

[00:41:42] Speaker 29: Old Rusty Bolt Beer, brought to you by the fine folks at Buckeye Fasteners and the Ohio Nut and Bolt Company. Old Rusty Bolt, that’s the name, that name again.

[00:41:54] Speaker 29: Old Rusty Bolt. Buckeye Fasteners: more than just weld

42:02 — Advertisement

[00:42:02] Speaker 31: From thousands of in-stock fasteners, including NAS and MS hardware to custom parts built to your specifications, MW Components delivers. With US manufacturing across eight locations, we offer cold heading, precision machining, fully custom solutions, and engineering support for challenging applications.

[00:42:20] Speaker 31: From rapid prototyping to full production, we deliver the capabilities and skill for your most demanding needs. Learn more at mwcomponents.com/fasteners.

42:32 — Cresa Industrial Real Estate Update

[00:42:32] Marco Rodriguez: Hi, fastener professionals and FTR listeners. It’s Marco Rodriguez with Cresa’s Industrial Real Estate update, with actionable information to help drive profitability for your business.

[00:42:41] Marco Rodriguez: Today, I’ll discuss the top five errors to avoid in lease negotiations that will help protect your operating margins. First up, the renewal trap. The most dangerous mistake I see is what I call the renewal trap. When the lease renewal notice hits your desk six months before your lease expires, it is very tempting to just sign it and get back to business.

[00:42:58] Marco Rodriguez: Don’t do that. The landlord is banking on your inertia. They know moving your warehouse, especially one with racking, heavy inventory, and power needs, is a major headache. If you don’t go to market, you have zero leverage. Even if you want to stay, you need to act like you’re looking at other sites. Work with a professional to get a market analysis, get a quote from a competitive facility, and bring that to the table.

[00:43:17] Marco Rodriguez: You’ll be shocked at how quickly market rates become negotiable once the landlord thinks you might actually leave. Number two, tenant improvement allowances, also known as TI. If your facility needs upgrades, maybe you need to expand your loading docks for faster distribution or install high-voltage power for new machinery, do not pay for those out of pocket.

[00:43:34] Marco Rodriguez: Instead, negotiate a TI allowance into your lease renewal. A landlord would almost always prefer to give you a cash allowance to upgrade their building than to lose you as a tenant and spend six months or more paying to renovate the space themselves and find a new tenant. Frame those as long-term building improvements that add value to the asset.

[00:43:51] Marco Rodriguez: Number three, the right of first refusal. Fastener businesses fluctuate. You might have a massive inventory spike in Q3. If you’re in a multi-tenant industrial park, you need right of first refusal on the space next door. This lease clause ensures that if a space next to yours becomes available, you get the first call to lease it.

[00:44:08] Marco Rodriguez: It prevents a competitor from moving into your building or the business park and allows your business to scale without the nightmare of having to move your entire operation to a new facility. Number four, audit your operating expenses, also known as CAM. Many executives treat CAM charges, common area maintenance, like a utility bill that just needs to be paid.

[00:44:25] Marco Rodriguez: This is a huge mistake. Most leases give you the right to audit these CAM statements annually. One key thing to look for are capital expenditures, or CapEx, that the landlord is trying to pass off as maintenance. Are they putting on a new roof? That’s their responsibility, not yours. Are they overcharging you for landscaping or security?

[00:44:42] Marco Rodriguez: I’ve seen many companies overpay by thousands of dollars annually because they never questioned these line items. Number five, early termination options. Give yourself an exit ramp. If you’re signing a five or ten-year lease, a lot can happen in the fastener industry. Technology changes and supply chains shift.

[00:44:58] Marco Rodriguez: Negotiate an early termination option. This will allow you to break your lease after year three or four at a pre-negotiated fee. It’s an insurance policy. If your business model shifts or you need to downsize, you aren’t held hostage by a contract that no longer fits your operational reality. Ultimately, keeping these five potential pitfalls in mind is critical because in the current industrial market, passive management of real estate leads to lost profitability.

[00:45:20] Marco Rodriguez: If you want to talk nuts and bolts or roofs and walls, I’m Marco Rodriguez with Cresa. You can find me on LinkedIn or email me at mrodriguez@cresa.com. And as always, don’t forget to pay your rent.

45:37 — Advertisement

[00:45:37] Speaker 7: Precision, efficiency, durability. Jalen Franco has been a trusted name for the finest lock nuts worldwide and across North America for over forty years. J. Lanfranco keeps projects on track, on time, and on budget, providing self-locking lock nuts and critical bolting components for applications in aerospace, mining, industrial, and many other sectors where reliability and high performance are essential.

[00:46:01] Speaker 7: Learn more about J. Lanfranco online at www.jlanfranco.com. And don’t miss our booth at Fastener Fair USA. J. Lanfranco, lock nuts for critical bolted joints.

46:16 — YLT

[00:46:16] Tracy Lumia: This is Tracy Lumia of Distributors Link Magazine, the number one publication in the fastener industry. You’re listening to Fully Threaded Radio.

46:36 — News segment open

[00:46:36] Eric Dudas: And it’s the news segment. Mike McNulty will be coming up shortly. He’s got Dave Manthey with Baird to talk about the FDI this time. Dave Manthey, of course, the senior analyst who’s been working on the FDI for many years. He does great work. He always gives a unique sort of a analysis. But now I’ve got somebody who I just saw at Fastener Fair USA in Charlotte.

47:00 — Jason Baines, J. Lanfranco

[00:47:00] Eric Dudas: He’s gonna give us a little insight on the latest on Canadian tariff news. It’s Jason Baines, J. Lanfranco. Hey, Jason.

[00:47:08] Jason Baines: Hey, Eric. How are you?

[00:47:09] Eric Dudas: Hanging in there, Jason. Thanks for being here. You were telling me that you’re gonna be traveling, like, five out of the next six weeks, so I appreciate you taking some time.

[00:47:17] Eric Dudas: Too bad we didn’t get more opportunity in Charlotte.

[00:47:21] Jason Baines: No, it was a busy time, and I’ll be honest with you, Eric, uh, as important as you and the folks at Fully Threaded are- … there was a, there was a little something called Cinco de Mayo occurring, and, uh, I needed to dedicate some time to that. So, uh, I’m happy to say I left with a free T-shirt and some, uh, uh, souvenir glassware from the Public House in Charlotte.

[00:47:44] Jason Baines: Ah.

[00:47:45] Eric Dudas: Yeah.

[00:47:46] Jason Baines: Yeah.

[00:47:46] Eric Dudas: You know, it’s funny because that was not really a prevalent theme on the show floor, but you’re absolutely right. Um, I was more attracted to the Hammer of Thor, uh, at, over at that Magnet booth, that, which was right across from J. Lanfranco, and I’m sure you made your way over to that thing.

[00:48:03] Eric Dudas: How’d you do picking up that giant hammer they had attached with the magnet?

[00:48:07] Jason Baines: Well, you know, Eric, I didn’t even attempt it. If I don’t have my Marvel Universe Thor costume with me- … I am not picking up a hammer. So we agreed that I’m gonna loop down to the Magnet people’s office, uh, with said costume, and, uh, we will properly document that.

[00:48:26] Jason Baines: So everyone’s gonna have to wait, but I, uh, I did see many people try, and, uh, we must have a, a very powerful industry because everyone was able to lift it

[00:48:36] Eric Dudas: Well, there was a little trick to it, and fortunately, your own Lisa Sanderson sort of whispered the trick to me. You had to kind of tip it a certain way, ’cause if you tried going straight up, you were not gonna get that…

[00:48:48] Eric Dudas: That magnet was powerful.

[00:48:50] Jason Baines: Some would say the most powerful magnet. Uh, it was, uh, it was, it was quite a feat of strength to observe, but, uh, I’m gonna wait, as I say, for my costume, but it was a fantastic show, uh, in Charlotte. I, I, I did hear some people, uh, not everyone made it out for various reasons, but the people we saw were great as usual.

[00:49:10] Eric Dudas: Lighter attendance perhaps, high quality, but in the end you never really get it all squeezed in. So you weren’t selling magnets, you were selling nuts. I mean, how, how did it go for J. Lanfranco?

[00:49:20] Jason Baines: It was… Uh, I think for us it’s always positive. Um, I think we’re still part of an industry that values in-person meetings face-to-face.

[00:49:28] Jason Baines: There’s no replacement for being on the ground with, uh, with your customers, so that’s what we were there to do. And you’re right, y- you never can get everything, you know, you want in terms of attendance and weather and, and, uh, uh, you know, attractions, uh, uh, offsite, but I thought it was a good solid show.

[00:49:47] Jason Baines: We met some new people. We got to see some race cars at the NASCAR Hall of Fame. Uh, for us Canadians, the weather was, uh, was just fine for us. And so, uh, I term it a success, and Charlotte is a town that, uh, I’ve always enjoyed visiting. Great food scene there. So, uh, we chalk it up and say successful week.

[00:50:06] Eric Dudas: Okay. Well, that’s gonna round out our review of the Fastener Fair ’cause the rest of the show, as I said, is dedicated to it. The Fastener News Reports brought to us by Volt Industrial Plastics, title sponsors of Fully Threaded Radio, Brighton Best International, and Linfast Solutions Group Well, Jason, last time we were talking to you on the podcast, you were amassing, I don’t know if we wanna call it a coalition or not, but you were getting some Canadian fastener people together, and you were addressing the tariff situation.

[00:50:38] Eric Dudas: I know there have been some recent developments south of the border with the 232 situation especially, and you’re on top of all that. What’s the most important thing you got your eye on with tariffs these days? Not to brand you as the tariff guy, you’re the nut guy, but

[00:50:54] Jason Baines: Uh, I think the most important thing is we continue to manage them, be transparent with our customers on our end, and move forward.

[00:51:01] Jason Baines: Uh, try and mitigate their impact wherever possible with sourcing, uh, more domestic material, uh, domestic product if it’s something we don’t make. Of course, there’s only so much capacity in the market, so everyone’s dealing with them. Uh, closer to home, um, you know, on the Canadian front, we have a globally applied steel derivative tariff of 25%.

[00:51:24] Jason Baines: It’s really an effective rate of, of about 31 and a half because we’ve got our, uh, uh, sales tax, uh, or GST as we call it, rolled into that. So of course, the tariff gets on charged on top of that subtotal, so it really comes to 31%. We’ve formed a, a Canadian fastener coalition of sorts. We’re gonna have a website coming out in the next, uh, uh, two weeks or so.

[00:51:47] Jason Baines: Uh, I’ve been spearheading that with, uh, uh, people like Hans Fuller. So Hans and I have gotten to know each other pretty well. He’s been fantastic. We have a few other companies involved, uh, which, which I’ll, I’ll wait when this website is out to kind of announce them. But we’ve been amassing information, and what we’re looking for is a, uh, thoughtful and targeted approach to tariffs whereby we’re gonna support domestic industry and domestic manufacturers where it makes sense and they exist.

[00:52:16] Jason Baines: But Canada doesn’t have the manufacturing capacity, uh, uh, of the US, so, uh, there’s a lot we need to bring in, and ultimately we look at it, it hurts Canadian manufacturers, uh, at a time when they need to compete globally. Um, but we certainly wanna be part of a solution that supports Canadian steel, supports Canadian manufacturers, and ultimately one of our big asks is we’re saying, “Hey, if you wanna have more Canadian fastener manufacturers, like Lanfranco would, would be happy to bring over more machines here.

[00:52:49] Jason Baines: Uh, it’s gonna, you know– Let’s find a better way than just, uh, maybe what is a temporary 25% tariff.” So we do have a fastener coalition. We’ve got a logo, we’ve got a website coming out, and we’ve got some pretty cool people that everybody will know about once it’s announced.

[00:53:05] Eric Dudas: Do you wanna blast the domain for that out there or…

[00:53:08] Eric Dudas: Y- y-

[00:53:08] Jason Baines: you know, Eric, I would if my memory could recall it right now, but we’ll wait on that. Uh, I don’t wanna give out incorrect information, and I don’t think it’s live yet. So if you allow us to come back, uh, I’m gonna give you the– I’ll give you the URL, uh, once I confirm it with Hans. But, uh, yeah, I, I kinda don’t wanna get the cart in front of the horse, but we’re very, very close and, uh, yeah, what we’re trying to do is have a seat at the table.

[00:53:32] Jason Baines: We’re a smaller industry, and we’ll do our best.

[00:53:35] Eric Dudas: Be glad to have you and Hans back on when you’ve got more to report on that. All right, well, keep up the fight. In the meantime, what’s the big news at J. Lanfranco? What are you talking about? I know you’ve been doing a lot to pre-plan for a lot of these tariff pressures, and, uh, so far, as you’ve told me offline, you’re actually pretty happy with that.

[00:53:55] Eric Dudas: How’s it going?

[00:53:56] Jason Baines: Yeah. We, we continue to see, uh, you know, revenues are good. Uh, so obviously tariffs are, are a drag on, on margins like it is for everyone. We, we did do a lot of work ahead of time and continue to, uh, again, source, uh, US material where possible, where it makes sense, and, um, we’re investing. So we actually are pretty bullish on, on what’s to come.

[00:54:22] Jason Baines: Uh, there’s still strong need. Uh, forecast looks good for us in the industries that we are, are most active within, and there’s certainly a premium being put on domestic products. So that’s where we’re investing. Uh, and then we continue to grow our distribution network, so that’s an area where we’ve brought on a general manager in the last 10 months, and he’s been tasked with really trying to help support our distributin- uh, distributor network, and that’s something we’re always looking to grow.

[00:54:50] Jason Baines: Uh, you know, people who deal with, uh, high vibration, uh, high performance, uh, uh, requirements. So the big news for us is, is continued growth, uh, expanding to secure more, uh, US steel, domestic steel to be compliant under those 232 tariffs or, or mitigate their impact. And the big thing is inventory, I think.

[00:55:12] Jason Baines: It’s, it’s a time where, uh, investing in your production and inventory is gonna pay off down the line because there’s certainly, we’re already seeing it squeezes on the supply chain, and we’ve talked about it before. I don’t think it’s a question of, oh, how do we mitigate or navigate this world event?

[00:55:31] Jason Baines: There will always be an event coming. It can be COVID. It… You know, look at Iran right now. Um, there’s always gonna be something popping up, so it’s about being prepared because at the end of the day, people still need to manufacture, and they need parts. And so we’re one of those umbrella inputs. We’re everywhere.

[00:55:51] Jason Baines: We will always be needed. Uh, our job is ultimately make sure the quality parts are on the shelf and, and that’s what, that’s what we’re sticking to.

[00:55:58] Eric Dudas: All right. You’re hard charger as always, and an optimist too. I’m glad you’re here. Jason Baines, J. Lanfranco. Hey, we’re going into the news. You know, uh, how to do that too.

[00:56:11] Jason Baines: Oh, I’m so happy you’ve thrown off to me because- … uh, I’ve thought about this for a while. It’s my big debut. And so ladies and gentlemen, I’d like to say, uh, and now with news about screws you can use, here is Channel 4 News team’s very own Mike McNulty.

56:37 — Fastener News Report

56:37 — FNR open

[00:56:37] Mike McNulty: Thanks, Jason. 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. 2026 World Cup soccer ticket prices are surging and exceeding the average Super Bowl 60 ticket costs.

[00:56:55] Mike McNulty: USA inflation surged to 3.8% last April, and in the beginning of May 2026, the accumulative US national debt held by the public exceeded the annual USA GDP for the first time since World War II. But I am still focused on fasteners and ready to deliver today’s Fastener News report. In this episode, Baird’s Senior Research Analyst, Dave Manthe, joins us to reveal the latest results of the Fastener Distributor Index, also known as the FDI.

[00:57:22] Mike McNulty: Also in today’s broadcast, we have our top story from Crescent Manufacturing, plus newsmaker headlines from Hillman, ND, Briton Best International, Volt Industrial Plastics, Route Washer, Linfast Solutions Group, Hewitt, the NFDA, and more. On the Back Page Report, we’re going to talk about fastener road trips.

[00:57:41] Mike McNulty: We’ll get to all of that and the latest FDI results right after this.

[00:57:47] Heidi Volltrauer: Hi, this is Heidi Volltrauer with Volt Industrial Plastics, and there are four things that separate us from the rest. There is a difference: competitive pricing, fast lead times and delivery, no minimum quantity orders, and our customer service is above the rest. With a heritage of growth and hard work, Volt Industrial Plastics is committed to our customers and our future.

[00:58:08] Heidi Volltrauer: You are valued. We take pride in our company and the products we manufacture. We welcome every opportunity to put our experience, technical expertise, and rapid response production capabilities to work for you. Contact a member of our friendly, knowledgeable sales team today to find out how we can help.

[00:58:26] Heidi Volltrauer: You know the website, voltplastics.com.

[00:58:33] Speaker 36: At Würth, status quo isn’t an option. Würth is a global supply chain solutions provider of fasteners, MRO, and safety products, along with value-added services like kitting and assembly, 3D printing, and engineering assistance. Find out what Würth can do for you at würthindustry.com.

[00:58:57] Speaker 37: Solution Man Ken.

[00:58:58] Speaker 5: Solution Man, you’re my fastener hero.

[00:59:01] Speaker 37: Just doing my job, ma’am.

[00:59:03] Speaker 38: S-O-L-U-T-I-O-N, S-O-L-U-T-I-O-N.

[00:59:12] Speaker 38: Solution Industry. We are so-

[00:59:16] Speaker 39: Back to the Fascinator News Report with Mike McNulty

[00:59:20] Mike McNulty: The seasonally adjusted Fastener Distributor Index for April 2026 dipped to a solid 56.3 after posting a massive reading of 59.7 in March, seasonally adjusted. This was the 12th straight month of the FDI being in expansion territory. The forward-looking indicator, also known as the FLI, also inched down to 57.4 versus an impressive 58.7 the prior month.

[00:59:44] Mike McNulty: 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 gonna talk to Baird Senior Research Analyst, Dave Mantey.

01:00:01 — Dave Manthey, Baird Senior Research Analyst

[01:00:01] Mike McNulty: Hi, Dave, thanks for joining us on the Fastener News Report.

[01:00:03] Speaker 2: Hey, Mike. Good to be here as always.

[01:00:06] Mike McNulty: Good to have you back. It’s been, uh, been a little while, but not a, not a long while, so you’re, you’re coming on when the FDI is really in a, in a good area. What do you think about the latest results?

[01:00:17] Speaker 2: Yeah, pretty excited about it.

[01:00:18] Speaker 2: It- it’s, um, I think it’s been almost a year. It was June 2025, so clearly a, a different tone today versus then, and, and we can touch on some of the indicators there. But the, the FDI results, as you pointed out, 56.3 in April, that’s down a little bit from the 59.7 in March, but as you pointed out also, the 12th straight month above 50, and I think that shows health in the industry across the board.

[01:00:45] Speaker 2: Um, second highest reading of 2026 and the second consecutive print of 55 plus. So I view that all positively as it relates to the results overall. Um, as it relates to the, uh, the, the subcomponents of the FDI though, Mike, I think the most important thing … We look at a lot of sub-indices. We’re looking at, uh, inventory levels and employment and pricing and all these things to, to get us where we are on the FDI.

[01:01:12] Speaker 2: But when you th- when you really boil it down, what’s most important is what sales are doing. Everybody who’s listening right now cares about sales. And, um, that was really the standout. The sales index jumped up to 77.1. It was even higher than last month. So net, net, underlying resilience s- some cloudy visibility because of tariffs and other things.

[01:01:35] Speaker 2: But overall, um, I think the broader industrial economy is doing well, and the fastener industry is doing well.

[01:01:41] Mike McNulty: Yeah, and that 77.1 looks like it’s, it’s the highest, uh, my chart’s only going back to August. I’m not looking further back here.

[01:01:48] Speaker 2: Definitely one, definitely one of the higher readings we’ve seen in a long time.

[01:01:52] Mike McNulty: The other, some of the other n- numbers that, uh, went up, well, we had respondent inventories went up and pricing went up on both the, uh, both the pricing indicators. What do you see there?

[01:02:02] Speaker 2: Yeah. On, on the pricing front, 87% of respondents said they saw higher pricing, and for the third month in a row, not shocking to anyone, 0%, zero respondents said that they saw lower pricing.

[01:02:17] Speaker 2: So Prices certainly going up, that is, uh, that is positive. On a few of the other readings, employment moderated a bit, but still expansionary, which is consistent with, uh, the US payrolls numbers. Um, customer inventories, 71% say they’re in line. That feels pretty healthy to me, and supplier delivery’s improving.

[01:02:40] Speaker 2: So when you put it all together across these sub-indices, i-in addition to that sales, which I really… I’d like to overemphasize here this month, um, o- one other, uh, beneath the surface there on that data point, Mike, is that 68% of respondents said that their sales in the month of April beat seasonal expectations, and, um, that’s a really high number.

[01:03:05] Speaker 2: The trailing 12-month average has been about 47%, so that really shows demand acceleration as well.

[01:03:12] Mike McNulty: And now on the last episode, I don’t know if you heard it, we, we talked a little bit about inflation and then we’ve got, uh, you know, reports coming out that inflation was up last month as well. Does– Where does that all play in here?

[01:03:23] Mike McNulty: How do you– Can you strip that out or is it all just mixed together?

[01:03:27] Speaker 2: Yeah. Um, well, I think we explore pricing specifically, so there is, there’s certainly a directional indicator there based on what respondents are telling us. Um, as far as the impact, it’s not precise, but I would say there, there was some commentary, and we’ve heard this for a while now, is people are saying that price is somewhat masking maybe flattish unit volumes in some cases.

[01:03:53] Speaker 2: So some folks are seeing, you know, no year-to-year growth in the, the volume of fasteners they’re selling, but the pricing being higher is leading to higher revenues, and that’s giving people what I’ve had some people describe as a false sense of security or something. But I don’t know that that’s true across the board.

[01:04:12] Speaker 2: When I think of the, the, some of the broader survey work that we do here at Baird, um, that has been a trend, certainly that pricing is up and it’s a nice, it, it’s a additive element to revenues. But in most cases, we’re not seeing flat volumes or down volumes anymore. We might have seen that, uh, six months ago, but today it’s volumes are steadily picking up and being augmented by pricing, and so it’s, it’s a nice complement on both of those.

[01:04:41] Mike McNulty: A good combination, yeah. Okay, let’s, uh, let’s look at the, the six-month outlook. Increase a little bit on the front, but a lot in the m-middle. Move to fifty-five percent expecting things will be better in six months, forty-two the same, and only three, that’s the lowest number that I can recall, of people thinking things will be worse in six months.

[01:05:01] Mike McNulty: Versus last month it was fifty-four, twenty-nine, and eighteen, so moving into the bullish area. So what do you think?

[01:05:07] Speaker 2: Yeah, a hundred percent. That, that led into the, uh, the forward-looking indicator, the FLI, which is firmly expansionary. And so it, it came down a little bit month to month, just like the overall FDI did.

[01:05:22] Speaker 2: But what I, I would point out exactly what you did, that fifty-five percent expecting higher activity is actually up a point versus March, so that got better. And just like we talked about with the FDI as it relates to what are we trying to get at here, sales, sales matter most, I think, to, to everyone listening here.

[01:05:41] Speaker 2: So the fact that that’s moving up, the rest of the data can be either supportive or can detract from that number. But i-if sales are moving up, I think most people are generally going to be happy with that. And you made a great point, Mike, that only 3% of respondents expect things to be, uh, sales to be lower in six months.

[01:06:00] Speaker 2: And yeah, just going back the past couple of months, we’re talking eighteen and twenty-one percent in March and February. So definitely, um, moving in the right direction and more unanimous as it relates to people expecting things to be better. And I would say that the, the sentiment here is, I don’t even know if we call it cautiously optimistic anymore.

[01:06:21] Speaker 2: Maybe it’s just optimistic for twenty twenty-six overall.

[01:06:24] Mike McNulty: Yeah, that’s definitely a, a positive result there.

[01:06:27] Speaker 2: Mm-hmm.

[01:06:28] Mike McNulty: Okay, the last number that we have to talk about is the ISM Purchasing Managers Index, the PMI, and it stayed strong and flat at fifty-two point seven, which is the fourth straight month above fifty after going a long time being below fifty.

[01:06:41] Mike McNulty: To me, that, that’s a pretty positive result too.

[01:06:44] Speaker 2: Yeah, and, and going back again to the last time that you and I were on Fully Threaded Radio together in June of twenty twenty-five, back then, ISM was stuck on forty-nine, and it was, I don’t know, at that point, two and a half years sub fifty. So we were really in a, in a, a lackluster environment there.

[01:07:06] Speaker 2: Um, as we sit here today, yeah, four straight months above fifty feels sustainable and, uh, really an expansionary reading on the ISM as well, and that seems like a substantive change. That’s what’s much different, not just over the past year, over the past six months even, or four months. That’s a, a real change.

[01:07:26] Speaker 2: And that story is very consistent across the, the other survey work we do, the other, uh, industrial distributors in the public markets that we cover. The broader industrial economy is moving higher. It is getting better, and volumes are picking up and being augmented by price. So I think, um, those are very positive signs.

[01:07:48] Speaker 2: The ISM looks good, and that’s always a, a key indicator for fastener distributors.

[01:07:53] Mike McNulty: And that’s a pretty broad measure rather than just the fastener group

[01:07:57] Speaker 2: Right. That would capture all sort of, uh, short-term commercial, industrial, MRO, that sort of thing. And it’s consistent, too, with not just what we saw at, say, Fastenal, which is a third threaded fasteners, uh, in their mix, but like Grainger, for example.

[01:08:14] Speaker 2: Grainger, I think some would be surprised that only about thirty percent of Grainger’s sales are going to manufacturers at all. The other seventy percent would be to other types of commercial businesses, m-much of that for facilities maintenance. So think about, um, sports arenas or airports or restaurants or hotels, and even that business doing really well.

[01:08:37] Speaker 2: Grainger had some blowout numbers last week, and, uh, the, the stock rocketed up. So yeah, I think it is much more broad-based than just fasteners, but thankfully for all of us, fasteners are definitely a part of it.

[01:08:50] Mike McNulty: Yeah, going into everything. Now, you mentioned Grang- you know, I’ve, I’ve noticed some Grainger advertisements on mainstream programming.

[01:08:56] Mike McNulty: It’s kind of an interesting thing. O-on sports, so maybe they’re reaching farther into the market to the… with their ad dollars.

[01:09:03] Speaker 2: Yeah, I th- they’ve done, um, they’ve done radio for a number of years. You’re right. I’ve seen it on, um, on TV, on Bloomberg or on CNBC occasionally, and so they are reaching out. I think as these companies have become so large and, and so consequential as it relates to many of us, just our, our jobs in general, that, um, having that name recognition is important.

[01:09:25] Speaker 2: You’ll see… You know, I think MSC is sponsoring a, a NASCAR. Fastenal and Grainger have both done that in the past. You’ll see Fastenal on the ice, uh, for the NHL. So yeah, it’s, it’s definitely non-traditional as it relates to these sort of, uh, more specific industrial end markets, but I, I assume it’s effective.

[01:09:44] Speaker 2: I assume they know what they’re doing because they keep doing it.

[01:09:47] Mike McNulty: Well, I just saw an Italian fastener manufacturer, Agrati, that’s doing stuff in, I think, Formula One race, car racing, so.

[01:09:54] Speaker 2: Mm-hmm. Makes sense.

[01:09:56] Mike McNulty: Yeah, that’s… I mean, that’s good to see. I think that shows that the industry is, uh, is strong, not just in our little slice of the world, but, uh, all across different sectors.

[01:10:06] Mike McNulty: All right, uh, before we move on, we’re gonna move on to the commentary. Anything else you wanna add on the, on the raw numbers and of the FDI or the

[01:10:12] Speaker 2: FLI or? Uh, I, I think we covered most of it, all looking pretty good.

[01:10:16] Mike McNulty: All right. So we’re gonna jump into the comments. There’s a lot of comments, and, uh, most of them are pretty good, but, you know, tying into the, the sales being good, but let, let’s go here.

[01:10:26] Mike McNulty: The first one is, quote, “All customer sectors of ours show strong growth with bookings, and more customers than not are still accepting their orders early. Uh, positive signs for our business overall.” And the next one, “Another strong month, fingers crossed.” Interesting outlook. Then the next one is, “In spite of the media-reported headwinds, the customer build rates and volumes have remained remarkably consistent.”

[01:10:50] Mike McNulty: And we’ve had a good month for sales, but quoting activity did slow down toward the last half of the month, and we’re continuing to roll out new business throughout the remainder of 2026. And the next one’s a little bit more mixed. It says, “Certain end user markets stronger, trailer, heavy truck, general industrial, while auto is flat.”

[01:11:08] Mike McNulty: And that’s seems to be the case for, for the last year and, and looking forward, too. What do you see or hear in automotive?

[01:11:14] Speaker 2: Um, yeah, that– I think that is all very consistent. Um, we’ve also heard strength in, of course, aerospace defense as well. Uh, there was a comment here about the construction market.

[01:11:24] Speaker 2: That’s been a surprisingly, I guess, strong market. Uh, outside of warehousing is one weak area, but, uh, a lot of other categories, uh, continue to do well despite rates being somewhat higher. Um, and, you know, I think some of that has to do with, with reshoring and some of the investment that’s happening here in the US.

[01:11:45] Speaker 2: It’s hard to draw a direct line sometimes, but anecdotally, we’re hearing increasingly about capacity, um, being built in the US that maybe otherwise wouldn’t have or would’ve been built somewhere else. So, uh, I would agree with the comments that you, that you, uh, singled out here. The majority of them seem bullish to me.

[01:12:06] Speaker 2: It’s– there’s mostly positivity. The ones that are mixed are people that are just saying that, you know, it’s hard to gauge, and there’s some markets that are up, some that are down. But I think i-if that wasn’t the case, we would– uh, it would be sort of a uniform, absolutely pe-perfect market, and that, that happens very rarely, that you don’t have some strength and some weakness.

[01:12:27] Speaker 2: I would say that, as a rule, if I look across the board here, anything that’s consumer facing, discretionary type things, residential related, even the, um, the maintenance, repair, and operating or the repair, maintenance, and improvement market in the residential area, it’s been very tough. Uh, there’s an affordability issue.

[01:12:47] Speaker 2: I think this, the K-shaped economy is, is real, that there’s a– your average to below average consumer is struggling with affordability, and I think that’s put a damper on not only the housing market, but, um, anything that attaches to a house as well. People are struggling to, uh, make those investments. So I think the comments you cited were perfect in terms of, of giving us a good spectrum of what we’re seeing out in the marketplace there.

[01:13:12] Speaker 2: There’s some areas that are looking good and gaining momentum, some that are not so good, but on balance, I would say it’s, it’s a pretty bullish situation.

[01:13:21] Mike McNulty: Yeah, pretty bull– You know, we were at a fastener show just, uh, a week ago, and then some other events that have been, you know, everybody’s– a lot of talk, as you mentioned, on aerospace and defense.

[01:13:30] Mike McNulty: Those are doing pretty well. Our, our next group of, uh, comments are not as bullish, but you men- before we move on to those comments, you mentioned the K-shaped economy. Do you wanna expand on that a little bit?

[01:13:40] Speaker 2: Yeah. The theory is that there’s sort of a, an upper arm and a lower arm, and the, uh, the upper arm represents the folks that are above the median in terms of income or net worth or however you wanna look at it, and then there’s the lower arm, which would be people that are below that.

[01:13:57] Speaker 2: And, um, it, it just seems like the economy for several years now, many years, maybe even decades, has leaned more towards assets than labor. And so those who own stocks or own businesses or own, uh, any type of assets have seen appreciation in those things, crypto, et cetera, uh, because of the, um, the monetary policy that we’ve had for, uh, many years here and the, the debt and the deficits we’ve been running.

[01:14:27] Speaker 2: Um, the lower end, the labor component, I think, is why you’re seeing some changes that we’ve seen and, and some groundswell of even socialist movements, is that working folks are struggling and, um, you know, that, that discretionary income is less. So in these times where we have a lot of inflation, what tends to happen is it pushes up asset prices, so those that already are wealthy and have assets get more wealthy.

[01:14:54] Speaker 2: Um, wages just haven’t quite kept up, and so the, it’s the classic rich get richer and the poor get poorer. I think we need to find a way out of the box because it’s a, it’s a tough situation and, uh, yeah, we do need some more equity. But that’s sort of outside the scope of this conversation. But I, I, I do think that’s, uh, that’s what’s happening as it relates to demand for certain residential related items, as I mentioned.

[01:15:19] Speaker 2: I think the ones that are absolutely necessary and non-discretionary, people are struggling to, to figure out how to make those happen. But anything that’s discretionary, if you’re not sort of in that, that upper echelon, they probably just go without those.

[01:15:34] Mike McNulty: Yeah. Well, those are all– those are good points and something good to add to the, uh, to the analysis.

[01:15:39] Mike McNulty: So let’s, uh, move on to the next group of comments. Uh, this next one says, quote, “Three hundred dollars in documents for a $50 box of bolts. This is why prices are going up.” End quote. So I think they’re talking about regulations and stuff. And then the next one says, “Year over year cost impacted mainly by tariffs.

[01:15:56] Mike McNulty: Organic cost increase is only 5%.” Then we have, “Recent policy changes driven by GM and others for USA melt and production are troublesome.” Not sure what they’re talking about there. Do you have any, any insight there?

[01:16:10] Speaker 2: I, I struggled with that one as well. I asked Bernaro what was meant by melt.

[01:16:15] Mike McNulty: Well, maybe making steel?

[01:16:16] Mike McNulty: Yeah.

[01:16:16] Speaker 2: It, it could be, yeah. I, I’m not sure what that means. But, um, I, I think the comments that you just went over, uh, especially that first one, $300 in documents for a $50 box of bolts, it speaks to the, um, the tariff environment, it speaks to pricing being passed through. And, um, as we, we’ve talked about in the past, really the question at this level comes down to does it lead to demand destruction?

[01:16:44] Speaker 2: And I don’t know that there’s a level of fastener pricing that could actually destroy demand. Uh, you know, when, when Caterpillar is building earth movers, I don’t think they worry if, if the nuts and bolts go up- Right … even double in price. It’s not gonna change the dynamic for them. However, there is a basket of inputs that they have that, um, y- you know, including labor and, and everything else, that are seeing inflationary trends and, and that does sometimes tip the balance.

[01:17:13] Speaker 2: But as it stands right now for the fastener industry specifically, uh, we’re fortunate that even though prices are going up quite a bit, um, distributors have been able to pass those on for the most part, and, uh, there hasn’t really been much in the way of demand destruction. In fact, uh, the demand seems to be going the other way, which tells me to a large extent that the, the buyers of fasteners and these other industrial products that are seeing levels of inflation we haven’t seen in many years are incorporating that into their decision-making process and moving forward.

[01:17:48] Mike McNulty: All right, we got, uh, three more comments, and, uh, the next one touches on something relatively new, “Concern how gas prices will affect future sales.” And as an anecdote, I can just say that the last time I filled up my tank of gas was the most I can ever remember spending on a tank of gas, ever. Uh, next one, “Sales continue to grow.

[01:18:08] Mike McNulty: Unit sales remain level. Inflation continues to provide a false narrative against growth.” Then the final one, “The market remains resilient with opportunities to gain market share from competitors that are struggling,” end quote.

[01:18:21] Speaker 2: Uh, yeah, consistent with the themes that, that we’ve touched on in terms of inflation, for sure, and some of the input prices going up.

[01:18:28] Speaker 2: I’m in the camp, I’m hopeful that oil prices and, and gas prices are more of a temporary situation. Um, we’re certainly more… we’re- we’re more fortunate than certain countries, Europe or Japan and other places that, that… or China, that are, um, more dependent on oil that comes from the Gulf. But generally, it’s a global market and, and clearly it’s, that’s not a positive situation as it relates to, uh, growth because it’s a, it’s a key input and a key indicator.

[01:18:59] Speaker 2: So I would agree with that. And then, um, on the other point, y- I think absolutely that inflation, I don’t, I don’t know, calling it a false narrative seems a little strong, but inflation is helping. It’s providing growth to revenues that, um, that amplifies the volume growth that most are seeing. So I would, I would definitely agree with that.

[01:19:23] Mike McNulty: Very good. Well, um, you know, the gas prices, I remember there’s an economist once had a, had a… he had some kind of an indicator on gas prices on how it affected consumer spending. So as we were talking earlier about the K-shaped economy, how people are struggling when they go to fill up their gas tank, that could really put more of a damper on discretionary spending.

[01:19:42] Mike McNulty: Hopefully, it’s temporary.

[01:19:44] Speaker 2: It’s true. I think everyone is hoping that we, um, we can run the clock out here and, and, uh, get things back to normal sooner rather than later, including the administration. At the end of the day, um, higher gas prices, historically, when we’ve seen spikes in crude oil prices, oftentimes it’s followed by recession.

[01:20:03] Speaker 2: And with the midterms coming up, I don’t think anyone in, um, government today wants that to happen. So I think everyone is trying to bring this thing to a conclusion sooner rather than later. Hopefully, they’re lucky at doing that.

[01:20:17] Mike McNulty: Yeah. I mean, and you mentioned, you know, we’re, we’re still a, a good producer of oil and gas, and we are in better shape than most other developed countries.

[01:20:26] Mike McNulty: But that being said, it’d be good to get back to what it was Okay. Anything else you wanna add on the comments before we let you talk about what’s going on new at Baird and with you?

[01:20:35] Speaker 2: Uh, I think we’re in good shape there.

[01:20:37] Mike McNulty: All right. What can you tell the listeners about, uh, about Baird?

[01:20:40] Speaker 2: Oh, things are great at Baird.

[01:20:42] Speaker 2: Um, I, I’ve been sitting in the same chair for now, uh, going on 31 years in, uh, in two weeks, I guess, and wouldn’t have it any other way. Things are fantastic. We’re a, an employee-owned firm, and we continue to do extremely well. It, it’s… I think the, the best incentive that you can think of in terms of how to run a business is have the, the people that are running it own the business, because we make decisions based on the capital that we’re spending.

[01:21:15] Speaker 2: That’s my capital. It’s not somebody else’s- Yeah … capital, it’s mine. It galvanizes the

[01:21:19] Mike McNulty: team.

[01:21:20] Speaker 2: Absolutely. So we just continue to, to do well. We continue to grow, um, in research. Um, Inara Khan on my team is doing extremely well. We’re, uh, we’re implementing AI. Just this morning, we, we were finding other ways to incorporate it into our process.

[01:21:38] Speaker 2: So it’s probably the most exciting time at Baird that, that I’ve experienced maybe ever. Wow. With AI coming on, um, ramping with Inara, and just the momentum we’re seeing in the markets right now, it feels like, um, you know, it’s just a really exciting time to, uh, be doing this. And as always, I’m just couldn’t be more fortunate to be working for the best firm on Wall Street

[01:22:02] Mike McNulty: Well, you mentioned Inara Khan, and, and, uh, Inara is, uh, is helping put the, uh, reports together for those people who don’t get the reports.

[01:22:09] Mike McNulty: So I just thought I’d clarify that, and, uh, anything you wanna, background you wanna give on Inara?

[01:22:13] Speaker 2: Uh, y- yeah. She’s, uh, Inara’s from Houston, and, uh, she came to us from, uh, Washington University in St. Louis. She’s been on the team now for about two years. Initially, she joined us, she was, um, splitting her time between, uh, my group and a group that covers manufacturers of, uh, building products, and so she sort of had the manufacturer side and the distribution side.

[01:22:40] Speaker 2: Um, you, Mike, you remember Quinn Frederickson. He was promoted from my list to his own list- … um, what’s called Advanced Manufacturing Technologies. Um, so I guess what I cover is the non-advanced stuff. But, um- … so, but, but he’s doing really well, and, uh, exciting to see him tr- move to a new chapter and become a senior analyst, and, uh, great for Baird, great for all of us.

[01:23:08] Speaker 2: And yeah, so Inara is 100% dedicated to the distribution team now, and it’s been absolutely great, um, working with her and, and, um, continuing to move forward.

[01:23:18] Mike McNulty: Yeah, you, you guys, you g- both do a good job with doing the FDI, and all of the listeners, I think, appreciate the numbers and, and the gauge, you know, and the reports are really good.

[01:23:25] Mike McNulty: Anybody who’s participating in the process gets a copy of the report, so you’ve been doing that for a long time, and, uh, and good job with that, and, uh, welcome to Inara. So as a, as a side note, I… and we talked about this last time we were on last year, but, uh, I was, I was in Milwaukee last week at the, what I would say, the excellent Baird Center right there in, uh, you know, the convention center in Milwaukee, and it’s just a beautiful place, and, uh, it’s in the, uh, you know, right in the heart of the city.

[01:23:50] Mike McNulty: Good job with, uh, Baird in putting that together, that whole expansion there.

[01:23:54] Speaker 2: Yeah, it’s, it, it is a wonderful facility. Um, I was there a couple years ago for the annual meeting that we held, and, um, it, it’s great. I mean, we’re an integral part of Milwaukee and, and the city, and, um, it’s great to be headquartered there and, and to be a big part of what’s going on in, in Milwaukee.

[01:24:13] Mike McNulty: But you’re in, you’re in Florida now, right?

[01:24:14] Speaker 2: I am. I’ve actually been in Tampa since 2006, so it’s, uh- 20 years … it’s been 20 years- … that we’ve been here. Um, but you know, you, you, you can take the boy out of Wisconsin, but- You’re a Wisconsin

[01:24:26] Mike McNulty: native, right? Y-

[01:24:27] Speaker 2: yes. Absolutely.

[01:24:29] Mike McNulty: Yeah. It’s a good state, a lot of good going on there, and, uh, you’ll appreciate this, any other Milwaukeeans or, uh, Wisconsinites will.

[01:24:37] Mike McNulty: We had, uh, several Spotted Cows in, uh, Milwaukee last

[01:24:41] Speaker 2: week. Very good.

[01:24:42] Mike McNulty: The nuclear aspirin company.

[01:24:45] Speaker 2: Uh, absolutely. You know, they sell those at the, at the airport, so you can buy them- Yeah. … and carry them onto the plane and bring them wherever you’re going.

[01:24:51] Mike McNulty: I saw that, yeah. Good stuff, and they follow the German brewing law, so that’s, I think, why it makes it good, so.

[01:24:57] Speaker 2: Yeah.

[01:24:58] Mike McNulty: Good. Anything else you wanna add before we, we wrap it up?

[01:25:01] Speaker 2: Really the, uh, I’d say the, the key takeaway is that the FLI is firmly in expansionary territory, ISM above 50. We talked about the public company distributors, some of them putting up the best growth rates they’ve seen in three or four years.

[01:25:17] Speaker 2: I think the underlying read here is that the industrial recovery is real, and momentum is in place. Uh, there’s always some noise of, of tariffs and policy and, and different markets that maybe are doing a little bit less than good. But in general, I think, um, we’re, we’re talking about recovery territory and, uh, as we move through 2026, hopefully that all continues.

[01:25:41] Mike McNulty: Very good. Well, keep up the good work on the FDI, the FLI, and everything at Baird, and, uh, thanks for joining us.

[01:25:48] Speaker 2: Thanks, Mike. Appreciate it.

[01:25:50] Mike McNulty: That was Baird Senior Research Analyst Dave Mantey. The FDI number for April twenty twenty-six was fifty-six point three versus fifty-nine point seven in March twenty twenty-six.

01:26:00 — Top story

[01:26:00] Mike McNulty: Visit fdisurvey.com to participate in the process and get a detailed PDF copy of Baird’s monthly analysis. Now for today’s top story. USA fastener manufacturer Crescent Manufacturing announced a three million dollar investment for a new twenty thousand square foot facility in Burlington, Connecticut.

[01:26:20] Mike McNulty: This project reflects the company’s ongoing commitment to growth, innovation, and the strengthening of American manufacturing. The expansion was made possible through the collaboration and support of key partners, including Advance Connecticut, the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development, M&T Bank, Borgese Building and Engineering, Constep, and the US Small Business Administration.

[01:26:43] Mike McNulty: These collective efforts, along with support from the town of Burlington and the state of Connecticut, played a critical role in bringing the project to life. The expansion will enhance Crescent Manufacturing’s production capacity, improve operational efficiencies, and position the company to meet increasing demand across several industries, including aerospace, defense, and infrastructure.

[01:27:04] Mike McNulty: The new facility will also support the integration of advanced manufacturing technologies and improved workflow systems. Steven Wilson, owner of Crescent Manufacturing, said, quote, “This expansion positions us to serve our customers better while strengthening our foundation for the next sixty-five years.

[01:27:20] Mike McNulty: We are grateful for the strong partnership and programs such as the One Big Beautiful Bill, also known as OBBB, that support domestic manufacturing and enable companies like ours to invest confidently in the future.” End quote. Construction is currently underway, with completion expected by October of twenty twenty-six.

01:27:38 — Fastener newsmaker headlines

[01:27:38] Mike McNulty: The expansion marks a significant milestone for Crescent Manufacturing, reinforcing the company’s confidence in its workforce, partners, and the long-term s-strength of USA manufacturing. Next up, today’s Fastener Newsmaker headlines. In corporate news, Hillman Solutions acquired Delaney Hardware. Selo launched a new ISO-certified manufacturing facility in Mexico.

[01:28:01] Mike McNulty: H.B. Fuller acquired an ND Industries facility in Istanbul, Turkey, and it announced a new aerospace manufacturing center. Monster Bolts recognized Brighton Best International as a preferred supply partner. Whitecap acquired the business of Concrete Systems, and Volt Industrial Plastics will close on June 1st, 2026, in honor of its founder, the late Joe Volterauer.

[01:28:24] Mike McNulty: In personnel news, Kevin Parents joined Route Washer as VP of finance. Linfast Solutions Group appointed Nick Jones as CFO. Cooper Turner Beck named Mark Gorman as senior VP for renewable energy infrastructure. Hewitt promoted Dewey Ochsner to VP of sales and established new distribution support roles for Christian Peterson, Bob McPherson, and Bates Huffman.

[01:28:47] Mike McNulty: Jonathan Arena joined Howmet as Executive Vice President, Chief Legal and Compliance Officer, and Secretary. The Fastener Industry Coalition, also known as the FIC or FIC, named Rosa Aherns of Linfast Solution Group as the recipient of its twenty twenty-six Social Media Impact Award. And the National Fasteners Distributors Association announced that the late Sebastian Janus, formerly of Samson Specials, as the winner of its twenty twenty-six Fastener Professional of the Year Award.

01:29:14 — Back Page Report

[01:29:14] Mike McNulty: 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. Now let’s turn to the back page to talk about fastener industry road trips. In the last month, I was happy and fortunate to get on the road to venture to several fastener industry events.

[01:29:33] Mike McNulty: In general, I can report that the industry is doing well and is even thriving in many ways despite numerous challenges. The nearly two hundred fastener industry exhibits at the Wire twenty twenty-six Trade Fair in Dusseldorf, Germany, were filled with excellent manufacturing technology. Despite concerns and pressures from tariffs, inflation, fuel costs, raw material scarcity, strikes and war, the fairgrounds and the city were buzzing with activity, plans, new ideas, and Dusseldorf’s famous altbier.

[01:30:02] Mike McNulty: I did not attend Fastener Taiwan twenty twenty-six, but the reports from it were excellent. The event drew over three hundred exhibitors and a significant influx of industry professionals from key global markets, including the USA, Germany, the UK, Italy, Japan, Vietnam, Thailand, and Malaysia. The show organizers went to great lengths for Taiwan to maintain its enduring status as the King of Bolts.

[01:30:25] Mike McNulty: And in the fine USA states of South North Carolina played host to the Southeastern Fastener Association’s Spring Conference in Greenville, South Carolina, and Fastener Fair USA in Charlotte, North Carolina. Both events were worth the trip, and these two host city regions looked like they were booming.

[01:30:42] Mike McNulty: For me, the Southeastern Fastener Association Conference highlights included patriotic starts to several of the events, including the Pledge of Allegiance and singing of the national anthem, as well as the great hospitality, camaraderie, and generosity of its members. During the sales tactics and AI presentations made by Robbie Gilchrist of Gilchrist Associates and Brian Wheeler of Star Stainless and Donald Monastire of General Informatics, respectively, the following five statements caught my attention.

[01:31:10] Mike McNulty: Number one, nobody knows everything about anything. Number two, tell the truth, listen, and find out what you don’t know. Number three, people buy from whom they like, and cost isn’t always the deciding factor Number four, AI is not magic or human. Number five, real value comes from when you integrate AI with human judgment.

[01:31:30] Mike McNulty: At Fastener Fair USA, there were excellent exhibits, sessions, and networking. The two most attended sessions were the tariff talks featuring Sharon Hines of Quickcode AI and Penny Chen of Pax, and the awards session featuring WiFi winner Victoria Jimenez of Semblix, and the FIC winner, Rosa Herm of Lindsfast Solution Group.

[01:31:49] Mike McNulty: The AI fastener failer and ISO talks by Anders Green of Allox and Carmen Vertulo of Carver Labs and Sean Danellen of Perry Johnson Registers respectively were informative, and my three takeaway statements from them were, number one, prepare your data for the AI revolution because fastener descriptions are problematic.

[01:32:07] Mike McNulty: Number two, ninety-nine percent of fastener failures don’t need a metallurgist. Number three, cybersecurity is a quality system priority now. You’ll be able to find images and contents from all of these events in the upcoming June/July twenty-twenty six issue of Fastener Technology International Magazine.

[01:32:24] Mike McNulty: In the meantime, I am getting back on the road for short drive to the NCFA Social and Brisket Fest, each set to take place in beautiful and semi-rural parts of northeastern Ohio. This has been Mike McNulty of 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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01:34:27 — Fastener Training Minute

01:34:27 — FTM part 1

[01:34:27] Carmen Vertullo: Hello everyone, this is Carmine Vertullo with the Fastener Training Minute. Today’s topic is one that we have addressed in the past for a variety of reasons, and I talk about it in almost every fastener basics training that we do, and that topic is Grade 9 bolts or cap screws. And I have been teaching about them and have been taught about them ever since I’ve been in this industry, or even before, into the 1980s up till now, about Grade 9 hex cap screws, and even Grade 8, Grade 8 and Grade 9.

[01:35:00] Carmen Vertullo: We know Grade 2, 5, and 8 come from SAE J429, and that specification does not have a Grade 9 in it. And, uh, it turns out that I’ve been teaching something wrong, and I’ve been taught something wrong, and we would like to correct that. So when we come back, we’ll tell you something about Grade 9 that I did not know

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[01:36:43] Carmen Vertullo: Welcome back everyone. This is Carmen Vertulo with the Fastener Training Minute, and we are talking about Grade 9 hex cap screws or Grade 9 bolts, whatever you want to call them. And we all know, if we’re in this industry at all, and you’re interested enough to be even listening to this, that you know that Grade 9 is not a grade that we find in SAE J429, where we get Grade 2, 5, and 8 from.

[01:37:08] Carmen Vertullo: It turns out, though, I used to always say there’s no such thing as Grade 9, only the aftermarket people, like the people that used to make the F911s and the L9s and the PFC-9s. And it’s essentially a heavy hex cap screw made out of alloy steel, heat-treated to 180 or 170 KSI, depending on the strength, whereas Grade 8 is 150 KSI.

[01:37:33] Carmen Vertullo: So it’s kind of like the performance of a socket head cap screw, except in a hex bolt, and there is no standard that covers it. At least that’s what we have always taught. We’ve also always taught that SAE J429 only goes to one and a half inches in diameter for Grade 8, Grade 2, Grade 5, and so on, even though I think there are some Grade 5 CEMS in there or something like that.

[01:37:56] Carmen Vertullo: But essentially, Grade 8 only goes to one and a half inches, and that’s correct for SAE J429. So we used to say there’s no such thing as a two-inch Grade 8 bolt, for example. And if somebody wanted that, you would have to direct them to a different standard, such as ASTM A354 or ASTM A449 for those larger Grade 5s and Grade BD, for example, for Grade 8, Grade BC for Grade 5, because those standards go up to a larger size, up to four inches, actually.

[01:38:31] Carmen Vertullo: So we would say there’s no such thing as above an inch-and-a-half Grade 8. Well, recently I was asked by, uh, I don’t even… A client, I guess, to drill down on a mil-spec bolt, and I’m not gonna discuss that bolt ’cause there’s more to it than is worth talking about here. But that standard referred to another standard, which mil-specs often do.

[01:38:53] Carmen Vertullo: They– You’ll have the product standard, and then you’ll have a procurement specification. And the procurement specification was FF-S-85. And so I looked that up because actually what we were trying to do was figure out whether we could take a short bolt that was not short enough and cut it shorter and re-plate it.

[01:39:13] Carmen Vertullo: That was what we were trying to do, and turns out we could do that. But I had to look at the standard to find that out. And as I was looking at it, I looked at it and I said, “Oh, it’s got Grade 2, Grade 5, Grade 8, and Grade 9,” Grade 9 called Optional Alloy Steel. And then when we look at the performance requirements of these and what the range of sizes were, we see that the Grade 9 is just like what we expect to see out there in the world with the aftermarket Grade 9.

[01:39:43] Carmen Vertullo: 170 KSI tensile strength, Rockwell hardness higher, C36 to C45, whereas the Grade 8 tops out at C39, and the size of the Grade 9 is quarter inch through one and a half inch. That’s the range. However, the Grade 8 has a quarter inch through one and a half to 150 KSI, and then over an inch and a half to three inches at 120 KSI.

[01:40:09] Carmen Vertullo: So two, I would say, errors I have to correct. One is there’s no such standard as Grade 9. There certainly is. It comes from FFS 85, and there’s no such thing as a Grade 8 bolt over inch and a half. There certainly is, and that also comes from FFS 85. And I’m sure there are plenty of people that are listening to this who are saying, “No shit, Dick Tracy,” ’cause I really should have known this, to be honest with you, based on my time in the industry and experience.

[01:40:39] Carmen Vertullo: I’m a little bit embarrassed about it. So having said all that, one of the things I could not find in FFS 85, and I haven’t looked deep enough yet, but I will, is what marking is required on it. The Grade 2, 5, and 8 marking may refer to SAE J429, very straightforward marking. Nothing for Grade 2, three radial lines for a Grade 5, and six radial lines for a Grade 8.

[01:41:03] Carmen Vertullo: It does not give us, as far as I can tell, a marking for a Grade 9. Well, if one of you feel industrious and you wanna go find out what the grade marking for FFS 85 Grade 9 is, please do that and email me what your answer is, ’cause I’m just too damn busy to do it and it doesn’t matter that much to me, and it probably doesn’t matter that much to anybody else.

[01:41:23] Carmen Vertullo: But what does matter to me is teaching correct stuff, and that’s why we did this Fastener Training Minute. Well, I hope you learned something. This has been Carmen Vertullo with the Fastener Training Minute. Thanks for listening.

01:41:45 — YLT

[01:41:45] Darlene Collis: This is Darlene Collis of Lindfast Solutions Group, master fastener distributors and more, and you’re listening to Fully Threaded Radio

01:42:07 — Fastener Fair USA floor coverage, part 2 (Lynn Dempsey)

01:42:07 — Show-floor walk-around

[01:42:07] Speaker 5: Okay, we’re here on second day, and I’ve got Anders here, and I’ve got Brian here. No one’s here. Oh, it’s- Hardly anybody’s here.

[01:42:14] Speaker 45: It’s early morning, and we’re standing right up front. I can see the Linfast booth, Goble is here. We’re right in front of the, the Dorken Codings- Yes … and then Eurolink and Brighten Best.

[01:42:23] Speaker 45: We are surrounded by some of the biggest players in the fastener industry.

[01:42:27] Speaker 46: And it’s also not that early. They should be here at their booth setting them up, okay?

[01:42:32] Speaker 5: We’re early. Li- listen to curmudgeon Brian here.

[01:42:36] Speaker 45: Yeah. Okay. We have a lot of enthusiasm. We are, we are pre-caffeinated, so. Right. Dude.

[01:42:41] Speaker 46: True. I have, I’ve had my coffee already, okay?

[01:42:43] Speaker 46: Yeah.

[01:42:44] Speaker 45: And I’ll have

[01:42:44] Speaker 46: some more. Well,

[01:42:45] Speaker 45: day one, I felt was, uh, had a very solid flow. There was a lot of people coming through sort of all day long. I had some, uh, really good conversations.

[01:42:53] Speaker 46: Well, you must’ve been in a different part of the booth. Show to us, okay?

[01:42:56] Speaker 45: Brian. Yeah. I saw, I could see your booth from my booth, and you were talking to people all day long.

[01:43:02] Speaker 46: Yes, but not necessarily about

[01:43:03] Speaker 5: fasteners. And that is true.

[01:43:04] Speaker 46: Uh, we were discussing how they built their, their fe- their, uh, pyramids, okay?

[01:43:10] Speaker 5: Well, that’s not- Engineering … that’s only your fault- It

[01:43:13] Speaker 45: was engineering …

[01:43:14] Speaker 5: if you’re talking about pyramids instead of fasteners. Well,

[01:43:17] Speaker 45: I, I had, I had some discussions up on stage- Yeah

[01:43:20] Speaker 45: and while pyramids did not co- come into play, uh, we, I did a presentation at the learning theater, uh, on how to get your company’s data ready for future AI, uh, implementations. Really? So that was fun, yes. Well,

[01:43:33] Speaker 46: I was m- I couldn’t come, but that would’ve been exactly what I need to hear, okay? Well,

[01:43:39] Speaker 45: you can rest assured that your, uh, your partner, uh, Mr.

[01:43:42] Speaker 45: Dudas, uh, was on site, uh, for part of that. Yes. So it, very good talk, and they’ve, they’ve had a lot of good educa- educational sessions, uh, all day long, and there’s more today. Yeah, there

[01:43:51] Speaker 5: is. And that, that is true. Yeah. All right. So fellas, come on, we’re walking this way. Come on. It’s like herding cats here.

[01:43:58] Speaker 5: Yeah. Nearly that bad, okay.

[01:44:00] Speaker 45: We follow directions very well. That’s true. We’re engineers, and that’s

[01:44:03] Speaker 5: our

[01:44:03] Speaker 45: problem is we’re following directions too well.

[01:44:05] Speaker 5: Yeah. Yeah, you’re think- overthinking it. We’re walking past the, uh, what kind-

[01:44:11] Speaker 45: The Euro- It’s the Eurolink, uh, simulator that you can get in and drive, and they were giving out prizes.

[01:44:16] Speaker 45: So that’s, uh, that’s Craig with Eurolink, and he has been, uh, this is the second year in a row- Yeah … that he’s had the NASCAR simulator right here on the show floor. So super fun.

[01:44:27] Speaker 46: No, I, I didn’t try it. Um, my days of racing are over, okay?

[01:44:30] Speaker 45: You, you couldn’t even drive this. The steering wheel’s on the wrong side.

[01:44:33] Speaker 45: Yeah. You, you don’t even-

[01:44:35] Speaker 46: I’d be driving

[01:44:36] Speaker 5: on the

[01:44:36] Speaker 45: wrong side … yes. New, New Zealand, I don’t even know how the cars don’t fall off the bottom of the planet. Yes. This is, we’re in the Northern Hemisphere

[01:44:43] Speaker 5: Yes. So now we’re walking t- uh, towards, uh, BBI, and we’ve got Global out here.

[01:44:49] Speaker 45: Yep, and it’s, uh, I, the, their gigantic red booth.

[01:44:53] Speaker 45: Yeah. Yeah. So it’s, uh, shortly gonna be populated with a, a, a million people. And then, uh, we’ve got, uh, Bieler and Magni over here. Yeah. And then we get into a little bit more of the international section.

[01:45:03] Speaker 5: Now, did you guys think it was a smaller show? A lot of people said that to me.

[01:45:08] Speaker 45: Uh, I don’t know if it is.

[01:45:10] Speaker 45: Like, uh, as far as, like, area-wise- No, I don’t … uh, I’m not sure.

[01:45:15] Speaker 46: I’m not sure either. I think it was sort of, it was okay for me. Okay.

[01:45:18] Speaker 45: I’ve talked to, uh, a couple different people in some of the big booths, and I won’t name them because, you know, off the record, but, uh, they said that they had, uh, a very good day yesterday with a, with a steady stream, so if we’re talking about the big booth people, they seem to be happy with the quality of the people that they are, uh, meeting and, and catching up with.

[01:45:38] Speaker 5: Well, that’s very good.

[01:45:39] Speaker 46: Yeah, that’s cool.

[01:45:40] Speaker 45: I, I-

[01:45:40] Speaker 46: Yeah … I found some very interesting people stop by. Yeah. Okay? D- not as many as I’m sort of used to, but we had some great conversations. Mm-hmm.

[01:45:50] Speaker 5: And we’ve got Bolt up here.

[01:45:52] Speaker 45: Um, and so we’re, we’re moving, uh, toward the back, and we’re heading, uh, we’re walking toward the learning theater, and also they have the, the leaders’ center, and I didn’t have time to get over there yesterday.

[01:46:03] Speaker 45: Uh, d- you guys are a little bit closer. Did you see anything, uh, going on in the, uh, the leaders’ lounge?

[01:46:10] Speaker 5: I saw lunch, but I, and that’s, I passed by it and I saw people eating lunch there, and that’s it. See, you

[01:46:15] Speaker 45: have an eye for the important details. Yeah, right. So- Interesting … you keep your eyes on the prize, really.

[01:46:21] Speaker 45: There we go. Okay.

[01:46:21] Speaker 5: It, well, that, they didn’t have any fasteners in there.

[01:46:26] Speaker 45: Wow.

[01:46:27] Speaker 5: So.

[01:46:27] Speaker 45: We’ve got, uh, so today, uh, opens at 10:00 and then goes till 3:00. Yeah. So that’s the, the second and final day of Fastener Fair 2026.

[01:46:36] Speaker 5: One. Yes. And we’re over here with the, we’ve got, uh, Industrial Fasteners Institute, and around the corner we have NFDA.

[01:46:46] Speaker 5: We have all the big players here.

[01:46:47] Speaker 45: Yep, and we’re just down the row from the, the, the Wi-Fi Ladies booth. Yeah. Yes. They were doing some kind of a racing competition, I think RC cars yesterday. Yes. Yes. Did you drive?

[01:46:57] Speaker 5: I did drive and I crashed.

[01:47:01] Speaker 45: I will refrain from commenting.

[01:47:02] Speaker 5: Yes. Please do. Yes, it, it was n- not, I mean, it was a good experience, but I did not do well.

[01:47:11] Speaker 45: Yeah, you, you don’t think that, uh, th- your career opportunities in, uh, in race car driving- No … are possibly limited?

[01:47:18] Speaker 5: Oh, very limited. Al- also with, uh, like, little kids’ toys, but, you know, uh, ’cause they were little cars. I, I am not good.

[01:47:28] Speaker 45: Well, uh, you see we have a couple people. Uh, here’s, uh, here’s Nylock. Yeah.

[01:47:33] Speaker 45: And also just up the, the way on the other side for me, there’s, there’s coding out at multiple places. We also have these guys, uh, some software vendors. Yeah. BoltWise is- Mm-hmm … relatively new, and they do some- Right. Mm-hmm … sort of AI “handling stuff.” And then there’s a couple others here- Mm-hmm … that do some e-commerce, uh, integration.

[01:47:55] Speaker 45: So there’s, uh, slightly I think more software here than has been in the past- Hmm … is my vibe. Really?

[01:48:03] Speaker 5: All right.

[01:48:03] Speaker 45: It’s not, uh, I can’t give you a percentage. But it feels like there might be a couple extra vendors compared to normal.

[01:48:09] Speaker 5: And this aisle 100, you just wonder… Well, it’s right off the door, so people must go up it.

[01:48:15] Speaker 45: Oh, yeah.

[01:48:15] Speaker 5: But I, I very rarely made it over here.

[01:48:19] Speaker 48: Good

[01:48:19] Speaker 45: morning. Morning. Yeah. I, I only got over here just, like, uh, one time at the, the beginning of the day. Hmm. But obviously the, the very first, uh, crush of people, uh, came down this aisle. So y- you probably, uh, saw the opening being- Mm … uh, somewhat delayed as you’re much further into the show.

[01:48:38] Speaker 46: We say- Mm-hmm … somewhat delayed would be an understatement.

[01:48:41] Speaker 45: Yeah.

[01:48:41] Speaker 46: Oh, sorry.

[01:48:42] Speaker 45: But that’s, that’s just how, that’s just how traffic goes.

[01:48:45] Speaker 46: Yeah, I know. Thank you as well. It is.

[01:48:47] Speaker 45: Lynn, Lynn is, is drowning in her editorial duties here.

[01:48:56] Speaker 5: Yes. Why did we ask you to walk with us? Yeah.

[01:49:01] Speaker 45: We, we had a whole, a whole, the whole section for, for, uh, resident curmudgeon- … that’s supposed to be coming in later on. Yeah. You gotta stick to the schedule. Right. Yes.

[01:49:09] Speaker 46: Right, right, right. Yeah, yeah. Sorry, I forgot. Yeah. Okay.

[01:49:13] Speaker 45: Well, so we’re also catching … Now that we’re sort of on the front end to the, to the side, we’re into some of the machinery area.

[01:49:21] Speaker 45: Uh, so they have bagging and inspection.

[01:49:24] Speaker 5: Yeah, and sorting’s up there. I like that they separated it, ’cause then you didn’t have that great big, huge sound coming

[01:49:30] Speaker 45: in. Yeah. The, uh, there’s one of these, uh, sorting guys up here, uh, right next to, right next to Dorkin, and I’m only, ah, you know, like eight booths away.

[01:49:40] Speaker 45: And you can hear it, but it’s not, uh, that bad. They’re very respectful. They’re like, “We’re not gonna run our machine 24/7.” Um, but even then, it’s, uh, within the giant space of this hall, it, it was not problematic. So- Yeah … this stuff over here looks like it is, uh, doing bagging. Yeah. And I’ve also seen some visual sorting- Right

[01:50:00] Speaker 45: tools, and even some, uh, micro s- uh, visual sorting. That would be, like, for almost, like, tiny little springs that are only a quarter inch long, um, which I, I guess is a specialty compared to a regular, you know, bolts and- Yeah … threads inspection. Sort of full through.

[01:50:14] Speaker 5: And our number one booth over here is Ken Forging.

[01:50:17] Speaker 5: They’re always such a good group. Always sponsoring stuff.

[01:50:21] Speaker 45: Those guys. Yeah. Yeah. Well, and I would say that, uh, number one for costumes that we didn’t go by, Patriot Bolts. Yeah, Patriot. I,

[01:50:27] Speaker 37: I-

[01:50:27] Speaker 5: Oh, I’ve gotta stop by Patriot.

[01:50:29] Speaker 45: Yeah. Yeah, yeah. ‘Cause, uh, this, uh, this go around, they’re in sort of a, like, uh, classic retro track suits.

[01:50:38] Speaker 45: Yeah. Almost like a, like a jog- They look

[01:50:39] Speaker 5: like Olympics. Yeah.

[01:50:40] Speaker 45: Yeah, yeah. Yeah, like jogging suit or Dream Team. Right. Um- I

[01:50:44] Speaker 7: didn’t know quite what they were.

[01:50:45] Speaker 45: Yeah. I was looking at them.

[01:50:45] Speaker 7: Yeah.

[01:50:46] Speaker 45: It, it’s … Well, it’s sorta like … ‘Cause they got, like, almost a Hot Wheel style backdrop, so it’s a little bit like a, uh, classic, uh, racing car crew.

[01:50:55] Speaker 45: Like-

[01:50:56] Speaker 5: Oh, with the NASCAR- That’s it … outfits. Yeah, with the NASCAR tie-in.

[01:50:57] Speaker 45: Yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah. Right. So it’ll be, it’ll be racing stuff. ‘Cause they all came specially dressed up for the, um, do last night.

[01:51:05] Speaker 5: Yeah, at the museum.

[01:51:06] Speaker 46: Yeah.

[01:51:07] Speaker 45: Yeah. So I think, uh, the, that’s, that’s

[01:51:10] Speaker 5: the walk around. That’s our tour, yeah. Yeah.

[01:51:12] Speaker 5: We did it. Thank you for attending with us.

[01:51:15] Speaker 46: Right. And incidentally- Yeah … the, the NASCAR museum is a beautifully designed building. It’s … And I thought, I thought it’s like Frank Gehry, one of his designs with all the stainless steel. No, different crowd, totally, and it’s designed in the shape of a Möbius strip, one, a strip that has n- n- no end, okay?

[01:51:31] Speaker 45: Mm-hmm.

[01:51:32] Speaker 46: Yeah,

[01:51:32] Speaker 45: you gotta keep racing forever.

[01:51:33] Speaker 46: Yeah.

[01:51:33] Speaker 5: There you go. Yeah. Never get off that merry-go-round. There’s no way off. All right. All right. Thank you, guys.

[01:51:41] Speaker 46: Thank you. Thanks.

[01:51:42] Con Wright: Thank you,

[01:51:43] Speaker 5: Lynn. Thank

[01:51:43] Speaker 46: you, Lynn

01:51:45 — Con Wright, USA Fastener (at MW Components)

[01:51:45] Speaker 5: All right. In my travels, I stopped off here at MW Components, and I’m talking with

[01:51:50] Con Wright: Con Wright with USA Fastener.

[01:51:53] Con Wright: Yeah.

[01:51:53] Speaker 5: How has the show been going?

[01:51:55] Con Wright: Uh, we had a lot of traffic the first day and some really good conversations. So, um, there’s a lot of distributors at the show, and that’s, those are our customers, and that’s why we’re out here, you know? Mm-hmm. A lot of folks in different parts of the country that, uh, maybe they don’t get down to Houston very often to see us, so.

[01:52:12] Speaker 5: Have a great second day.

[01:52:13] Con Wright: Yeah. It’s been a good second day. Okay. So we’re excited.

[01:52:16] Speaker 5: Good.

[01:52:16] Con Wright: Happy to be here.

01:52:18 — Jason Baines, J. Lanfranco Fastener Systems

[01:52:18] Speaker 5: All right, I’m over here with Jason from

[01:52:22] Jason Baines: J. Lanfranco Fastener Systems.

[01:52:24] Speaker 5: All right, Jason, you got the hard question. Let’s talk tariffs.

[01:52:28] Jason Baines: Uh, tariffs, tariffs, tariffs. We’re gonna write a song about it one day.

[01:52:32] Jason Baines: Um, still here. Uh, yes, the reciprocal was, was lifted. I think everyone’s trying to figure out how the heck they’re gonna get money back from the government. But Section 232 is still in there, which is, of course, covers steel derivatives and aluminum and copper, so big part of what we do. And then north of the border in Canada, if the US can charge tariffs, Canada’s gonna charge tariffs too.

[01:52:58] Jason Baines: So Canada has a steel derivative tariff, took effect December 26. We still have it, and, uh, everyone’s trying to navigate that. So cost increases, uh, customers are getting used to it, and eventually it’s gonna start to hit the consumer. Uh, Canadians will start to, to feel the pinch. So continue to muddle through and manage and mitigate it, and I’m sure one day we’re gonna have a delicious cocktail and look back on this and maybe not laugh, but we’ll pat ourselves on the back for getting through this.

[01:53:32] Jason Baines: I mean, we’ll get through the tariffs. For us, we continue to expand. We’re, uh, expanding what we do in the US and Canada, uh, bringing stuff over here where we can to, to reduce the impact of tariffs. So it’s, it’s been tough sledding, I think, for a lot of us, but it’s gonna create opportunity coming out, so good companies will come through and, and that always remains the case.

01:53:57 — Matt and Angie, SWD

[01:53:57] Speaker 5: All right, I ran into Matt over here from SWD In The Aisle. How’s the show?

[01:54:04] Speaker 47: Hey, it’s been a great show for us. I really enjoyed Charlotte. The people are phenomenal. The food’s great. The NASCAR, um, Hall of Fame was a lot… a nice event. But I had some really nice leads. I was really happy with what I got out of the show.

[01:54:17] Speaker 47: The traffic seemed light, and it’s… was… when I walked in, I thought it was a little bit smaller than I expected. But in all reality, the quality was here. So that, that was the best part.

[01:54:26] Speaker 5: Yeah. Robbie, when I was talking to Robbie Gilchrist, he mentioned the aisle width that I never really paid attention to, but the aisles are two feet bigger or larger, so it does spread you out a little bit more.

[01:54:39] Speaker 47: It did. It did, and then it didn’t make you feel cramped when there was a lot of people at the, at the same time. Yeah. So no, it’s good.

[01:54:46] Speaker 5: So

[01:54:46] Speaker: all right,

[01:54:47] Speaker 5: great. You’re having a great show. All right, and you brought with you…

[01:54:50] Speaker: Angie. Angie. I’ve, uh, I’ve got the official title of QA manager at SWD, and really I’m just hanging out with Matt.

[01:54:57] Speaker 5: No. Okay. We all wanna hang out with Matt. Thanks, hon. So okay. Thanks. All right. Thanks, everybody. Oh, that’s great. I’m over here at the Wi-Fi booth, and I had to race a little car. Whose idea was this?

01:55:02 — Victoria Jimenez, Semblex

[01:55:12] Victoria Jimenez: It was the Wi-Fi team. Yeah. And they just put it together, and they did such a magical job of designing the entire thing today.

[01:55:21] Speaker 5: And they did, and you were great in calling the race. Can you call the race?

[01:55:27] Victoria Jimenez: Absolutely. Drivers, start your engines.

[01:55:33] Speaker 5: So that is what we heard. And so now, if you haven’t guessed, I am talking to…

[01:55:37] Victoria Jimenez: Victoria Jimenez. I work for Semblex Corporation, but I’m also the scholarship winner through Wi-Fi.

[01:55:45] Speaker 5: And that’s what we’re gonna talk about, the scholarship.

[01:55:47] Speaker 5: What a great, uh, organization, Wi-Fi.

[01:55:50] Victoria Jimenez: Yes. So it brings women together, and in this industry, women are not the primary. And so this puts us all together, connects us, and helps us work with each other and grow.

[01:56:04] Speaker 5: So tell me, how did you apply, or did your company apply for you, and how long you been in the industry?

[01:56:10] Victoria Jimenez: So I’ve been in the industry for 35 years, but when I came over to Semblex Corporation five years ago, I started hearing about Wi-Fi. I joined in 2022, and, and I started getting involved, and I would go to all the quarter- quarterly meetings and call in and do the Zoom call and meet these women, and then I was like, “I need to go to one of the events.”

[01:56:33] Victoria Jimenez: So I looked through the scholarships. I saw that there was a scholarship to come to this event, and I applied, and I said how much I wanted to get involved, and I’m pretty sure that’s why I won.

[01:56:45] Speaker 5: Oh, I doubt that. There’s probably other reasons there. So what are you doing with the scholarship?

[01:56:51] Victoria Jimenez: Yeah, so the scholarship gave me the opportunity to fly out here.

[01:56:54] Victoria Jimenez: Now, I’m from Chicagoland area, which is where my company is based, and so it provided the airline, the hotel, and then I’m working the booth for the two days and helping out and getting to know all the other people that are here.

[01:57:09] Speaker 5: What are you gonna bring back to your company from working the Wi-Fi booth?

[01:57:13] Victoria Jimenez: Yeah. So I’m gonna share this with all the women in my company and try to get them to join as well and get them more involved, so that way we can grow our women-based industry.

[01:57:23] Speaker 5: That’s it, girl power.

[01:57:25] Victoria Jimenez: Absolutely, girl power.

01:57:29 — Robbie Gilchrist at the Eurolink booth

[01:57:29] Speaker 5: All right, I’m over here at the Eurolink booth, and I ran into Robbie Gilchrist. How are you?

[01:57:34] Speaker 48: I’m doing great. How are you? Nice to see you.

[01:57:36] Speaker 5: Nice to see you, too. Nice. Native North Carolinan, is that the way we say it?

[01:57:41] Speaker 48: Born and raised.

[01:57:42] Speaker 5: Born and raised. So tell me your thoughts about the show.

[01:57:46] Speaker 48: Uh, I think the layout of the show is, is very well done. I like the wider aisles where people can, uh, move around as well as stand in, and congregate.

[01:57:55] Speaker 48: But I’m not, I don’t think it was … It’s not as, uh, well as attended, I think, that most people thought it would be, being in a, a city that has a draw like, uh, Charlotte typically does. So I’m not sure how well it was advertised or where it was advertised. I know the, the show people bombarded me with emails, but I don’t remember seeing too much in print outside of the f- the fastener people.

[01:58:17] Speaker 48: And I know they were trying to draw local engineering people as well as manufacturing people, and I’ve seen very little of those folks. So, you know, did they do a good job? Did they do a bad job? You know, it’s hard to say, ’cause there are a lot of things going on this time of the year. I mean, you got, uh, college graduations, you got proms, you got a lot of people gearing up for, for weddings, uh, and a lot of people gearing up to start their vacation after Memorial Day.

[01:58:39] Speaker 48: So is, is 1st of May a good time? I don’t know. Is, is middle of May better? Probably, ’cause things kind of settle down a little bit. Mm-hmm.

[01:58:47] Speaker 5: No, you’re right. You’re right about the graduations and stuff, and I forgot all about that. But college kid just came home. We were waving to her from the airport.

[01:58:56] Speaker 48: Yeah, two people yesterday told me they came straight from a gra- graduation to here Monday, but to be here for the show yesterday.

[01:59:03] Speaker 48: So yeah, it’s, uh, that never crossed my mind till somebody said something about it that way, too.

[01:59:07] Speaker 5: Mm-hmm.

[01:59:08] Speaker 48: But there’s a lot of activity in, uh, in this part of the country. Matter of fact, the PGA Tour is having an event this week here in Charlotte also. So some of the people may have gone out to the golf course rather than being here at the show, too.

[01:59:21] Speaker 48: You just don’t know.

[01:59:22] Speaker 5: Oh, didn’t think of that. Did you play pickleball?

[01:59:25] Speaker 48: I don’t play pickleball. My, my, my joints are not, are s- not sufficient enough to be running around playing pickleball. Oh,

[01:59:31] Speaker 5: I understand that.

[01:59:33] Speaker 48: No, I made that decision a long time ago, that pickleball- Yeah … was not for Robbie. It’s like tennis is not for Robbie.

[01:59:39] Speaker 48: Yeah. So no, I, I play golf, and that’s as, that’s as far as it goes. Yeah.

[01:59:43] Speaker 5: All right. Well, thanks for talking.

[01:59:45] Speaker 48: You bet. Nice to see you. Always.

01:59:48 — Patriot Bolt

[01:59:48] Speaker 5: All right, I’m over here at Patriot, and I’m with

[01:59:51] Speaker 48: Bryce Oliveira

[01:59:52] Eric Dudas: Danny Morgan

[01:59:54] Chris Kolb: Chris Kolb

[01:59:55] Speaker 5: And they’re all dressed normal. We’re normal today.

[01:59:58] Chris Kolb: What happened? You know, I think the first day is the exciting day, so we bring out the outfits, and the next day it’s kind of slower, so we just act normal.

[02:00:05] Speaker 5: Okay. And did you race? Did you-

[02:00:07] Chris Kolb: We did race, yeah. Chris and I both raced. Uh, Chris unfortunately beat me by a tenth of a second. Twice yesterday. Twice you did. You did. He showed his racing skills. Oh,

[02:00:16] Speaker 5: okay.

[02:00:16] Chris Kolb: So I did lose to Chris, unfortunately. You only race- But it was fun. It was a great time.

[02:00:20] Speaker 5: It is, and I crashed, so.

[02:00:21] Speaker 5: Did you r- So. I was gonna say, did

[02:00:22] Chris Kolb: you- Oh, I crashed … you, you crashed?

[02:00:23] Speaker 5: I crashed.

[02:00:24] Chris Kolb: Oh. That’s fun, though.

[02:00:27] Speaker 5: Yeah, it is. Yeah, it’s a good time. So tell me about Patriot. Tell me what’s going on.

[02:00:30] Chris Kolb: You know, um, the same old thing. Specialty bolt manufacturer making specials, exotic alloys per drawings, quick turnarounds.

[02:00:37] Chris Kolb: Um, if you can’t find it anywhere, we will make it for you, and we’ll make it quick. So, um, yesterday was a good day at the show, and saw a lot of good, good new customers, good existing customers, so it was an exciting day.

[02:00:49] Speaker 5: Great. I hope you have a great second day, and thanks, fellas. Yeah. Have fun. I’m over here at the Link booth, and I’m here with Jill.

02:00:57 — Jill, Link Magazine

[02:00:57] Speaker 5: And who knew Jill is, like, the pickleball queen. Tell me about it.

[02:01:03] Speaker 52: Oh, I wouldn’t say that, but- … I do live in Naples, Florida, which is, like, the pickleball, you know, king of the world down there. Mm-hmm. So I do play a lot down there, and it’s, you know, all year round outdoors, and I play a lot, and it’s really fun.

[02:01:14] Speaker 52: So I was really excited when I saw that it was gonna be part of the show this, this year. So I brought my pickleball paddle, and I, I went and played with a lot of boys and, uh, it was a lot of fun. Had a great time. A-

[02:01:25] Speaker 5: and the boys said you beat the pants off of them.

[02:01:28] Speaker 28: I was there. I was there, and I saw that.

[02:01:31] Speaker 52: No, no, no. I think they were very easy on me because I, you know, I think they could’ve probably done a lot better, but we, we had so much fun. It was a great … It’s a great sport for something like this because you get to know people, some people I’ve never even had a conversation with, that now I see them out here, and we’re high-fiving each other and complaining about how sore we are from the next day.

[02:01:52] Speaker 52: So it was really good. It’s a great community, and it’s a great way to get to know each other and a really fun atmosphere. So I thought it was perfect. Where was it? It was at this place called Rally Pickle, Rally Pickle, Rally Pickleball, and it’s in Charlotte. And it was just a place that it’s, like, four indoor courts, four outdoor courts, a bar, ping pong, indoor, outdoor.

[02:02:12] Speaker 52: It was a lot of fun, a lot of fun. They had food for us, and they had drink tickets, and it was just a blast. We had such a good time, lots of laughs.

[02:02:21] Speaker 5: All right. Yeah. Everybody, we’re at pickleball. Yep.

[02:02:23] Speaker 45: Well, I, we sh- we should probably also mention that it was sponsored by a variety of- Oh, yeah, coalition

[02:02:28] Speaker 45: companies that stepped up. The Fastener Industry Coalition organized it. They did. And they found s- And so that’s where all our free food and drinks came from.

[02:02:34] Speaker 52: Yeah. It was great. Yeah. Good time for everybody. Yep.

[02:02:36] Speaker 5: All right. So if you go to pickleball, be careful of Jill here. All right. I’m over here at the Goebel booth here, and I’m with

02:02:43 — Marcel Goebel and Justin Boswell at the Goebel booth

[02:02:46] Speaker 53: Marcel Goebel.

[02:02:48] Speaker 53: Justin Boswell.

[02:02:49] Speaker 5: And I understand, fellas, you played pickleball. How was it?

[02:02:52] Speaker 53: Awesome. So that was the first time. So it’s similar to tennis. So I played tennis a long time in my life, but that was a nice experience, really nice experience, especially also with the association, with the group. Fantastic.

[02:03:05] Speaker 54: Uh, yeah, just like he said, I, I used to play tennis when I was younger and, uh, kinda translates into the pickleball.

[02:03:11] Speaker 54: Um, it was a lot of fun though. It was a good time, good conversations.

[02:03:14] Speaker 5: And no injuries or anything? Everybody was good?

[02:03:18] Speaker 54: I got a little sunburnt and I’m a little sore. Yes. I fully agree.

[02:03:23] Speaker 5: Yeah. The same. All right, I found another pickleballer person. I don’t know how, how to say that. All right.

02:03:33 — Kurt Soderholm, Bricks and Stainless Steel

[02:03:33] Speaker 55: Hi, Lynn. How are you?

[02:03:34] Speaker 55: Good. Kurt Soderholm from Bricks and Stainless Steel.

[02:03:36] Speaker 5: Okay, so how was it? How was

[02:03:38] Speaker 55: pickleball? You know what? It, it was … Uh, I never played, never knew the rules of the game. I’ve seen it, watched it, and I know everybody loves it. Uh, it was really fun. I gotta say, you kinda get hooked on it right away. If you have any ping pong ability, tennis ability, or any kinda knowledge like that, it helps.

[02:03:53] Speaker 55: But even just to get out there without any abilities, everybody’s having fun. The social time was great. Um, and really, really fun game.

[02:04:00] Speaker 5: All right, now here’s the big question. Do you think it’s gonna replace golf?

[02:04:05] Speaker 55: Uh, no. I’m a golf advocate. But, um, you know, but it’s a, it’s a sport that can … You know, as a golfer- Mm-hmm

[02:04:11] Speaker 55: you kinda, the better level the golfer is, the better it is. In pickleball, it doesn’t matter your level. You can find the beginning aspect, and you can find the top-end players. But it’s really just a fun game. You know, I know the young kids are getting into it now, and they’re really, really good at it, but as far as, like, our age groups and stuff in this industry, it’s really a fun social, social time.

[02:04:30] Speaker 55: So I would r- I would highly recommend it when the associations put it together to include a pickleball, whether it’s the after party aspect, if it’s the before show aspect. It was … It’s really just a fun time. And you will sweat. Mm. You kinda get into it a little bit, but it’s a, it’s a lot of fun.

[02:04:45] Speaker 5: Good. I’m gonna try it.

[02:04:46] Speaker 55: Awesome. Great. Thanks, Lynn.

[02:04:49] Speaker 5: Good seeing you. Good seeing you. I’m over here at the BBI Group, and I’m with …

02:04:53 — Michael White, BBI Group / FIC chairman

[02:04:53] Michael White: Mike White.

[02:04:54] Speaker 5: Mike, how’s things going?

[02:04:56] Michael White: It’s been a really good week. Fastener Fair has gone off really well for us. The attendance has been good. I think everybody started off with a really good opening with the pickleball event.

[02:05:05] Michael White: It was our first time doing it. Uh, as chairman of the Fastener Industry Coalition, uh, we sponsored it in partnership with Fastener Fair. And so just getting people out, having fun was a great way to open Fastener Fair week this week. Um, and just getting out, experiencing Charlotte, the NASCAR event last night.

[02:05:24] Michael White: Um, and we are looking forward to meeting everybody May 17th, 18th, and 19th in Louisville next year. So, um, if you did not come this year, you should certainly look at planning some time to meet us in Louisville, Kentucky next year.

[02:05:38] Speaker 5: Did you play pickleball?

[02:05:39] Michael White: I did not. I’m the host. Oh, okay. So hosts are responsible for making sure everybody else had fun.

[02:05:44] Speaker 5: All right. I heard Jill from Link Magazine was a real …

[02:05:48] Michael White: Jill, Ed Smith, uh, Bob from Abbott, and then Peggy and John from Brighton. Mm-hmm. They, they held the court. So, um … And Ed’s a, Ed’s a vet. Like, he- Yeah … he did a really good job last year at NFDA here, which is where we got the idea from. We might look at doing something pickleball related in Louisville.

[02:06:07] Michael White: Oh, good. Uh, I think there are three sites close to the convention center, so- That’s better … you never know. So if you’ve never played pickleball before, you should probably get your racket and get started getting playing.

[02:06:17] Speaker 5: And maybe that’s just true- Do you think pickleball will take over golf?

[02:06:22] Michael White: Oh God, no. No, no, no, no.

[02:06:25] Michael White: We, we love golf way too much. Okay.

[02:06:28] Speaker 5: Yeah. Thanks, Mike. Thank you.

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02:09:22 — YLT

[02:09:22] Speaker 22: This is Joe Truckey from Cal Fasteners, and you’re listening to Holy Threaded Radio

02:09:37 — Closing segment

[02:09:37] Eric Dudas: Brian and Eric back with you, winding down another one. You’ll be heading out here to semi-rural Northeast Ohio right after we finish recording this. Looking forward to seeing you and the lovely and talented Lynn Dempsey. The NCFA Social’s right around the corner- Yep … and BrisketFest, and it’s just a flurry of activity here on out.

[02:09:57] Eric Dudas: And I’m glad we dedicated today’s show to Fastener Fair USA, because it was a lot of fun. Of course, we’re gonna ramp up for the Vegas show in Phoenix next. But I have to say, my favorite clip that we just heard was the one with you and Lynn and Anders walking on the floor the morning of the second day before the show opened.

[02:10:18] Speaker 7: Really? Lynn said– got me out and said, “You’re just a curmudgeon.”

[02:10:24] Eric Dudas: Well, that’s true. That’s true. That’s why I liked it.

[02:10:27] Speaker 7: Well, it’s– We just, we wandered around up and down a couple of aisles and, um, that was it. It was looking at the various things. And Anders, of course, was positive about everything, and, um, I wasn’t quite so, but I guess it’s because I’d spent, you know, eight hours on my feet the day before.

[02:10:42] Eric Dudas: Well, I thought it did a great job of surveying the floor, really, and also giving people a glimpse of the true Brian Musker.

[02:10:50] Speaker 7: Oh. Oh. Maybe it’s a little more friendly and happier than, than that. The true one really is, okay?

[02:11:00] Eric Dudas: Well, just rewind to the top of this episode and you’ll see what I mean, Bri. You can listen to it on your drive over.

[02:11:05] Speaker 7: We will. Oh, yes. No. This is exactly what long drives are for.

[02:11:10] Eric Dudas: That’s true.

[02:11:11] Speaker 7: We should note also that the night before, we actually went out for one of– at a meal at one of Charlotte’s more homely barbecue restaurants, and it turned out to be a great barbecue meal.

[02:11:22] Eric Dudas: I was very happy. That was the best slab of ribs I’ve had in a long time.

02:11:26 — Closing sponsor roll

[02:11:26] Eric Dudas: It was McCoy’s Smokehouse. It was about a 15-minute ride, 10, 15-minute ride from where we were staying near the show. Good find by Lynn, and way to set the table for BrisketFest, Bri. All right, so in the name of getting this one in the can and moving on to the last-minute prep for the big event, the title sponsors of Fully Threaded Radio, Star Stainless and Brighton Best International.

[02:11:54] Eric Dudas: Fully Threaded Radio is also sponsored by Buckeye Fasteners, BTM Manufacturing, Eurolink Fastener Supply Service, Fastener Technology International, Global Fasteners, inSQL Software, J. Lanfranco, MW Components, Cressa, Solution Industries, 3Q Inc, Volt Industrial Plastics, and Wurth Industry USA. We appreciate it when you share the podcast, tell your fastener friends about it.

02:12:24 — Closing segment continued

[02:12:24] Eric Dudas: It’s really the main way that we grow the show. But if you listen to the podcast on either Spotify or Apple or one of the other platforms where you can subscribe and leave a review, we sure would appreciate it if you’d do that as well. And the email address here is ftr@fullythreaded.com. Brian and I are both out there on LinkedIn, so you can catch us that way as well.

[02:12:47] Speaker 7: Actually rarely. I was out there this morning poking around. It’s a big surprise for you, Eric.

[02:12:53] Eric Dudas: What was the occasion?

[02:12:54] Speaker 7: I don’t know. I guess I must have had five minutes free in between waiting for something to finish on my computer, I guess. I should also point out, it’s probably the wrong part to be saying this, but Mark Madlyn from 3Q gave us a three-pack of very good-looking sauces, especially for barbecue, that he gives out to his customers, which we have packed away in the car already.

[02:13:21] Eric Dudas: We have an amazing pile of raffle prizes, I’ll say that. The fastener industry is no slouch when it comes to throwing a good raffle, especially when there’s a good cause like Sleep in Heavenly Peace, which is Where all our proceeds are going. Looking forward to seeing you, Bry. And we’re gearing up for the next show already, as everyone else in the industry is too.

[02:13:43] Eric Dudas: Looking forward to the Vegas show in Phoenix this time, of course.

[02:13:47] Speaker 7: Yep.

[02:13:47] Eric Dudas: That’s the International Fastener Expo. I should give it its proper due, and we’ll be changing jerseys and jumping into that topic next episode, I guess. But I have to ask you this, Bry, one conspicuous thing that we were missing this year at Fastener Fair USA, no Vegemite on our riser.

[02:14:06] Eric Dudas: What was that? I thought we were prepared. No Vegemite.

[02:14:09] Speaker 7: We were very, very badly prepared, actually. Because I found out when I sort of went through the packets that we have… I got those, the little packets, only you can only get them in Australia. Um, and I found out that they were… Sort of, I didn’t like them.

[02:14:26] Speaker 7: They’d gone a bit hard, and that Vegemite’s not meant to be hard, so I threw them all out.

[02:14:31] Eric Dudas: Okay, so it was a quality test that-

[02:14:34] Speaker 7: Pure quality control. So Lynn, being the food, you know, health safety expert, wouldn’t let me bring them near the place, okay?

[02:14:41] Eric Dudas: Fair enough. Okay. Well, that answers the question. I did have a couple of people ask.

[02:14:46] Eric Dudas: I sort of sheepishly avoided the question.

[02:14:49] Speaker 7: I had, I had people ask too.

[02:14:52] Eric Dudas: All right, so we’re gonna have some airlifted in from Australia before the Vegas show in Phoenix, right? Yes,

[02:14:58] Speaker 7: we are. Oh, yes.

[02:14:59] Eric Dudas: Okay.

[02:14:59] Speaker 7: Don’t worry, I have that underway already. We

[02:15:01] Eric Dudas: could, we could not wrap up the episode dedicated to Fastener Fair USA without answering that open question.

[02:15:08] Speaker 7: Right.

[02:15:09] Eric Dudas: So that’s gonna put this one in the can, folks. We’re gonna fire up the smokers now and move on to the next event. So glad to see you guys at Fastener Fair. Looking forward to seeing you here in Cleveland and next time on the podcast. Thanks so much for listening.

[02:15:25] Speaker 7: Yes. It’s time to fire up the barbie.

[02:15:29] Eric Dudas: For Brian Musker, this is Eric Dudas. Get out there, sell some screws. Don’t get any barbecue sauce on that shirt, would ya?

[02:15:37] Speaker 7: Yeah, right. Oh, I will.

[02:15:39] Eric Dudas: And we’ll talk to you next time.

[02:15:40] Speaker 7: Next podcast, okay?

02:16:07 — Production credits

[02:16:07] Speaker 5: Fully Threaded Radio is a production of Fasteners Clearing House. Music provided by Audio Nautics

02:16:15 — Post-credit tag

[02:16:15] Speaker 4: No shit, Dick Tracy