From the NAW Blog:

It’s no secret that for years most distributors have neglected core sales skills training for their sellers. There are several reasons for this benign neglect of sales skills investment. First, historically, industrial B2B buyers didn’t necessarily need a highly skilled seller. Their purchases were largely needs-driven — not discretionary — and so the core need was product or technical expertise and order fulfillment. For this reason, virtually all systematic sales training in distribution was focused on products and applications (not selling skills or competencies).

From the NAW Blog:

During and after extreme disruption, such as that caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the thought of doing a performance assessment can be overwhelming. However, taking a microscope to performance in a time of crisis can tell us more about our core underlying capabilities than in a time of stability.

Lancaster, PA – February 24^th, 2021  All America Threaded Products (AATP) is pleased to announce they have hired Al Bate as their National Sales Manager. Al brings with him a broad background as a Fastener Industry professional and leader with a track record of successful team management and development in sales, operations and manufacturing. His Fastener career spans over 30+ years across the UK, Europe and since 2008, the USA. He has held leadership roles with several divisions of the TR Fastenings group through much of his career, in both the UK and the USA.

In 2018, he took two years out of the industry to follow his entrepreneurial bent and help build Fast-Exec LLC—a head-hunting agency specializing in the industrial fastener industry—founded by his wife, Jacqui.

Lancaster, PA – March 8, 2021 Danielle Maze joins All America Threaded Products (AATP) as the Northeast Regional Account Manager. In addition to those accounts, she will also be managing catalog accounts. She brings over seven years of experience as Operations Manager, Service Manager, and Customer Service in the printer, toner, and copy paper industry at Weaver Associates Inc.

In addition to her sales experience, Danielle has managed delivery drivers, service teams, logistics requirements, and service calls. This foundation gave her the skills, attributes, capabilities, and attitude that made her an ideal candidate for further developing and building excellent customer relationships. Her keen sense of operations and logistics management means she is no stranger to the value of reliability, delivery and service.

Throughout the pandemic, distributors have proven critical to saving lives and keeping the economy moving by reliably distributing food, medicine, PPE, and other vital supplies to every corner of America. As we enter a new phase where vaccines are making their way into the arms of millions of Americans, our industry has a critical opportunity to step up once again and accelerate the American recovery.

NAW and our member companies are partnering with the National Football League to support mass vaccination sites in stadiums across the country. When fully operational, these sites will have the capacity and vaccine supply provided by FEMA to vaccinate thousands of people each day. NAW is actively building a coalition of distributors who are committed to accelerating the administration of the vaccine and are able to help the NFL secure items needed to operate these mass vaccination sites. 

This week, NAW member companies have begun donating supplies to the Detroit Lions and Pittsburgh Steelers to support the launch of their vaccination sites; we expect to speak with many of the remaining 30 NFL clubs shortly to understand their needs and connect them with distributors best positioned to meet those needs. 

If you would like to join us and have the ability to donate or serve as a source for purchase for any of the following items, please respond directly to me and NAW’s Chief Business Development Officer Dan Schuberth ([email protected], 732-585-3010):

February 2021 Article by:

Michael S. Hampleman & Roman A. Basi

Basi, Basi & Associates at The Center for Financial, Legal & Tax Planning, Inc.

Business owners, CPAs, loan officers, and if applicable, business brokers, should use a variety of tactics simultaneously as businesses pursue economic support in the form of a second draw of PPP funding. Per advice from the AICPA, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, borrowers may need to be act quickly and diligently to fill out their forms for a second round of PPP funding.

Some lenders are requiring PPP borrowers to apply for forgiveness on their first-draw PPP loan before they file to seek a second-draw PPP loan. However, according to the SBA and Treasury, this is not a requirement. Possible borrowers may want to consider other lenders to process the second-draw loan application without the business having to file for forgiveness on their first PPP loan.

SPIROL is pleased to introduce a new, high-performance series of Molded-In Inserts for plastics assemblies. The rugged design of the Series 63 Through Hole Inserts and Series 65 Blind End Inserts consists of multiple bands of helical knurls to maximize torque resistance, balanced with radial undercuts to achieve high pull-out (tensile) force. These Molded-In Inserts are designed to be placed in the mold cavity prior to plastic injection, and offer exceptional performance due to unrestricted plastic flow into the retention features on the outside diameter of the Inserts.

These lightweight, lead-free Threaded Inserts for Plastics are manufactured from 2024 grade aluminum which provides the best combination of strength, corrosion resistance, machinability and cost. The Series 63 and Series 65 Molded-In Inserts are lead free, 40% stronger than brass, and 1/3 the weight of the same Insert manufactured from brass. Standard metric thread sizes include M4, M5, M6, and M8, and standard inch threaded sizes include 8-32, 10-24, 1/4-20, and 5/16-18.

ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI – February 18, 2021.

EFC International is pleased to announce its expanded focus on the world-wide distribution of genuine parts made by Research Engineering & Manufacturing, Inc. (REMINC) Authorized Licensees. EFC’s team of application engineers support customers with advanced engineering assistance, direct factory relationships and rapid prototype solutions, as well as extensive value analysis and value engineering services. Matt Dudenhoeffer, President and CEO of EFC, states, “EFC, REMINC and REMINC’s Licensees look forward to this partnership knowing that end-users will benefit from our combined strengths.”

January 2021 Article by:

Michael S. Hampleman & Roman A. Basi

Basi, Basi & Associates at The Center for Financial, Legal & Tax Planning, Inc.

On December 27, 2020, late Sunday night, President Trump signed into law the $900 billion COVID-19 relief bill that was passed approximately a week before by Congress. The legislation, the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021, calls for direct payments to individuals and funding to other various communities and sectors that have been hit hardest directly by COVID-19.

Pac-West member John Wachman of Desert Distribution was inducted into the Fastener Hall of Fame, which recognizes professionals who have made significant and enduring contributions to the industrial fastener industry on a national or global scale.

“I am deeply honored to receive this recognition from the industry,” said Wachman. “I will continue my best efforts to improve the fastener industry and am dedicated to seeing the industry thrive.”

Ocean Freight Update

Written by: Dana Wilson, Empire Bolt & Screw

February 16, 2021

SANTA CLARITA, CALIFORNIA – The Fastener Training Institute (FTI), the leading nonprofit provider of fastener training opportunities, announced the appointment of Greg Rawlings as its newest Board of Directors member.

Rawlings is the current president of Nylok LLC, a Marmon Holdings company that is part of the Berkshire Hathaway Inc. group. Nylok is a value-added solutions provider of resin, adhesive and lubricant coatings for threaded fastener applications with five facilities in North America and business partners in 31 different countries across the globe. He has served in various roles at the company over the past 12 years including sales, engineering and management positions.

From the NAW Blog:

How do you plan when all certainty has gone out the window more than once in the past year? Even with an end to the pandemic in sight, distributors may be looking at their 2020 business plan and wondering if it’s even worth putting a plan together for 2021. It’s tempting to stay light on your feet and be ready to pivot.

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From the NAW Blog:

As companies build their plans for growth in this new year, it’s a good time to leverage sales analytics to build actionable sales goals. Sadly, for many distributors, sales planning has historically been anecdotal, intuitive and virtually data-free. Aside from knowing what a customer (or group of customers) bought last year, and then guessing at how that might change this year, there is painfully little insight to identify, organize, drive and measure the daily activities that actually accelerate profitable, organic growth.

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From Link Magazine:

For decades there has been the argument that much of the work taking place in large office spaces could be accomplished from home. Businesses were loath to test the theory for fear that there would be a reduction in employee productivity, but now, out of necessity, more and more businesses are realizing that the opposite is true. Employees are embracing the challenge; with Covid here for the foreseeable future, working from home effectively is one way to help your business survive.