Fastener Training Institute (FTI) is excited to announce a new Spanish Webinar Series offering dual access for both English and Spanish speaking attendees. 

“Spanish training has been a goal of ours for years. Removing the language barrier for training is important and it will make the perfect training opportunity for entire teams. It’s critical everyone in our industry has access,” shared FTI’s Marketing Director, Jo Morris. 

Congratulations to the 2024 Hy Schatz Memorial Scholarship Winner, Rory Gallagher, Regional Sales Director for Industrial Threaded Products!

The Hy Schatz Memorial Scholarship covers the tuition to attend Fastener Training Week.

Fastener Training Institute (FTI) will host a Fastener Basics and Beyond Workshop during International Fastener Expo (IFE) on Monday, September 9, in Las Vegas – the first day of the 2024 show. 

Carmen Vertullo, FTI instructor, and owner and founder of Carver Labs, will present the workshop. Attendees will invest in professional development by expanding knowledge well beyond the basics. 

Congratulations to the 2024 Pac-West Fastener Training Week Scholarship Winner, Josh Glaser, National Sales Manager for Empire Bolt & Screw!

The Pac-West Fastener Training Week Scholarship covers the tuition to attend Fastener Training Week.

Fastener Training Week, the flagship fastener training program from Fastener Training Institute (FTI), returns to Chicago this year from August 19 to August 23.

The event will be held at the Lincolnshire Marriott and hosted by the Mid-West Fasteners Association (MWFA) as part of their annual FSTNR Week.

The Fastener Training Institute (FTI) is excited to announce Birmingham Fastener will sponsor its three Fastener Training Weeks in 2024. 

“Birmingham Fastener’s mission to provide customers with quality products aligns with our commitment to train the industry that uses them. We are thrilled to have their support,” said Jo Morris, Marketing Director, FTI. 

The Fastener Training Institute (FTI) will offer two training classes during the Fastener Fair Conference at Fastener Fair USA in May. Each class will be presented by Laurence Claus, Industrial Fasteners Institute’s Director of Education and Training. 

• The Making of Fasteners & the Cost Drivers Behind this Engineering Marvel, is planned for Tuesday, May 21, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. In this full-day class, Claus will take students into the fastener manufacturing world to explore why these sometimes-underappreciated components are complex engineering marvels. Topics will include fastener production methods (cold heading, hot heading and screw machining); the advantages and disadvantages of each manufacturing method; and thread rolling, grinding, machining, heat treatment and plating. 

The Fastener Training Institute (FTI) is pleased to announce Würth Industry North America (WINA) will continue as sustaining sponsor in 2024. 

FTI is the leading nonprofit provider of fastener product and technical training with content-rich and expertly instructed courses. WINA is a division of Würth Group, the world’s largest industrial distributor. The partnership between FTI and WINA is now in its sixth consecutive year. 

Sherex Fastening Solutions’ Optisert, the best performing round body rivet nut on the market, was recently awarded as a winner of the 2023 Fastener Innovation Awards by WorldwideFastenerSources.com.

The innovative Optisert was chosen as a winner because of its incredible performance against spin-out. Its proprietary combination of an engineered knurled body and underhead wedge design helps it grip into the base material to prevent it from spinning. In softer materials, like aluminum, plastics, and composites, the spin-out performance matches that of a full hex body rivet nut.

The Industrial Fasteners Institute (IFI) has announced it is starting the development of a groundbreaking new apprenticeship program for machine operators that will be recognized by the U.S. Department of Labor. This program aims to address the pressing issue of workforce shortage in the fastener manufacturing industry. With an increasing number of skilled machine operators retiring each year, the need to transfer their knowledge and expertise to the next generation has become critical. IFI has partnered on the development of the apprenticeship program with the Marshall University Advanced Manufacturing Center (MAMC), located in West Virginia. Marshall’s MAMC is well versed in the development of apprenticeship programs, having successfully written and implemented multiple such programs in use across the country today.  

"The shortage of workers in fastener manufacturing will not resolve on its own. With each passing year, our industry continues to lose skilled machine operators to retirement, and that knowledge must be passed on to the next generation," stated Dan Walker, Managing Director of IFI. "IFI and its members have decided to roll up our sleeves and create an apprenticeship program for our industry to help solve this ongoing problem." 

Fastener Training Institute (FTI) is partnering with International Fastener Expo (IFE) and hosting a day-long fastener training class on Monday, October 9. IFE runs October 9-11 in Las Vegas, Nevada. 

Fastener Fundamentals - The Nuts and Bolts for Fastener Professionals, will be instructed by Carmen Vertullo, Fastener Consultant and Trainer of Carver Labs. He will teach the basics of fasteners and beyond to industry professionals including the best of Fastener Training Institute’s Fastener Basic Training and Certified Specialist Training programs. 

Fastener Training Institute (FTI) is excited to announce the next Fastener Training Week in Chicago, IL from August 21-25. The event will be held at the Lincolnshire Marriott and is hosted by the Mid-West Fasteners Association (MWFA). 

FTI’s advanced technical training program is for fastener distributors, manufacturers and end-users and is part of FTI’s Certified Fastener Specialist™ (CFS) advanced technical training program. It combines small group classroom education, discussions and hands-on exercises along with plant and testing facility tours and networking opportunities. At weeks-end, students test for CFS designation.

ACME Manufacturing is announcing that John Barrett will lead the company as President and Chief Operating Officer effective on June 1st, 2023. Barrett will succeed Tim Broderick as he retires in June 2023.

Barrett’s most recent post was at Oribi Composites, where he was Chief Operating Officer for three years. John brings 28 years of experience in manufacturing to ACME. He earned a master’s degree in operations and manufacturing management from Kettering University in Flint, Michigan. Barrett’s experience extends into the United States military where he served as an Officer in the Army while deployed in Operation Desert Storm.

SPIROL is pleased to announce that Ford Aerospace Ltd based in South Shields, UK will be joining the SPIROL group of companies. 

Ford Aerospace was founded at Tyne Dock in 1910 by Robert Ford, and the family business has most recently been led by the founder’s great-grandson, Chris Ford. The company specializes in manufacturing high precision metal components and sub-assemblies for the aerospace, industrial, and high-technology sectors.  It’s been a leading supplier over its 113 year history dating back almost as far as the first recorded flight in 1903 by the Wright Brothers.

Frontenac-backed EFC International announced March 2 that it has acquired St. Louis-based Inventory Sales Company (ISC), a distributor of fastener products, components, and struts/accessories to diversified industrial and infrastructure markets. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. 

EFC, based in St. Louis, MO, operates globally and provides solutions such as engineering support, sales and marketing, distribution, and high-touch service to customers in the automotive, industrial, and other technical end markets. The Company has served as a critical link between suppliers and customers for over 35 years. EFC has a history of growth driven by longstanding supplier relationships and a tenured customer base.  

Jo Morris, Managing Partner at Desert Distribution Sales, LLC, and Karen Ardizone, owner of Incentive Sales, are today announcing that they are combining their manufacturer’s representative agencies. Effective March 1, 2023, they will conduct business as Desert Distribution Sales and cover the territories of California, Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, Colorado, and Utah. 

John Wachman, Founder and Partner at Desert Distribution, expressed his appreciation for the work Karen and Jo did to bring this agreement forward. He also noted the long and accomplished careers that both these women have had in the fastener business. 

The Fastener Training Institute (FTI), the leading nonprofit provider of fastener product and technical training, is excited to announce Würth Industry North America (WINA) will continue as sustaining sponsor in 2023. This will mark the fifth year of partnership between the two organizations. 

“Würth’s continued support is instrumental to our ability to offer frequent and robust educational opportunities which enhance knowledge, safety and reliability across the fastener industry,” said John Wachman, Managing Director for FTI. Thanks to Würth’s support, FTI will continue to offer an extensive menu of in-person fastener training classes taught by leading industry expert instructors, as well as live webinars and an on-demand Online Learning Library (OLL).  

From The Center for Financial, Legal, & Tax Planning, Inc:

It isn’t exactly a secret that taxpayers and business owners consistently look to pay as little money as possible to the federal government. Whether they use tax deductions, tax credits, or any other means of reducing their tax burden. When it comes to business owners, one way to do this is to evaluate the taxation structure of your corporate entity. There are several different options to choose from, such as sole proprietors (where income is reported on an individual’s Schedule C) or partnerships (where income is reported on a business’ Form 1065. Other individuals, however, may find it to be more beneficial to elect as either an S corporation or a C corporation status with the Internal Revenue Service to effectively minimize tax burdens.