EFC International, a leading supplier of engineered fasteners, with their corporate office in St. Louis, Missouri, continues to expand their global presence with the establishment of their office and warehouse in Mexico, EFC Global, S de RL de CV.

“Our recently established legal entity and operations in Mexico, including a warehouse in Querétaro, outside sales engineers, customer service and support staff in Mexico, enables EFC to enhance our service level in the region.  We’re able to respond more quickly and hold inventory in closer proximity to our customer base.  We also are positioned to act as a key channel partner into Mexico for our strategic partner suppliers.   With our locations in the United States, Mexico, Germany, China and South Korea, EFC truly has become a global leader in the supply of engineered fasteners and components.  EFC enables multi-national OEM customers and suppliers to utilize our services on multiple continents, taking advantage of our global network to mitigate supply chain risks and improve local service,” said Mary Becker, Vice President of North American Sales. 

From Jamie Notter

I’ve been searching the web for a good definition of employee engagement, and I have to say, I’m disappointed. There are a LOT out there, though I think that is fine. It doesn’t need to be oversimplified into a single definition. And given the amount of money we spend trying to fix employee engagement every year, it doesn’t surprise me that everyone and their brother are trying to define it. READ MORE

Advance Components is now a master stocking distributor of Heyco® Solar Power Components. Heyco® is a worldwide leading manufacturer of wire management products and components. The Heyco® solar line of SunRunner® Clips, SunBundler® and Nytye® Cable Ties, and Liquid Tight Cordgrips set the standard for excellence and high performance in the solar industry.

“Heyco is excited to announce the recent addition of over 220,000 pieces of 28 different SKUs to Advance Components’ offering,” says Tom Marsden, Renewable Energies and Product Sales Manager. “Advance’s outstanding level of service and Heyco’s superior quality in products makes it a no-brainer when choosing a partner for your next solar job.”

ROTOR CLIP OFFERS “RINGS ON WIRE (ROW)” TO HELP ELIMINATE PACKAGING HEADACHES.

Looking for a powerful rivet nut installation tool? Sherex's FLEX-18 Spin-Pull Tool provides a pulling force of 18,000 pounds (80 kN) and up to 15mm (.591 inches) of available stroke. Features and benefits of this tool include:

• Can install rivet nuts up to 3/4-10 (M16)
• 2-3 second cycle time
• Quick change mandrel design
• Automatic reverse with manual reverse bypass
• Lightweight handle 
• Upgradeable to process monitoring

See the video below for a demonstration of the FLEX-18 Tool in action.

From Harvard Business Review

Knowing how to read between the lines and pick up on colleagues’ subtle social cues is a critical skill. After all, there’s often an explicit conversation happening in a meeting or around the water cooler — and a tacit one. The best way to take the temperature of a room is to pay attention to the people in it. Note who’s next to whom, who’s relaxed, who’s not, who’s standing, and who’s sitting. Look at their facial expressions, posture, and body language. Then try to make sense of what you’ve observed. Reflect on possible reasons for your colleagues’ emotional states. What’s happening in their lives and in their jobs? If the atmosphere feels tense, don’t let yourself be hijacked by negativity. Instead, shift the mood using humor or empathy. Keep an eye out for positive signals, too — the executive in the corner who’s smiling, for instance — and concentrate on those. READ MORE

From Inc

Every organization can reap the benefits of disruption. All you have to do is start thinking like an outsider. READ MORE

From Entrepreneur

Your operations can be streamlined by following these simple things READ MORE

ROCKY RIVER, OH—May 14, 2018–-Earnest Machine is now offering domestic hex nuts in response to increased demand for U.S.-made products.

“The federal Surface Transportation Assistance Act of 1982 requires the use of domestically made products in transit projects that receive more than $100,000 in federal money,” said Patrick Ginnetti, marketing director for Earnest Machine. “As the country’s infrastructure ages, maintenance, and repair spending on transportation infrastructure continues to grow in the U.S., which means increased demand for products made here.”

From Inc.

You can create an environment where everyone can contribute to your company's innovation efforts. READ MORE

From Entrepreneur

Don't ignore how much is beyond your control but never take your focus off of what is within your control. READ MORE

From Forbes

Businesses today operate in an unprecedented environment of volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity (VUCA). Things have become too complex and change too quickly for organizations to effectively deal with challenges of the day—yet they still train leaders in traditional leadership competencies. The wisdom that made organizations successful in the past now jeopardizes their survival. Innovation is the only way to survive in today’s fast-moving environment, and success demands new leadership skills. Let’s contrast outdated rules of thumb with updated reality. READ MORE

Thermal expansion is a common problem in applications that are exposed to high temperatures or that use materials sensitive to temperature changes. The usual problem is that internal components become loose after external components expand due to an increase in operating temperatures causing unwanted movement, vibration, and noise within the application. Design engineers plan to avoid this situation by pre-loading components with spring elements that compensate for thermal expansion and fix the components tight in place, avoiding unwanted movement within the application.

From WiseBread

Owning a small business is no small feat. There are hundreds of articles written on how to effectively market yourself, attract customers, and drive traffic to your website. With so many gimmicks and tricks out there, it can feel impossible to determine what you should actually do in order to be successful. READ MORE

From CMS Wire

As the online economy continues to affect existing business models, many companies are finding that the biggest hurdle to future success may well be doing things the way they always have in the past. READ MORE

From Entrepreneur

A shifting power base in a polarizing political climate is changing the landscape of leadership. How do you garner trust, create a culture of accountability and ensure a healthy and productive workplace? READ MORE

A Press Release from the Fastener Training Institute

Officer elections were held at our most recent Board of Directors meeting. We’re pleased to announce the following:

High-volume production drilling makes custom easy

ROCKY RIVER, OH—April 4, 2018–-Earnest Machine has added new equipment at its Rocky River, OH, facility that enables the company to do high-volume production and specialty drilling of holes from 3/64” to 13/32”. “Earnest has always offered low-volume drilling of parts,” said Al Shannon, manufacturing manager at Earnest Machine. “This new equipment opens up additional opportunities, enabling us to bring more drilling services in-house and allows us to take on higher volume runs of up to one million pieces.” Shannon noted that adding high-volume drilling capabilities equips Earnest Machine to offer one-stop shopping for customers who need specialty work, making custom jobs quick and easy. In addition to the ability to drill small diameter holes in small parts in large volumes, Earnest continues to offer hex head and socket head drilling up to 1-1/4” diameter; thread drilling up to 2” diameter; core drilling up to 2-3/4” deep and tapping up to 2-1/2” deep. “One of the common complaints in our industry is that machine shop work is rarely on time,” added Shannon. “At Earnest Machine, we track our shop metrics and our on-time delivery rate is 97.4%. That’s because everything we do is wrapped in the Earnest customer service experience, including the custom work in our shop. If it’s not a quality part, the job’s not complete.”

From MultiBriefs: Exclusive

Sports championships, scientific breakthroughs, technological developments — in addition to reams of negative political events, the news is constantly full of stories of amazing achievements few of us could have ever predicted. Records are broken regularly, huge advances are made in the fields of medicine, and innovative solutions have become as common as downloading a new app. READ MORE