Global Fastener News

May 3, 1995 FIN – The National Fastener Distributors Association is giving full voting rights to its manufacturing associate members, but will stop short of expanding to an industry-wide organization, Jim Snider announced.

Members of the Public Law Task Force, formed late last year to make recommendations to Congress on amending the Fastener Quality Act, agreed May 3 to continue the concept of an industry-wide task force after the legislative work is done with Public Law 101-592.
At meetings during the NFDA annual meeting in Puerto Rico last week, the executive committees of the Industrial Fastener Institute and the NFDA “agreed to develop strategies to have in place a body that will represent all segments of the fastener industry,” according to a statement released by Task Force co-chairs Jim Schiele and Ed McIlhon. “It is perceived that such a committee would work on industry-wide concerns and issues. Additionally, improved communications between the various regional and national organizations that represent the many facets of the North American fastener industry would be a primary objective.”
The Task Force’s actions follows numerous complaints from officials in Washington that government was getting mixed messages from the fastener industry.
“You as an industry must work with one voice”, Congressional staffer Christopher Roosa said in his speech to the NFDA. “With the passage of the Fastener Quality Act, the federal government gets involved, the federal government never goes away.”
“Keep the communication going between each group in the industry,” Roosa recommended. “The more you work together to present your industry in the right light, to make sure quality and safety are being met, you will reduce the regulations and laws that affect your industry.”
More information on the Task Force will be made available “as this process matures,” Schiele and McIlhon wrote.
The Task Force includes three members from the manufacturer-orientated IFI, three from the NFDA and three representing the Fastener Industry Coalition.
At its meeting last fall, the NFDA discussed expanding to an “all-inclusive” industry organization of distributors, manufacturers, importers and support services under one umbrella.
Snider, chairman of the Vision 2000 committee which studied proposals for expansion, said member surveys since the meeting showed distributors “had fears that we are not going to deal with distributor issues.”
Board member David Broehm said the NFDA, which currently has 126 distributor members and 83 associate members, said the board will maintain the association’s distributor orientation by keeping the distributors in the majority in approving new memberships.

Board Supports Industry Unity
Broehm said during the roundtable that the board still wants an industry-wide vehicle to seek unified positions for the fastener industry.
The Task Force has demonstrated in the Fastener Quality Act legislative process what a united industry voices can do, Broehm said.
The Task Force was formed after the industry was criticized in Washington for not having a united position on the proposed Fastener Quality Act amendments.
Snider said “opportunity is there, the motivation is there” for an industry-wide group.
Noting that IFI and FIC leaders were at the distributors meeting, Snider said “We’ve just started talking. Six years ago we weren’t talking. The Task Force has proven [a united industry] is not a threat. We’ve got momentum.”
Snider noted that “all of us run our businesses a whole lot differently than we did six years ago.”
Barry Porteous of Porteous Fastener Co. said “the time is right” for more industry cooperation.
Porteous noted that some regional associations are concerned that they would lose their identity.
Snider added that “regionals depend on meetings for revenues-as we [the NFDA] do.”
Porteous suggested each association could “keep its autonomy. We could have a joint meeting once a year and each association can continue separate meetings. Together we could bring in better speakers and programs.”
Newly elected NFDA board member Don Nowak noted that together the associations have thousands of members compared with the NFDA’s 209 and the IFI’s 94 manufacturer members and 45 supplier members.
Participating associations could divide income from the joint meetings as the Western Association of Fastener Distributors and the Los Angeles Fastener Association have done, Porteous pointed out.

The “D” Remains in NFDA
In addition to extending voting rights to associate members, the NFDA discussed at its fall 1994 meeting a name change to National Fastener Association or other versions using “North American” or “Global.”
At a roundtable discussion in Puerto Rico on Vision 2000, Mel Seitz of Service Supply Co. and a member of the Task Force suggested NFDA still adopt a new name.
“We are a unified body. If we are going to do it, let’s call it what we are,” Seitz explained.
But Broehm said NFDA surveys showed only 25% to 30% of members were in favor of a name change.
Win Adams of Adams Nut & Bolt supported a name change: “It should be done in the long-term. It would clarify it.” .” ©1995/2013 Fastener Industry News.
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