NEFDA Marking 30th Anniversary

July 19

00:00 2009

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7/19/2009
NEFDA Marking 30th Anniversary

November 6, 1979 First Meeting
November 19, 1979 FIN – FIN was present at the first meeting of the New England Fastener Distributors Association on November 6, 1979 and Dick Callahan submitted this report:

The New England Fastener Distributors Association is a newly formed group serving the fastener distributors in the states of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont.

The first official meeting of the group was held at the Pleasant Valley Country Club in Sutton, Mass. (between Worcester and Boston).
The officers of NEFDA got a chance to introduce themselves to representatives of the 40 member companies that have already joined the organization and to outline some of the objectives and plans for the group.

The NEFDA is made up of regular members (distributors) and associate members (manufacturers, manufacturer reps and wholesalers) with only the distributor members having voting rights.
To be a regular member a company must have been actively engaged in fastener distribution for at least three years, have at least 75% of its sales in the New England area and an inventory of fasteners which are sold by inside and outside salesmen.

The first meeting began in the evening with a cocktail party, followed by a dinner and after dinner addresses by NEFDA officers and representatives of a number of local financial institutions.

Prior to the cocktail party activities the associate members had a short meeting presided over by Walter Collyer of Precision Socket Screw, Bellerica, Mass., who is chairman of the associate members.

In the after dinner portion of the meeting the first one to address the NEFDA members was its president, Jack Sullivan of Accurate Fasteners Inc., of Boston, Mass., who brought them up to date on the progress that already had been made in organizing the association and plans for future meetings. He said that there would be two meetings each year – the annual meeting in the spring plus a fall meeting.

Sullivan introduced the officers: Rick Renenchick of Lehigh Metal Products Co., Cambridge, Mass., vice president; Bob Herman, Jacques Co., Boston, secretary; and Don Larochelle of Eckart-Fenard Inc., Hartford, Conn, treasurer.
In addition to chairman Collyer, leading the associates are vice chairman Alan Jeffrey of Whitney Screw Co., Nashua, Watertown, Mass.; Fred Schuman, Arnold Industrial Supply, Dedham, Mass.; and Ed Otto, Fasteners, Inc., Newington, Conn.

Otto then introduced the three guest speakers for the evening: Dr. Jim Thornblade, international economist, First National Bank of Boston; Neil Finnegan, senior vice president, National Shawnut Bank; ad Dr. Richard Cromwell, chief investment officer, First Boston Co.
These speakers gave their audience some up-to-date and highly instructive information on such subjects as: the current economic situation (and what’s ahead) and how New England fits into that situation; how to deal most effectively with banks and/or venture capital institutions; the energy outlook; and the possible ramifications of a value added tax (VAT) if such a tax is enacted in this country.

The highly professional and well coordinated first meeting gave evidence of a lot of preparation on the part of the NEFDA officers and directors and if well begun is half done, the new association is well suited to become an important force in the domestic fastener distributing industry.

The New England Fastener Distributors Association is marking its 30th anniversary this year. The association began with 30-some members and today totals 89 member companies.

On June 21, 1979, seven incorporators signed the Articles of Organization of New England Fastener Distributors Association, Inc. in the state of Massachusetts.

NEFDA executive director Joe Soja updated the names of the incorporators are as follows:

Richard Ferenchick, Lehigh Metal Products Corp. which is now Lehigh-Armstrong Inc. Ferenchick is now with Arnold Industries Inc. Today he is vice president of NEFDA and a member of the education committee.

John Gianakouras, Fastener Supply Corporation – which is now Integratech Distribution. Today Gianakouras owns a sheet metal shop in Methuen, MA.
Robert Herman, deceased, formerly with The Jacques Co., which is no longer in business.

Donald LaRochelle, deceased, formerly with Eckart & Finard, Inc.
Edward Otto, retired, formerly with Fasteners Incorporated, which is no longer in business.

Fred Shuman, deceased, formerly with Arnold Industrial Supply.

John F. Sullivan, still active with Accurate Fasteners Inc.

“Although he is not an incorporator, I understand Walter Collyer, formerly of Precision Socket Screw, was also instrumental in the founding of NEFDA,” Soja added.

In the early years the NEFDA conducted education seminars and held one-on-one conferences with associates and distributors and product displays.
In the 1980s and 1990s the NEFDA sent representatives to Washington D.C. to help develop the U.S. Fastener Quality Act.

Soja noted that educational seminars are still an important venue for the NEFDA membership.

The annual Scholarship Golf Outing is the most popular event. It has raised more than $150,000 over the past 30 years for students from member companies.

The NEFDA Hall Of Fame was created for members who have contributed a significant amount of time and talent on behalf of the association. This year’s recipient is former president John Sutherland of Sutherland Industrial Supply, Portsmouth, NH.

In 2007 the NEFDA held its first large scale table top show and will hold its second table top on Thursday, September 24, 2009, at the Sturbridge Host Hotel in Sturbridge, MA.

Soja has been executive director since 2004. He retired from Durham Manufacturing Company in 2005 after 35 years with the company.

Soja was preceded as executive director by Pat Burbidge, who held the role for 20 years.

Carol Peters of Atlantic Fasteners in 2004 became the first woman president of NEFDA.

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