Industrial Fasteners: Connecting the Laws of Physics to the Law of Supply & Demand

He grabbed the wrong resistor from the wrong bin, and fastened it to the circuit. The student flipped the switch, and instead of witnessing the charge he was looking to achieve, he recognized a familiar, rhythmic sound… it was a paced sound; it reminded him of a pulse. Then, he got an idea. The first prototype for the world’s first pacemaker was born, by incorrectly fastening the wrong component to the wrong connection at the right time.

Unfortunately for us in the industry, failure involving electrical connections or moving parts doesn’t reap the same life-saving benefits. Fastening components and establishing connections isn’t to be done on a trial-by-trial basis; it’s a precise, critical job. The student in the true story above established a connection weaker than the connection he was attempting to forge. Through looseness, the circuit failed to produce the expected outcome. The demand for industrial fasteners isn’t grounded in results yielded from trial and error, but in the benefits of their immediate, dependable, long-lasting functionality. Through looseness, and by it the laws of physics, the outcome will surface—if not immediately, then in time. It is imperative that fasteners function 100% of the time; they perform a critical task—one in high demand.

As industry grows, the vitality of various industrial fasteners grows. Recently, very stimulating numbers were reported in a demand and sales forecast by the Freedonia Group, an international industry market research firm. The research projects the following:

“Global sales of industrial fasteners are expected to climb 5.2 percent per year to $82.9 billion in 2016. Standard externally threaded fasteners will remain the dominant product segment and will post the largest value gains.”

A per year international growth of 5.2% is a serious spike in sales. As production increases, as industry expands, the demand for components will increase. Our current and future market is in need of components—big and small—and for great, encouraging reasons. The main reason is, of course, industrial and economic growth.

As a prospective seeker of our hardware, you might consider this information and ask: how does this international demand for industrial fasteners affect me? The availability of quality, dependable fasteners affects you just like the laws of physics affects your products and your equipment. Know that this increased availability—this increased supply—does not guarantee you success, or for that matter your competitor’s success. Notable guarantees come from notable manufacturers.

Learn more, and consider reading our previous post: Tell Your Competitors: They Choose Unrecognized Fastener Manufacturers at Their Own Risk.