The skilled trades industry is proving to be one of the hardest hit by worker scarcity. According to a new analysis by PeopleReady Skilled Trades — a specialized division of staffing giant PeopleReady that connects tradespeople and work across a wide range of trades including welding, carpentry, construction, electrical work, solar installations and more —…

  AFC Industries recently announced that it has acquired California-based Askew Industrial Corporation. Askew Industrial is a global provider of supply-chain logistics and distributor of industrial, MIL-SPEC, and engineered fasteners and MRO products — making it an ideal fit with AFC. AFC provides supply-chain management solutions for fasteners, tooling, and assembly components to OEMs, assembly…

  Agrisolutions, a global manufacturer for farm-equipment manufacturers and after-market suppliers, has acquired Chicago Fastener Manufacturing (CMF). CFM has been a 100% American-made manufacturer of cold-headed metal fasteners for more than 35 years at a production facility near Chicago, in in University Park, Illinois. “We are excited to welcome Chicago Fastener Manufacturing into the Agrisolutions’…

Gypsum Management & Supply (GMS Inc.), a North American specialty building products distributor, announced the continuation of its growth strategy with six new greenfield openings, as well as the expansion of the footprint of its AMES Taping Tools business. “Expanding our platform is one of the four key components of our growth strategy, and the team…

Bulten AB, a supplier of fasteners to the international automotive industry, has acquired new emitted shares in TensionCam Systems AB. TensionCam specializes in the development of sensors for clamp-force monitoring in screw joints. Bulten’s product range includes customer-specific standard products and customized fasteners. The company also provides full-service technical development, line-feeding, logistics, material and production…

Valley Forge & Bolt, manufacturer of hot-forged industrial fasteners, announced that Rick Bailey as joined the company as chief metallurgist. Throughout his more than four-decade career, Bailey has specialized in steel — the core component of Valley Forge products. Bailey will apply his scientific and technical knowledge as well as his leadership abilities to Valley…

Advance Components, an industrial fasteners master distributor, announced the promotion of Brad Burel from the director of national sales to vice president of sales. Advance is a trusted supply chain partner for manufacturers and distributors in the industrial market, providing a large variety of in- stock products, which are available online 24-7. Burel has been…

Century Fasteners Corp. a master distributor of fasteners and components to major and essential industries, recently promoted long-time employee James Harding to director of operations. Harding brings more than 17 years of experience at Century, having joined the team in 2003 to create what is now the Centralized Purchasing Division. After serving eight years in…

Southco, Inc., a global provider of engineered access solutions, announce the relaunch of a completely redesigned and refreshed website — southco.com. Through this launch, Southco is delivering an improved user experience to its customer base, enabling mechanical engineers to find solutions to their design challenges faster than ever before. The new and improved site features a…

Meridian Adhesives Group recently appointed Nicolas Schwarz as the global sales director of the company’s Electronics Division. Schwarz joins Meridian after a long tenure with John P. Kummer GmbH (JPK), where he held the position of managing director. In April, Meridian purchased the adhesives division of JPK, at which time Schwarz began his transition to…