Registration is now open for the 2020 edition of Fastener Fair USA. The event runs May 18 to 20, 2020 at the Charlotte Convention Center in Charlotte, NC. The show is unique in the industry, offering an unrivaled opportunity for the entire supply chain to meet, collaborate and network. This includes  manufacturers, master distributors, equipment makers, processors, packagers and end users.

The 2020 Fastener Fair USA will tap into its location in Charlotte as a gathering point for fastener business strategists and technology experts. North Carolina is a hotbed of aerospace, automotive, and furniture manufacturing, providing one of the country’s greatest concentration of fastener buyers and end users.

Conference & plant tour

This year’s event kicks off May 18, with a full-day, pre-show conference program. Fastener Fair USA’s strategic partners at the Fastener Training Institute (FTI) and the Mid-West Fasteners Association (MDFA) were instrumental in developing the program. Starting with an opening keynote on Industry 4.0 by factory automation expert Georg Frey, president of Lignum Consulting, the conference then splits into three-tracks:

• Fasteners 101 presented by the Fastener Training Institute
• Tom Reilly Training: Value Added Selling presented by the Mid-West Fasteners Association
• Fasteners in the Smart Factory presented by Fastener Fair USA Mid-afternoon, as these tracks conclude, registrants will board buses for a plant tour of a nearby industrial manufacturing center allied with the fastener industry.

The keynotes
Fastener Fair USA’s Expo runs May 19 and 20, opening at 10:00AM daily, and showcasing all major product lines and industry categories in the fastener and fixing sectors. To set the tone for the event, a 9:00AM general session titled, “Impact of Industry 4.0 on Fastener Firms,” will be presented by Yannick Shilly of Altix Consulting.

Fastener Fair USA is designed to offer something for the entire fastener industry supply chain. This year’s show theme, “For all the industry, in the heart of manufacturing,” reflects Fastener Fair USA’s expanding mission to serve all industry segments that involve fasteners while bringing them together in one of the United States’ fastest growing manufacturing regions.

“Supply chain, assembly, measurement and other processes are becoming increasingly integrated, said Bob Chiricosta, Fastener Fair USA Event Manager. “The fastener industry needs an event like Fastener Fair that brings all the sectors together.”

Two days of free, on-the-expo-floor Industry Education Stage presentations will underscore this direction, with more than a dozen presenters examining everything from Blind Rivet Bolts, Import & Export Strategies, Smart Tools & Fasteners, to 3D Metal Printing.

“Suppliers and distributors are the eyes and ears of what’s happening in the industry for their customers,” says Chiricosta. “By adding more industry content into the Fastener Fair mix of outstanding networking and business development, Charlotte will offer everything fastener professionals need to build business.”

Town halls
Each day, the Industry Education Stage will conclude with a open forum style presentation and Q&A on two of the most pressing issues for the fastener industry:

1. Tariffs — Where We Stand by legal expert Richard Wortman, Esq.
2. Workforce Strategies, with a panel presentation by industry leaders from the Fastener Fair USA Advisory Board.

Also taking place at the Industry Education Stage will be an ongoing resource for fastener business managers: on May 19 the Industrial Fasteners Institute and the Fastener Training Institute will present ASK THE EXPERTS. Specialists in a variety of aspects of the fastener and fixing business will field questions from the audience, beginning at the stage, then continuing from an adjacent ASK THE EXPERTS Booth #1237 for the duration of the show.

Celebrate at the NASCAR Hall of Fame Museum
Industry associations will be gathering formally and informally throughout Fastener Fair USA, including already scheduled receptions for North Coast Fasteners Association (May 18 at the Embassy Suites Hotel); for the Fastener Industry Coalition Members (in the Industry Education Theater. With five nearby hotels, impromptu gatherings will turn up regularly.

Without a doubt, though, the don’t-miss event for exhibitors and attendees alike, will be the Welcome Reception at the NASCAR Hall of Fame (tickets required). Designed by renowned architects Pei, Cobb Freed & Partners, the NASCAR Hall of Fame is a stunning facility with steel curves and slopes that echo the shape of a race track. The NASCAR Hall of Fame is an interactive entertainment attraction honoring the history and heritage of NASCAR.

Fastener Fair
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