Written by Barbara Gerard | CEO Craftech Industries, Inc. PTFE is more commonly referred to as Teflon, a registered trademark of DuPont, the multinational chemical company where the material was first developed. PTFE is often fabricated into fasteners, such as screws, hex nuts, hex-head cap screws, flat washers, and others. It’s also used to fabricate…

Written by Barbara Gerard, CEO Craftech Industries, Inc. Metal has long been the material of choice for mechanical fasteners. However, it’s no longer the go-to option for all design engineers. Depending on the application, the use of plastic is gaining popularity and offers several material advantages including strength, longevity, and cost-effectiveness. Plastic fasteners are now…

  Written by Barbara Gerard,  •  CEO Craftech Industries, Inc. Although most of the world’s fasteners are produced from metal, that choice is gradually changing for some engineers and designers. Depending on the application, a switch to plastic offers several material advantages. Plastic fasteners are typically lightweight and flexible, yet also strong, reliable, and cost-effective.…

Plastic materials are quickly gaining credibility in the fastener industry and for good reasons. Plastic fasteners are strong yet flexible, durable, cost-effective, and they fail to rust, which is a big plus. PEEK, also known as polyetheretherketone, is one type of plastic that offers high-performance engineering and versatility. This material has an extremely stable chemical…

It’s, perhaps, of little surprise that Barbara Gerard became CEO of Craftech Industries, Inc., a U.S. high-tech manufacturer of standard and custom parts and fasteners. Her father started the company in 1967, but fasteners were a big part of her childhood. “I remember I was in fourth grade when one of my classmates told me…