Global Fastener News

FASTENER HISTORY
1992 FIN – Fastener Machinery Association Formed

March 30, 1992 FIN – The new International Fastener Machinery Association Inc. sent letters to 650 companies around the world inviting them to join.
The new group, headquartered in Danbury, Connecticut, was established to serve the fastener and precision formed parts machinery manufacturers. It would work to foster the mutual interest of members worldwide which supply machinery, equipment, tooling, materials and technical services.
The inaugural meeting will be at WIRE 92 in Düsseldorf, Germany, on Tuesday, April 7, 1992, for members to approve the bylaws and elect officers. .
Corporate membership fees are $300 per year irrespective of the size or turnover of the corporate member.
Information about the new group can be obtained from IFMA, Inc., Danbury Corporate Center, 107 Mill Plain Rd., Danbury, CT 06811.

April 27, 1992 FIN – The newly organized International Fastener Machinery Association held its inaugural meeting on April 7, during Wire ’92 at Dusseldorf, Germany.
There were 19 companies represented at this first meeting: 7 from the US; 4 from Germany; 3 from Italy; and 1 each from Switzerland, Belgium, The UK, Canada and the Netherlands.
The group included heavy hitters like National Machinery Co. (both from the U.S. and Germany), Hatebur, Hariton Machinery Co., SACMA, Waifos, Nedschroef, and Carlo Salvi, among others.
Addressing the attendees, Ray Zirkle, publisher of Fastener Technology International and founder of the new group, outlined the goals and services of IFMA and then opened the floor to discussion.
Identified by the attending fastener machinery companies as the IFMA’s initial and primary concern is solving a problem that has arisen only recently. Specifically it’s the conflict between the sponsors of the biennial International Fastener Exposition (IFE), (which mostly involves fastener machinery suppliers) and the Wire Association International, Inc. (WAI) of Guilford, Connecticut.
In the past (since 1983), the IFE has been held in the same place, Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, and time as the Wire Association’s Interwire expositions, though in physically separated areas, each with their own registration set ups. However, attendees at one show could attend the other using the same registration badges.
At the most recent show (November 1991) that was all changed and attendees had to walk a country mile from one show to the other (including major up and down escalator trips) when only a wall (with a locked door) separated the two exhibitions. ©1992/2009 Fastener Industry News