Issue: 125 (Sep - Oct 2020)

A poem by Walt Whitman, ‘O Captain! My Captain!’ was famously referenced in the film Dead Poet’s Society, when students stood on their desks in honour of their teacher Mr Keating, played by Robin Williams, when he left the school.

With that in mind, I am metaphorically standing on my desk to thank our Editorial Consultant Phil Matten for his advice, wise words and support over the last 13 years, as he retires from the magazine. Phil will stay active within the fastener industry, and I hope to continue to enjoy a round of golf in his company, but he will still be sorely missed by everybody at the magazine… ‘O Captain! My Captain!’ indeed.
As it is Phil’s last edition, we thought it was right to give him his final perspective, within the Insight section, where he discusses his time at the magazine, as well as bigger global topics impacting us all.
In this edition we also have a special ‘Made in Italy’ feature that gives an insight into the developments happening at Italian fastener manufacturers, and how they have adapted since the Covid-19 outbreak. The feature also opens with an article from Marco A. Guerritore, editor in chief at Italian Fasteners Magazine, who concentrates on the impact of the coronavirus on the Italian economy, as well as the fastener sector.

For our Cover Story we again head to Italy (virtually), for an interview with Ambrovit Owner Franco Sozzè – who discusses how 2020 has become a year of transition and an opportunity to strengthen its operations and be part of an active market sector recovery following the Covid-19 pandemic.

To add to this, we also have an exclusive interview with Rainer Bürkert, general manager at Würth Industrie Service and executive vice-president of Würth Group, who focuses on how Würth Industrie Service’s capabilities, services and product range, enables it to compete at the forefront of the market.

Plus, I had the pleasure of speaking to Ramón Ceravalls, CEO at CELO, who talked about the importance of flexibility and adaptability in times such as these and how the Spanish manufacturer plans to continue with its investment strategies.

We also have excellent features on European Technical Assessments in the Construction Fixings section; coatings, lubricants + locking technologies in the Manufacturing Technology section; as well as Rail applications in the Application Technology section.

Let’s talk fasteners
As I mentioned in July, alongside the magazine we also have a new podcast – Fastener Talk – which includes interviews with key figures within the fastener and fixing industry.

So far on the podcast we have had Frederik Meuller, CEO at Nord-Lock Group, and Michael Martsch, export manager at REYHER. We also have a podcast scheduled with Thomas Christoffel, CEO at Hatebur Group, which will be available on 21st September.

Make sure you catch up on these podcasts and subscribe to future episodes by visiting Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts and searching for Fastener Talk. Alternatively visit www.fastenerandfixing.com/podcasts