Issue: #135 May 2022

It was Author Hans Christian Anderson who said: ‘To travel is to live’. After over two years of lockdowns and markets slowly opening up, it was a great feeling to be back out travelling and visiting companies within the industry.

My initial journey was only a short one, but still an enjoyable one, to Owlett-Jaton in Stone, Staffordshire, for our Cover Story. The company celebrates its 75^th anniversary in 2022 and I therefore visited to find out how it had developed to become the complete wholesale solution provider it is today.

By the time you receive this edition I will have taken my next trip, this time a little further afield to the European Fastener Distributor Association Conference, which is being held in Madrid, Spain. You can expect a full report on the conference, speakers, and topics covered, in the July edition of the magazine, which will fit perfectly with the Fastener Distribution feature that will be in the same issue.

My colleagues, including Deputy Editor Claire Aldridge, will also be travelling to attend the wire® Düsseldorf show in June. With that in mind, in this issue we have our Fastener Machinery Spotlight feature that gives a unique and exclusive insight into the key developments and innovations within the fastener machinery sector and highlights those companies that will also be at the wire® show.

In addition to this, we also have some high profile and exclusive interviews, firstly with Managing Partners Michael W. and Wilhelm A. Böllhoff from Böllhoff Group who discuss the company’s 145^th anniversary and the benefits of still being an independent family business; as well as an interview with Rolf Ritter, CSO M&A and business development at Bossard, who talks about how Bossard’s commitment to value-added services enables it to improve and streamline its customers’ supply chains.  

Another special feature we have is ‘Made in Turkey’, which highlights the latest developments and investments within the Turkish fastener manufacturing market. The feature underlines how Turkish manufacturers have looked to step up and support customers over the last two years when they have faced challenges in sourcing products. It also outlines the investments companies have made so that they can continue to support customers in the future.