Registration is now open for the 2020 edition of Fastener Fair USA, set for 18-20 May at the Charlotte Convention Centre in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Including a full-day pre-show conference programme and two-day exhibition, visitors will also have the opportunity to attend an industrial plant tour, town hall talks on tariffs and workforce, and a networking reception at the NASCAR Hall of Fame.
With manufacturing firms in the Charlotte area employing some 143,798 people directly, and the sector having an estimated $40.8 billion impact on the region, not to mention North Carolina's reputation as a hotbed of aerospace and automotive manufacturing, the location choice provides a significant concentration of fastener buyers and end users.
The pre-show conference programme kicks off on 18th May, developed in conjunction with the Fastener Training Institute (FTI) and the Mid-West Fasteners Association (MDFA). 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, Tom Reilly Training: Value Added Selling, and Fasteners in the Smart Factory.
Later in the afternoon registrants will board buses for a plant tour of a nearby industrial manufacturing centre allied with the fastener industry.
The following day, the two-day exhibition commences with a general session titled 'Impact of Industry 4.0 on Fastener Firms' starting at 9am and presented by Altix Consulting's Yannick Shilly.
Bob Chiricosta, Fastener Fair USA Event Manager, said: "Supply chain, assembly, measurement and other processes are becoming increasingly integrated. The Fastener industry needs an event like Fastener Fair that brings all the sectors together."
On-the-expo-floor Industry Education Stage presentations will also take place, with more than a dozen presenters covering topics ranging from blind rivet bolts, import and export strategies, smart tools and fasteners, to 3D metal printing.
"Suppliers and distributors are the eyes and ears of what's happening in the industry for their customers," Chiricosta continued. "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 a business."
Each day, the Industry Education Stage will conclude with an open forum-style presentation and Q&A on two of the most currently pressing issues; Tariffs - Where We Stand, presented by legal expert Richard Wortman, and Workforce Strategies, presented by a panel of industry leaders from the Fastener Fair Advisory Board.
Exhibitors and attendees alike are invited to the Welcome Reception at the NASCAR Hall of Fame (tickets required), and are encouraged to register here.
Around 2,200 fastener professionals participated in last year's Fastener Fair USA in Detroit, which featured more than 270 exhibitors from 15 countries, spanning the aerospace, automotive, civil engineering, construction, energy, machinery and other industries.
