Now that the Fastener Quality Act has been in the books for a few years, the latest quality measure to hit the fastener industry is ISO certification. While the quality standardization is by no means new, many distributors are pursuing certification as a result of increased customer requests for more standardization and better quality documentation.

"We just finished our ISO registration this fall, and it seems like more people are getting involved in that more than anything else," says Donald Westby, president of Westby Production Components. "It basically monitors our quality system from order entry through shipping and receiving."

David Merrifield, executive vice president of the National Fastener Distributors Assn., says that approximately 40 to 50 percent of his distributor members are either QS or ISO certified, and that the number is growing.

"There are lots of reasons to do it," he said. "When you are certified it's a signal that you are a quality organization, and that you're not somebody working out of their garage somewhere." Merrifield also notes that having standardized work procedures can also increase efficiencies, which can directly improve the bottom line.

As a result of customer's continuing emphasis on quality, a lot of fastener distributors are pursuing ISO or installing quality laboratories and gauging equipment to be able to test and audit the parts they are selling.

"End users seem to be requiring more and more of their distributors to audit the product coming through them to assure that it is satisfactory before it gets to the customer," said Joe Greenslade, president of Greenslade & Company, a consulting firm catering to the fastener industry. "It's not just bringing product in and shipping it out like it was many years ago. More and more, customers are demanding a final audit."

In a difficult economy, emphasizing quality and having standards in place like ISO and QS can certainly provide a boost in the sales department. Aside from comforting current customers, achieving ISO certification — or the more rigorous QS certification required by the government and automobile industry — can result in new customers.

Within weeks of becoming ISO certified last fall, Westby Production Components had picked up new business from two major customers who require QS certification.

"We've had a couple of customers that we didn't realize were QS certified, and now that we are ISO certified they are consolidating their fastener business with us because it gives them one-stop shopping," said Westby, the 2002-03 chairman of the National Fastener Distributors Assn. Westby's firm pursued ISO when a customer demanded they have it, and provided them with a timeframe in which to achieve certification.

With customers in the government and in the truck manufacturing sector, quality is also of high importance at L&J Fasteners, based in Hilliard, Ohio. The firm holds QS certificates for its government businesses, but opted to become ISO certified as well because some of its non government customers were confused by the QS standards.

"It's going to save us time in making sales calls," says John J. Jenkins, president of the Hilliard, Ohio-based distributorship. L&J expected to receive its formal ISO certification in February. "This will let us make the sales call much more effective, and we'll be able to quote on business we weren't able to quote on before. So if it doesn't bring in more business it's our own fault."

The costs to become ISO certified vary. For L&J Fasteners, the total price tag was between $10,000 and $15,000, including putting together a quality manual and hiring consultants to help with internal audits.

The other big quality value-add is having an in-house lab to test and certify fasteners and other products. L&J Fasteners, for example, has a lab to check product as it arrives for proper size and thread pitch. The firm does not do tests for chemical analysis, however.

The costs of installing a lab run much higher than becoming ISO certified. According to Greenslade, most lab installs run between $25,000 and $30,000. The range can start at $10,000 and exceed $100,000, given the product range carried by the distributor. And then, be prepared for customers to still judge you on quality — and price.

"Unfortunately, customers demand that you do all these things, and then they say we're going to shop your work and look for the best price," says Greenslade. "That's just the world we live in; the customer wants more and more, and a laboratory is becoming a standard requirement. If you don't do it you won't be eligible for the bid list; if you do, consider it an investment in your future."