LOS ANGELES — The Fastener Show has announced two honorees for its upcoming National Industrial Fastener & Mill Supply Expo, held Oct. 17-19 in Las Vegas. The Fastener Show will honor both its 36th Hall of Fame member and its Young Professional of the Year on Oct. 18 at 3:30 p.m. during a special recognition award ceremony on the show floor in the Sessions Arena.
Fastener Hall of Fame
The Fastener Show has partnered with The Fastener Industry Coalition to choose Bill Derry, Chairman and CEO of Field Fastener, to be honored as the newest inductee into the Fastener Hall of Fame. Derry will join The Fastener Show’s 35 previous inductees at a ceremony that has been one of the unique hallmarks of The Fastener Show’s long history.
The Fastener Industry Coalition committee reviewed a large field of exceptional nominees before selecting Bill Derry. His road to becoming Chairman and CEO of Field Fastener in Machesney Park, IL included more than 45 years in the fastener industry, including over 20 years in leadership positions with Camcar Textron and Rockford Products. He and his brother acquired Field Fastener with only 12 employees in 1990, but the company has experienced an average 19 percent growth rate for the past 26 years and now has over 150 team members in twelve states and three countries. The company has been recognized as one of the nation’s best places to work and named one of Inc.’s Fastest Growing Privately Held Companies for the last seven consecutive years.
Bill was chosen as this year’s inductee because of his many selfless contributions to the fastener industry with an eye toward global change and competition. He not only serves as a mentor in Advancing Individuals through Mentoring, a program created by the National Fastener Distributors Association for Young Fastener Professionals, but also served as President of the National Fastener Distributors Association, and is a founding member of the Global Supply Alliance. He was also a key consultant in discussions with various governmental agencies during Congress’ deliberation and implementation of the Fastener Quality Act, and served as a delegate for three years to the Industrial Fasteners Institute.
Karalynn Sprouse of Emerald Expositions, the company that organizes the Fastener Show, states: “What the Fastener Coalition seeks to recognize in the Fastener Hall of Fame are leaders who can translate personal success into industry success. It takes a special kind of leader to contribute to the success of potential competitors for the enhancement of the industry as a whole, but to do so consistently over decades is even more rare. That’s why recognition of these professionals is such a worthy effort. We couldn’t be more pleased with Bill Derry’s induction into this prestigious group of scholars, innovators, leaders, and philanthropists in the fastener industry.”
Young Professional of the Year
The Fastener Show has partnered with the Fastener Industry Coalition to choose Adam Pratt, President of Sherex Fastening Solutions, to be honored as the newest recipient of the Young Fastener Professional Award. The Young Fastener Professional of the Year Award recognizes and honors a young professional under the age of 40 who has made significant contributions to the fastener industry.
The Fastener Industry Coalition committee reviewed a large field of exceptional nominees before selecting Adam Pratt. As President and founder of Sherex Fastening Solutions at age 24, Adam has grown his Buffalo, New York company of seven employees into a massive global manufacturer with 170 employees worldwide, focused on design and manufacture of innovative fastening solutions for automotive, solar, and other major industries. Under Adam’s leadership, Sherex has developed such innovative products as the patented Riv-Float and Riv-Float Short (solutions to the common problem of application misalignment), a full hex product line, and the largest diameter rivet nut product line available on the market today. With revenue now exceeding $30 million annually, Sherex has been nominated nine times as one of Buffalo’s top Fast Track businesses in western New York, and six times for Best Places to Work in Buffalo. His work in the Western New York area has been instrumental in the creation of Buffalo Manufacturing Works (of which Sherex is a member of the Founding Council), as well as supporting Western New York manufacturers as Chair of the Buffalo Niagara Partnership’s Manufacturer’s Council.
Adam was chosen as this year’s award recipient not only for his personal professional success, but for his outstanding contributions as a local and global citizen. Through Sherex Fastening Solutions, tens of thousands of dollars have been raised through several philanthropic initiatives including the 11 Day Power Play, an attempt to beat the world record for longest continuous hockey game, to raise funds for cancer research, and to Ronald McDonald House Charities. Adam also sponsors a University of Kentucky program designed to assist foster youth pursuing higher education, and sponsors business development through peer-to-peer learning support as Forum Chair for the local chapter of the Entrepreneurs Organization. Adam’s global dedication to the fastener industry is evident through the Automated Fastener Assembly Systems Group (A-FAS), a group he founded to combine new technologies and development of strategic global partnerships. This innovative model provides a single contact for eight worldwide facilities that together can offer turn-key solutions with fasteners, hand tools, modules, and automation cells.
Adam participates in leadership within all of these groups to enhance the fastener industry because he believes true leadership is most effective within personal relationships.
“I like being able to work with and get to know people personally, to guide the industry from within,” Pratt remarked.
Emerald Expositions' Harold states: “What the committee really likes to see in the Young Fastener Professional of the Year is that unique combination of innovation and early leadership. Adam is on the cutting edge of solutions, but he’s also not shy to share his success so that others in the industry can adopt similar models. He’s truly the kind of young professional made for this annual award."
