The 40th International Fastener Expo opened Tuesday – hampered by the Covid-19 pandemic, making it about one-third the size of the 650 exhibiting companies at the last in-person trade show in 2019.

The 39th trade show was cancelled as an in-person event and held virtually due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Tuesday schedule includes inducting Charlie Kerr of Kerr Lakeside, Nancy Rich of the Mid-West Fastener Association and Steve Andrasik of Brighton Best International into the International Fastener Expo Hall of Fame.

Melissa Patel of Field Fastener is the 2021 Young Fastener Professional Award winner.

Originally titled the National Industrial Fastener Show & Conference, the trade show was first held in Columbus, OH in 1981.  The Las Vegas version started in 1997. Emerald Exhibition acquired the trade show in 2015 and renamed it as the International Fastener Expo in 2017.

Emerald does not announce specific attendance numbers, but has pegged recent IFE’s as “more than 5,000 attendees from 30+ nations” and about 650 exhibiting companies.  The record registration under the previous owners was 4,606 in 2014 – which included 1,347 distributors and 2,477 exhibitor staff.

FastenerShows.com currently states Emerald is “prioritizing the safety of our community and colleagues; we continue to monitor this rapidly developing situation. As updates become available, we will post these here. Further resources will also be posted here on the website.”

Earlier IFE posted that it “will implement a health & safety plan to reduce chances of Covid-19 spread” and follow the recommendations and guidelines issued by the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, the World Health Organization and state and local officials.  

“We will adapt and change our plans as recommendations become available, to limit potential spread most effectively,” according to Emerald’s statement.

Safety measures may include:  Required social distancing and face masks; heightened cleaning and sanitizing of public spaces; daily temperature screenings; hand sanitizer stations; based on facility recommendations, wider aisle widths on the exhibit floor; and medical personnel onsite.  Web: FastenerShows.com