IFI & NFDA Unveil New Quality Education Group

Jason Sandefur

Continuing their proactive efforts to maintain quality in the fastener industry, the National Fastener Distributors Association and the Industrial Fasteners Institute announced the formation of the Fastener Industry Education Group (see FIN 8/16/07).
“The mission of the FIEG is to educate all fastener end-users and suppliers (manufacturers, importers and distributors) about the importance of understanding and effectively using industry and government fastener standards and how to determine the conformance of the products to those standards,” stated committee chair Andy Cohn.
The committee is currently developing an education strategy and will announce projects and programs soon.
“This is a perfect fit for NFDA and IFI,” added NFDA president Joel Roseman. “Our commitment to education is strong and will naturally apply to systems and procedures which ensure that fasteners sold into commerce meet all applicable industry and federal specifications and standards.”
The new group was unveiled weeks after the IFI and NFDA promised efforts to emphasize the importance of quality assurance. The “proactive” efforts follow headlines about lead paint in imported toys, toxic toothpaste and tainted dog food in the headlines.
“Manufacturers, importers and end users rely on a system of voluntary compliance with a variety of consensus standards, OEM specifications, and Quality Assurance System certification,” noted IFI managing director Rob Harris. “That reliance is well founded and depends on every participant in the process doing what is necessary to ensure that all fasteners manufactured, imported or exported meet the applicable standards and specifications.”
Fastener buyers are encouraged to contact Rob Harris of the IFI at Tel: 216 241-1482 Fax 216 241-5901 E-mail: rharris@indfast.com or John Hausoul of NFDA at Tel: 312 673-6671 E-mail: jhausoul@nfda-fastener.org �2007 FastenerNews.com