Industrial fastener companies in the U.S. have cut travel and limited face-to-face interactions with customers in an attempt to keep employees safe and minimize the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

“Effective immediately, we have suspended all business travel including on-site visits to our customers as well as travel to trade shows and conferences,” Advance Components president Gary Cravens stated in a March 13 letter to customers.  “We will no longer be receiving visitors here at our facility in Carrollton, TX, other than those absolutely required to maintain business operations.”

While Brighton-Best International remains “open for business,” the importer has eliminated staff travel, both domestic and international, for at least the next 30 days.

“All visits to our offices are warehouses by suppliers or vendors have been suspended for at least 60 days or until further notice,” BBI stated in a letter to customers.

Likewise, any BBI employee returning from overseas will be asked to self-isolate before returning to work.  And BBI has started sanitizing its offices and warehouse every four hours.

Other companies are taking similar precautions.

“We have suspended sales calls for our outside sales team over the next two weeks and are limiting visitors to both facilities,” stated Marty Nolan with manufacturer’s rep agency R.L. English Co. in Cleveland.  “As things seem to be changing daily, we will pivot accordingly!”

“Half of the sales staff is working from home,” Jay Cee Sales & Rivet stated on Twitter.  “No outside visitors.”

Jeff Adams said that manufacturer’s rep agency Wing-Hamlin Co. is taking an upgraded “block & tackle” approach to sales.

“Phone calls, Skype for business, Microsoft Teams, text messages, email, & FaceTime,” Adams stated on Twitter.  “It isn’t the most convenient or efficient but I can still do my job effectively while respecting everyone’s space and acting socially responsible.”

At work, precautions are being taken to keep work areas as clean as possible.  Safety measures at Advance Components include additional health training, dispensing hand sanitizer and disinfecting wipes, and scheduling routine wipe down for all common surfaces.

“We want (customers) to know that we are fully prepared for this situation and are taking every precaution necessary,” Cravens explained.  “We are training and planning for every potential eventuality.  Our intention is to remain open during regular business hours for the duration of this situation and we have no plans to close.”

Beyond immediate measures, some businesses made strategic decisions months ago to minimize disruptions.

“Last year, we moved all our servers and data to the cloud which allows us much more flexibility and security,” Cravens noted.  “We also dramatically increased our internet bandwidth and VPN capabilities.  Investing in this technology allows all our team members to work remotely (from home) as necessary.  We have implemented a training regimen so that our team members are prepared.”

After a hiatus, fastener production has resumed in China.  Factories are “pretty much back up to capacity,” importer Jun Xu of Brighton-Best International declared while serving on a panel of importers added to the Pacific-West Fastener Association and National Fastener Distributors Association joint meeting in early March.

Vertex Distribution’s direct contacts in China report about 80% of employees are back to work in China’s fastener factories, president Rich Megliola reported.

“As factories ramp up there will be a backlog in the shipping lanes,” Xu warned.  If you have a three-to-four week ETA on a parts order, “you better add seven days,” Xu advised. 

“Regarding the factory situation in China, we have seen continuous weekly improvements and BBI is no longer concerned about access to products manufactured in China,” the company added in its March 16 letter to customers.  “The vast majority of our factories are up to 80-90% capacity.  Taiwan has not been impacted by COVID-19 significantly so there are no supply issues there.”

Impending problems from the coronavirus beyond production include freight constraints on lifts or trucks, Xu explained.  There is also concern about lower inventories of raw materials and backlogs in the finishing process.

Xu has cancelled international travel not just because of the possibility of catching the virus, but other complications involved.  

“What you don’t want is to get quarantined,” he pointed out.

Advance Components and other suppliers have plans in place to keep fasteners available.

“To minimize any supply chain disruptions, we are beefing up what is already a substantial commitment to inventory,” Cravens noted.

Brighton-Best holds “a lot of inventory and today that’s a good place to be,” Xu added.  “Inventory is our job.”

Xu suggested there is “more worry” about demand than delivery as recreational travel, hotels and restaurants close due to the virus. 

Importing fasteners “will self-adjust,” Xu predicted.  “We’ve been through difficulties before.”

As of March 17, the World Health Organization listed 167,515 cases of COVID-19 in 151 countries and 6,606 deaths.  There are 81,077 reported cases in China and 3,218 reported deaths.  In the U.S. there are 4,226 reported cases and 75 reported deaths, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.