The Industrial Fasteners Institute and Fastener Education Foundation joined forces to donate $20,000 to the Rock Valley College Cold Heading Training Center in Rockford, IL.

“The support that we continue to receive from the FEF and IFI is truly amazing and we feel honored that we can help the fastener industry not just locally, but nationally,” stated Bernie Luecke, Rock Valley College’s Director of the Business and Professional Institute.

The college will use the donation, which was made December 8, to pay for instructional materials, machinery maintenance, student recruitment and marketing.

“The growth and success of the Rock Valley Cold Heading Training Center is vitally important to the fastener industry,” stated Preston Boyd, current IFI chairman and FEF board member.

“Market fluctuations continue to disrupt existing fastener supply chains. Economic recovery is creating opportunities within industry segments dependent on fasteners. Domestic fastener manufacturers are scrambling to find skilled labor to handle the increased demand for their products.”

The Fastener Education Foundation has already donated $25,000 to the Cold Heading Training Center last June at the Fastener Industry Summit in Rosemont. The center has also benefited from a $5,000 donation made by the National Fastener Distributors Association to fund scholarships.

In 2016, Rock Valley College announced a program to establish cold forge training (see FIN, September 6, 2016). After a Nakashimada cold header was donated to the college, RVC started a two-year, $32 million redevelopment of a new location that can handle the weight of the 10-ton machine. Web: RockValleyCollege.edu

For more on this topic, visit the Fastener History section of GlobalFastenerNews.com:

1988 & 2008 FIN: Rockford’s Role in the Fastener Industry
The U.S. is quickly becoming a service-oriented nation and little can be done to slow the decline in manufacturing as it moves offshore. Right? Wrong…at least in Rockford, Illinois.