The Fastener Show and the Fastener Industry Coalition chose Bill Derry, chair and CEO of Field, as the 36th member of the Fastener Show Hall of Fame.

He will be inducted at 3:30 pm Wednesday, October 18, 2017, during the trade show at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

Formerly called the National Industrial Fastener & Mill Supply Expo, the trade show name is new this year.

The Fastener Show HoF started 31 years ago to recognize inventors, business leaders and educators for significant contributions to the fastener industry.

Nominees are reviewed by the Fastener Industry Coalition, members of 13 North American regional and national fastener associations concerned with the distribution, manufacture and importation of fasteners as well as services to the fastener industry.

Top industry challenges for 2017 include market consolidation with global expansion, supply chain shortage risks, and solutions for new market adaptation strategies.

Derry has 45 years in the fastener industry, including 20 years in leadership roles with Camcar Textron and Rockford Products. He and his brother Jim Derry, acquired Machesney Park, IL-based Field Fastener with only 12 employees in 1990. The distributorship has experienced an average 19% growth rate for the past 26 years and now has over 150 team members in 12 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.

The Fastener Show HoF credits Derry for “many selfless contributions to the fastener industry with an eye toward global change and competition.” Derry is a mentor in Advancing Individuals through Mentoring, a program created by the National Fastener Distributors Association for Young Fastener Professionals. He was the 1997-98 president of the National Fastener Distributors Association and is a founding member of the Global Supply Alliance. He was active in discussions during Congress’ deliberation and implementation of the U.S. Fastener Quality Act and served as a delegate for three years to the Industrial Fasteners Institute.

“What the Fastener Coalition seeks to recognize in the Fastener Show Hall of Fame are leaders who can translate personal success into industry success,” Karalynn Sprouse of Emerald Expositions said. “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.”

The Fastener Show has been held since 1981. The 2017 events will be Tuesday – Wednesday – Thursday, October 17-19, with conferences, networking events and 600+ exhibiting companies.

The Fastener Show is owned and operated by Emerald Expositions, an operator of business-to-business trade shows. Emerald holds 50 trade shows, including 31 of the top 250 trade shows in the country as ranked by TSNN. The events draw a half million global attendees and exhibitors to 6.5 million NSF of exhibition space. Web: FastenerShows.com