Well, what a year! The acquisition into PennEngineering® at the beginning of the year made quite a bit of noise and the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. Behind the scenes, the transition has been smooth as we continue to migrate into our parent company’s systems and processes. In the front of the house, the most important things have not changed — continuously working to improve all of our fastening products, and the attentiveness to our customers’ needs. Those two pillars will never waver as we move forward into 2025 and beyond. Let’s take a closer look at Sherex’s 2024.
Obviously the biggest news of the year happened just a few days into January when it was announced that PennEngineering® had acquired Sherex Fastening Solutions, and Penn was moving its ATLAS brand of rivet nuts under Sherex. The acquisition was a surprise at the time, but looking back on it, not very surprising. PennEngineering has a variety of top-class fastening companies under its umbrella, including PEM®, Profil®, Haeger®, and SI®, and with the growth and success of Sherex in the rivet nut and mechanically attached fastener space, bringing in Sherex made a lot of sense. The move will continue to help Sherex grow on the manufacturing and sales side.
With the combined Sherex-ATLAS brand, Sherex is now the largest manufacturer of rivet nuts in North America and continues to establish itself globally as a premier company of rivet nut and mechanically attached fastener technology. Our messaging is clear: If you are interested in rivet nut technology and the benefits of rivet nuts, there’s not a better company that can help make your application easier to assemble, while decreasing waste and cost than Sherex Fastening Solutions.
Optisert® Continues to Impress
Optisert is the best round body rivet nut on the market
The best performing round body rivet nut is making more waves as several automotive and general industry assembly projects began to use Optisert in 2024. More customers are beginning to understand not only the improvement to spin-out Optisert has over other round body rivet nuts, but this rivet nut can also serve as fastener to discharge electrical current in electrified applications. Lots of conversions are taking place and if you have a project with softer materials like aluminum, fiberglass, or plastics, Optisert is a perfect fastener for these applications.
Sherex-Penn Marketing Integration
With the integration of Sherex into the PennEngineering ecosystem, Penn has integrated us into a variety of different marketing campaigns and tradeshow exhibitions, including FABTECH, The Battery Show USA, EuroBLECH and The Battery Show Europe.
PennEngineering’s eMobility Solutions is a campaign that showcases Sherex and the rest of Penn’s fastening capabilities in electrified applications like electric vehicles, charging stations and battery storage facilities. Optisert and other Sherex fasteners, including rivet nut studs, play a role in this campaign and there will be more instances where the entire PennEngineering portfolio can play a vital role in fastening the entire application.
Sherex joined PEM and Profil at The Battery Show Europe
ATLAS Products at the New Sherex Warehouse
ATLAS rivet nut products are officially being shipped out of the new Sherex warehouse in Buffalo, NY, further cementing the integration process. ATLAS product was moved into the new warehouse in September and shipments began shortly after.
Soon, ATLAS products will be migrated onto Sherex.com, into a new printed catalog, and customers using the Sherex portal will soon be able to view current inventory and pricing of ATLAS products.
New Sherex warehouse up and running
New Sherex Sample Plates
New sample plates showcasing both Sherex and ATLAS products
The new Sherex Sample Plates are here, and they are pretty! Showcasing the best of what Sherex and ATLAS has to offer in its standard catalog, these sample plates make a great discussion piece for distributors or design engineers looking explain the different styles of standard rivet nuts Sherex has to offer.
Want a few? Contact eneuhaus@sherex.com or ask your Sherex regional sales manager or Sherex representative!
The New RIV943 is a Certified Hit!
The New RIV943
In the late summer, Sherex debuted the new RIV943 hydropneumatic rivet nut tool to our North American customers and it’s been an absolute home run. With a pulling force of 32 kN in a lightweight handle with no booster box, it’s the ideal tool for installing M8-M12 rivet nuts and unified thread equivalents. The tool features a single stage trigger, 2-3 second cycle time, and is extremely durable. The new RIV943 replaces the RIV942 and MS100 and is suitable for medium, high volume, and assembly line rivet nut installations.
The RIV943 has seen already seen repeat orders from some of our largest customers and can also be used on the Sherex Hand Tool Calibration Unit so assemblers and installers can see the exact pulling force of the tool. Call or email us for inventory levels on this new tool as they have been quite popular since its launch.
TEC Series Sales Record!
TEC Series products continue to grow
Sherex’s reusable wedge locking washer brand of products, TEC Series, hit a record sales number for the year before December! More and more customers are learning about the benefits of wedge locking washers and how TEC Series offers the same technology and performance as other similar-styled competitor washers at oftentimes a 20 percent savings.
If you’re using a wedge locking washer to combat vibration in automotive, heavy truck, renewables, or really any kind of application, but not using TEC Series or Disc-Lock products, you’re losing money! Both TEC Series and Disc-Lock wedge locking products have plenty of sizes and styles in stock and ready to deliver!
Sherex Fastening Solutions’ Jake Glaser will be awarded the Young Fastener Professional of the Year at the International Fastener Expo Awards Ceremony, held on September 10 at the Expo Session Stage.
This award “celebrates exceptional contributions to the fastener industry and recognize individuals who have demonstrated outstanding leadership, innovation, and dedication.”
Jake’s resume speaks for itself. After earning his Bachelor of Arts degree in communications at the University at Buffalo, Jake joined Sherex in 2014, and quickly worked his way up to a regional sales manager for the Western US, managing national and international accounts with a focus on heavy truck and eMobility applications, a role he holds today.
Since joining Sherex, he has been an active member of the fastener community, involved in Pac-West and NFDA programs and the Young Fasteners Professionals, where he served as president from 2019 – 2022. Jake is also a member of the NFDA Board of Directors since 2022.
“Jake personifies the future of the fastener industry,” said IFE Show Director, Morgan Wilson, in a press release on fastenershows.com. “His passion, ingenuity, and leadership are remarkable, and we are excited to see his continued impact and success in the fastener industry.”
Jake follows in the the footsteps of Sherex president Adam Pratt, who was named Young Fastener Professional of the Year in 2017.
“We’re so proud of Jake and it’s been really great to see him grow in this industry,” Adam said.
Now residing in Colorado, Jake enjoys volleyball, camping, snowboarding and being outdoors with his friends and his dog, King.
“I’m truly honored to receive this award. I cannot thank our industry family enough for their recognition and for supporting my growth and development over my 10 years here with Sherex,” Jake said. “I’ve met so many amazing people I am lucky enough to again call my family while working in the world of fasteners, so if you’re someone who’s younger or new to the fastener industry, there are so many opportunities to grow your career and relationships. Take those steps and soar.”
In 2014, Jake Glaser was starting his career in the fastener industry. Eight years later, he’ll be relied upon for his guidance and leadership on the board of one of the fastener industry’s main associations.
Jake Glaser, Regional Sales Manager for Sherex Fastening Solutions, has been named to the Board of Directors for the National Fastener Distributors Association (NFDA), the industry’s leading non-profit trade association serving the North American fastener industry.
Jake, who began his career in the fastener industry with Sherex in 2014 as a Customer Service Representative, has continued to climb the ladder in the Fastener Industry. He eventually moved from an inside sales role to a Technical Sales Representative position, to working his way toward an outside Regional Sales Manager role with responsibilities for developing the West Coast territory and key national/international accounts. His position of helping Sherex’s customers develop fastening solutions and provide in depth technical support is a role he continues in today.
“It’s a huge point of pride to be recognized and nominated for the board,” said Jake, 32, who resides in Colorado. “It’s very validating for the work that I have done and continue to do, and I am very excited for this next chapter supporting our industry family.”
In 2019, Jake was elected as the President of the Young Fasteners Professionals (YFP), a group that provides educational and networking opportunities for younger professionals desiring professional growth. Jake is hoping to continue to push developing the industry’s next leaders during his 3-year commitment to the NFDA Board.
“I’m very excited to preach the good word of the fastener industry, and to focus on development opportunities amongst our industry peers, both personally and professionally,” Jake said. “I love working as a mentor and connecting with folks. I love helping people, and it means so much to me to know I am able to support those who rely on me to get the job done.”
Sherex President Adam Pratt was on the NFDA board from 2016-2018 and the associate chair of the board in 2017 and 2018, so he knows first hand the board’s importance. Mr. Pratt said he’s very proud of Jake and the time he’s put into not only his job with Sherex, but his effort at YFP, and being part of the Pac-West Fastener Association.
“This is a great opportunity for Jake and I’m really proud of him,” Adam said. “He’s been an outstanding ambassador for Sherex and the fastener industry. I’m happy Jake’s on our team and he will learn a lot being on the NFDA board.”
Jake will be formally recognized at the Annual NFDA Meeting, June 21-23 in Minneapolis.
From all of us at Sherex, we want to wish you and your family a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
A strong second half of 2020 turned into a very fine 2021 for Sherex. While an increase in sales and demand had our machines in Akron, Ohio, and Taiwan humming, it wasn’t without some turbulence. Shipping costs, material increases, and currency exchange rates were a big challenge for Sherex this year. We are continuously monitoring shipping costs and delays at Western ports and are doing everything we can to deliver your product on time if coming from overseas (even if that means having Santa help out as shown in the Christmas Card).
Let’s take a look at other musings from Sherex in 2021.
Thousands of 3D Rivet Nut Models on Sherex.com
Earlier this year, thousands more of our Rivet Nut models become available in downloadable 3D format. From our round body CAL, CAK, CA, CPB to our full hex line of FHK, FHL, and half hex CAH Series, over 50 downloadable files available, including CAD and SOLIDWORKS files are available. You can even download from specific thread size and material thickness to insert the model into your engineering models. Very cool feature!
3D Model Videos – RIV-FLOAT®
Checkout this sweet 3D Model video of RIV-FLOAT in action. You can see the floating nut inside the rivet nut, which allows some play while putting the through bolt through the RIV-FLOAT. This feature makes it incredibly useful for operators and installers on assembly lines to quickly fasten products. RIV-FLOAT is used in a number of industries including automotive and aerospace. Looks for more of these videos in 2022.
Fasteners for EV
Over the next year, Sherex will showcase use cases for different industries and applications that use our products. Sherex is a fastener leader in the EV industry and has products on some of the most popular EV models in the world. We supply millions of fasteners to the EV market and our products are critical for light-weighting and safely discharging electrical current from the vehicle. We’re continuously innovating for EV automakers and we see that being an even more important part of our business in the future.
What’s to come in 2022
More product innovations! We are scheduled for a product launch mid-way through the year and will be showcasing more of our Process Monitoring Tools, which helps to ensure a perfect installation of rivet nuts and fasteners. We will be incorporating more of our global offices too, including our locations in the UK, Poland, and Mexico.
That’s what our warehouse manager Justen Ehrig will be doing over the next seven months. Justen is a competitor in the 11 Day Power Play, an 11-day long hockey game that takes place in November to benefit local charities and cancer research in the Buffalo-area. This year, the event will be trying to break the Guinness World Record for the longest hockey game, which currently sits at 252-hours long.
This will be Justen’s second time trying to break the World’s Longest Hockey game.
Justen will be playing approximately 100 hours of hockey in just 11 days, putting in around 20, 4-hour shifts as goalie and skater. At the same time he’s training for this event, Justen will be hoping to raise $20,000 to help the event reach its goal of $1,000,000. As of April 1, he’s already over $9,000.
Justen has played in this event since the event began in 2017, playing as an ode to his mother. Justen’s mother, Sherrie, was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer in 2016 and passed away in December 2017 after Justen played in the inaugural event. Sherrie watched Justen play all 11-days when he participated in the event in 2017.
“I was driving to work one day and heard about it on the radio promoting the event, and I signed up immediately,” Justen said. “That was my way of wanting to fight for her and everybody else in our community.”
Training for this game is intense. Justen said his team is currently being trained by Excelsior Orthopedics, whose certified Athletic Trainers often train professional and Olympic athletes.
With the event seven months away, overnight skates, running, dieting, and even sleep training has already begun. After all, Justen will be sleeping, eating, and spending all 11 days of this event at the hockey rink. There’s no going home to refresh. Over 250 straight hours either at the hockey rink or in a locker room acting as a makeshift dormitory, waiting until your shift gets called every eight hours or so.
“You play hockey more than you sleep,” Justen said. “It’s quite the physical gauntlet, but it is really just as much a mental battle as well.”
Justen has raised upwards of $40,000 since 2017 while participating in this event. To donate to Justen’s fundraising efforts, click here.
More to come as we periodically check in on Justen during his journey to participate in the 11-Day Power Play!
Obviously the biggest news of the year happened just a few days into January when it was announced that PennEngineering® had acquired Sherex Fastening Solutions, and Penn was moving its ATLAS brand of rivet nuts under Sherex. The acquisition was a surprise at the time, but looking back on it, not very surprising. PennEngineering has a variety of top-class fastening companies under its umbrella, including PEM®, Profil®, Haeger®, and SI®, and with the growth and success of Sherex in the rivet nut and mechanically attached fastener space, bringing in Sherex made a lot of sense. The move will continue to help Sherex grow on the manufacturing and sales side.
This award “celebrates exceptional contributions to the fastener industry and recognize individuals who have demonstrated outstanding leadership, innovation, and dedication.”
