By Glenn Snowberger
When it was suggested that I pinch hit for Ron as the Guest Anecdote writer I was immediately struck with fear. I felt like a new stand-up comedian making his first appearance at a comedy club. I was waiting to take the mic following someone like Jerry Seinfeld: “A tough act to follow’’.
What could I possibly contribute that was worthy of the invitation?
Well perhaps almost 57 years in the Fastener Industry should allow me to come up with something. Certainly I have experienced and seen many things, and met many people in this time, but what could be of interest to our readers. Then it struck me “why not tell how by chance I found myself in the fastener industry so long ago”.
As an Mechanical Engineering student about to graduate it occurred to me that I should consider how to use my degree and pick an industry that would provide me with opportunities. I only had to look around at my family and their friends and the jobs and the companies they worked for. One of my uncles stood out as he always had a new car, a nice house and a lake cottage, plus took great vacations. None of the others even compared. What was his secret to success? Well he was the Chief Electrical Engineer for a division of a major steel company. This made my decision easy, as the steel industry was big in the country back then, so I went about obtaining campus interviews with steel companies, and other industries. It turned out that I received several job offers, one of which was from a steel company with headquarters in my home town. I was on my way to follow my dream.
A short two weeks after graduation I started as an Industrial Engineer and attended an introductory session at the corporate office. This was then followed by notification of your permanent location
assignment. “Great, here comes a job at a major steel producing facility”. No such luck. My assignment was to a steel processing plant making bolts and nuts. So began my sojourn in the Fastener Industry.
This then was my first exposure to making bolts and nuts, but certainly not my last. Perhaps at some later date I can tell you how vibrant and alive the Fastener Industry was, with some 1,000 plus manufactures in the United States alone, and how the industry was always looking for experienced people.
