A new year often causes us to re-evaluate our priorities and how we do things. As a manufacturer, you should consider reevaluating the effectiveness of your fastener supplier. But how? Most businesses are, of course, looking for a supplier who will save them time, money, or both. But dig a little deeper and you’ll find that sound partnerships, those that...
January 11, 2018 Danielle Reidl
A Strategic Fit to Ensure Future Growth Hodell-Natco Industries acquired Davco Fastener Company on December 1, 2017. The move was a strategic one that gives Hodell-Natco a stronger foothold in the OEM market. Kevin Reidl, President of Hodell-Natco, worked together with Dave Potts, President and Owner of Davco Fastener Company on this mutually-beneficial transaction. Hodell-Natco President, Kevin Reidl, views the...
December 12, 2017 Danielle Reidl
Did you know that the current ISO 9001:2008 quality management standards will become obsolete on September 14, 2018? That may seem like a long time from now, but transitioning to all the new ISO 9001:2015 standards takes time. And Hodell-Natco is getting prepared right now! Approximately, every seven years ISO (the International Organisation for Standardisation) in Geneva, Switzerland proposes and...
November 20, 2017 Danielle Reidl
Hodell-Natco knows that giving customers the ability to obtain information on-demand can improve productivity, effectiveness, and satisfaction. With our goal of providing an exceptional customer service experience, we conducted a customer feedback survey to see if you agreed. Now, in response to your feedback, we are excited to announce the release of our new Customer Portal! Our new self-service portal...
September 18, 2017 Danielle Reidl
The value of Vendor-Managed Inventory (VMI) can be confusing to manufacturers who are used to doing their own hardware management. While hard cost savings from a VMI partnership are easy to track, soft cost savings, which have a profound impact on total installed costs, can be tricky to calculate. Here’s a simple breakdown of how the burden of inventory management...
October 4, 2017 Danielle Reidl
The cornerstone of any successful fastener distributor is an effective quality management system (QMS). Hodell-Natco’s QMS strives to improve its processes by monitoring a rigorous set of quality metrics. We do this not only to improve our own efficiency and credibility, but to continually exceed our customers’ expectations. For example, one metric used to measure quality is “number of...
September 6, 2017 Danielle Reidl
When purchasing threaded studs for a construction project, do you know which type of measurement meets your requirements? There are two common industry measurements for studs, ‘end-to-end’ and ‘first-to-first.’ An ‘end-to-end’ measurement literally measures the overall length of the stud. Conversely, a ‘first-to-first’ measurement excludes the ends of a stud beyond its threaded area. Not specifying the correct type of...
August 14, 2017 Danielle Reidl
Often manufacturers have reservations about switching to a vendor-managed inventory (VMI) program. They wonder if the effort to change is really worth it in cost savings. The answer is a resounding “Yes!” Cost savings can be found in numerous ways and are not just limited to the obvious material cost savings, but also soft cost savings like labor savings, reduced...
August 2, 2017 Danielle Reidl
Is Hodell-Natco the right VMI partner for you? In the previous Parts 1 and 2 of our fastener VMI discussion, we covered the benefits of a VMI system and what it takes to implement one. Now we’ll dive into why Hodell-Natco is the right VMI partner for your fastener inventory-management needs. At Hodell-Natco, we never attempt to recommend a “one-size-fits-all”...
June 26, 2017 Danielle Reidl
As discussed in Part 1, a VMI strategy is when a manufacturer allows a distributor like Hodell-Natco to manage the replenishment of their inventory. A Hodell-Natco VMI system has significant benefits including: streamlining material flow, eliminating non-value adding labor expenses, and putting an end to stock outs. But what does it take to actually implement a VMI? Often a...
June 12, 2017 Danielle Reidl
Being involved with a job training program serving people with disabilities is very rewarding. We are very grateful for the opportunity to partner with United Cerebral Palsy. Their mission: "To advance the independence, productivity and full citizenship of people with disabilities through an affiliate network. UCP educates, advocates and provides support services to ensure a life without limits for people...
June 2, 2017 Danielle Reidl
What is Vendor-Managed Inventory (VMI) anyway? Simply put, it’s when a manufacturer allows its supplier (a distributor like Hodell-Natco, for example) to manage their inventory. The decision to change to a VMI system is a strategic one that creates close partnerships between manufacturers and their distributors. A VMI system will streamline and stabilize an entire supply chain. The burden...
May 15, 2017 Danielle Reidl
Excitement was in the air last week when Hodell-Natco hosted on-site training for the 22 students who attended Fastener Training Week in Cleveland, OH. This week-long, intensive fastener industry training is led by the Fastener Training Institute (FTI) and the Industrial Fastener Institute (IFI) in their mission to advance fastener use, reliability and safety. Hodell-Natco partnered with these highly...
April 17, 2017 Danielle Reidl
Goodbye Packaged Fasteners This week Hodell-Natco made a bold, strategic move when it divested of its small packaged fasteners business unit. This move, unlike the majority of divestitures, was made proactively with a long-term growth strategy in mind. Sometimes just the word “divestiture” can elicit negative thoughts of poorly performing business units or mismanagement. This is certainly not the case...
March 6, 2017 Danielle Reidl
Sourcing Those Hard-to-Find Items... Sourcing hard-to-find fasteners is not a task for your average buyer or procurement specialist. So when Hodell-Natco’s manufacturing partners request that we add non-standard or unusual SKUs to their purchase orders, we’re proud to say that we don’t miss a beat! Our Purchasing Team has a large and diverse base of suppliers at our fingertips. We...
February 27, 2017 Danielle Reidl
Experience One-Day Delivery with Hodell-Natco It can be tricky to differentiate yourself when you distribute products like fasteners and Class C components. While most fastener distributors tout their customer service or their quality nuts and bolts, Hodell-Natco goes beyond the norm and exceeds customer expectations with our same-day and next-day deliveries. In a world where consumers are becoming remarkably impatient...
February 20, 2017 Danielle Reidl
In the fastener supply industry, custom packaging, or kitting, is a HUGE benefit to many manufacturing customers. Custom packaging does not mean that we’ll ship your nuts and bolts to you in an artistically striking box with cute pop-out handles. Rather, custom packaging refers to the elimination of labor intensive work- a significant time and money savings! Our team at...
February 13, 2017 Danielle Reidl
Attracting great talent is only valuable if you know how to retain it. But how important is it to maintain an experienced work force? Mahatma Gandhi was quoted saying, “Knowledge gained through experience is far superior and many times more useful than bookish knowledge.” The point is, you can read supply chain books all day long and study your life...
February 6, 2017 Danielle Reidl
Quality Management Systems (QMS) may seem like boring stuff on the surface. That is, until you consider that the overriding reason we put them in place at Hodell-Natco is to efficiently and effectively serve our customers. Keeping each of our six locations ISO certified every year is no small task! Reviewing customer feedback, auditing our processes, and continuously striving to...
February 2, 2017 Danielle Reidl
For many of us, a new year represents an opportunity for change or a fresh start. At Hodell-Natco, 2017 will represent several changes and innovations that we’re sure our customers will love! To start, we’ve completely revamped our website. We hope you like our fresh design complete with blog posts, links to social media, brochures that download, and lots of...
January 12, 2017 Danielle Reidl
