And the winners are….
What a pleasure to get back into the swing of things at IFE2022 this year. Plenty of exhibitors and attendees to network and interact with. There were the usual show exhibitors and many new ones to meet and greet. The show days were spent with a full schedule of taking photos, videos, and interviews with the exhibitors and attendees.
There were many new and newly designed booths to preview, adding to the excitement and creativity of the expo. This year it was not any easier narrowing down the finalists to win the Best Booth Awards.
After much deliberation, the winners were decided upon. They were chosen based on their commitment to the expo experience and its attendees as well as standing out in each award category.
Congratulations to this year’s IFE2022 Best Booth Award winners!
Best Overall Booth – Continental-Aero
Continental-Aero brought it all to Vegas this year. Their sleek booth earned top honors based on its design, product layout, uniformed look, and team. The booth was colorful, spacious, with great signage identifying what they did, and the display of their product samples that was neat and organized. Their team was energetic, pleasant, and helpful in their interactions with attendees, pointing out products and sharing product information. Continental- Aero came prepared this year with the full package.
ABOUT CONTINENTAL-AERO
Continental-Aero, a stocking master distributor of nylon insert locknuts, all-metal locknuts and finished hex nuts will continue to focus on supplying the North American distributor market. Continental-Aero is famous for and stocks one of the largest locknut inventories with its branded Purple Color. NYLON TORK LOCKNUTS, ALL-METAL LOCKNUTS, & GR 5 & GR 8 FINISHED HEX NUTS
Website: https://www.continental-aero.com/
Best Group – Brighton Best International
Brighton Best brings it to every show. They have the largest contingent of employees at the expo. All of them wearing the BBI uniform and eager to assist attendees with questions on all their product lines. Many of their employees have been with BBI for their entire career in the fastener industry. BBI clearly takes care of its people on all sides of the sale. From the show floor to the private meetings and customer gatherings the BBI employees exemplify how to take care of business.
Past Best Booth Awards for Brighton Best include:
ABOUT BRIGHTON BEST INTERNATIONAL
Brighton-Best traces its history to a Cincinnati storefront factory, which opened in 1925 as Brighton Screw Co. Best Socket Screw started in business in New York, N.Y. in 1965 and was located at 3 Howard Street in what is currently known as the SoHo district of New York City. The founders, Mr. Stan Sevell and Mr. Perry Rosenstein, both had extensive experience in the distribution of fastener products both locally and nationwide. In 1971, the two entrepreneurs purchased the assets of Brighton Socket Screw Manufacturing, a quality manufacturer of Socket Screw products in Cincinnati, Ohio.By joining the two companies together, Mr. Sevell and Mr. Rosenstein created Brighton-Best Socket Mfg. Inc., a company that would ultimately become a major supplier of socket screw products in the United States.
By 1975, Brighton-Best had opened 12 warehouse distribution centers throughout the US and was looking for expansion opportunities abroad. The first foreign expansion came in Toronto, Canada and the opening of four other warehouses in Canada quickly followed suit. Over the next 20 years, Brighton-Best Socket Screw continued to open distribution centers in the USA, UK, Brazil, New Zealand, and Australia. Brighton-Best is currently located in 31 locations in 6 countries and supplies over 7,000 distributors throughout the world.
On January 2, 2008, Brighton-Best Socket Screw Mfg. was bought by a consortium of investors from Taiwan headed by Mr. Robert Shieh, President of Ta Chen International, Inc. (www.tachen.com). In 1986, Mr. Shieh founded Ta Chen International, Inc., a dominant supplier of valves, pipe, bar, coil, sheet and flat plate in Stainless Steel and other Non Ferrous materials. Ta Chen has distribution warehouses in 8 major industrial markets in the United States with corporate headquarters located in Long Beach, California.
In 2013, BBI acquired the Porteous Fastener Company (PFC), an industry leader in fastener master distribution, headquartered in California. The acquisition combines the strengths and diversities of the two largest fastener master-distributors in the global fastener industry. In addition to expanding our distribution footprint to 34 locations worldwide, the synergies created in scale and product scope will only strengthen BBI’s already formidable value proposition in the global distribution channel. The acquisition of PFC brought BBI squarely into the construction products market through the Proferred and US Anchor divisions previously under the PFC umbrella.
The Proferred brand line of products includes a full line of professional hand tools, manufactured in Taiwan, Safety Supplies (PPE) and consumables such as gloves, tape and glue, all in stock and ready for immediate delivery.
The U.S. Anchor brand has a 45 year history of quality anchoring products. The product range spans comprehensive light/medium and heavy duty offerings ideal for the construction and industrial applications. Our flagship Ultrawedge+ wedge anchor has obtained the prestigious ICC-ES approval for cracked concrete as well as the Miami-Dade County approval. The State of Florida, City of LA and State of California have approved the “Ultrawedge+”.
In 2017, BBI acquired Ironclad Performance Wear. Born on the job site, Ironclad was founded in 1998. Ironclad’s high performance gloves, with flawless fit technology, enhanced grip materials, Duraclad™ reinforcements, and ballistic nylon have an unrivaled fit that is lifting the industry to new standards. Ironclad gloves are built for the everyday hero; the hard-working men and women, in law enforcement, construction, warehousing, engineering and the military. Ironclad’s Limitless Leather glove is the recipient of the OHS 2018 New Product of the Year award. Our portfolio includes KONG, Ironclad Tactical and EXO/Command Series and with 26 patents granted across the globe, Ironclad is leading the way, the company of the everyday hero.
Brighton-Best International, Inc. (BBI), offers new products, more extensive inventory, world class service, quality products, and a 24 hr. online web ordering web site.
Website: https://www.brightonbest.com
Best Customer Experience – Fuller Metric Parts Ltd. & Pacific Bolt Manufacturing
The Fuller Metric & Pacific Bolt companies joined together on their booth. Prepared to serve the show attendees with their Canadian Bolt Bar, they served up beverages and the company knowledge that the attendees craved. This booth had a full bar and a waiting line. It was full every time I walked by. A great customer experience was created by these two companies by providing a favorite drink and a comfortable atmosphere to do business.
ABOUT FULLER METRIC:
Fuller Fasteners has been operating since 1976. Extensive inventory of metric fasteners and inch fasteners in our Surrey, BC, Mississauga, ON, and Shanghai, China warehouses. Hex head fasteners, socket head fasteners, machine screws, pins and keys, taps and dies, metric nuts, threaded rod, metric washers and much more.
Website: https://fullerfasteners.com/
ABOUT PACIFIC BOLT MANUFACTURING:
Pacific Bolt has a long history of manufacturing and has helped build Vancouver and the province of British Columbia into what it is now. Around the turn of century Pacific Bolt began making bolts and rivets on the banks of False Creek in an area today known as Granville Island. Though the 1910’s 1920’s Pacific Bolt supplied products to build Vancouver from what was a few houses and sawmills into a city. In these early days it became apparent that for Pacific Bolt and Burrard Rivet to continue to manufacture and supply products, a steel mill would be needed, so Vancouver Rolling Mill came to life.
Website: https://pacbolt.com/
Best Giveaway – Risco Fasteners
Risco Fasteners was spot on with their giveaways. Not your typical mass-produced promotional show item, this took some thought and planning. A whole series of adult beverages in cans that were named after their products. The cans had the company name, product name, and a graphic identifying what they sell. I’m told the actual beverage was served at the correct temperature and went down easy.
ABOUT RISCO
RISCO, Incorporated, is an ISO 9001:2015 certified producer of cold-headed products. With a vast product line that includes but is not limited to: screws, bolts, pins, rivets and other specialty and standard fasteners ranging from #1 to ½ inch in diameter and up to 3 ¾ inches in length. RISCO, Incorporated also offers several secondary operations including thread rolling and slotting. With our stringent quality control procedures and attention to detail, it is no wonder our fasteners have been supplied to various markets worldwide for more than 50 years.
Website: https://risco-fasteners.com/
Best Creativity – Afixx Crossroads
The folks at Afixx/Crossroads find new ways to outdo themselves every year. This year’s theme of a ‘Backyard Bash’ was a series of challenging games that tested your agility and skill. Flip the cup, roll three of a kind (with the biggest dice in Vegas), a giant Jenga, cornhole and a polaroid selfie and get in done in the fastest time possible. Even though I was not in the top 50 with my score, thank you Afixx/Crossroads for all the fun!
Past Best Booth Awards for AFIXX | Crossroad Distributor Source include:
ABOUT AFIXX ALLIANCE
AFIXX Alliance® provides distributors with a state of the art E-commerce site that allows us to maintain our personal touch combined with the ease of doing business. AFIXX continues to offer the experience of an intimate family company along with the benefits of using innovative business solutions. AFIXX Alliance® wants you to ask questions, we want you to feel comfortable to order, check stock, review your acquisition history, and know that no matter what size your order, from big bulk shipments to small pack purchases, AFIXX is your valued fastener provider.
Website: https://afixx.com/
ABOUT CROSSROAD DISTRIBUTOR SOURCE
Crossroad Distributor Source®, also family owned, was founded in 2004. Focused on thread insert systems for industrial, aerospace and electronic applications, employees here have a combined 50+ years of experience in these product lines. Crossroad is a master distributor supplying industrial and fastener distributors throughout North America, Mexico and the Caribbean. In addition to our thread insert systems, we also warehouse AFIXX® blind rivets, rivet nuts and cable ties, in addition to Bordo® Screwdriver Bits & Accessories and the Black Book® Series of valuable technical information. Crossroad is proud of its commitment to service customers in a world-class fashion, and ability to provide the technical expertise to support that distribution chain.
Website: https://crossroaddistributorsource.com/
Best Use of Technology – Fry Steel
Fry Steel showcased how to use technology to interact with attendees in their booth. If you can’t bring customers to your manufacturing plant, why not bring the plant to them. The use of a virtual headset that allowed you to walk around the Fry Steel facility gave attendees a firsthand view of their capabilities and products. Great use of technology to showcase your product and engage with attendees.
ABOUT FRY STEEL COMPANY
Over 70 years of Service Excellence. Fry Steel customers are at the center of everything we do. We take pride in being the “Source of Service” in the industry, providing speed, variety, and convenience.
Website: https://frysteel.com/
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