Southwestern Fastener Association Conference 2023 Recap

By Lyndon Lattie

Official report: The conference was a great opportunity to learn about the latest trends in the fastener industry, network with other professionals, and get inspired by some of the industry’s leading minds.  

Unofficial Report: A chance to reconnect with good friends, meet new ones, tour Houston Fasteners, eat steak, watch baseball (Go Astros, Brad), learn some things, win a drill, and partake in some local refreshments. I love our industry!! 

One of the sessions SFA provided to its members was on cyber security. Esteban Blanco, Chief Geek Officer of Blanco IT discussed the growing threat of cyber-attacks on companies, and how to educate your employees and protect your business. 

Another session was on plating with Jonathan Koch of Industrial Metal Finishing. My start in hardware a few decades ago made this discussion relevant, even if I’m now a software guy! 

Our Keynote was Michael Rose, the author of ROE Powers ROI. It’s literally a decoder ring for personalities in organizations. It’s enlightening internally for your organization, understanding how to adjust communication based on what information is most important to a specific personality-type, but when you think about customers and prospects, using this methodology can help earn new business and strong partnerships. Baron Yarborough recommended Michael from a talk he attended over ten years ago. There were obviously some powerful messages back then for Baron, and I would agree that this discussion will stick with me as well.  

We ended the event with lively roundtable discussions and a raffle (where I won an awesome DeWalt impact drill)! 

Regional associations are the lifeblood of our industry. SFA is a terrific example of why they are worth every penny. We’ll see you next year!