NORTHERN PRECISION ANNOUNCES NEW DRILL ATTACHMENTS FOR SHEET NUT AND BLIND RIVET PLACEMENT

Northern Precision (http://www.npfasteners.com) has announced attachments that easily and quickly convert cordless and electric drills into automatic blind rivet and blind sheet nut placement tools.

The new Rivedrill (left photo) and Nutdrill (right photo) attachments – the former suitable for 2.4 to 6 mm blind rivets; the latter for installing M3 to M8 steel and stainless steel rivet nuts – simply attach to a drill, with no set-up, and are a low-cost alternative to dedicated air tools or the traditionally labour-intensive hands tools.

They are the latest additions to BS EN ISO 9001:2000 accredited Northern Precision’s range of rivet and nut installation tools (see www.npfasteners.com/tooling.shtml) that complement a stock of 5,000 standard line items covering most applications and materials.

The company supplies self-clinching fasteners, rivet bushes, sheet nuts, high-strength and broaching fasteners, weld nuts and studs, cage nuts and blind rivets, as well as special turned and cold-formed components to customer requirements.

Northern Precision has just published a comprehensively revised and updated 36-page catalogue detailing the company’s cost-competitive range of in-stock sheet metal fasteners, to underpin its position as an independent market-leading single-source supplier of fasteners as well as special-purpose turned and cold formed parts.

Full colour throughout, with detailed technical drawings, specifications and photographs, the new catalogue is packed with technical diagrams, photographs and application guides for each product series in addition to part number guidelines for easy ordering. Most are available for next-day delivery.

Detailed product specifications cover each available fastener type: self-clinching, high-strength and broaching fasteners; rivet bushes; sheet nuts; weld nuts, studs and spade tags; cage nuts; and blind rivets.

The informative Installation Guides and tooling sections embrace, for example, installation presses as well as the new Rivedrill and Nutdrill attachments. These convert cordless and electric drills into a blind rivet or sheet nut placement tool at low cost. In addition, the informative Do’s and Don’t’s section for the installation of self-clinch products will benefit every fastener user. The catalogue also shows the direct links to the Northern precision website (http://www.npfasteners.com/index.htm) for the specific data required.

Backed by considerable applications engineering expertise, and the ability to also supply cold formed parts and special turned parts in fast turn-around times, BS EN ISO 9001:2000-accredited Northern Precision is on course to ship in excess of 50 million units this year and has just re-located to new £500,000 purpose-designed premises in Doncaster.

For your free copy of the brochure, email ‘brochure’ to sales@npfasteners.com or call 01302 836010.

Fastener company moving places after £100,000 boost.

A DONCASTER firm is hoping to tighten its grip on the market thanks to a £100,000 loan from South Yorkshire Investment Fund.

Northern Precision Ltd, which formed as a three-man operation in 1996, has become an industry leader in sheet metal fasteners.

The company has now moved to the Durham Lane industrial area in Armthorpe as part of this latest development.

The company is delighted with the move and managing director Tony Mortlock was full of praise for the SYIF support.

“Our move to Durham Lane is the latest strategic development that will ensure the company remains unrivalled in the fastener supply industry – throughout the UK and abroad.

“The support we have received from the South Yorkshire Investment Fund has proved invaluable in helping us realise our ambitions of having a working environment that is the envy of the industry.

“The investment has not only helped secure a number of jobs at Northern Precision, but combined with other initiatives will also prove to be a very effective springboard for Northern Precision’s continued success, which in turn will mean the creation of more job opportunities.”

Helping the company on its way is business development specialist Steve Wilson of Doncaster accountancy firm Thieme and Co.

He will act as a mentor to Northern Precision for the forseeable future as part of SYIF's commitment to helping small and medium-sized firms grow and expand.

The loan deal was introduced to SYIF by Alan Scott of Business Link.

SYIF Investment Manager Andrew Chaffer said: “This is a modern, forward-thinking company that is keen to grow and keep on growing.

"Northern Precision is just the kind of business the Fund looks to get involved with."

NORTHERN PRECISION ENGINEERS ANOTHER SUCCESSFUL EUROPEAN DISPLAY

Northern Precision Ltd (http://www.npfasteners.com), the Doncaster-based specialist single-source supplier of sheet metal fasteners as well as special-purpose turned and cold-formed parts, has returned from its latest foray into Europe - the Stuttgart Fastener Fair – with a large number of serious enquiries and good quality sales leads from both existing and prospective customers.

Sales Director Steve Smith reports that visitors to the stand came from all over Europe and Scandinavia, even from Latin America, and that while a high level of interest was shown in all products within the company’s comprehensive fastener range, the self-clinch products proved most popular.

“Indeed, one visitor actually brought a component to the stand,” he says, “and we were able to demonstrate how the correct application engineering and fastener can combine to generate cost-down benefits in the assembly of the part.

“Importantly, our attendance at the Fair was also the latest of a series of strategic sales, supply and service initiatives designed to reinforce the European positioning of Northern Precision and its extensive network of overseas partners, ready for the next exciting phase of the company’s development.”

Northern Precision’s continual progression – it is on course this year to ship over 50 million piece parts – is being further enhanced by the company’s imminent move to a purpose-designed £500,000 facility. This has specially-constructed administration and sales offices, ‘flowline’ product receipt/quarantine, storage and despatch areas, as well as dedicated product inspection and meeting/training facilities.

Accredited to BS EN ISO 9001:2000, the company maintains an extensive variety of 5,000 in-stock standard line items covering most applications and materials. The company supplies self-clinching fasteners, rivet bushes, sheet nuts, high-strength and broaching fasteners, weld nuts and studs, cage nuts and blind rivets, as well as special turned and cold-formed components to customer requirements.

NORTHERN PRECISION CHECKS OUT ITS NEW £500,000 HEADQUARTERS – AND SETS ITS SIGHTS EVEN HIGHER!

After months of planning and negotiation, as well as red tape discussions, Northern Precision’s dream of moving into stylishly new and industry-leading headquarters in Doncaster is near to reality as its purpose-designed £500,000 facility on the Westmoor Park industrial zone undergoes final fit-out.

With specially-constructed administration and sales offices complemented by ‘flowline’ product receipt/quarantine, storage and despatch areas, as well as dedicated product inspection and meeting/training facilities, the new building offers a total floor area of 8,000 ft2 and, when complete, will be unrivalled in the fastener supply sector.

The new-look operation will reinforce the company’s position as a leading specialist single-source supplier of sheet metal fasteners as well as special-purpose turned and cold-formed parts, as Northern Precision’s traditional policies of superlative customer service and support will be seamlessly transferred the short distance to the new site.

Describing how sophisticated IT support systems and procedures, complemented by high-speed communications networks, enable Northern Precision (www.npfasteners.com) to offer unmatched levels of responsive fastener supply and application engineering support - to generate cost-down benefits for users across all industry sectors - Sales Director Steve Smith also points out that the new headquarters will enable the BS EN ISO 9001:2000-accredited operation to set in motion further progressive plans for the company’s strategic development.

“Our new facility will be the springboard for more exciting news,” he says “and, as always, these developments will be driven by our ability to identify, then satisfy, the needs of our customers and our growing network of overseas distributors.”

Already maintaining an extensive variety of 5,000 in-stock standard line items covering most applications and materials – the company supplies self-clinching fasteners, rivet bushes, sheet nuts, high-strength and broaching fasteners, weld nuts and studs, cage nuts and blind rivets, as well as special turned and cold-formed components to customer requirements – Steve Smith adds that there is no reason why this portfolio cannot be expanded even further.

“We’ve always said that successful fastener supply is based on exceeding customer demands in terms of both piece part cost and application requirements,” he comments. “We now have the extra space and facilities to take that philosophy to the next, even higher level.”

FASTTEC IS FAST BECOMING PART OF OUR SHOW CALENDAR

With 139 exhibitors from Russia (78 companies), Western Europe and the Far East (including 36 companies from Taiwan) displaying a wide range of products, there was something for everyone at the Fasttec show in Moscow. The event attracted a very good attendance (over 3,000) during the four-days, and more than half of the visitors (53 per cent) were seeking new suppliers of fasteners.

Only one UK company took stand space – Northern Precision Ltd (www.npfasteners.com) of Doncaster – and sales director Steve Smith commented: “This is a market with great potential and a long-term future.” And although Northern Precision’s attendance wasn’t without its problems (see story, below) Steve Smith added that “by attending Fasttec we have exceeded all our expectations, particularly in terms of the interest shown in our sheet metal fasteners”.

Like Northern Precision, Master Vida attended for the first time, and this manufacturer of screws and nuts, as well as having a evolving furniture hardware manufacturing division, said “the response had been fantastic” – so much so that by the end of the first day the company had re-booked for next year’s event.

On the other hand, Masterfix’s sales manager observed that the number of other exhibitors displaying similar products distracted visitors from his stand, and as a result he felt the show could have been better.

Oddone Sartore of Sariv srl said it had been a very successful show and in comparison to the previous year’s event there had been a marked increase in prospective customers. As a result, he was looking forward to increased business levels during the coming year.

Overall, 78 per cent of exhibitors were satisfied with the number and quality of business contacts made during the show, according to Natalia Chekashkina from the Fasttec organisational team, and 46 per cent said they would take part next year.

With Russia’s GDP in 2004 standing at 6.9 per cent – fuelled by consumer demand and rising investment – there is no doubt that Russia is an increasingly attractive market and, as a consequence, one that offers numerous opportunities. It is therefore no surprise that Fasttec is becoming an established part of the European fastening fair calendar, but if the experiences of Northern Precision are any guide then the show will have to work much harder to encourage western European companies to attend.

TYCO ELECTRONICS SAVES MONEY AND TIME BY DESIGN - WITH NORTHERN PRECISION’S FASTENERS

A range of standard and special-purpose fasteners supplied by Northern Precision are playing a small but significant role in the fortunes of Tyco Electronics, a world-leading manufacturer of electrical and electronic connection and interconnection systems with global sales in over 50 countries.

At the company’s Braintree (Essex) site, Tyco’s programme of continual product development includes the innovative use of fasteners to implement design changes to enable racks, cabinets and enclosures to be made more easily, quicker and at lower cost.

Describing that the 50-employee site focuses on the design and manufacture of bespoke optical fibre racks and enclosures for telecommunications customers worldwide, to complement Tyco’s global success in the aerospace, automotive, computing and consumer goods industries, designer Matt Craig explains how the design and purchasing departments are constantly seeking new products that will make every job more efficient and effective – for both Tyco and its customers.

“That includes fasteners,” he says, “since every product we produce is based around the use of sheet metalwork. We’ve been working with Northern Precision and specifying their fasteners for some time. All our sheet metalwork is outsourced and since we specify the types/sizes of fasteners that must be used, Northern Precision are obviously satisfying those needs on a regular basis.”

Reliable delivery and cost-effectiveness are key factors that enable Northern Precision to consistently supply Tyco’s sheet metalworking sub-contractor with a range of standard products – including a wide variety of self-clinch nuts that are used in 90 per cent of applications.

At its Doncaster site, BS EN ISO 9001:2000-accredited Northern Precision Ltd (www.npfastenrs.com) maintains 5,000 in-stock standard line items covering most applications and materials; rivet bushes, sheet nuts, self-clinching, high-strength and broaching fasteners, weld nuts and studs, cage nuts and blind rivets, included.

But Matt Craig’s quest to improve the manufacturing process has also meant that he has capitalised on Northern Precision’s adeptness at providing special-purpose fastening solutions in turned and cold-formed components.

“In addition to non-standard stand-offs and low profile knurled head fasteners, fasteners traditionally associated with PCB board manufacture are increasingly being used by us for other purposes and to good effect,” he continues.

“In one case, a moulded plastic clip has been successfully replaced with a PCB snap-top – simply updating the drawing by showing the use of a stud instead of a hole has not only resulted in a more efficient and lower cost manufacturing process through reduced assembly time, but it has also meant we have eliminated a stock item.

“Because we endeavour to offer customers a quick response, our aim is to simplify and improve the manufacturing process, and reduce line items in the bargain.”

Another example concerns Northern Precision’s supply of non-standard M3 stand-offs (turned from aluminium rod) in lengths of 30 mm and 38 mm, which have in some applications eliminated four separate assembly operations.

“Of course, every saving we make improves our efficiency and saves us money in terms of assembly and product costs,” Matt Craig concludes. “It is difficult to quantify how much we do save, but it is clear that our partnership with Northern Precision is a profitable one.”

RIVET BUSH ORDER BOOK GIVES NORTHERN PRECISION A GOOD START TO 2005

It is certainly a happy new year for Northern Precision Ltd (www.npfasteners.com), the specialist single-source supplier of fasteners as well as special-purpose turned and cold-formed parts, with sales director Steve Smith already reporting a healthy order intake during January – especially for the company’s wide range of rivet bushes.

“Customers are increasingly realising the benefits of rivet bushes’ ability to generate strong re-usable threads in materials too thin to be conventionally tapped,” he says. “This particularly applies to sheet metal applications and we are committed to increasing the ranges we stock.”
Offering a wide variety of types – from round bushes with a serrated face and spigots, mini rivet bushes, hexagon through to stand-off – rivet bushes can be installed into panels as thin as 0.5 mm and do not suffer from the maximum hardness limitations often encountered with self-clinching nuts and stand-offs. This makes them ideal for use in stainless steel panels.

Most types of rivet bushes can be supplied off-the-shelf in steel and stainless steel, with aluminium and brass types provided to order. As standard, they are available to suit a range of panel thicknesses up to 3 mm thick (10 swg), as well as to non-standard dimensions and for hole sizes to suit specific applications.

Accredited to BS EN ISO 9001:2000, the company maintains an extensive variety of 5,000 in-stock standard line items covering most applications and materials. In addition to rivet bushes, the company supplies sheet nuts, self-clinching, high-strength and broaching fasteners, weld nuts and studs, cage nuts and blind rivets, as well as special turned and cold-formed components to customer requirements.

Exclusive for FAST magazine, March 2005 issue

CAPTIVATING SAVINGS ARE ON OFFER WITH RIVET BUSHES
By Steve Smith, Sales Director, Northern Precision

The ability of rivet bushes to generate strong and permanent load bearing threads in thin (down to 0.5 mm) sheet metal can generate both financial and ‘manufacturability’ advantages over other types of captivated fasteners like, say, self-clinching fasteners or sheets nuts, in material that is otherwise too thin to be drilled and tapped for component attachment.

Because they are ideally suited to thin panels of any hardness, rivet bushes (unlike self-clinching fasteners that have minimum panel thickness and maximum hardness limitations) do not only allow users to often reduce manufacturing costs by using thinner panels, where appropriate, but production processes can also be streamlined and made more cost-effective because the need for loose nuts and washers is eliminated – along with their associated assembly times and costs.

In addition to providing excellent torque- and pull-out performance, other benefits include:

The price of rivet bushes compares favorably with other types of captivated fastenersA flush finish (when using an appropriate profiled anvil) is produced on the reverse side of the panel
Rivet bushes can be installed before or after painting

With all these advantages, it’s no surprise therefore that rivet bushes are increasingly finding widespread appeal throughout the white goods, electronics enclosure, medical, catering, automotive and defence sectors – indeed, in any sheet metal fabrication application that requires a captivated thread.

Installation is simple: the item can be installed using a hydraulic or fly press - even a hammer - though for best performance a hydraulic press with suitably profiled punches is recommended.

Rivet bushes work by having an internally profiled ‘spigot’ that protrudes through the panel just enough to allow for peining over.

They are available in a range of standard thread sizes to suit specific panel thicknesses as well as a number of head styles – for instance, round, hexagon, mini and closed end (tank style) round and mini standoffs.

Round and mini rivet bushes and rivet bush standoffs are available with knurling either on the spigot or under the body.

Northern Precision’s wide range of standard rivet bushes is available in a wide range of materials (plated and unplated steel, different grades of stainless, aluminium and brass) and can be supplied next-day, or ‘specials’ can be quickly produced to customer specification.

The standard range covers panel thicknesses up to 3 mm thick (10 swg), and quantities from 100-off to in excess of a million pieces can be supplied.

Accredited to BS EN ISO 9001:2000, Northern Precision Ltd (www. npfasteners.com) is a specialist single-source supplier of fasteners as well as special-purpose turned and cold-formed parts.

It maintains an extensive variety of 5,000 in-stock standard line items covering most applications and materials. In addition to rivet bushes, the company supplies self-clinching fasteners, bushes, sheet nuts, high-strength and broaching fasteners, weld nuts and studs, cage nuts and blind rivets, as well as special turned and cold-formed components to customer requirements.


Rivet bushes – the Northern Precision guide
Standard round knurled shoulder: The shoulder knurling provides excellent resistance to torque in all materials.

Standard round serrated spigot: Dimensionally the same as above but with a serrated spigot. This provides good resistance to torque, especially in softer materials such as aluminium.

Round mini rivet bush: Provides good resistance to torque in limited space.

Hexagon rivet bush: The hexagon pattern provides excellent resistance to torque in all materials. For applications requiring higher than normal bolt tightening loads, a spanner can be used on the bush.

Tank type rivet bush: Closed-ended for applications where the component needs to be sealed against the ingress of air, liquid or dirt or where the incursion of an extra long thread could be potentially damaging, ie fuel and heating systems and electrical enclosures.
Very often the fastener is the smallest component part in terms of both size and cost of any finished product, yet it can often create the biggest headache if it is not accurately specified or, indeed, manufactured correctly.

Full technical specifications of Northern Precision’s rivet bushes, and other fastening products, can be found at http://www.npfasteners.com/rivetbushes.shtml

NORTHERN PRECISION EXPANDS WORKFORCE TO MEET INCREASING ORDER INTAKE

Rising business levels have prompted an increase in staffing levels at Northern Precision (www.npfasteners.com), the specialist single-source supplier of fasteners as well as special-purpose turned and cold-formed parts.

Sales director Steve Smith reports that the Doncaster-based company’s sales team had to be expanded, “and to support the increase in sales we have also had to increase staffing levels in the warehouse.”

He continues: “We have also taken these measures as a proactive step to enable us to provide our expanding customer base with the excellent service they need. The expansion is a direct reflection of increasing order intake from overseas as well as from customers throughout the UK,” he says.

Accredited to BS EN ISO 9001:2000, the company maintains an extensive variety of 5,000 in-stock standard line items covering most applications and materials.

The company supplies self-clinching fasteners, rivet bushes, sheet nuts, high-strength and broaching fasteners, weld nuts and studs, cage nuts and blind rivets, as well as special turned and cold-formed components to customer requirements.

SELF-CLINCH RANGE HELPS NORTHERN PRECISION GET TO GRIPS WITH USERS’ FASTENING PROBLEMS

Northern Precision’s reputation as a specialist single-source fastener supplier has been gained as much on its technical engineering expertise and ability to provide exacting solutions as it has on the company’s quick response via 5,000 in-stock standard line items as well as the development and supply of special-purpose cold formed and turned parts.

Self-clinch fasteners play a key role in enabling the Doncaster-based company (http://www.npfasteners.com/index.htm) to assimilate users’ manufacturing and budgetary needs, and it has a vast range of self-clinch products to choose from – including clinch, flush, blind, miniature, Nyloc, locking and floating nuts, flush head studs, pins and tapered pins, heavy duty studs, through-hole, blind, Keyhole and quick release stand-offs, as well as panel and low profile panel fasteners.

Targeted at applications in thin steel and aluminium panels, clinch fasteners operate by utilising a clinch feature which, when embedded into the panel is filled with metal by a cold flow process, thus locking the fastener into the panel. The nature of the clinch provides high torque- and push-out performance.

The fasteners are available in steel, stainless steel and aluminium with different finishes, and in varying diameters/lengths. Importantly the self-clinch range is supplied after completing Northern Precision’s stringent quality inspection procedures and provides total traceability, which is not always the case with cheap alternatives that often are unproven until in service – which is then too late!

Accredited to BS EN ISO 9001:2000, Northern Precision Ltd also supplies rivet bushes, sheet nuts, high-strength and broaching fasteners, weld nuts and studs, cage nuts and blind rivets, as well as special turned and cold-formed components to customer requirements.

IT’S SHOW TIME FOR NORTHERN PRECISION

Northern Precision Ltd (www.npfasteners.com), the specialist single-source supplier of fasteners as well as special-purpose turned and cold-formed parts, is once again on the overseas exhibition trail, this year seeking to expand its network of distributors as well as gain new customers.

According to sales director Steve Smith, the Doncaster-based company’s show calendar for 2005 is:

Fasttec, Moscow, Russia, 23-26 March
International Engineering Trade Fair, Nitra, Slovakia, 24-27 May
Fastener Fair, Stuttgart, Germany, 14-15 September
International Machinery Fair, Brno, Czech Republic, 3-7 October

As well as boosting exports, the company’s presence at the shows is, says Steve Smith, also a reflection of its proactive support for its network of distributors.

Accredited to BS EN ISO 9001:2000, Northern Precision maintains an extensive variety of 5,000 in-stock standard line items covering most applications and materials.

The company supplies self-clinching fasteners, rivet bushes, sheet nuts, high-strength and broaching fasteners, weld nuts and studs, cage nuts and blind rivets, as well as special turned and cold-formed components to customer requirements.

NEW-LOOK FASTENER WEBSITE KEEPS NORTHERN PRECISION CUSTOMERS IN THE PICTURE

Northern Precision Ltd, the Doncaster-based specialist single-source supplier of fasteners as well as special-purpose turned and cold-formed parts, has re-designed its website (www.npfasteners.com) and re-launched it with an array of downloadable technical guides and comprehensive specification sheets to complement a wide range of product information covering the 5,000 in-stock standard line items.

In addition to detailed listings of the many and varied types of self-clinching, high-strength and broaching fasteners, rivet bushes, weld nuts and studs, cage nuts, blind rivets and inserts for plastics that are available, the new-look website presents information about the company’s ability to satisfy special turned and cold-formed components requirements.

The website also provides a number of useful, downloadable guides concerning installation and hardness, thread cross references, plating specifications and RoHSS compliance, as well as charts for material thickness and galvanic corrosion that will prove indispensable for every company that uses fasteners.

NORTHERN PRECISION ENJOYS RECORD MONTH FOR FASTENER SALES

Northern Precision (www.npfasteners.com), the specialist single-source supplier of fasteners as well as special-purpose turned and cold-formed parts, reports a record sales month during October and is on target to supply over 47 million product items this year.

Steve Smith, sales director at the Doncaster-based company, says the company’s wide range of self-clinching fasteners proved the most popular last month, with varied applications in thin aluminium, stainless steel and steel panels.

The range includes flush head clinch studs, clinch nuts, high torque clinch studs, blind and through hole clinch stand-offs, panel fasteners and quick release stand-offs.

He points out that high levels of repeat business are being generated by the company’s continual improvements in lead time and delivery performance, as well as its ‘price down’ philosophy, as regularly endorsed by the company’s BS EN ISO 9001:2000-prompted customer satisfaction surveys.

NP maintains an extensive variety of 5,000 in-stock standard line items covering most applications and materials.

The company supplies self-clinching, high-strength and broaching fasteners, rivet bushes, weld nuts and studs, cage nuts and blind rivets, as well as special turned and cold-formed components to customer requirements.

UK FASTENER SPECIALIST LOOKS TO SPREAD ITS WINGS INTO GERMANY

Building on its continuing success in supplying companies throughout the world as well as the UK, Northern Precision ( www.npfasteners.com ), the specialist single-source supplier of fasteners as well as special-purpose turned and cold-formed parts, is now looking to expand further into Europe by appointing a distributor in Germany.

Sales director Steve Smith is making the trip to this year's EuroBLECH exhibition in Hanover (26-30 October 2004) specifically in search of a suitable 'partner' company, and he is confident that the show will be the ideal venue for this.

"Our growing level of export business is proof that Northern Precision's philosophy of fully supporting our distributors - and therefore their customers - with full technical and engineering support by phone, email and on site customer visits is the only way forward," he says. "Based on the response of our attendance at a number of other European exhibitions, there is no reason why our quest to find a suitable distributor in Germany shouldn't succeed."

In addition to be able to provide sheet nuts in a comprehensive range of diameters and lengths - including thin sheet, countersink, flat head and hexagon types - BS EN ISO 9001:2000 accredited NP also maintains an extensive variety of 5,000 in-stock standard line items covering most applications and materials. The company supplies self-clinching, high-strength and broaching fasteners, rivet bushes, weld nuts and studs, cage nuts and blind rivets, as well as special turned and cold-formed components to customer requirements.

NORTHERN PRECISION'S QUICK RELEASE STANDOFF FASTENER CAN TRANSFORM PCB ASSEMBLY TIMES

The new quick-release standoff fastener introduced by Northern Precision (NP), the specialist single-source supplier of fasteners, as well as special-purpose turned and cold formed parts (www.npfasteners.com), is designed to reduce both the time and costs associated with traditional assembly methods for, say, PCBs.

The use of their quick-release standoff will also minimise the amount of loose hardware (screws, for example) usually associated with such tasks. As standard, quick-release standoffs are suitable for installation on bottom panels of minimum 1 mm thick, and top panels of 1.0 mm to 1.8 mm, and is available from stock for next-day delivery.

A broaching style of quick-release standoff is also available by special order for PCB to PCB mounting applications.

Accredited to BS EN ISO 9001:2000, NP maintains an extensive range of 5,000 in-stock standard line items covering most applications and materials. The company supplies self-clinching, high-strength and broaching fasteners, rivet bushes, sheet nuts, weld nuts and studs, cage nuts and blind rivets as well as special turned and cold-formed components to customer requirements.

NORTHERN PRECISION TAKES FASTENER SALES ORDER PROCESSING TO A HIGHER PLANE

The implementation of a sophisticated sales order processing system not only plays a key role in Northern Precision's high-level customer service standards, but the software also allows the specialist single-source supplier of fasteners as well as special-purpose turned and cold formed parts (www.npfasteners.com) to streamline internal processes from order receipt through to dispatch and invoicing.

According to Director Tony Mortlock, every order received by the Doncaster-based company is recorded onto the Microsoft Great Plains program supplied by Mytel Systems and, as a result, Northern Precision has a real-time view of every action and every customer. "From the customer's point of view, the availability of such comprehensive information enables us to offer full batch traceability," he says, "and at the touch of a button to accurately respond to enquiries concerning deliveries, for example. "In addition, by being able to view every aspect of every order we can, for example, access precise data concerning order values across the entire business or by individual customer or product."

Compared with competitor products, the Great Plains program's functionality helped make it the first choice for Northern Precision, which simply tweaked the software in conjunction with Mytel Systems to suit its specific business needs.

Tony Mortlock points out that the use of alternative systems would have involved wholesale changes to the company's business processes. "We simply were not prepared to alter the way we work," concludes Tony Mortlock. "The continual success of Northern Precision has been built on our philosophy of superlative customer service, and from the outset we've always viewed effective sales order processing as critical."

Accredited to BS EN ISO 9001:2000, Northern Precision maintains an extensive range of 5,000 in-stock standard line items covering most applications and materials. The company supplies self-clinching, high-strength and broaching fasteners, rivet bushes, sheet nuts, weld nuts and studs, cage nuts and blind rivets as well as special turned and cold-formed components to customer requirements.

NORTHERN PRECISION SAYS "NO PRICE INCREASES IN FASTENERS" DESPITE STEEL PRICE RISES

Despite recent severe rises in raw material costs, Northern Precision (NP), the specialist single-source supplier of fasteners, as well as special-purpose turned and cold formed parts (www.npfasteners.com), is not only absorbing those costs but it is also actually reducing prices to customers.

According to Sales Director Steve Smith, the Doncaster-based company has gained an edge over the competition by not raising prices during the past two years despite continual price rises in both the cost of raw steel and stainless. This he says is "due to working 'smarter' in terms utilising IT to improve its internal business processes and by working closely with suppliers in achieving optimum stock levels to meet ever-increasing demands".

Accredited to BS EN ISO 9001:2000, NP maintains an extensive range of 5,000 in-stock standard line items covering most applications and materials. The company supplies self-clinching, high-strength and broaching fasteners, rivet bushes, sheet nuts, weld nuts and studs, cage nuts and blind rivets.

The Last Word - Exclusive for Machinery's Sheet Metal Supplement

BUYERS CAN ALWAYS MAKE SAVINGS - BUT AT WHAT PRICE?

Arthur Smith, Director of fastener specialist Northern Precision, says good customer service is an investment in the future. Balancing the best price with a quality product that can be delivered on time is the golden rule of supply, of course.

We at Northern Precision, which last year sold 33 million fasteners many of them from a range of 5,000 plus standard parts, have the answers to most fastener problems and we use a variety of processes and procedures, including ISO standards, to ensure we consistently do get it right. But while the supply of even off-the-shelf 'commodity' products like fasteners may be regarded as straightforward (and, in many cases, it is), the increasingly stringent performance demands being made on certain products - particularly in terms of new materials and applications such as aerospace - are now prompting a number of buyers to depend more and more on the expertise and knowledge of their supply base.

That's no bad thing and, refreshingly, is being welcomed by many suppliers. Yet by working in the customer's best interests to both determine the exact requirements of the application and identify the best fastener for the job, can sometimes mean that not only is the buyer provided with a level of 'free engineering' but also, in some cases, potential business has to be turned away.

From the supplier's point of view, good customer service is simply not dependent on best price, on-time delivery and, dare I say it, 'make-do' solutions. The prime concern should always be the quality and performance of the finished product when it leaves the customer's door - that's as important as worrying about the component that leaves our door!

Very often, particularly in the sheet metalworking arena, the fastener - the smallest component part in terms of both size and cost of any finished product - can often create the biggest headache if it is not accurately specified or, indeed, manufactured correctly. This is especially true in aerospace applications.

Surely, this principle has to be the driver for every buyer and every supplier, whatever the component part, sub-assembly or product. There are indeterminable benefits of dealing with customers, and engineering and manufacturing applications, in this way. By communicating effectively and gaining a thorough understanding of production problems and what customers are really trying to achieve brings rewards to all concerned.

Underpinned by confidence, trust and reliability, we have found that the establishment of true working partnerships is the only way forward - and the best route to long-term, win-win situations for all parties. Certainly, many buyers know exactly what they want and where to go to get it. But not everyone does. It is logical - and decent - to provide buyers with the appropriate help, advice and guidance. When you deal with technical enquiries in this way, always treating the customer as king, you may not always be successful in securing an order on the back of a particular conversation or enquiry. But invariably, those concerned will be back on the 'phone at sometime in the future, having remembered that free advice.

We hear stories about buyers who spend all day talking to prospective suppliers to obtain the cheapest quote and therefore save themselves just £1 on a batch of fasteners. It's not that uncommon. Despite the fact that the cost of the 'phone calls - let alone the day's salary - certainly added up to more than the saving, the buyer has 'done his job'. But at what cost?

NEW PRODUCT ANNOUNCEMENT - Flush Head Clinch Studs for stainless steel panels

Now available from Stock our 400 Series Stainless Steel Self Clinching Studs type NFH 400 are specially designed for Installation into Stainless Steel Panels with a hardness of 92HRB or less. Give our sales office a call for more information.
Click here for product data.

NEW PRODUCT ANNOUNCEMENT - Reduced Head Clinch Studs

Announcing our new range of Reduced Head Self Clinching Studs for applications requiring stud installation close to a bend or the edge of the panel.

Type NFHL Self Clinching Reduced Head Studs are available from stock in a range of standard thread sizes and lengths in Steel and Stainless Steel. Give our sales office a call on +44 (0)1302 836010 for more information. Click here for product data.

32 PAGES OF FASTENER KNOWLEDGE - AND IT'S FREE FROM NORTHERN PRECISION LTD

A comprehensive 32-page brochure is available from Northern Precision Ltd, the specialist single-source supplier of fasteners, as well as special-purpose turned and cold formed parts (www.npfasteners.com), outlining examples from the company's cost-competitive range of in-stock standard line items that cover most applications and materials - in particular, self-clinching fasteners and inserts for plastics.

All items are available for next day delivery. Packed with technical diagrams and application guides that compliment the detailed product specifications, the brochure details the company's self-clinching, high-strength and broaching fasteners, rivet bushes, sheet nuts, weld nuts and studs, cage nuts and blind rivets, as well as highlighting the appropriate installation tooling.

Backed by considerable applications engineering expertise, and the ability to also supply cold formed parts and special turned parts in fast turn-around times, last year BS EN ISO 9001:2000-accredited NP shipped in excess of 40 million units. For your free copy, email "brochure" to sales@npfasteners.com or call +44 (0)1302 836010.

A personal view of Fasttec by Steve Smith, Sales Director Northern Precision Ltd

When the alarm goes off at 3 am, waking me in good time to catch a flight via Prague to attend Fasttec in Moscow, it is not the best time of day to ask: why did we [Northern Precision] book a stand at an exhibition in Russia?

At least the motorway was quiet – but it went downhill from there, beginning with the airport breakfast!

Upon arrival at Prague, I discovered that the hotel in Moscow had lost all details of our booking and didn’t have any rooms. No problem, we thought, how hard could it be to find rooms? It turned out to be not a job for the faint hearted, particularly when one’s Russian vocabulary extends only to hello, goodbye and could I have a beer please?

Rooms were eventually found near the airport, then the following four hours were spent on the ‘phone and Internet attempting to source rooms closer to the exhibition centre. I thought then that things couldn’t get any worse. Wrong!

Setting off extra early to get to the fairground and set up the stand, it was soon discovered that customs had not (would not) release the exhibition equipment. After spending eight hours trying to discover, then solve the problems, we were told by customs that our equipment would be delivered first thing next day. Wrong again!

I was then told that the equipment would be delivered by the Saturday – the last day of the show – and that there would be another clearing bill from customs of Euro 2,000.

It was at this stage that I really started to question why we had booked the exhibition, and felt like it was time to cross ‘find a Russian distributor’ off our to-do list and catch the first flight home.

But us Yorkshire lads are made of sterner stuff, and I then set about using my laptop to develop temporary artwork for the stand and finding someone who could reproduce these as colour printouts. We then plastered this make-do artwork all over the stand, and complemented our ‘display’ with various laptop presentations featuring our new website (www.npfasteners.com).

This certainly wasn’t the way I had planned our first foray into Russia, but it proved to be a highly successful makeover job since enquiries from prospective distributors came in thick and fast and, as a result, we have identified at least three very capable companies – all of which were able to identify immediate requirements we could satisfy.

Looking back - and without any signs of a nervous twitch! - we have learned a great deal about how to deal with Russia and Russians. So, the early morning alarm call was worth it after all.

Accredited to BS EN ISO 9001:2000, Northern Precision (www.npfasteners.com) is a specialist single-source supplier of fasteners as well as special-purpose turned and cold-formed parts.

The company maintains an extensive variety of 5,000 in-stock standard line items covering most applications and materials. The company supplies self-clinching fasteners, rivet bushes, sheet nuts, high-strength and broaching fasteners, weld nuts and studs, cage nuts and blind rivets, as well as special turned and cold-formed components to customer requirements.

NORTHERN PRECISION’S FASTENER EXPORT SUCCESS – A NEVER-ENDING STORY

The export success story continues at Northern Precision (www.npfasteners.com), the independent market-leading single-source supplier of fasteners as well as special-purpose turned and cold-formed parts, as Sales Director Steve Smith reports that the Doncaster-based company now has more than 50 overseas customers.

Northern Precision now exports products to customers in America, Chile, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Israel, Holland, Poland, Lithuania, Portugal, Russia, Spain and Sweden, for example.

“Providing fasteners to a wide range of companies throughout the world at a time when we are also expanding our UK customer base is due to a combination of factors,” says Steve Smith.

“Of course, providing the right products at the right price underpins our whole operation, coupled with high-level customer service that is reflected by our ability to respond quickly to enquiries (same day) and orders (next-day delivery). In addition, we also offer extensive applications engineering expertise for end users as well as our extensive network of overseas distributors.”

“Importantly, we actively support our overseas distributors – this year, for example, we will have a presence at exhibitions in the Baltics, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Hungary and Italy.

“While we continually expand our range of standard products, to offer customers the widest choice, our ability to offer single-source engineering solutions has now been extended with the LCM Prima self-clinch fastener inserter that is on permanent display and available for demonstration at our Doncaster site.

“For users, this all means we can provide the complete one-stop fastener service.”

Accredited to BS EN ISO 9001:2000, Northern Precision supplies self-clinching fasteners, rivet bushes, sheet nuts, high-strength and broaching fasteners, weld nuts and studs, cage nuts and blind rivets, as well as special turned and cold-formed components to customer requirements.

Self Clinching fastener specialist

Northern Precision Ltd (NP) are a UK based industrial fastener manufacturer specialising in Self Clinching Fasteners. Go to their site at http://www.npfasteners.com for more info.