Ongoing COVID implications and Brexit issues still biggest issues in the fasteners industry, research reveals

The latest research, carried out by industrial fastener manufacturer and distributor Earnest Machine, has revealed that 25% of those sourcing and selling industrial fasteners named either Brexit or COVID-19 effects on supply as the number one issue they are currently facing.

When looking for the positives and any room for growth within the industry, the data also shows that the topics of most interest are lightweighting (41%), production cycle and tact times (41%), digital & smart manufacturing (29%) and sustainability (29%).

Interestingly, those sourcing industrial fasteners are more likely to consult Google Search over any other platform when it comes to researching suppliers, with 29% rating this as the top source. In second place was magazines (18%), and newsletters came in third at 6%. (The results are from two separate surveys. One focused on gathering qualitative data from ten Earnest UK customers, and the second was based on 17 responses from an online survey.)

Stuart Southall, general manager at Earnest Machine, comments: “Here at Earnest, it’s important that we understand both our customers and the overall concerns within the industry. That way, we can share the information and we can tackle any concerns and issues in solidarity with our customers and partners. This research was purely information mining for us, but once we saw the results, we realised a lot of what we do as a business can help either overcome or dilute some of the issues that many are facing. For example, we’ve recently released a webinar that delves into combating supply chain volatility.”