LAS VEGAS, October 25, 2022 – The International Fastener Expo (IFE), the largest North American B2B Expo focused on the Fastener industry, hosted their annual event October 17-19, 2022, at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center, in Las Vegas, NV. This year’s show provided new features and proved that events are making a strong rebound! IFE 2022 saw outstanding attendance, gathering 3,500+ attendees representing 36 countries from around the world for the three-day event. Show Director, Morgan Wilson said, “We are getting pretty close to pre-COVID numbers, we may even exceed them here, which is pretty exciting!” The Expo Floor featured 450 total exhibitors including 30 new exhibitors making their debut at IFE this year.
IFE’s annual Golf Tournament kicked off the event on Monday morning, October 17, with record breaking attendance. More than 145 players across 36 teams took to the beautiful Bali Hai Golf Club for some friendly competition and excellent networking opportunities. Golf tournament winners: 1st Place: Jack Dobek, Dennis Doyle, Tim Quick, Eric Mason – B&D Cold Headed Products, 2nd Place: Ryan Cooper, Mark Hamilton, David Doyle, Gage Fasbender – B&D Cold Headed Products, 3rd Place: Jim Williams, Ron Townsend, Mike Sterling, Jake Sloan – Williams Form Engineering and King Steel, Longest Drive (Men): Bryce Oliviera – Patriot Bolt, Longest Drive (Women): Amy Cammeron – Central Wire, Closest to the Pin (Men): Jeff Orejel – Gage Bilt, Inc., Closest to the Pin (Women): Erin Waidelich – Aircraft Fasteners.
IFE’s special events continued with our Welcome Reception at Mandalay Bay’s Daylight Pool, sponsored by Parker Fasteners and B&D Cold Headed Products. 1,000 attendees came together for an evening of great conversations, open bar, our signature cigar rolling cabana and lively music and dancing.
This year’s show provided attendees with even more opportunities to network and learn, including an inaugural keynote speech from Dirk Beveridge, Founder of UnleashWD and Executive Producer of We Supply America, who will be presenting “INNOVATE! How to Create Relevancy in the Age of Disruption.” Additional educational sessions were presented on the Session Stage throughout the show, offering attendees strategic, forward-thinking solutions and insightful knowledge on topics that included e-commerce, inflation, 3D printing, productivity and the next-gen workforce.
Another new feature for IFE 2022 was the event app, IFE Match, which helped to bring attendees and exhibitors together in a new, “smart” way. Participants connected with their peers, discovered business opportunities, explored educational sessions, and built their itinerary all from their mobile devices both pre-event and during the entire show. Over 350 meetings were arranged using IFE Match.
Hall of Fame and Young Fastener Professional of the Year awards took place on the afternoon of Tuesday, October 18. IFE and a packed audience were so excited to celebrate the 2022 award inductees! Hall of Fame Inductees: Andy Cohn – Duncan Bolt, Tim Malone – Spring Bolt and Nut Manufacturing, Rick Rudolph – Rick Rudolph Associates LLC., Joseph Volltrauer – Volt Industrial Plastics, Inc. Young Fastener Professional of the Year: Bryan Wheeler – Star Stainless.
