News & PR

We’re creating quite a buzz.

As an industry leader, we are constantly seeking ways to improve our programs, products and services. Our innovative programs, including Active Inventory Management, continue to set higher standards. Our experience and expertise are highly regarded by our customers and our colleagues. We are helping to shape the future of this industry. Below are News Items and Press Releases that highlight significant milestones in our company history, as well as in our common industry.

Tucson, AZ (December 23, 2009) Rockford Fastener, Incorporated, located in Rockford, Illinois, has unseated Ho Hong Works’ two year reign to take home the “2009 Vendor of the Year” award presented by Active Screw & Fastener. This award represents the highest level of industry standards as designated by the Six-Star Program, which is based on superior standards of performance for vendors/suppliers.

Each year a vendor is selected who consistently meets and exceeds the Six-Star standards. This year’s ceremony was held in Rockford, Illinois, on December 9, 2009 where Mr. Bryan Burgy, President of Rockford Fastener Incorporated, was presented the “2009 Vendor of the Year” award. During the luncheon ceremony Burgy accepted the award with over 40 employees in attendance.  This marks the first year a domestic supplier has attained the highest level.

In 2007, President and CEO of Active Screw & Fastener, Buddy Blattner collaborated with industry vendors/suppliers to develop this Six-Star program.  Vendors must first qualify as a
Six-Star Vendor.  To quality, all products a company provides to Active Screw & Fastener must have no rejections for over two years.  Suppliers receive honors by reaching levels four, five or six stars, as specifically defined by the program.  Upon outlining the vendor program, a “Vendor of the Year” award was created.  This award provides public recognition to one company each year that most exemplifies what Active Screw & Fastener considers a great vendor.  Three critical components are reviewed:  1) Price, 2) Quality, and 3) Service.  The 2009 award ceremony marks the third year of this prestigious recognition.

As any business person understands, products from key vendors often provide the identifiable backbone of the business. As Blattner explains, “Active expects, from vendors, what we expect from ourselves; exceptional service, exceptional quality, and a price commensurate with the quality and service we provide.”

Buddy Blattner, CEO Active (Left), Bryan Burgy, President Rockford (Right)

Active Screw & Fastener has successfully completed the recertification/transition to the ISO 9001:2008 standard. This new edition of ISO 9001 was published in December 2008 and released in February 2009.

ISO 9001:2008 does not introduce additional requirements compared to the last edition in 2000, nor does it change the intent of ISO 9001:2000. ISO 9001:2008 is the fourth edition of the standard, which was first published in 1987. The third edition, published in 2000, represented a thorough revision, including new requirements and an enhanced customer focus. It reflected developments in quality management, as well as valuable experience gained since publication of the initial version. Compared to the 2000 revision, ISO 9001:2008 represents fine-tuning, rather than a thorough re-write or overhaul. It introduces clarifications to the requirements existing in ISO 9001:2000, based on user experience over the last eight years.

Active Screw & Fastener also received a commendation, from our Registrar, for the Active Access Tool, which is a customer centric portal that delivers service offerings, usage reports and searchable commodities by various critical specifications.

We believe that our 2009 ISO audit results reflect our continuing commitment to provide quality products and services that meet and exceed customer requirements through continuous improvement processes involving our employees and suppliers.

Active Screw and Fastener’s Tucson, Arizona location was awarded the state Psychologically Healthy Workplace Award on October 23, 2009. The award was presented to Buddy Blattner, CEO and Barbara Sullivan, Admin & Finance Manager at the Scottsdale Marriott Mountain Resort in Scottsdale, Arizona, by the Psychologically Healthy Workplace Award committee chair. The win was recognized on the Arizona state level. Active will now compete at the national level for this award.

Established in 1999 by the American Psychological Association (PHWA), this award was designed to recognize organizations for their efforts to promote employee health and well being while enhancing organizational performance. For a company to be considered, a referral must be submitted directly to the PHWA. Following the application process, an on-site interview must be conducted. Candidates under review are evaluated on their workplace practices in the areas of employee involvement, health/safety, employee growth/development, work/life balance, employee recognition, as well as the attitudes and opinions of current employees.

Upon accepting the plaque, Blattner stated, “Tucson has its own great culture; hardworking, egalitarian, conscientious and at the heart of all of it the employees have a desire for continuous improvement. It’s a great team and we are very proud of their efforts and accomplishments.”

Pictured: Buddy Blattner CEO Active (Center), Dr. John Blattner Chairman APA (Right)

New Customer Focused Portal -  

Saves Time, Money & Increases Efficiencies

(June 8, 2009) If information is king, then Active Screw & Fastener customers’ will all be king’s when they receive their key to customized account information on June 15^th. Active’s customer centric portal, Active Access, will offer a spectrum of services and solutions to help strengthen end-to-end business relationships. This quick reference point will be accessible anytime of the day from any location in the world, provided internet capabilities are available.

Active Access will offer a proprietary service called Active Items outlining all parts and specs currently supplied to each Active client. This sub-category within the Active Access database, will allow clients to view photos of each inventoried item, a print of each item and the Last Twelve Months (LTM) usage report (in units).  Searching by commodities, size, thread style, thread pitch, drive, and other specifications will also be available.

This extensive project was developed in order to meet the demand of multinational and multidivisional companies. Although manufacturing and engineering departments will most likely be the predominate users, it is expected that executives will find this portal a valuable resource for quick snapshots of company estimated annual usage.

Active Access is the first of several new services set to launch over the next six-months. As a benefit to clients, other brands are being created that encompass customized sourcing solutions to help manage inventory, save time, save money and increase efficiencies.

Current clients will receive a step-by-step tutorial on the program via e-mail on Monday, June 15^th. Customers new to the Active family will receive their key to the kingdom of knowledge within days of coming on board.  On-going support of Active Access will be provided by way of Active’s account managers and sales executives. If information is still king, then shouldn’t it be vast, accessible and accurate?

(March 12, 2009) In a time when running a lean and efficient business can mean keeping the doors open or not, Active Screw and Fastener has collaborated with industry vendors to develop a Six-Star Program based on standards of performance.  Each year a vendor is selected who consistently meets and exceeds these  standards*. A ceremony was held in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, on February 27, 2009 to award Joe Chen of Ho Hong Works, 2008 “Vendor of the Year.”    

President and CEO of Active Screw & Fastener, Buddy Blattner summed up the program
by stating; “We introduced our Six Star Quality award program in 2007.  To qualify as a
Six-Star Vendor, all products a company provides to Active Screw & Fastener must have
no rejections for over two years.  We also introduced our “Vendor of the Year” award.  This award goes to the company that most exemplifies what we think of as a great vendor – the three components – Price, Quality, and Service.  Last year, in Las Vegas, we awarded our inaugural “Vendor of the Year” award to Kuni Takeda of Manten Corporation.”

As any business person understands, products from key vendors often provide the identifiable backbone of the business. As Blattner explains, “Active expects, from vendors, what we expect from ourselves; exceptional service, exceptional quality, and a price commensurate with the quality and service we provide.”

This is the second year the 2008 winner, Chen, has received the highest level of standard at
Six-Stars.  There were 108 suppliers who qualified for a Star Award in the year ending September 2008.  Suppliers receive honors by reaching levels four, five or six stars. The goal of these set performance standards is to help everyone succeed by working together and striving for excellence.

    Pictured: Kuni Takeda (Left), Joe Chen (Center), & Buddy Blattner (Right)

                                                                               *Outline of Star Program/Standards