b'Featured Industry Professional Featured Industry ProfessionalCarlo Ferri and love they had for their business and the industry theyOver the yearswork in and we could see ways that we could implement features we already have on our platforms to make their business better and continue to grow. Federica and Vera, two of Fasten.its employees are continuing to work with us from Italy, we speak every day and already have a close working relationship. We have Recently retired Fasten.it Co-Founder, Carlo Ferri, takes us on a journey through the years,been out to Italy to visit them and they have been to the UKActivity started in the world of fasteners in to work with us, we will all be meeting again soon in Vienna1980 the largest stainless steel fastener factory at discussing the highs and lows of a fantastic career. at our networking event and so far everything is workingthat time, Vefe-Verinox.really well. In December 2023 Italian based,of standard parts despite the fierceDid the acquisition of BearingNet come atOur technical team are working hard on recreating theirCarlo began the discussion of the degree Fasten.it, was acquired by UK basedcompetition. For trade I do not see anya good time? platform, so it looks the same but works with our systemsthesis Problems of international marketing for industrial goods after attending evening BearingNet Ltd. Both companies sharemajor challenges to overcome. We met BearingNet initially at theand the marketing team have taken over all of their1984 courses at the Catholic University of Milan.similar business models offering theirWhat has been your most memorableFastener Fair in Stuttgart, they then madecommunication and social media which has given Federica members ways to locate parts, sell theirmoment in the industry?contact with me as were interested inand Vera much more time to talk to the customers and inventory and connecting companiesacquiring a business that complimentedgrow the platform.Fasten.it was established to help fastener together. Fasten.it is a very small teamHere too, I must distinguish betweencompanies find the items they were looking and by joining BearingNet, benefit fromtheir own business model, which Fasten. BearingNet will join Fasten.it this October at the Milanfor. The platform was idealised and created producers and distributors. Theit did perfectly. The purchase came at aFastener Fair and look forward to meeting people from the2003 through the Nextmove software house of their larger technical and marketingmemorable moment in production, in mygood time for me as I was ready to retirefastener industry, if you are attending please come and sayMarco Beretta and Fabrizio Conti and the teams to help bring new features to theopinion, was the transition for the bigand its really nice to see my businesshello at Stand 218. indisputable collaboration of Paolo Capelli.Fasten.it website as well as giving thecompanies, to directly supply the entirepassed on to a company that wants to Fasten.it team assistance with theirimmense automotive, construction, andmaintain the fundamentals of the Fasten. The great collaboration with Jerry Ramsdale, promotional activities.other sectors, bypassing the distributors.it platform, and enhance it with their ownCarlo at the beginning of the Fasten.it journey 2007 the founder of Fastener Fairs. This was an At what age did you enter the fastenerFor the small-medium companies theskills. BearingNet, although still a smallimportant moment and led to the global and fixing industry? transition from commercial strategiescompany, have a much bigger team, withsuccess of the Fastener Fairs, bringing many mainly aimed at domestic markets togreat technical and marketing capabilitiesindustry professionals together.At 30, after 8 years of work experience ina large-scale development of exports.to help Fasten.it grow and become the the Milan area, in the lifting and transportAs far as distributors are concerned,platform I know it can be!The Marketplace feature was implemented field, along with a degree in economicsI remember how in a short time they2019 and introduced to Fasten.it, allowing and commerce from the Catholicbecame absolute masters of the market. Nicola Beer, Managing Director &thousands of professionals to find what they University of Milan. Chris Howard, Commercial Director ofneed instantly.Did you have a business role model, orBearingNet talk to us about the future What made you want to start your ownwas there someone who influenced youBearingNet & Fasten.it. Fasten.it was acquired by the BearingNet family, and Carlo decided it was time to retire. business? (Fasten.it) growing up? BearingNet has been in business for 262023 Federica and Vera based in Italy, continue I have always worked for companies inRegarding fasten.it I didnt have a specificyears and has over 2,000 members fromto work alongside the BearingNet and the fastener sector. My own business, ifmodel to follow - but support of Paolo80 countries with over 16 million linesFluidPowerNet team in England.it can be called this now, has been theCapelli (my late business partner inof inventory listed on the site. In 2017 creation of Fasten.it which was bornFasten.it who sadly passed away) andwe created a similar platform in the fluid from the belief of creating something,Federica Capelli (who is now workingpower industry and then decided that with the help of the internet, which wouldwith Fasten.it & BearingNet) in managinginstead of creating another platform we serve as a meeting point for the fastenersthe software and all the necessarywould look at buying one in a horizontal and fixing elements sector that did notdevelopments, was fundamental toindustry. Fasten.it was a perfect fit for us, exist before. At the beginning, the aimhelping the portal grow. we loved the family business, the passion was to help to easily find suppliers in anWhere do you see the Fasten.it business increasingly global and difficult market. The business then expanded to manyin five years time? Carlo Ferriother services. I see it as the largest e-commerce platform in the industrial and professionalFasten.it Co-FounderWhat is the best part about running afasteners world. All companies now have company in this industry? their own e-commerce, but none can offer The great thing about the fastener andall the availability and savings that the fixing industry is that products almostFasten.it platform can provide, combined never become obsolete.with the various warehouse availabilityLeft to right: Federica Capelli, Chris of many companies around the world. InHoward, Cheryl OHara, Nicola Beer, Vera What is the most challenging part aboutaddition to the undoubted economic andScaccabarozzi, Tom Irving, and Carlo Ferrirunning a company in this industry? competitive advantages, a great help in In my opinion, a distinction must be madethe availability of parts that are difficultbetween producers and distributors. If weto produce.talk about manufacturers, unfortunately,I see Fasten.it as a fundamental all aspects of the activity are a challenge.e-procurement service for purchasing For example, compliance with deliveryproducts without having to waste times, the ability to produce customiseda lot of time searching for theparts, and keeping the productionappropriate supplier.22 23'