This time last year we were in the thick of covid, now we have not only made it through this challenge but each of our teams have risen above and beyond our expectations. Every day I hear stories about members of our team being servant leaders to others and it makes me proud and grateful to be a part of this team.

This month I challenged our branch and operation leaders to take a “Head-Up” Day.  We spend so much time doing head down work, it’s necessary to spend some time doing head up work if you are going to grow your business.  This is not a day off, but a day ON; a day away from the office to work “ON” their business verses working “in” the business.  Goal setting, planning, dreaming, assessing, and creating a model to move their team forward.  I am looking forward to taking what we learn from this day and using it to make sure we are carrying out our mission.

Our company is experiencing an incredible growth spurt and with growth comes layers of challenges that often cannot be anticipated.  As with every challenge, an opportunity will arise for leaders to step forward and seize the day.   Our company is littered with potential and emerging leaders and I am looking forward to working with you as you grow into these game changing roles at our company.  Who will be the next leader to step forward?  How about you!

Let’s continue growing together,

Billy Duren

President and CEO

Threaded Fasteners, Inc.

We have just closed out our second month of 2021 and we are off to a great start.  Both January and February have proven to be very successful and anticipation is high for a continuance of the same for March. 

Chattanooga is settling into their new digs and the Meridian, MS office is up and running, so I am looking forward to great reports from both new locations.  Our team is still working on several exciting new ventures in 2021, so make sure to stay tuned for updates.  Currently, we have over 200 employee owners on our team and we look forward to adding to those numbers. It truly is an exciting time at TFI.

Our ESOP Advocates will be gathering in Mobile in May for an ESOP seminar that includes creative and dynamic ways to promote ownership.  The group has been meeting through virtual platforms up to this point because of travel and distancing protocols, but we believe the worst of the Covid-19 restrictions are behind us and we look forward to this gathering later in May.

Our contractor has been selected for our new building project in Semmes and we will be breaking ground very soon.  We are anticipating opening the facility by the end of the year.  This new facility will allow our shipping and fabrication teams to relocate less than a mile from manufacturing.  When materials are galvanized, they will be directed to the new facility for shipping and storage. This will open floor space for new equipment, thus allowing manufacturing additional room for growth. 

This past month we also completed our first class in TF University, part of our envision 2030 plan.  This first class centered on professional communication and was a beta test for coaching and training team members on the art of communication.  The class was developed and taught by an English professor and the feed-back from the attending employee owners has been great.  We are working on rolling this out on a larger scale in the near future. 

Our Tulsa team celebrated 10 years as part of the TFI family last month; it’s hard to believe that it’s been 10 years.  I’m so grateful for all the folks in Tulsa and the wonderful contribution they make to our organization. 

Blessings to you,

Billy Duren

President and CEO

Threaded Fasteners, Inc.

We have dropped the green flag on 2021 and we are off to the races.  Our teams have set lofty goals for 2021 and we are extremely excited about the positive momentum we have coming off a great 4^th quarter.  One of my 2021 goals is to generate a summary presentation at least once a quarter to keep you informed as to the goings on at TFI.

We do have an exciting announcement on our latest addition to the TFI Family of companies.  At the end of January, we closed on an acquisition in Meridian MS with Construction Fasteners.  For over 20 years Construction Fasteners has been owned and operated by Craig Melancon and we are blessed with this opportunity to have Craig and his team join the TFI family.  Our new Meridian operations becomes our 11^th location as Threaded Fasteners Meridian Branch. This acquisition will allow our teams to merge forces and to expand our footprint in the Central Mississippi market. Craig and his team bring a wealth of knowledge to our family and we are looking forward to great things from our new Meridian partners. 

January 7^th marked the 1,000 Day of no Time-Lost Incidents at our Semmes Manufacturing facility. Our Chattanooga branch is moving to a larger facility in a more strategic location, this expansion is a testament to our Chattanooga team’s hard work. In addition to this wonderful news our team is working on many great things to come in this month and this year, we are currently working on the plans for the new building in Semmes as well as potential acquisitions.

As our nations, communities and companies still deal with Covid issues, I am praying that the worst of this will pass soon. I am looking forward to 2021 and keeping you updated on our progress is an important part of my 2021 goals.

Looking forward to seeing you soon, 

Billy Duren

President and CEO

Threaded Fasteners, Inc.

January 1, 2021

This year marked our 41st Anniversary at Threaded Fasteners and without question, one of the most challenging. As unprecedented a year as this has been, I have seen our family of employee owners rise to meet the challenge. No retreat, no surrender; I’m so proud to be a part of this great team. 

2020 has made its mark on each of us in its’ own way, but I have faith that we have also made our mark on it. We each became a little more aware of how our actions affect others and that there is not always a right answer to every question. 

For years we went about our days with the expectation of repetition; normalcy became a security. We have spoken about our triumphs and our trials throughout this year; there have been an abundance of both, but it is the triumphs that stand out the most. I am proud of our owners who advocated for what they believed in, found humor during trying times, and above all served each other and our communities in more ways than I can count.

As I began writing this letter I was a bit hesitant, because it’s difficult not to look at 2020 with a shroud of sadness in all that has occurred. Then I began to think of the triumphs of our team, and I realized that there were just as many moments of joy as there were sorrow; the sorrow just yelled a little louder throughout the year. Our team has found ways to have fun, laugh, and work together in ways I have never seen before in our 41 year history. 

I want to leave you with two phrases that have been a constant reminder to us all throughout the year. The first from Dr. Kevin Elko, who has been a constant source of advice and direction for this team for many years; “so what, now what.” He uses this to teach resilience and determination; you wandered off course, what are you going to do to make sure it doesn’t happen again? And the last phrase is one you would be hard pressed not to hear in our team meetings; “what’s next,” this keeps us looking forward. These two phrases will become the playbook for our success in 2021.

So what, now what’s next.  

Happy New Year,

Billy Duren

President and CEO

Threaded Fasteners, Inc.

December 25, 2020

Merry Christmas,

Spoiler alert, all my children will receive a custom wrapped roll of Toilet Paper for Christmas as a reminder of 2020.  

Can anyone remember last Christmas, or has our short-term memories become blurry?  Twelve months wasn’t that long ago, but it seems like a lifetime.  So, what will we do with 2020, besides give it a swift kick in the rear at 11:59 PM on 12/31? 

I have always looked forward to Christmas and as a child I could never go to sleep Christmas eve in anticipation of Christmas morning.  I love Christmas movies like, “White Christmas”,  “It’s a Wonderful Life”, “Elf”, “Grinch” and “Rudolf the Red Nose Reindeer”, but my favorite is, and always has been is “Charlie Brown”.  If you are a fan of Charlie Brown, you know ole Charlie Brown is often finding himself on the wrong side of a decision.  In Charlie Brown Christmas, Charlie Brown is task with finding a tree for the school play and brings back a scrawny tree that has become symbolic of all bad Christmas trees.  His classmates mock him and say, “you are hopeless Charlie Brown” then in total frustration, Charlie Brown shouts, “does anyone know what Christmas is all about?”  Linus steps forward and says, “sure Charlie Brown, I can tell you what Christmas is all about,” Linus then quotes from Luke 2.  Linus is Charlie Brown’s trusted friend who always carries his blue security blanket everywhere he goes.  What is little known about this scene, is that when Linus comes to, “and the shepherds were very afraid and the angel said, do not fear,” at that moment, Linus drops his security blanket on the stage. 

When I reflect back on 2020, there is a tsunami of emotions.  The Covid Virus has made its mark in 2020, but it will be up to us whether or not to declare it the victor.  To a large degree, what I’ve discovered in 2020 is that normalcy had become my security blanket and somewhere along the journey of 2020, God said to me, “do not fear.”

Many of us have similar experiences of the bizarre combination of tragedy and joy this year.  I, like so many of you are looking forward to turning the pages toward 2021, but what will we carry forward from 2020?  The answer to that question will be different for us all, but it is worth taking a minute to consider.  For me, we got to see the best and the worst, and best prevailed.  We were tempted with division, but United we still stand.  We were challenged with the change, and we adapted.  We looked directly into the eyes of doubt and did not flinch. 

Our team has demonstrated what it is to “Own-it” and I’m honored to be a part of this great team.

So long 2020, we will never forget you, because we grew through you. 

Merry Christmas,

Billy D.

President and CEO

Threaded Fasteners, Inc.

June 10, 2020

In the long history of Threaded Fasteners, we have never faced an obstacle comparable to the Covid-19 pandemic. It was a fast and life altering moment in our lives that we are still facing to this day. Our team took swift, fact-based actions from the very beginning. Prioritizing the safety of our family both physically and mentally. We understood early on that the emotional toll for our family could be just as draining as the physical. Uncertainty was a virus itself, and we wanted to make sure our team members knew that they would not miss a paycheck due to this virus.

As an essential business, we continued all portions of our operations but wanted to make sure that our priority was on our family. We stopped many of our promotional activities and posts to focus on our team and what they needed. We began weekend contests and activities for our employees during social distancing. We held weekly free lunches from local businesses in each of our locations from local restaurants across our areas. We placed over 100 “A Hero Lives Here” signs in our communities for health care workers on the front lines. Our team members in every branch have supported their communities both individually and as a team and we are so proud of each one of them.

We want to reiterate what we released at the very beginning of this crisis, that Threaded Fasteners is in a strong position. Our family’s safety is our top priority, we are looking at loosening some of our restrictions soon and will keep you updated on when we will let visitors and customers into our facilities. For now, we would like to thank you for working with us during this time of precaution, we are thankful for your support and cooperation. Our supply chain remains strong and we will continue to provide the exceptional services you have come to rely on our team for. We are dedicated to carrying out our mission to create value in and for the people we serve. We are here for you.

Just as the world has seen the heroic and selfless acts of health care workers during the pandemic and have commended them. We have also witnessed, as a world, the senseless and brutal act of law enforcement officers in Minneapolis with the death of George Floyd and we must as a nation condemn this act. The outrage that our nation and communities are facing has highlighted the divisions within our nation. We as individuals, corporations, communities, and a nation must stand in opposition to the evil in the hearts of men that has been a part of our society since the beginning of time. We must have courage to stand in the face of injustice and speak out for our fellow men. If change is going to come in our company, our city, our nation, and our world it begins with me. My prayer is that we have the courage to speak and hear the truth in love. 

Accepting challenges for meaningful change,

Billy Duren

President & CEO

Threaded Fasteners, INC.