FALL 2023

74
THE DISTRIBUTOR’S LINK
Justine Urban
Justine is a Senior Sourcing Specialist at Hodell-Natco Industries. She graduated from Kent
State University with a degree in Journalism. Justine has been in the fastener industry for
10 years, starting in Customer Service, moving to purchasing and then in to her currently
held position in the sourcing department. Her role specializes in analyzing print and quote
requests to find the best qualified sources for the best cost to support the customer needs.
Justine is a Certified Fastener Specialist through the IFI.
MENTORING FASTENER EXPERTS -
AN OPPORTUNITY
The Justice League has Superman, the
Avengers have Captain America, the fastener
world has Carmen Vertullo!
We may not be saving the world from aliens and
super villains, but hydrogen embrittlement and corrosion
can be just as scary.
In the Fall of 2022, Carmen had the idea to gather a
group of like-minded people, in the fastener community,
for a unique open-forum group. The goal was to meet
regularly, pass on industry knowledge, and discuss
current ideas and problems across different companies.
We meet over zoom, averaging every two weeks, and
discussions are led by Carmen. They tend to be informal,
but very engaging.
It’s amazing how often we find something we just
discussed in class comes up in a real-world example just
days or weeks after our meetings.
One meeting, we had a discussion on salt-spray
testing. Carmen mentioned how testing must be done
immediately after plating.
The very next week, our company had a customer
with test-reports stating parts failed salt-spray testing.
Remembering our discussions, we did some digging
and sure enough, the testing was not done within the
specified time frame of plating, and they were using very
old parts to send for the testing.
Another discussion on material hardness called to
our attention to always be mindful of the scale being
used when discussing test results.
CONTRIBUTOR ARTICLE
For instance, the print called out the Rockwell
hardness requirement. Our customer had testing that
was simply calling out numbers for the hardness. Upon
further review, we discovered they were using a different
measurement scale and once converted the parts were
within specification.
We have started developing a strong sense of
camaraderie among our fellow “fastener mentees.”
It’s easy to pick up on conversations we might have
had during a meeting when we run into one another at
different fastener social events.
“Hey, did anything ever happen with the magnetic
permeability problem you were having with brass parts?”
Mike Robinson of Star Stainless asked me at the
Cleveland fastener social event.
During the Tennessee Fastener show, teammates
Jamie Clarke and Parker Porosky and were able to catch
up with several members from the mentoring program.
They even joined Carmen for tacos one night in Nashville
to talk Tito’s and hydrogen embrittlement.
One thing people deemed “experts” in the fastener
field can agree on is there is always more to learn!
Continuing to train, research and come together is the
best way to better ourselves.
Next year’s session will begin this Fall. Please
email Carmen at carmenv@carverem.com for
additional information if you are interested in
joining – and be sure to look for the bolt symbol
flashing in the night sky!
JUSTINE URBAN