The Industrial Fasteners Institute (IFI) is an American non-profit trade and standards organization and

publisher Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...

, based in

Independence, Ohio Independence is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio. It is a suburb of Cleveland. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 7,133. Independence was originally called Center and was renamed in 1830. Geography Independence is located at . Ac ...

. It was founded as the American Institute of Bolt, Nut and Rivet Manufacturers in 1931 and changed its name to the IFI in 1949. Among their publications is the frequently cited ''IFI Fastener Technology Handbook'', a reference frequently used as a design guide by

mechanical engineers Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and mathematics principles with materials science, to design, analyze, manufacture, and ...

machinists A machinist is a tradesperson or trained professional who not only operates machine tools, but also has the knowledge of tooling and materials required to create set ups on machine tools such as milling machines, grinders, lathes, and drilling m ...

, and others involved in the production of high-quality machine screws, bolts, nuts, and other engineered

fasteners A fastener (US English) or fastening (UK English) is a hardware device that mechanically joins or affixes two or more objects together. In general, fasteners are used to create non-permanent joints; that is, joints that can be removed or disman ...

Leadership

Herman H. Lind became the organization's executive vice president in 1937. Frank Masterson was elected president of the institute by its 200 members in 1953 and assumed office in January 1954. The organization's chair for the 2023–24 term is Gene Simpson.

Activities

The IFI has established industrial standards. One such standard is "IFI Standard 125", which concerns various forms of

thread-locking fluid Thread-locking fluid or threadlocker is a single-component adhesive, applied to the threads of fasteners such as screws and bolts to prevent loosening, leakage, and corrosion. Most thread-locking formulas are methacrylate-based and rely on the ...

. Most standards-compliant screws and fasteners that are used in the US are required to be marked, so that the manufacturer can be identified. The IFI maintains a list of trademarks and other identifying markers used by manufacturers. It has sponsored scholarships for industrial design training at the Fastener Training Institute. In 1946, the institute held its annual meeting in New York City and announced plans to request an increase in price ceilings on their industry's products from the

Office of Price Administration The Office of Price Administration (OPA) was established within the Office for Emergency Management of the United States government by Executive Order 8875 on August 28, 1941. The functions of the OPA were originally to control money (price contr ...

. In 1947, the institute criticized a

War Assets Administration The War Assets Administration (WAA) was created to dispose of United States government-owned surplus material and property from World War II. The WAA was established in the Office for Emergency Management, effective March 25, 1946, by Executive Ord ...

contract that sold 7.5 million dollars worth of metal fasteners for $22.50 per ton to one nut and bolt company. The institute played a role in debates about proposals for the United States to convert to the

metric system The metric system is a system of measurement that succeeded the Decimal, decimalised system based on the metre that had been introduced in French Revolution, France in the 1790s. The historical development of these systems culminated in the d ...

. As of 1973, the IFI had 60 members, who reportedly produced 60 percent of the nuts, bolts, and screws manufactured in the United States. The organization initially opposed the U.S. conversion to metric measurements, but by 1973 had changed its position to support voluntary adoption of metric system standards without government interference, according to institute president Frank Masterson. In 2012, Joe Greenslade, the technical director of the institute at the time, said he concured with an article in ''Physics World'' that "faulty

rivet A rivet is a permanent mechanical fastener. Before being installed, a rivet consists of a smooth cylindrical shaft with a head on one end. The end opposite to the head is called the ''tail''. On installation, the rivet is placed in a punched ...

s" may play a role in the sinking of

Titanic RMS ''Titanic'' was a British passenger liner, operated by the White Star Line, which sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on 15 April 1912 after striking an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, United ...

Related organizations

Related trade bodies for the fastener industry include the European Industrial Fasteners Institute (EIFI), Confederation of British Metalforming (CBM), The Fastener Institute of Japan (FIJ), Taiwan Industrial Fastener Institute (TIFI), Fastener Industrial Coalition (FIC) USA, and Korea Federation of Fastener Industrial Cooperatives (KFFIC).

Publications

* * * * Educational resource. * *

References

Trade associations based in the United States {{industry-stub