This was something no one saw coming. A pandemic that would shake up life for everyone around the world. As fast as the virus spread, families and businesses had to transition faster.
Manufacturers went from making cars to ventilators, t-shirts to masks, vodka to hand sanitizer, and we thank every single one of those businesses for it. The country, the world needed it – and Sherex is glad we could do our part to help.
Sherex Fastening Solutions went from supplying rivet nuts to some of the hottest new vehicles on the planet, to prioritizing its rivet nuts to manufacturers making products that make a direct impact in helping the world navigate through the COVID-19 pandemic. In total, four different rivet nut products went into applications that either directly helped patients or mitigated the spread of the virus.
Sherex’s rivet nuts went into were ventilator stands, hand sanitizers stands, and other critical applications used by hospitals.
“As an essential business, we have a duty to prioritize our products that will help fight this pandemic,” said Sherex president, Adam Pratt. “We’re happy knowing we can say, ‘hey our parts are in this application – we were able to help.’”
Sherex Akron, Sherex’s US manufacturing plant in Akron, Ohio, had an urgent requirement to produce these parts in short time. One of the parts Sherex Akron produced, part No. SXA25-80SPCA, is a flat head, open ended, smooth body rivet nut that installs into a stand specifically designed to hold up a ventilator. The customer was already using the part, but needed more, and needed them fast.
Ventilators are being used as a critical life saving device during the pandemic.
A more common Sherex part, part No. CAL2-580-3.3, is a knurled body rivet nut that belongs in a lot general industrial applications like refrigeration, heating and cooling units, and are used in the automotive industry. Now, they’re also used to create stands for hand sanitizers that will be used at malls, stadiums or any place with large gatherings so people will have ease of access to washing their hands.
The initial order of 30,000 rivet nuts was sent to the customer almost as fast as it was ordered.
Why are rivet nuts used and not typical nut and bolt? All were blind applications, meaning the attachment point could only be reached from the front – making it impossible to attach a nut to the backside of the bolt to keep the bolt secure. Also, efficiency. Once the rivet nut is installed, you just tighten the screw to attach your piece. Other methods are more time consuming, and during this pandemic, time is crucial.
“It felt good knowing that we could help and I know our employees had a sense of pride knowing they were helping too,” Sherex president Adam Pratt said.