Laurence Claus, President

Laurence has almost 35 years’ experience working in the fastener and automotive part supplier industries. After graduating from the University of Illinois with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering he began his career as an application engineer and quickly advanced into ever increasing levels of engineering and management.

He spent the first twenty-six years of his career with a prominent Chicago area fastener manufacturer. The last six years he served as Vice President of Technology and Engineering, immediately following five years as General Manager of a Greenfield start-up venture for small metallic assemblies. Prior to those roles he also held positions as Director of Quality, Director of New Business Development, Manager of Applications Engineering, and Application Engineer. He is well versed in ISO 9000, IATF 16949, and AS9100 Quality Management Systems, having served as Management Representative for each and overseeing implementation to registration.

Laurence is actively contributing to the industry in his role of Director of Training and Education for the Industrial Fasteners Institute (IFI), his Chairmanship of the SAE Fastener Committee, his Vice-Chairmanship of the ASTM F16 Committee for Fasteners, Chairmanship of ASME Subcommittee B18.6, and membership on ASTM F16, ASME B18, and the USA TAG for ISO TC 2.

Laurence enjoys imparting knowledge to those new to the industry and has conducted hundreds of training sessions on fasteners, quality, and fastener engineering. In addition to his technical knowledge of fasteners and the automotive parts industry, over the years Laurence has gained many leadership and management skills and is especially passionate about organizations realizing their fullest potential in Competitive Strategy, New Business Development, and Continuous Improvement. In addition to his engineering degree, Laurence completed the prestigious Executive Program for Growing Companies at Stanford University and is a Six Sigma Black Belt from Villanova University.