By most accounts, 2022 has got off to a brisk start, with trading levels high. Getting hold of stock – for reasonable prices – has been a slightly more tricky issue, thanks to those supply chain challenges we all know so well by now.

But, as one fastener industry stalwart said to me at our Torque-Expo Telford exhibitor lunch in March, we would have been glad to be in this situation, back at the start of the pandemic.

Two years ago, strict lockdowns first came into place for many of us (though China and others locked down ahead of that). That initial period was full of uncertainty. What did this mean for the business? And will we still have a business?

There has been a significant cost to get to where we are today, of course, and everything is far from plain sailing (especially on the world’s shipping routes) but if you’d said we’d be where we are today right back at the start of the pandemic, we’d probably be quite heartened.

It has been similarly heartening to be able to bring the industry together at the aforementioned exhibitor lunch and indeed at Torque-Expo UK in May, when the doors of the Telford International Centre open for a day of showcasing products, buying and selling and networking, the likes of which we’ve not really seen for some time.

It’s an opportunity to take stock, do some business and look ahead. We’d be delighted if you joined us and our excellent exhibitors.