Getting Back In The Driver’s Seat

EUROLINK FSS VLOG TRANSCRIPT

Craig Penland:

Hey everybody, Craig Penland here from Eurolink Fastener Supply Service. Now, if you’re thinking, isn’t this the guy that used to post videos all the time on LinkedIn? Well, you would be right. It has been about six months since I’ve posted an updated vlog, but I’m back.

00:19

And what I realized is apparently running a fastener company, celebrating the 25th anniversary and learning that I still absolutely cannot play golf actually takes up a little bit of time. And it took up a lot of my time. But…

00:33

We’re back, we’re ready, and let’s do this. So we actually celebrated the best sales year that we’ve ever had last year. We celebrated it at TopGolf in December along with Christmas. And one thing that I discovered that was very important about myself was that no matter how good I am at importing metric fasteners out of Europe, I really suck at golf and I am not good at importing golf balls into the fairway. But the truth is this year, 2026, has started with something really hard for our team. We lost our warehouse manager after 12 years and one of my closest friends. And let me tell you something. Running a company through grief is not something that they teach you in business school. Nobody actually hands you a playbook for that. So grieving is hard. We’ve all experienced it. We all know what it’s like, and it just takes time.

01:29

That is what I’ve learned through this. I also can take peace in knowing that I know exactly where Rodney is today and the fact that he didn’t have to suffer. It’s very encouraging to both me, his coworkers, and his family.

01:47

And if anything, it reminded me of something that we all tend to forget at times. You know, we’re not guaranteed tomorrow, which means if you’re going to do something meaningful, you’re going to build something, you’re going to grow something, and serve people well. You’ve got to get after it today.

02:09

And at Eurolink, we’ve definitely been getting after it. 2026 is going to be a huge year for us. More hard to find metric fasteners are headed our way, more partnerships, more trade shows. And if you’re coming to Fastener Fair in Charlotte, well, we’ve got a surprise for you. We’re bringing the NASCAR simulator back. That’s right. So if you ever wanted to find out whether you’re the next Dale Earnhardt or more like me at TopGolf, be ready to drive come May. So from all of us here at your Link. Thank you for being part of our journey.

02:44

The last 25 years are great. Some of the best memories I’ve ever had. So looking forward to the next few years. So if you ever need hard-to-find metric fasteners, you know where to find us.

02:57

And if you beat my lap time in that simulator in Charlotte, well, I’ll get on here and personally admit it on LinkedIn.

03:06

How’s that for a challenge? Love you guys. From all of us at Eurolink, thank you very much. Peace out. 

As always, if you have any comments, questions, or concerns or would like to request a quote for any hard-to-find metric fasteners give us a call at (864) 801-0505.