China Fastener World Magazine No.66_Global Version

CMCA Postpones Sep. 2022 Directors and Members Meeting

Influenced by the current pandemic situation in China and in order to prevent the spread of viruses and ensure the health & safety of participants, the management of China General Machine Components Industry Association (CMCA) postponed the 7th term (5th round) directors and members meeting originally scheduled to take place on September 16, 2022 in Qingdao (China) to a new date, which is still yet to be determined. For more update regarding this event, please visit http://www.cmca-view.com/

Ningbo Fastener Industry Association: China’s Fastener Export Data for Jan-Jul 2022 Announced

According to the import and export data of China Customs, in the first seven months of 2022 China exported 2,987,408 tons of fasteners to the world, up 12.4% from the same period of 2021 (or equivalent to 328,423 metric tons). In terms of export value, in the first seven months of 2022 China exported US$ 7.765 billion worth of fasteners to the world, up 30.2% from the same period of 2021 (or equivalent to US$ 1.794 billion).

Chinese Associations News

Mr. Shao-Feng Ji Elected as President of China Wenzhou

Fastener Association

China Wenzhou Fastener Association held its fifth term (first round) annual members meeting on June 18, 2022. During the meeting, President of Wenzhou Junhao Industry Co., Ltd., Mr. Shao-Feng Ji, was elected as the new chairman of China Wenzhou Fastener Association. According to the statistics, currently there are around 1,100 fastener-related companies in Wenzhou City and more than 350 of them demonstrate the scale above the average level of the whole nation.

China Dies & Mould Industry Association Welcomes Nine New Members

Pursuant to the chapters and regulations of China Dies & Mould Industry Association (CDMIA), the applications of nine new companies and organizations for CDMIA membership have been recently accepted and approved. These nine new companies and organizations include: Fujian Fran Optics Co ., Ltd, Xiamen Jinway Mould, Guangdong Sanhexing Mould Materials Technology Co., Ltd., etc.

Compiled by Fastener World

Brazilian News

Compiled by Fastener World

Brazilian Fastener Exports and Imports in Q1 2022 Fasteners

First

First

The only time in which Brazil imported more than US$ 1 billion was in 2013 year: US$ 1.048 billion, 191 thousand of tons fasteners in total. Last year there was expectation to surpass the import value of 2013. However, 2021 was over with just US$ 939.9 million. That result was the better one since 2014 (US$ 962 million/162 thousand tons), establishing a result in volumes with 205 thousand tons.

In the first quarter of 2022, data from the Brazil Economic Ministry has showed US$ 513 million import value, over US$ 457.18 million in 2021 by a little more than 101,556 tons, against the 98,650 tons in 2021.

On the other hand, Brazil is not a big fastener exporter, having 2019 as its better year with US$ 194 million in value, but just 29.6 thousand tons. However, in 2021 Brazil achieved US$ 153 million in value, and a record in volume at 58.6 thousand tons.

From January to June, 2022, the fastener export value was US$ 89.05 million, against US$ 66.31 million in 2021, and 19.929 thousand tons compared with 35.744 thousand tons in 2021.

Source: www.mdic.gov.br

Primat Group Acquires Prosdac

The electroplating company Primat Spa (Lecce, Italy) was founded in 1972, becoming a supplier to the automotive sector in 1982. After acquiring IEB Srl, in 2015, and Zincatura Reggiana Srl, in 2017, from the same segment, it was renamed to Primat Group, responsible for overall coordination.

Primat went across 9.7 thousand kilometres, from Italy to Brazil, to Jundiaí, the host city of Prosdac Revestimentos Técnicos Ltda., 86 kilometres away from the state capital, S. Paulo.

Since March 2022, Primat concluded the acquisition of Prosdac, a surface treatment service company founded in 1995, one of the most traditional brands in the sector. This new Primat subsidiary has a local CEO Ricardo Kiqumoto, the former director of Nipra Surface Treatments, a Prosdac competitor.

“In addition to the 2,600 m² Prosdac plant, Primat purchased a neighbouring property, expanding a total area beyond 5 thousand m², and already with a new machine, produced by Sidasa, about to go into operation, which should raise the actual operating capacity to more than 2,400 tons per month by the end of 2022.”, said the CEO.

Metalac SPS Achieves Nadcap Accreditation

It's a big step to consolidate the brand as a global aerospace fastener provider.

After rigorous technical evaluation of compliance with the requirements from the main customers of the aeronautical industry and of international specifications from this sector, Metalac SPS acquired Nadcap accreditation in March 2022.

To get it, the company underwent audit for its heat treatment operations, in which the conformity of its equipment, procedures, controls and qualification of employees in relation to the program requirements were evaluated and, also, from the customers.

“This achievement represents an important step for us in our consolidation and expansion plans as a fastener manufacturer in aerospace and a provider for the global market”, said Rodrigo Barranqueiro Egêa, the Metalac SPS general manager.

A high strength fastener manufacturer for several critical applications, specially for the automotive industry, Metalac is a Brazilian subsidiary of Precision Castparts Corp., USA.

▲ Ricardo Kiqumoto (Prosdac CEO)

▲ Rodrigo Egêa

1st Metal Conformation Congress

Grupo Aprenda held the first Metal Conformation Congress (Congresso de Conformação Metálica - CCM), a meeting involving topics on metal technology. The event was held on June 14-15, 2022, at Santo André Foundation University Center, located in Santo André, a city from the metropolitan region of São Paulo, the State Capital, SP.

Despite being a debut in such a cold weather, there were more than 200 people including students and academic members and, mainly, professionals from national and multinational industries.

The event included:

• 9th Forging Technology Seminar: coordinated by Dr. Mauro Moraes de Souza, Faculty of Industrial Engineering (FEI), SBC/SP.

• 4th Stamping Technology Seminar: coordinated by Dr. Gilmar Batalha, University of São Paulo (USP), SP/SP.

• 2nd Seminar on Conformation and Application of High-Performance Steels: coordinated by Dr. Jesualdo Luiz Rossi, Institute for Energy and Nuclear Research (IPEN), SP/SP.

• 2nd Welding Technologies Seminar: coordinated by MSc José Agustin Castillo Lara, Santo André Foundation (FSA), AS/SP.

• 1st Meeting of Fasteners Specialists (Fastening Systems): coordinated by Dr. Roberto Garcia (FSA).

NOF South America Under New Management

The expert global company in surface treatment products has a new commander, since last April 01.

The anti-corrosion division of NOF Corporation, Japan, the NOF Metal Coatings Group has named a new executive to lead the Brazilian unit.

Established in Diadema City, São Paulo State, Brazil, NOF Metal Coatings South America has a local R&D centre plus an industrial plant, producing and serving several customers in Brazil across South America, for decades. Since last April, this subsidiary is under the management of Mr. Kai-Uwe Hirschfelder, the new CEO.

As a German, Kai-Uwe had been living, studying, and working between Brazil and Germany, speaking the Portuguese language so well. Porsche is among his long professional trajectory. At his side, the executive has Mr. Haroldo Chieza as the Commercial and New Business Management. Chieza was working for Norsk Hydro ASA for the last 14 years.

The new directors promise a great improvement and expansion of surface treatment product lines, not just in the automotive industry, a sector that has a solid tradition, but also improvement in a lot of business in several sectors, such as generation and transmission of energy from hydroelectric, solar and wind sources, construction, railroad and many other.

“While Mr. Chieza operates with the focus on relation with market and searching as well as developing new business, we are modernizing all administrative and production structures, to put this unit at the global highest level. It is important that we highlight our action as ecological production, in which we are a global reference using solvent liquid,” said Kay-Uwe.

Brazilian Steel Production Falls

Local production shrunk 1.5% from January to April.

From January to April 2022 the Brazilian crude steel production was 11.6 million tons, representing a drop of 1.5% compared to the same period of 2021. The production of rolled products in the same period was 8.1 million tons, a reduction of 5.9% compared with the same period last year. The production of semi-finished products for sales totalled 2.9 million tons from January to April 2021. 2022 sees an increase of 15.6% on the same comparison basis.

In April, the crude steel production was 2.9 million tons, representing a decrease of 2.2% compared to March 2022.

▲ NOF SA Industrial Plant

▲ Haroldo Chieza and Kai-Uwe Hirschfelder

AVB's Carbon Neutral Steel

The Brazilian steel mill showcases carbon neutral steel production at an international steelmaking forum.

One of the most important forums in the steel industry, the International Conference on Energy and Material Efficiency and CO2 Reduction in the Steel Industry (EMECR) was held in Brazil for the first time, in June 2022.

The world's first carbon neutral steelmaker, Aço Verde do Brasil (AVB) was present at the meeting to show its green steel production process as well as its ESG sustainability strategies. The AVB director, Ricardo Carvalho was on a mission to talk about the technologies and innovations used in his company.

The company has the best Brazilian indicator of CO2 per ton of crude steel produced in years 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021.

"While several steel industries are beginning to plan decarbonization, with neutrality forecasts for up to 2060, AVB has already reached this level in 2020", told Ricardo Carvalho.

News provided by: Sergio Milatias, Editor Revista do Parafuso (The Fastener Brazil Magazine) milatias@revistadoparafuso.com.br www.revistadoparafuso.com

▲ AVB Industrial Plant

▲ Ricardo Carvalho

European News

Compiled by Fastener World

Record Sales for Würth Group

Hilti Group Begins Year with Further Growth

In the first four months of 2022 the Hilti Group achieved a 5.6% sales increase to CHF 2.03 billion (€2.03 billion). In local currencies, growth reached 9% compared to the same period last year.

In the Europe business region, the Hilti Group increased sales in local currencies by 8.8% with a particularly positive development in Northern and Southern Europe. In the Americas, the increase amounted to 10.9%, continuously supported by disproportionate growth in Latin America. Influenced by the Covid-19 restrictions in Asian countries, Asia/Pacific achieved only slight growth (+1.1%). The Eastern Europe / Middle East / Africa region recorded double-digit sales growth (+15.4%) as the effects of the war in Ukraine and the associated sanctions against Russia will only become visible in the business results in the coming months.

The challenging market environment and the announced rise in interest rates increases the likelihood of an economic slowdown in the construction industry. Nevertheless, Hilti Group continues to expect double-digit sales growth in local currencies for the full year, driven primarily by price increases.

Christoph Loos, CEO at Hilti, commented: “The global supply bottlenecks, combined with massive price increases for raw materials and for energy and transportation, have been further exacerbated by the war in Ukraine and the current lockdowns in China. Against this background, our continued growth is encouraging. However, the first four months have shown that 2022 will be much more challenging than last year.”

Lesjöfors Expands in the USA

Würth Group has achieved a new record with an operating result of €1.27 billion in the 2021 fiscal year (2020: €775 million). At €17.1 billion, the worldwide operating family business generated the highest sales volume in corporate history (2020: €14.4 billion). This corresponds to growth of 18.4%. Adjusted for currencies, sales grew by 19%.

Robert Friedmann, chairman of the central managing board of the Würth Group, commented: “The Covid-19 pandemic, and the resulting price increases, as well as material shortages on the procurement market, challenged us last year. The distinct increase in sales and operating result furnishes proof that our strategy is worthwhile also in times of crisis. This is the reason why we started 2022 full of optimism. That is, until February when the conflict between Russia and Ukraine escalated. Now, we have to manage this unprecedented situation of uncertainty every single day.”

With a sales share of 40.7%, Germany remains the most important individual market for the Würth Group. In the second year of the pandemic, the German companies proved to be battle-tried and generated a sales plus of 14.3%. The companies outside Germany also succeeded in achieving a sales increase of 21.4%.

Relieving Strain Through Digitalisation

Supply and material bottlenecks that already existed before the Ukraine crisis continue to complicate the day-to-day work of tradespeople. Metals, electronic components or plastics are difficult to obtain. Robert Friedmann emphasised: “There still is lots of sales potential out there once supply security has been restored.”

“The importance of the industry was demonstrated during the pandemic. Being essential businesses, the trades kept going. From the small but essential repair of an electrical installation to the sustainable infrastructure construction project – the trades are and will remain future-proof. We see it as our primary task to support our customers wherever we can.”

Lesjöfors, part of the Beijer Alma group, has signed an agreement to acquire the assets and operations of John Evans’ Sons Inc, a leading US spring manufacturer. With the acquisition, Lesjöfors strengthens its US presence and significantly increases its sales to the medical industry, in line with its ambition to build the leading spring, wire and flat strip component group.

John Evans’ Sons is the oldest spring maker in the USA, founded in 1850, and has a leading position on the US market. The company has a diversified customer base with long customer relationships, attributable to its expertise and ability to support customers early on in their product development projects. Revenue mainly stems from customers within the medical industry but also from customers within the industrial, construction, aerospace and transportation industries. The production facility is located in Lansdale, Pennsylvania, and the company has 72 employees.

Similar to Lesjöfors, John Evans’ Sons has close customer relationships, high technical expertise and strong emphasis on tailored solutions. Through the acquisition, Lesjöfors strengthens its position within the medical segment and builds further scale in the USA. The acquisition also enables other opportunities for profitable growth, such as purchasing coordination, cross-selling, resource/knowledge sharing with Lesjöfors’ other US companies.

Voestalpine Records Best Results in Company’s History

Voestalpine posted record results in the business year 2021/22, despite an extremely challenging environment, with revenue rising 36.9% in a year-over-year comparison, to €14.9 billion. The operating result (EBITDA) also developed positively, doubling year over year to €2.3 billion (2020/21: €1.1 billion).

Herbert Eibensteiner, CEO of voestalpine AG, explains: “voestalpine once again demonstrated its great flexibility and adaptability. By maintaining our clear focus on measures to boost efficiency, we were able to exploit the positive economic environment during the business year as best we could. We succeeded in securing our operations through suitably adjusted measures within a very short time following the outbreak of the war in Ukraine.

In the business year 2021/22, demand for the steel and technology Group’s high-quality products developed along extremely robust trajectories in almost all market and product segments. Even the Automotive Components business segment, which was strongly impacted by disruptions to supply chains and related production curtailments, recorded a satisfactory performance. The development of the Railway Systems segment was once again stable. Following the economic recovery, the Aerospace segment, which had been hugely impacted by the pandemic, developed as positively as the energy sector, which was able to profit from the rising oil and natural gas prices. The boom in the Warehouse & Rack Solutions business segment, which is driven especially by the growing trend toward e-commerce, continued unabated in the reporting period.

SFS Achieves Record Results

In a dynamic market environment characterised by high demand, supply chain bottlenecks and the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, SFS Group seized opportunities that arose in each of its segments to boost its sales by 11.0% to CHF 1.89 billion (€1.88 billion) in 2021. All end markets and regions contributed to this good growth. The result was a high level of production capacity utilisation that strengthened profitability and generated net income of CHF 248 million.

The Covid-19 pandemic continued to be the defining theme for the SFS Group in 2021 again. The market environment had already begun showing signs of recovery in the third quarter of 2020 and this recovery continued unabated during the first half of 2021. The first half of the year saw growth of 23.8% compared to the same period of the previous year, which was dominated by the lockdown. In the second half of the year, production slowdowns – yet another of the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic –increasingly resulted in global supply chain disruptions as well as shortages of semiconductors and other raw materials, some of which also had an impact on call-offs at SFS.

Fastening Systems

The exceptional demand situation that the Fastening Systems segment had already successfully leveraged in the first half of the year to generate record results continued in the second half, albeit at a slightly lower level. The good market position and robust supply

Böllhoff Acquires Gillis Aerospace

With effect from 1st June 2022 Böllhoff Group has acquired Gillis Aerospace, a French manufacturer of fasteners for the aerospace industry, therefore expanding the product and competence portfolio for customers in the aerospace market segment.

Böllhoff Group already acquired 40% of the shares in Gillis Aerospace in January 2020. Gillis Aerospace specialises in the production of special fasteners and bolts, as well as surface finishing. Due to the high-level of automation, Gillis is especially characterised by high product quality and short lead times. Furthermore, Gillis has its own facilities for surface coating and can therefore offer the complete value chain from a single source with its comprehensive coating know-how. In addition to that, surface coating is also offered as a service to the market.

The acquisition of Gillis adds to Böllhoff’s capabilities within the aerospace sector, after it acquired SNEP in June 2021. “With a comprehensive manufacturing portfolio, material expertise in lightweight materials, and development knowhow, Böllhoff wants to strengthen its position in the aerospace market as a leading supplier of innovative fastening solutions and support the aerospace industry as a competent partner in achieving weight and CO2 targets,” says Michael W Böllhoff, managing partner of the Böllhoff Group.

chains enabled the segment to reliably serve customers and profit from strong demand. The segment succeeded in boosting its sales in this environment by 17.4% year over year to CHF 574.9 million. Consolidation effects and currency translation effects contributed +0.5% and +0.3%, respectively, to sales growth.

Outlook for 2022

Performance will remain characterised by major uncertainties as a result of smouldering geopolitical developments such as the current war in Ukraine, trade conflicts and sustained disruptions in supply chains. Uncertainties in international supply chains, which should gradually subside as the Covid-19 pandemic abates, are expected to persist until early 2023. In this environment, ensuring the highest possible focus on customers takes top priority. Investments in the selective expansion of our production capacity and thus the implementation of ambitious growth projects will continue.

SFS Completes Transaction with Hoffmann

The transaction between the SFS Group and Hoffmann SE that was announced in December 2021 was completed on 11th May 2022 – meaning that Hoffmann has now been officially incorporated into the SFS organisation. SFS Group explains that the joining of forces with Hofmann marks a milestone, with the companies’ complementary positioning opening up attractive development opportunities for both.

In organisational terms, Hoffmann will operate as an independent division within the Distribution & Logistics segment. Hoffmann’s inclusion at various levels of the SFS organisation will create continuity and lay the foundation for the Group’s successful future development.

Hoffmann’s CEO, Martin Reichenecker, will now join the Group executive board of SFS. In addition, Dr. Peter Bauschatz, chairman of the supervisory board of Hoffmann SE, will now join the board of directors of SFS.

New MD at Bossard Germany

Bossard Deutschland GmbH has announced Dr. Daniel Philippe Stier as managing director, succeeding Florian Beer – who is taking a sabbatical at his own request in order to subsequently face new challenges. Dr Frank Hilgers, the second managing director of Bossard Germany – who also works as area manager/ CEO of Bossard North Europe, remains with the company.

After graduating with a degree in business mathematics from the University of Ulm, and doctorate from the University of Hohenheim, Dr. Daniel Philippe Stier first worked for a well-known car manufacturer and then for a management holding company for the Saarland steel industry, most recently as head of risk management. He has held various positions at Dillinger Hütte since 2016, including sole managing director of Dillinger Hütte Vertrieb GmbH and chairman of the supervisory and advisory boards of various sales companies worldwide.

Bossard — Continued Dynamic Sales Growth

Bossard Group has reported an excellent start to the year, with first quarter sales increasing by 19.1% to CHF 291.6 million (2021: CHF 244.8 million), equivalent to 20.6% in local currency. The Group also posted double-digit growth rates in all three market regions. Bossard’s favourable business development, which has been ongoing since the fourth quarter of 2020, continued through the first quarter of the current financial year in all three market regions. In the still tense procurement market situation, availability is a key success factor.

“Our consistently high delivery capability is based on the purchasing strategy practiced for years, which is based on multiple procurement sources. The focus on Smart Factory services in times of complex procurement markets and cost increases also paid off,” states Dr Daniel Bossard, CEO of the Bossard Group. "Our focus on product solutions as well as our engineering and logistics services serve to increase the productivity and efficiency of our customers. True to our approach of Proven Productivity we are able to significantly reduce our customers’ total costs in C-parts management and assembly. And this is especially the case today, when permanent wage and price increases are affecting our customers' cost base.

Broad-based Growth

In Europe, Bossard posted sales growth of 15% to CHF 169.9 million (in local currency +18.9%). Above-average sales growth was achieved in particular in the mechanical engineering, electronics and aerospace industries. Adjusted for acquisitions, growth in local currency was 11.9%. Sales in America increased by 24.4% to CHF 68.4 million (in local currency +21.7%). The positive business development was driven by the ongoing diversification of the customer base in this market region, particularly in the electronics, mechanical engineering and electromobility industrial segments.

The Asia market region grew by 26.6% to CHF 53.3 million (in local currency +25.1%). On the one hand, it benefited on the demand side from a recovery effect from the Covid-19 pandemic, while on the other hand the systematic development of the sales pipeline led to steady customer growth in the focus areas automation, electronics and electromobility. This allowed Bossard’s Asia business to post doubledigit growth in local currency for the sixth quarter in a row.

New fischer Insulation Fixing TermoZ CS II

fischer’s new TermoZ CS II screw fixing anchors ETICS insulation panels made of any kind of material, including fire bars, into any conventional construction material to enable simple, time saving screw mounting with minimal thermal bridges.

fischer points out that the latest addition to its range of ETICS fastenings is multitalented, as it is suitable for fastening insulating panels in any conventional material and thickness on all standard solid and hollow construction materials. The ETICS fixing therefore doesn't need to be replaced if the façade is equipped with various insulating materials, such as a fire bar, which saves additional time.

TermoZ CS II’s approval for every building material class (A, B, C, D, E) guarantees its secure application – making it suitable for subsequent insulation on renovated buildings if there is uncertainty about their anchor substrate. Further advantages include the fact that any improper use caused by unsuitable insulation fixings is prevented and users can make do with a single ETICS fixing even if the building has various substrates.

The screw fixing consists of a polypropylene anchor sleeve with a diameter of 8mm, as well as an insulation plate (various diameters) made of glass-fibre reinforced polyamide. The fixing is fastened by inserting the special compound screw made of zinc-plated steel and glass-fibre reinforced polyamide. While the screw is inserted, the anchor sleeve expands to provide a firm anchoring in the substrate. Because the screw is thermally isolated, thermal bridges are minimised so that there is no need for a sealing plug.

NORMA Group Achieves Sales of €1 Billion

NORMA Group has generated sales of €1.091 billion in fiscal year 2021 (2020: €952.2 million), representing a 14.7% increase in organic revenue. At €113.8 million, adjusted earnings before interest and taxes (adjusted EBIT) were well above the figure for the previous year, which was severely impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic (2020: €45.3 million).

The 2021 fiscal year was shaped by varying global developments. One of these was the fact that despite the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, economic conditions improved significantly. In the first half of the year in particular, NORMA Group recorded increased customer demand in all business segments and regions. At the same time, turmoil in global supply chains created an entirely new set of challenges. The resulting material shortages led to a sharp rise in raw material prices, particularly in the second half of the year. This was reflected, among other things, in highly volatile ordering behavior on the part of customers, particularly from the automotive sector.

Development in the Business Regions

In the EMEA region (Europe, Middle East and Africa), sales increased by 12.9% to €462.4 million in 2021 (2020: €409.5 million). In the wake of the Covid-19 related declines in 2020, recovery effects in the Standardised Joining Technology (SJT) business and in the automotive business contributed to the sales increase.

In the America region, sales showed a significant 18.5% increase to €456.8 million (2020: €385.5 million). The positive development was the result of the general economic recovery on the one hand, and the continued very good performance of the US water business on the other. The US water business generated organic growth of 20.9% in fiscal year 2021 (2020: 6.7%).

In the Asia-Pacific region, sales totaled €172.8 million, an increase of 9.9% compared to the previous year (2020: €157.2 million). Increased demand from the Chinese automotive industry in the first half of the year as well as positive development in the SJT area contributed to the growth in sales.

Berner New High-bay Warehouse Goes in Operation

Berner Group has implemented the next important building block in its European logistics offensive, with a new fully automated high-bay warehouse now operation in Braunau am Inn, Austria.

With an investment of almost €6 million in this major project, as well as in further conversion and expansion measures at its Austrian subsidiary, Berner Group has been able to increase the logistics capacity of the site by around 1,000m2 of floor space and 5,500 additional pallet storage spaces.

"We are proud that we managed a precision landing despite the generally difficult raw material and supply situation on the world market," says Robert Kü hl, who as Chief Supply Chain Officer is responsible for the logistics division at the Berner Group. "The modernisation was implemented completely and without delays within the budget plan."

"Thanks to full automation, including order picking and other targeted improvements – such as a more direct connection to the other sections of the logistics centre, the throughput time of the products has been reduced by about 50%, so that we can now store and retrieve almost twice as many pallets per hour," reports Robert.

Fabory Acquires Fastto Nederland

Fabory Group has signed an agreement to acquire Fastto Nederland B.V from founder and owner Guido Voskamp. Fastto is a recognised fastener specialist with a relevant product portfolio and strong customer advocacy.

The Fabory Fastto combination shows a strong strategic fit between two fastener specialists. “Fabory is impressed by the customer intimacy Fastto is known for,” states Francisco Terol, CEO Fabory. “The team’s enthusiasm and customer focus is inspiring. It is easy to understand how Fastto has managed to build longstanding customer relationships.”

Guido Voskamp, owner and founder of Fastto, commented: “I envisioned a fastener specialist like Fabory when I started Fastto, both companies are strongly rooted in the world of fasteners. This is an exciting next step in Fastto’s development. The combination will benefit from an extensive product range combined with relevant expertise and a differentiated service mentality to support customers in their needs for fastening solutions. We are convinced that joining forces will open up many new opportunities.” Ever since it was founded in 2000, Fastto has been 100% focused on the distribution of fasteners. The company offers a wide and broad assortment of specialised fasteners in combination with strong customer service.

Bufab Acquires TIMCO

Bufab Group has acquired TIMCO (TI Midwood & Co Limited), one of the UK’s leading suppliers of essential construction products. Simon Midwood, managing director at TIMCO, will continue to run the business with the senior team. The purchase price paid upon closing of the transaction amounts to GB£54 million (€64.2 million) on a cash free/debt free basis.

TIMCO has been family-owned since its foundation in 1972 by Tim Midwood, and is currently run by Tim’s son, Simon Midwood. TIMCO reported a turnover of GB£49.7 million (€59.1 million) in 2020 and is expected to report a turnover of approximately GB£60 million for 2021.

Under Simon’s leadership, TIMCO has expanded to become a ‘one-stop shop’ for over 4,500 independent merchants across the UK and Ireland, supplying essential products that trade professionals rely on every day, such as screws, fasteners and fixings, nails, adhesives and chemicals, power tool accessories, hand tools, building hardware and site protection, security and ironmongery and PPE.

Additionally, Bufab’s board of directors has appointed Erik Lundén as the new president and CEO. Currently division manager for parts & services at Sandvik Mining & Rock Solutions in the Netherlands, Erik will assume his role on 15th August 2022.

Ahlsell Acquires Skånebeslag

and Skånesnickeri

Ahlsell has entered into an agreement to purchase all shares in Skånebeslag and Skånesnickeri AB – with the two companies having a combined annual turnover of more than SEK 60 million (€5.7million).

Ahlsell Group has a turnover of approximately SEK 37 billion (€3.56 billion) and has more than 6 000 skilled employees, over 240 stores and three central warehouses. The joint acquisition will enable it to further develop its offering in the field of circular construction and renovation solutions – an important contribution to a more sustainable development of society.

Both Skånebeslag and Skånesnickeri have been active since 1972 and have always had a good relationship with Ahlsell. They are at the forefront when it comes to customised solutions for construction customers, with both constantly developing their range of fittings and fixtures, and have a customer focus that suits Ahlsell’s culture.

As they now become part of the Ahlsell Group, synergies and opportunities are created for both companies to learn and develop even more. The acquisition gives Ahlsell access to Skånebeslag’s entire expertise and product range, and through the acquisition of Skånesnickerier, the opportunity to learn a new product area with cutting-edge expertise in the areas of reuse, renovation and circularity.

News provided by: Fastener + Fixing Magazine (www.fastenerandfixing.com)

American News

Compiled by Fastener World

National Machinery Introduces Lean Header/Threader

for Re-Shoring

National Machinery

LLC introduced a new “lean header & threader” to make small screws / fasteners up to M6 sizes. It uses a small footprint and sound enclosure for efficiency, sales & marketing VP Jerry Bupp said. “The machines target industry needs for the re-shoring of small fasteners and replacement of traditional headers,” the company stated.

“While it remains to be seen how much of it is permanent, re-shoring is indeed happening,” Bupp said. Most orders are going to North America, with some headed to Europe. Most of the new header & threader sales are to existing fastener manufacturers, Bupp said. “There have been inquiries from startups, but when they learn the complexity of forming that makes them realize it may not be the right fit,” Bupp finds.

Founded in 1874 by William Anderson, National Machinery has facilities on four continents and is headquartered in Ohio.

FAA Clears Boeing to Resume 787 Dreamliner Deliveries

Boeing could soon resume deliveries of its large 787 airliner, which has been plagued by a series of production issues since late 2020, the Associated Press reports. The Federal Aviation Administration will approve the company’s process for validating fixes to each plane before they are delivered to airline customers. “Approval to resume deliveries would be a boost for Boeing, which collects a big chunk of each plane’s purchase price at delivery,” according to AP. Boeing has accumulated a backlog of about 120 undelivered 787s. The plane, which Boeing calls the Dreamliner, lists at $248 million to $338 million depending on size.

Issues with the 787 started in 2020 when small gaps were found between panels of the fuselage that are made of carbon composite material. Inspections that turned up problems with a pressurization bulkhead at the front of the plane. Boeing also had to replace titanium parts including fasteners after it was discovered that the Italian supplier used alloys that did not meet FAA standards. Fasteners played a prominent role in the nearly three-year delay of the Dreamliner as supply disruptions and improper installation plagued its test aircraft fleet.

Boeing had an issue with overtorqued fasteners in some of the first 787s. The aircraft manufacturer discovered hairline cracks in wings “stemmed from fasteners used to connect aluminum shear ties on the wing ribs to the carbon fibre composite wing panel,” according to the Wall Street Journal. “The fasteners were over-tightened without the use of manufacturing fillers, compressing a gap in the structure and in some cases caused hairline cracks of less than an inch: if left unchecked it can cause unintended stress on the jet’s structure and lead to further damage.”

Likewise, an “unusual production mishap” on the 787 assembly line in Everett, WA, revealed a continued problem with incomplete fuselage sections from Boeing's South Carolina facility, according to the Seattle Times. “During 787 assembly, before the point where all the fuselage sections and wings are joined to make the complete airframe, the fuselage sections are held in place by cradles,” wrote Dominic Gates of the Times. “After the join is made, the cradles are lowered and removed.” However, when mechanics in Everett removed the cradles, “nearly 100 improperly installed fasteners clattered to the factory floor.” “A subsequent inspection found the South Carolina team in Everett had installed hundreds of temporary fasteners near the join between the two aft fuselage sections without the collars needed to hold them in place,” according to the Times.

It is unclear how long it will take Boeing to deliver all 120 backlogged planes, which were built at factories in Washington state and South Carolina. Each one will need to be cleared by the FAA.

LindFast Acquires Star Stainless Screw Co.

LindFast Solutions Group acquired Star Stainless Screw Company for an undisclosed sum. “We believe the combination of LSG and Star will give our collective customers unparalleled ability to meet all of their fastener needs with one company,” said LindFast CEO Bill Niketas. “With Star’s 14 branches and distribution centers across North America and the 16 locations we have, this collective footprint will allow our customers to access product even more efficiently than in the past.”

Together LSG and Star will distribute fasteners ranging from stainless to inch, to metric and provide value-added services. As with other recent LindFast acquisitions “little change is expected in the near term from a customer perspective,” Niketas said. For the foreseeable future, Star will continue to operate out of its existing facilities, will remain on the same ERP system, and will extend the same policies currently in place.

Lindstrom was founded in 1983 by Virg Lindstrom. Stelfast traces its founding to 1972 when Surinder Sakhuja started Eses Limited as a manufacturer of industrial gears and screw machine products. The company took the Stelfast name in 1976 and became an importer and master distributor of fasteners.

Lindstrom was a master distributor specializing in metric fasteners when it acquired Stelfast – an imperial fasteners master distributor – in 2018. In 1946 Bernard Golden founded Star Stainless Steel Polishing Co. in New Jersey. In 1950 a few bags of screws found in the employee locker room led to the start of Star Stainless Screw Co. Star Stainless survived a fire which destroyed its building in 1954. When Bernard Golden died in 1984, his son Wayne Golden succeeded him. Bruce Wheeler became president in 2003. Tim Roberto is the current president.

ParkOhio Bolsters Its Fastener Business

ParkOhio acquired two companies to bolster its fastener business. ParkOhio acquired Southern Fasteners & Supply, which will be included in ParkOhio’s Supply Technologies segment. Winston-Salem, NC-based Southern Fasteners provides commercial fasteners and industrial supplies to MRO and OEM customers. The company lists operations in Montgomery, AL; Anaheim, CA; Orlando, FL; Pendergrass, GA; D'Iberville, MS; Greenville, SC; New Johnsonville, TN; Houston, TX; Richmond, VA; and Parkersburg, WV.

Southern Fasteners has annual revenue of US$25 million. In addition, ParkOhio finalized the acquisition of Charter Automotive (Changzhou) Co. Ltd., which will also be included in ParkOhio’s Supply Technologies segment. Changzhou, China-based Charter “is strategic to our fastener manufacturing business and will accelerate the global growth of its proprietary products to Electric Vehicle and other autorelated platforms,” ParkOhio noted. Charter has annual revenues of approximately US$15 million.

ParkOhio completed the acquisitions during a strong second quarter performance. Revenue increased 22% to US$429 million, boosted by strong results from its Supply Technologies and Engineered Products segments. Net income improved to $1 million from a US$3.5 million loss in the second quarter of 2021.

Supply Technologies segment sales rose 13% to an all-time quarterly high of US$175.8 million, breaking the previous record of US$168.8 million established last quarter. Sales gains were driven by “strong customer demand in the majority of our end markets, with the biggest increases in heavy-duty truck, semiconductor, industrial and agricultural equipment and civilian aerospace.” Average daily sales increased 18%, with operating income up 24% to US$12.7 million. Q2 operating margins improved to 7.2%, “as profit flow-through from the higher sales levels and the favorable impact of pricing initiatives more than offset higher supply chain costs and general inflation.”

Ohio-based Supply Technologies provides logistics services for 190,000 production components, including fasteners, to OEMs, other manufacturers and distributors. ILS also engineers and manufactures precision cold formed and cold extruded products, including locknuts, SPAC nuts and wheel hardware. The segment employs more than 1,500 at 55 logistics service centers in North America, Scotland, Hungary, Asia and India. Park-Ohio entered the fastener business in 1995 by acquiring RB&W. Subsequent fastener acquisitions included Arden Industrial Products Inc., Arcon Fastener Corp., Delo Screw Products Co., Direct Fasteners, Gateway Industrial Supply and Columbia Nut & Bolt Corp. and Purchased Parts Group Inc.

AFC Industries Acquires TFC Ltd.

AFC Industries acquired UK-based TFC Ltd. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. For over 60 years, TFC has supplied industrial fastening products and services via a network of UK and European locations. TFC offers customized VMI, product solutions, and engineering and design consultation for industrial markets. TFC will continue to be led by Morgan Burgoyne and the current TFC management team as the AFC European business unit.

AFC distributes fasteners and assembly components to OEMs, assembly plants and other users. AFC provides supply chain management, VMI, stock and release programs, right assembly, kitting and private labeling to a range of industries. AFC has facilities in Connecticut, Ohio, Minnesota and Nevada plus Mexico and is headquartered in Fairfield, OH. In 2021, AFC Industries was acquired by Foster City, CA-based Bertram Capital.

NFDA on Cybersecurity: The New Normal

Cyber crime is a legitimate business in other countries, Will Snyder of WTC Business Technology Services told National Fastener Distributors Association members. “Plan for a Cyber incident to happen... It is not IF, but WHEN!” Snyder stated. Snyder advocates a “shotgun” approach to system vulnerabilities/breaches. This includes security measures, staff training and cyber liability and business disruption insurance.

The first order of business is security. Measures such as DNS proxy, next-generation firewalls (with automatic system updates), GEO blocking (blocking traffic from countries where you don’t do business), content filtering and IPS/IDS (intrusion prevention systems and intrusion detection systems) are essential to help keep your business safe from hackers. Such measures help “secure the edge,” Snyder explained.

Fastener distributors also need to “secure the endpoint.” This involves next-gen endpoint protection (antivirus) software with 24/7 monitoring, tightening your password policy (complex requirement that changes every six months) and access control, and device updates and patching (using RMM to automate and schedule Windows updates on workstations and laptops). “Perform an internal vulnerability scan yearly to make sure nothing is missed,” Snyder emphasized. Fastener distributors also need to secure their networks. This involves an improved password policy and access control and remote machine management (RMM) to support and monitor all network devices.

It’s a very big risk to have your email hosted locally, Snyder explained. “My brother-in-law has an email server that has worked for the past 20 years: Why do I need to update?” won’t save your business in a cyber attack. Most importantly, businesses must secure their data. “If everything else fails… having a data backup stored securely” can get your business back up and running quickly,” Snyder explained.

To secure company data, put encryption on everything. Likewise, place “smart” cameras on all key areas, such as IT rooms. Use on-premises encrypted server image backups daily. And create documented disaster recovery/business continuity plans to prepare for the worst. Educating staff on security risks is essential as well. Snyder encouraged “user security awareness training” and having staff take various phishing tests (social media, financial ACH, etc). Training should occur every quarter, he noted.

In addition, it’s vital to test your business response to everything. Disaster recovery and incident response test at least yearly and backups tested monthly, with all processes documented and documentation used each year in testing. These solutions are not expensive but they’re essential in the 21st century, he noted. “ALL companies are now at risk. Having simple antivirus software is no longer enough.”

NFDA Panelists: Supply Chain Faces ‘Bumps’

Industry panelists at the National Fastener Distributors Association 2022 spring meeting reported supply chain problems are easing, but are not back to normal. Joe Kochan, COO of the Elgin Fastener Group, said “inbound raw material was stabilizing” before Russia invaded Ukraine. Raw material “continues to be a challenge” for Elgin. The Ohio-based manufacturer is ordering and forecasting further out, Kochan said. There also are delays in outside processing for manufacturers, Kochan added.

Shipping has improved, but Tim Roberto, president of Star Stainless Screw, said “ports can’t handle” the shipping as is and “any little bump down the road” creates larger problems. “Your customers are going through the same problems,” Roberto pointed out. Angela Philipport of AFC Industries, who has 25 years in various purchasing roles, said a key will be “keeping lines of communication open in the supply chain. AFC has relied on “communication and collaboration.” Roberto agreed there is a need to share information. Star Stainless is relying on supply chain relationships, he said. “We are all swimming in the same ocean” panel moderator Eric Dudas summarized.

Recession ahead? “I’m usually the optimist,” Roberto said. But he finds fear of a recession “is driving the narrative.” Kochan pointed out that even if a recession develops that “we serve different markets” and some markets will have a soft landing.” “There is still business during a recession,” Roberto pointed out.

Roberto started in the fastener industry with a summer job 31 years ago. He became a branch manager at age 25. All along he has been “building relationships” with Star Stainless people by “sitting down and having a conversation.” When you get to know them you “recognize where their strengths are.” Also be aware that “people evolve,” Roberto added. “Give tools to people who are motivated.”

Philipports said AFC is ordering further in advance and working with domestic partners for “greater control over the order board.” In buying domestic, AFC is looking “at the total cost of imported product.” Roberto said the import / domestic ratio “comes back to cost.” Roberto asked and answered reshoring questions: “Can we? Yes. Should we? Yes.” Kochan agreed that domestic vs. imported “comes down to cost.” But he noted that “people are talking about it (reshoring) more” and EFG is having “conversations with customers.” He predicts there will be more domestic production. “Price is not the total cost of ownership,” Kochan noted.

Philipports said remote employees have opened a greater talent pool. She cited a recent search drew 12 applicants to work in the office, but “a thousand-plus to work remotely.” Kochan touted EFG’s internship program and noted he just hired an engineer who had been an intern. He had once been “third shift on the shop floor in Alabama who others had helped along.” Kochan urged management to be engaged with employees. “People need to know they are important” and they “have a future” with the company. Roberto suggested to improve efficiency “go to the person who is doing that job” for suggestions. Philipports emphasized that managers “need to be leaders. I have to be the leader” and “set the example.”

EFG developed a program of games to get people to look forward to being at work. Referring to the pandemic of 2020, Philipport norms “there was no playbook” and AFC had to “look at alternatives.”

CELO’s USA Team Gets Ready for New Carlo Salvi Machines

To cope with the growing business in the USA, members of the CELO USA production team had a training session at CELO’s Spanish manufacturing plant, where they learned all about Carlo Salvi machines. CELO reports, “It was great that the teams were able to meet in person and thank you to our Spanish team for being such good teachers!” CELO is a brand dedicated to the design and manufacture of highprecision fixing and fastening solutions for the fields of industry and construction. It has an international presence on three continents: Europe, Asia and America, while staying true to its roots as a family business.

Industrial Fasteners Institute (IFI) Announces New IFI Standard: IFI-171

Industrial Fasteners Institute (IFI) has announced the publication of a new IFI standard, IFI-171, thread dimensions for sizes 1-5/8 – 5-1/2 and 1-7/8 UNS for Assembly of Bolts, Studs and Nuts in the Steel Construction Industry. The new standard specifies thread dimensions and tolerances for two sizes of coarse threads, 1-5/8 – 5-1/2 and 1-7/8—5, that are commonly used in the steel construction industry. The standard resolves slight differences that commonly resulted from varied interpretations of ASME B1.1 (2019), which does not explicitly list sizes. IFI standards are developed by industry experts that volunteer at the request of IFI members and industry stakeholders. Many of these experts are also engaged in the production of the IFI Book of Fastener Standards, a compilation of nearly 100 standards from ASTM, ASME, SAE and the IFI. “I am very appreciative for the contribution of the task group members, beginning with Mike Friel from Haydon Bolts who identified the gap and pushed for a standard to be published,” said Salim Brahimi, Director of Engineering and Technology for IFI. “I am also grateful for the expertise and guidance of Al Barrows, chair of ASME Committee B1 on Threads. His support was essential to validate the accuracy of the dimensions and to ensure we did the work correctly and in concert with ASME B1.1. This standard will be added the Online Book of Fastener Standards and to future publications of the hardcover Book of Fastener Standards.”

MSC Acquires Tower Fasteners via AIS Subsidiary

MSC industrial Supply Co. has acquired Tower Fasteners, a valued-added distributor of Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) fasteners and components. Under the equity purchase agreement, Tower will continue to operate under its current name after becoming an MSC company. Mark Shannon, President of Tower, will continue to lead the business, which has approximately 100 associates. Tower's revenue in calendar 2021 was approximately $35 million. MSC's acquisition of Tower, made through its All Integrated Solutions (AIS) subsidiary, expands the company’s presence in the OEM fastener market, which it entered in 2018 with the acquisition of AIS, a leading value-added distributor of industrial fasteners and components, MRO supplies and assembly tools based in Wisconsin. Tower's growing footprint complements AIS's existing locations concentrated in the Midwest. The company operates eight distribution centers along the East Coast and in the Southwestern regions of the United States, Mexico and Europe. Tower serves manufacturers in the industrial, electronics, medical equipment, aerospace, military, and security, fire and safety sectors. MSC plans to maintain Tower’s operations, providing the company’s customer base access to MSC's 2 million-plus product portfolio to support their full metalworking and MRO needs. Similarly, MSC will extend Tower’s production fastener solutions to its manufacturing customers.

Lawson Products Changes Name to Distribution Solutions Group

The specialty distribution company includes MRO c-parts distributor Lawson Products, OEM supply chain services provider Gexpro Services, and TestEquity, an electronic test & measurement solutions provider. “We are excited to reach this next step in the evolution and transformation of these businesses, and believe that Distribution Solutions Group, tagline Powerful Solutions. Proven Results., exemplifies our strong leadership position,” stated chairman and CEO J. Bryan King.

Founded in 1952, Chicago-based Lawson Products distributes MRO products and services from facilities in all 50 states, as well as Puerto Rico, Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean. Lawson’s Bolt Supply House serves customers in Western Canada and the Kent Automotive brand supplies collision and mechanical repair products to the automotive aftermarket.

In the first quarter of 2022, Lawson Products reported sales, including fasteners, rose 13.8% to US$117.9 million. Average daily sales grew 12% to US$1.84 million. The integrated Lawson/Partsmaster sales grew 12.1% through price, volume and sales rep productivity. Realization of price increases instituted during 2021 and the first quarter of 2022 led to higher sales on a sequential basis and compared to the prior year quarter. The Bolt Supply House sales improved 26.9% from continued strength in branch location sales and a recovery of direct sales to oil and gas customers. Q1 gross profit increased US$5.9 million to US$60.5 million, driven by higher sales. As a percentage of sales, reported gross margin decreased to 51.3%. Net income nearly tripled to US$9 million.

DSG serves 120,000 customers supported by more than 3,000 employees. DSG ships from distribution and service centers to customers in North America, Europe, Asia, South America and the Middle East.

Henkel Decarbonizing Supply Chain

Adhesives manufacturer Henkel has set a corporate goal to be climate-positive by 2030. The company has partnered with energy and sustainability firm Schneider Electric to halve their operation’s CO2 emissions by 2025.

“Decarbonization is a fundamental part of meeting our ambitious sustainability targets,” said Ulla Hüppe, director of sustainability for Henkel’s Adhesive Technologies business unit. “We are fully committed to the Schneider Electric program, and we’re honored to have been asked to share our expertise to help other suppliers get started. Together, we can advance our positive environmental impact.”

As of 2021, Henkel’s CO2 emissions per ton of product have been reduced by 50% (vs. base year 2010), offering a model of success in sustainability.

“The catastrophic challenge that climate change presents cannot be overcome by a company’s actions alone,” said Christophe Quiquempoix, VP, Sustainable Procurement & External Manufacturing for Schneider Electric. “A company’s supply chain accounts for a much larger proportion of emissions, so engaging supplier partners is a critical step towards climate action. Energy is a major source of greenhouse gas emissions, and while we recognize that decarbonization is not easy, it’s necessary.”

Hilti Group Sales Rise in 2021

In the first four months of 2022, the Hilti Group achieved a 5.6% sales increase to CHF 2.03 billion (US$2.04 billion). In local currencies, growth reached 9%. “The global supply bottlenecks, combined with massive price increases for raw materials and for energy and transportation, have been further exacerbated by the war in Ukraine and the current lockdowns in China,” stated CEO Christoph Loos.

In Europe, Hilti increased sales in local currencies by 8.8% with a positive development in Northern and Southern Europe. In the Americas, the increase amounted to 10.9%, supported by strong growth in Latin America. Influenced by the COVID-19 restrictions, sales in Asia achieved only slight growth of 1.1%. The Eastern Europe / Middle East / Africa region recorded double-digit sales growth (+15.4%) “as the effects of the war in Ukraine and the associated sanctions against Russia will only become visible in the business results in the coming months.”

The challenging market environment and rising interest rates increase the likelihood of an economic slowdown in the construction industry. “Nevertheless, the Hilti Group continues to expect doubledigit sales growth in local currencies for the full year, driven primarily by price increases.”

The Hilti Group supplies the global construction and energy industries with products, systems, software and services. With about 31,000 team members in over 120 countries, the company generated sales of nearly CHF 6 billion in 2021. Headquartered in Schaan, Liechtenstein, since its founding in 1941, Hilti is privately owned by the Martin Hilti Family Trust.

Soft Sales Slow FDI Growth

The seasonally adjusted April Fastener Distributor Index declined to 52.6 from 57.2 in March, driven by a decline in the sales index from a general market slowdown, limited material availability for specialty fasteners, lower “panic buying” and Spring Break-related softness. “Pricing continues to march higher – particularly on stainless steel – as evidenced by further improvement in the year-to-year pricing index,” according to R.W. Baird analyst David Manthey. “Overall, growth/market conditions remain nicely positive but slowing relative to recent months.”

The seasonally adjusted Forward Looking Index dropped to 55.1 from 65.4 the previous month, hurt by a weaker employment reading and lower six-month outlook. “Overall, with demand still in a healthy place and supply chain challenges leading to very extended backlogs, we believe the FDI should remain in growth mode ahead,” Manthey writes.

The most common theme in April was slowing growth. One respondent said they were “seeing some market slowing, however other parts of our business are still growing.” “Business is starting to taper, panic buying is over and product is [slowly] arriving,” another respondent noted. Availability of products and extended lead times continue to plague respondents.

“Incoming orders continue to be very strong,” Manthey explained. “Material pricing still on the rise, especially stainless steel but at least we are getting regular deliveries again. Lead times on new orders are stretching out to 4-6 months depending on material.” Despite supply chain challenges, many participants’ sales are still exceeding expectations.

Fastenal’s 20.3% overall April daily sales growth was a touch below our 22.2% estimate. Fastener sales were very strong at 25.5% y/y (essentially consistent with last month’s 25.2% growth).

Rotor Clip & LISI Automotive Partnership

Rotor Clip and LISI Automotive NOMEL have partnered to serve the industrial market. With over 200 years of combined manufacturing excellence serving industries like automotive, aerospace, medical and more, Rotor Clip and LISI are the global leaders in Application Driven Solutions™.

As the global leader in the manufacture and design of circlips, retaining rings and wave springs, Rotor Clip now expands its reach of products, engineering and service to the market though LISI Automotive, and the two companies have synergy with their established manufacturing and distribution facilities in the EU marketplace. “The two brands, both well known and well established in Europe, will offer advice and technical expertise to their customers as well as a wide range of locally manufactured products,” says Christophe Martin, General Manager of Business Development at LISI Automotive. “This collaboration will guarantee increased stability of the supply chain to a European market undergoing a profound change.”

Zhongda United Holding Group Co., Ltd. was established in 1964. It is an IS09001, IS014001 and OHSAS18001 qualified enterprise with more than 3,000 employees and a total area of 478,000 square meters. In 2021, the company's total sales amount was $1.02 billion. Due to the company's business segmentation, our fastener business has been operating under the name ZDI SUPPLIES (HAIYAN) CO., LTD. since Sep. 2020.

We consider ourselves as a solution provider of fasteners, especially when it comes to project supply We can supply Chipboard Screws & Construction Screws (capacity: 1000 tons per month), Drywall Screws (capacity: 1000 tons per month), as well as other screws, bolts, nuts, threaded rods and stamped parts.

We can also provide a full range of DIY assortment and professional packaging design solutions for retailer display purpose. We have good experiences in cooperating with European and America retailers (TCHIBO, LIDI, ALDI, HORNBACH, LOWE'S, HOMEDEPOT, etc.)

We have our own lab, which is CNAS approved, as we treat product quality as top priority We can carry out tensile and impact test, corrosion resistance test, metallographic test and more according to customers' requirements. With our passion for fasteners, you will find our team a trustworthy partner and we are eager to hear from you.

STAFDA: Employee Retention About More Than Money

A company’s culture is what can keep standout employees from quitting to go down the street for 50 cents more an hour, a “chief appreciation strategist” told participants of a Specialty Tools & Fasteners Distributors Association webinar. Lisa Ryan recalled intrigue with the welding consumables industry drawing her into a job with Lawson Products where she was the only woman in the orientation class. She “fell in” by learning about metal preparation, joining assemblies and the “smell of welding.” But it was the culture of the company led by the boss that “kept me there” for seven years, Ryan recalled.

At a Premier Automotive Supply Co. picnic, new employee Ryan approached CEO Mort Mandel. He took interest in meeting her and in doing so created a fan. Traditionally it could be layers of management asking “if it is ‘okay’ if Lisa says ‘hello’ to Mr. Mandel,” she said. Such personal contact can be lost in remote jobs. Particularly with working remotely during the pandemic the personal connection of “hallway conversations” are missed, Ryan found. To retain “human connections” with remote employees, Ryan suggested “keep the camera on” during remote meetings.

Often an employee departing is “not about the money. They are leaving you, they are leaving your culture,” Ryan said. A positive company culture means the chance of employees leaving “goes down substantially.” Ryan said she has known employees who have taken wage decreases – even 20% less money – for a better work culture.

Ryan recommends a seven-point program for employee relations:

1. Acknowledge excellence.

2. Be accessible. Employees want access to company leadership –particularly younger ones, Ryan said.

3. Express empathy. Your other employees will see and realize “they will have my back” in time of need. If you show empathy, a certain number of employees will take advantage of you, but 97% will appreciate that you will assist them.

4. Flexibility. Does every job have to be 8-to-5 or can working hours be adjusted for an employee due to babysitter availability or other situation?

5. Conduct ‘Stay’ interviews. Employers traditionally conduct “Exit” interviews, but should add “Stay” interviews, too. Start by asking for three things the employees like. Then instead of asking the negative of what they “don’t like,” ask the positive of “If you were me, what changes would you make?” Ryan said in the first round of “Stay” interviews, employees tend to “tell exactly what they think you want to hear,” but in subsequent sessions many tell more.

6. Invest in training. Many are reluctant to pay for training because the employee leaves. But Ryan asks: “What if you don’t train them and they stay?” She suggested offering US$1,500 to employees for a variety of training programs. That can be lunch and learn, sending an employee to a trade show or even participating in a group such as Toastmasters. The 3% to 5% who take advantage of the training “are your future leaders,” Ryan predicted.

7. Thank your people. Ryan recalled that while a salesperson in the welding division of Lawson Products, the boss hand wrote a compliment on her commission statement.

Field Announces Leadership Succession

Rockford, IL, USA-based Field Fastener, a family owned, global supplier of inventory management, technical support services and complete supply chain solutions for fasteners and other “C” class items, has announced the company’s leadership succession plan. Jim Derry, President/CEO of Field, has announced that Adam Derry will be promoted to succeed him as President. In addition, Chris Pauli will be promoted to Executive VicePresident and Chief Financial Officer (CFO). Jim Derry will remain the company’s CEO.

In 1990, Jim and Bill Derry acquired Field from Dick Field. Since that time, Field has seen aggressive growth, achieving an 18% average growth rate per year due to its worldclass culture and staying customer centric. Field currently has operations in Rockford, IL, USA; Tyler, TX, USA; Florence, SC, USA; Troy, IL, USA; Monterrey and Monclova, Mexico; and Kaohsiung, Taiwan. As Field CEO, Jim Derry will focus on key customer relationships, acquisitions and strategic planning. As Field President, Adam Derry will provide strategic direction for the entire organization, ensuring Field achieves its financial and organizational objectives. Adam will have overall accountability towards Field’s operating plan, and ten-year strategic plan, as well as protecting and enhancing the Field culture as it continues to grow.

Copper State Bolt & Nut Celebrates 50 Years

Copper State Bolt & Nut is celebrating 50 years as a distributor/manufacturer providing quality products, great service and strong relationships with customers in construction, mining, manufacturing and renewable energy. Martin Calfee began the business in 1972 in Phoenix, AZ, USA, with six employees and a 6000 ft2 warehouse, and he knew building a foundation of quality customer service was key.

“My goal from the start has been to be the best distributor in the USA,” said Calfee. “I wanted to provide the best customer service around town, and I wanted my suppliers to think of me as their best customer.” To achieve this, Copper State focuses on ensuring all employees, customers and vendors know they are part of the family. This emphasis on putting relationships first is why the company has been able to expand to 500 employees in 30 sites across 10 western states serving more than 20,000 customers.

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provide atmospheric corrosion resistance. Type 1 fasteners are marked with ‘A325’ but may also have 3 radial lines 120° apart. This is the same strength equivalent and has the same 3 radial line head marking as the SAE Grade 5.

H owever, the ASTM A449 is the exact equivalent of the SAE Grade 5; it specifies the same chemical and material requirements, including the 3 radial grade lines on the head. The dimensions are standard hex cap screw, the same as the SAE product.

T he ASTM A354 Grade BD fasteners are the strength equivalent to the SAE Grade 8, at 150,000 psi and 120,000 psi yield strength, but with a few exceptions. Of greatest importance, all BD fastener sizes are required to be made from alloy steel. SAE has provisions for the use of non-alloy steels in certain sizes. Secondly, the Grade BD requires proof load testing, which the results are to be included in the material test report, in addition to wedge tensile testing and hardness readings. SAE does not require the proof load testing.

The A490 is the structural version of the SAE Grade 8 and the A354, BD. However, by US standards and due to their high strength and high hardness, and that these fasteners are assembled into yield for consistency, the A490 fasteners and matching nuts are never hot dip galvanized nor electroplated to avoid hydrogen embrittlement.

The A325/A449 bolts may be quenched in water after heat treatment. However, it is required that all A490/A354BD bolts are oil quenched. This produces a refined martensitic grain structure that is very ductile at 14%, the same as the A325.

S AE does not have a specific grade for flat washers; they are either plain (fully annealed and soft) or heat treated and hardened. Hardened flat washers are available in commerce but they are also not marked to differentiate between the two types; however, the through hardened flat washers are used in all critical automotive and heavy equipment applications. The ASTM has the specification F436 which does specify the material and heat treatment hardnesses. These hardened flat washers are designed to support high yield loads without dishing or causing significant load relaxation. The flat washers are marked with ‘F436’ on one side.

Therefore, in non-structural and non-shear applications, an SAE Grade 5 can be substituted for an ASTM A449 or an A325 fastener. Likewise, an A354-BD may be substituted for an A490 for non-shear and non-structural applications. However, an A354-BD may be substituted for an SAE Grade 8 bolt for any application but the Grade 8 should never be used in place of the A354-BD without confirmation from the purchaser.

When a specification calls for an ASTM A193 fastener, it may never be substituted with any SAE fastener. The A193 covers high temperature alloy steel fasteners as well as stainless steels. The A193-B7, or B7 for short, is supplied in either threaded rod or heavy hex fasteners. This material is commonly used for high temperature (up to 1100°F, 593°C) and high pressure vessel applications, such as ASME SA193. The B7 threaded rods and bolts can be substituted for SAE Grade 5 but never the other way around, because the B7 is slightly stronger at 125,000 psi than the 120,000 psi tensile strength of the Grade 5. The B7 has better yield properties than the Grade 5 and is made from a 4140 series alloy steel, rather than a medium carbon steel.

N uts are a different matter. The ASTM specifies several dimensions for structural or regular use nuts. Typical nuts are; heavy hex, hex and thick hex. These nuts are listed in the A194 standard.

A heavy hex nut has more mass; i.e., it has a larger width across the flats to provide greater support when a structural fastener is taken into yield. The ASTM A563 grade D has proof load strength of 150 ksi; DH and DH3 are 175 ksi. Compared with the regular hex dimension nuts; grade B is 120 ksi, D is 135 ksi, DH and DH3 are 150 ksi. The DH3 is made of weathering steel to mate with a Type 3 steel bolt. Therefore, a DH nut of either heavy hex or regular hex dimension may be used with a Grade 8 fastener.

All SAE nuts are the same size for different grades. For example, a 1/2" Grade 2 nut has the same dimensions as a 1/2" Grade 5 nut and the same as a 1/2" Grade 8 nut. The differences are in the heat treatments and steel chemistries. Technically, a Grade 2 nut could be used onto a Grade 8 fastener if the nut was thick enough; by at least 2 1/2 times the diameter of the fastener.

T his relationship between thickness and hardness is similar to the depth and strength of a tapped hole. The old rule of thumb was that the hole only had to be as deep as the diameter of the fastener. This was derived from socket head products going into very hard tool steels. If a socket head product went into softer cold rolled steel, the hole would have to be deeper to offer more threads to carry the loads of the fastener. The softer the base materials, in relation to the hardness of the fastener, the deeper the hole must be in order to support the loads required of the fastener.

Whichever specification is used, SAE or ASTM, you can be assured of a fastener whose materials and processing treatments have been specified to provide optimum performance.

Survival Between a Rock and a Hard Place

by Dean Tseng, Fastener World

Since the beginning of 2022, the global market took the brunt of two shock waves—the war and the face-off between two of the world’s largest political economic entities—triggering a sea change that virtually flips the global supply chain structure. Meanwhile, on September 2 the Office of the United States Trade Representative decided to launch 301 investigation and continue the imposition of tariff on China followed by reviews of these actions. The anti-dumping tax on China imposed by EU remains effective. These factors are inextricably entwined, creating a large pressure against the Chinese fastener market, and therefore it calls for examining China’s fastener trade of the first half of 2022.

F irst of all, China and Taiwan are respectively the largest and second largest fastener suppliers in the world. To better objectively understand China’s fastener trade, this article compares fastener trade of China to that of Taiwan and analyze respective situations and challenges. Next, the article will attempt to suggest several potential countermeasures against the current crisis. Lastly, the article will point out a potential competitor that both China and Taiwan have to be prepared for immediately.

Highlight 1: Comparison of China’s and Taiwan’s Fastener Trade

China’s Fastener Trade in 2021 (USD)

Taiwan’s Fastener Trade in 2021 (USD)

In the first half of 2022, China exported USD 5.14 billion worth of fasteners to the world, which is 1.6 times more than Taiwan’s global export value of USD 3.18 billion in the same period. In the value of fastener import from the world, China was USD 1.47 billion and Taiwan was USD 108 million. Taiwan demanded far less fastener import from the world than China did. China’s top

3 export destinations were the U.S.A. (USD 850 million), Germany (USD 308 million) and Vietnam (USD 223 million). Taiwan’s top 3 export destinations were the U.S.A. (USD 1.42 billion), Germany (USD 260 million) and the Netherlands (USD 169 million), and Taiwan exported USD 88.07 million worth of fasteners to China. It shows that the U.S.A. and Germany were the top 2 fastener export destinations for both China and Taiwan in the first half of 2022. In terms of import, the top 3 sources for China were Japan (USD 430 million), Germany (USD 270 million), and the U.S.A. (USD 200 million). Additionally, China imported USD 140 million worth of fasteners from Taiwan in the same period. Taiwan mainly imported from Japan (USD 36.17 million) and the U.S.A. (USD 21.42 million), and it also imported USD 12.56 million worth of fasteners from China. Japan was the largest fastener import source for both China and Taiwan. Germany and the U.S.A. were respectively the second largest source for China and Taiwan.

In 2021, China exported USD 9.3 billion worth of fasteners to the world, which is 1.7 times more than Taiwan’s export value of USD 5.32 billion in the same period and it resembles the aforementioned difference of scale in first-half 2022. In the value of fastener import from the world, China was USD 3.28 billion and Taiwan was USD 206 million. China’s top 3 export destinations were the U.S.A. (USD 1.26 billion), Russia (USD 544 million) and Germany (USD 533 million). Taiwan’s top 3 export destinations were the U.S.A. (USD 2.24 billion), Germany (USD 454 million) and the Netherlands (USD 291 million), and Taiwan exported USD 191 million worth of fasteners to China. The U.S.A. was the largest export destination for both China and Taiwan. As for the second largest export destination, it was Russia for China and Germany for Taiwan. In terms of import, the top 3 import sources for China were Japan (USD 983 million), Germany (USD 630 million), and the U.S.A. (USD 398 million). Additionally, China imported USD 324 million worth of fasteners from Taiwan in the same period. Taiwan mainly imported from Japan (USD 78.09 million) and the U.S.A. (USD 35.47 million), and it also imported USD 21.18 million worth of fasteners from China. Japan was the largest fastener import source for both China and Taiwan. Germany and the U.S.A. were respectively the second largest sources for China and Taiwan.

Taiwan’s Fastener Trade in 2020 (USD)

I n 2020, China exported USD 6.95 billion worth of fasteners to the world, which is again 1.7 times more than Taiwan’s export value of USD 3.96 billion in the same period. In the value of fastener import from the world, China was USD 2.78 billion and Taiwan was USD 157 million. China’s top 3 export destinations were the U.S.A. (USD 827 million), Vietnam (USD 484 million) and Russia (USD 404 million). Taiwan’s top 3 export destinations were the U.S.A. (USD 1.68 billion), Germany (USD 340 million) and Japan (USD 209 million), and Taiwan exported USD 129 million worth of fasteners to China. The U.S.A. was the largest export destination for both China and Taiwan in 2020. As for the second largest export destination, it was Vietnam for China and Germany for Taiwan. In terms of import, the top 3 import sources for China were Japan (USD 852 million), the U.S.A. (USD 561 million), and China (USD 315 million). Additionally, China imported USD 234 million worth of fasteners from Taiwan in the same period. Taiwan mainly imported fasteners from Japan (USD 61.49 million), the U.S.A. (USD 27.84 million) and China (USD 15.14 million). Japan was the largest fastener import source for both China and Taiwan. Germany and the U.S.A. were respectively the second largest sources for China and Taiwan.

C hina’s global fastener export grew 33.8% from USD 6.95 billion in 2020 to USD 9.3 billion in 2021, and reached USD 5.14 billion in the first half of 2022, having a potential to grow 7.5% to USD 10 billion for the 12 months of 2022. Despite the virus and city lockdown in the last two years, China’s scale continued to grow, but a big concern is that the growth margin of this year is likely to decrease over 20%.

T aiwan’s global fastener export grew 55.1% from USD 6.95 billion in 2020 to USD 9.3 billion in 2021, and reached USD 5.14 billion in the first half of 2022, having a potential to grow 12.7% to USD 10 billion for the 12 months of 2022. Taiwan gained a large number of orders from overseas last year and expects to grow one fold more than China, but this is far less than the drastic growth last year. For Taiwan, the concern is that the U.S and European clients have yet to clear up their inventory; therefore, they have less purchasing demand for Taiwan.

Caught between the domestic impact (lockdown) and foreign impact (AD tax imposed by EU and 25% tax by the U.S.A. ), China was still able to perform well in fastener export, because the Chinese government provide d subsidies and the Chinese steelmakers offered highly competitive wire prices. Furthermore,

China’s Fastener Trade in 2020 (USD)

China increase d fastener export to places other than the U.S.A. and Europe. This indicates China’s impact mitigation strategy to quickly scatter export and not concentrate on a single market in the face of overseas barriers. In contrast, exporting nearly 90% of fasteners to the U.S.A. and Europe, Taiwan can reference China’s experience and explore overseas regions other than the U.S.A. and Europe to be able to cope with future drastic changes. The emerging countries will become a niche market for both China and Taiwan in need of increasing export destinations.

Highlight 2: Action Taken in Response to the Situation

T he market change is huge and it creates a large pressure. Operating cost is higher now. Staff turnover rate is high. It is difficult to keep or recruit talents. Some Chinese fastener companies said they would rather just make reputation than make good screws. The difficult issue for them right now is to persuade customers coming with inquires into placing an order. Even if the customers do place it, the Chinese fastener companies will have to wait very long to claim the payment, which makes cash flow management a difficult hassle.

Tax Rebate and Deferral

This is a common issue for companies in the grand challenging environment. To further help business and

stabilize the economy, the State Council of China deferred tax for another 4 months beginning from September and the total deferred tax value has amounted to RMB 440 billion. Meanwhile, the Council opens immediate tax rebate upon application which will rebate RMB 3.2 billion for the Chinese manufacturing sector. According to sources, this policy has helped Chinese fastener companies in Yongnian District of Handan City to rebate RMB 90.45 million, enabling them to invest in product development and expand production.

More Chinese Companies are Shifting to E-commerce

W ith supply chain issues and peer competition, many Chinese companies turn their focus and put their products on one-stop online fastener purchasing platforms including ZKH, GYPH, Tong Ming's e-commerce platform, and Tao Ding Ding. They realized that clients are less willing to spend more time doing a blind search over the net only to find more ads they don’t need, especially now when material and logistics prices are high. Therefore, a shift to e-commerce is the best way to satisfy clients’ need to compare prices and accurately find suppliers while having the platforms’ guarantee on quality. More company owners think it is already too late to wait for clients to come and that the immediate remedy is to increase exposure via the digital Internet. Some of them turn to Fastener World’s exclusive web page listing for registered suppliers and online purchase and sales platform which links clients straight to buyers from 200 countries, looking to expand product exposure overseas.

“Clustering” and “Overseas Warehousing” Underway

China’s fastener market scale amounted to RMB 145.87 billion last year. The export grew 33% to USD 9.3 billion. Demand continues upward and motivates many Chinese fastener companies to move into industrial parks. Clusters of high quality fastener companies worth over RMB 10 billion have emerged from multiple places. The biggest advantage of clustering is supply chain and vertical/horizontal integration to further attract domestic and overseas buyers.

I n addition, overseas warehousing means ship ping out domestic merchandise through high-volume transport and distribute through overseas warehouses. Distributing through overseas warehouses generates far lower cost than through warehouses in China. Already there is a hardware components company in China having exported USD 20 million worth of products to the Middle East via overseas warehouses. Overseas warehousing could open up a new path within a series of challenges for Chinese fastener companies.

Look Out! New Economic Powerhouse Coming up from the South

O ver the years Fastener World has been monitoring and forecasting market development, and lately we have observed a sign indicating the U.S.A. is looking to help India become the second “world's factory”. The future India could become an emerging nation with the highest potential in the world. It also has a large population of labors who are mostly younger than the Chinese. It can offer prices lower than China's, and it enjoys preferential tariffs as an RCEP member. India could be a tiger awoken from sleep and could sweep the world as a powerful competitor to fastener companies in many countries, so fastener business owners should prepare ahead.

Brazilian Fastener Market and Investment Opportunities

About Brazil

Brazil’s economic freedom is the 133rd freest in 2022. Brazil is ranked 26th among 32 countries in the American region. Brazil’s economic growth slowed in 2019, turned negative in 2020, and rebounded in 2021.

Brazil is the world’s fifth-largest country, and has a population of USD 212.6 million. Its GDP is USD 3.2 trillion, with a -4.1% negative growth (which is -0.6% for 5-year compound annual growth). Its GDP per capita is USD 14,916. With 13.7% unemployment and 3.2% inflation it could absorb USD 24.8 billion foreign direct investment in 2022. Brazil has nine preferential trade agreements in force. The trade-weighted average tariff rate is 10.0 percent, and 697 non-tariff measures are in effect. Foreign investors are granted national treatment, but their activities are restricted in some sectors, including communications and mining. The banking sector remains stable and relatively competitive with credit to the private sector increasing. The insurance sector has become the largest in the region.

Brazilian Fastener Market

The total export of Brazilian fasteners was USD 138.5 million and the total import was USD 884.4 million in 2021. The numbers demonstrate that the total import of fasteners will be more than USD 950 million and the export value will be around USD 150 million in 2022.

In April 2022, Brazilian fastener exports accounted for up to USD 13.5 million and imports accounted for up to USD 80.3 million, resulting in a negative trade balance of USD 66.7 million. Between April 2021 and April 2022, the exports of Brazilian fasteners increased by USD 4.06 million (42.8%) from USD 9.48 million to USD 13.5 million, while imports increased by USD 9.98 million (14.2%) from USD 70.3 million to USD 80.3 million.

In April 2022, Brazilian fasteners were exported mostly to Argentina (USD 4.36 million), the United States (USD 2.67 million), Paraguay (USD 1.38 million), Germany (USD 776,000) and France (USD 589,000).

On the other hand, Brazilian fastener imports were mostly from China (USD 19 million), the United States (USD 14.2 million), Japan (USD 9.42 million), Germany (USD 7.57 million), and Italy (USD 5.27 million).

In April 2022, the increase in year-over-year fastener exports was explained primarily by an increase in exports to Argentina (USD 1.18 million or 91.7%), Paraguay (USD 205,000 or 39.8%), and France (USD 156,000 or 50.8%). In April 2022, the increase in year-over-year fastener imports was explained primarily by an increase in imports from the United States (USD 3.93 million or 50.6%), Italy (USD 3.8 million or 150%), and China (USD 2.99 million or 24.7%).

Investing in the Fastener Industry

If 2017 is considered as the base year for investing in the fastener industry in Brazil, the year-over-year amount of investment in this industry has grown as in the right table.

The investors should invest in the fastener industry in Brazil at this time because Brazilian industries which have a great demand for fasteners have been growing since 2022.

1-Automotive Industry

Car production in Brazil climbed 11.4 percent over a month earlier to 184.8 thousand units in March 2022, the highest monthly manufacturing volume since last December, after falling 7.8% in March 2021. Considering the first quarter of 2022, its output in the auto industry contracted 17% over a year earlier to 496.1 thousand unit, amid the impact of the global semiconductor chip shortage and more contagious Omicron variant.

Car production in Brazil edged 0.4% higher over a month earlier to 185.4 thousand units in April 2022, the highest monthly manufacturing volume since last December. Considering the first four months of 2022, its output in the auto industry contracted 13.6% over the corresponding period of the pervious year to 681.6 thousand units, amid surging energy and raw material prices due to the war in Ukraine and Omicron variant.

Car production in Brazil edged up 10.7% over a month earlier to 205.9 thousand units in May 2022, the highest monthly manufacturing volume since last November and following a 0.4% rise in the previous month. Considering the first five months of 2022, its output in the auto industry contracted 17% over the corresponding period last year to 740 thousand units.

2-Aerospace Industry

The latest update came only weeks after Embraer reaffirmed its financial outlook for 2022 on April 28, with revenue reaching between USD 4.5 billion and USD 5 billion. Chief Financial Officer Antonio Carlos Garcia said the company already had enough orders to meet the top end of that range, though the outcome would still depend on its ability to deliver all aircrafts ordered. "The only question mark is our ability, with our partners, to deliver those aircrafts. It is just a matter of the disruption we see today in the market. We have orders for the USD 5 billion (revenue goal)," Garcia said. Full year deliveries are projected at 100-110 executive jets and 60-70 commercial jets.

3-Building and Construction Industries

The size of Brazilian construction market was valued at USD 75.6 billion in 2021. The market is projected to grow at an CAGR of more than 2% during 2023-2026. Over the forecast period, the construction industry's output will be supported by investments in transport, housing, renewable energy, and telecommunication infrastructure projects.

4-Furniture Industry

Revenue in the furniture segment is projected to reach USD 3.73 billion in 2022. Revenue is expected to show an annual growth rate (CAGR 2022-2025) of 18.49%, resulting in a projected market volume of USD 6.21 billion by 2025. With a projected market volume of USD 149,400 million in 2022, most revenue is generated in the United States. In the furniture segment, the number of users is expected to amount to 48.6 million by 2025. User penetration will be 17.6% in 2022 and is expected to hit 22.2% by 2025. The average revenue per user (ARPU) is expected to amount to USD 98.25.

Reference:

• https://www.statista.com/statistics/769392/investments-rate-percentage-gdp-brazil/#statisticContainer

• https://www.heritage.org/index/country/brazil

• https://www.trademap.org/Country_SelCountry_MQ_TS.aspx?nvpm=1%7c076%7c%7c%7c%7c7318%7c%7c%7c4%7c1%7c1%7c2%7c2%7c3%7 c2%7c1%7c1%7c1

• https://oec.world/en/profile/bilateral-product/iron-fasteners/reporter/bra?redirect=true&subnatTradeValueSelector=tradeScale2

• https://tradingeconomics.com/brazil/car-production#:~:text=Brazil%20Car%20Production%20Rises%20to,rise%20in%20the%20previous%20 month.

• https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/brazils-embraer-aims-growth-2023-2026-after-pandemic-recovery-2022-05-30/

• https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220519005859/en/Brazil-Construction-Industry-Report-2022-Market-was-Valued-at-75.6-Billionin-2021-and-is-Projected-to-Grow-at-an-AAGR-of-More-than-2-During-2023-2026---ResearchAndMarkets.com

• https://www.statista.com/outlook/dmo/ecommerce/furniture/brazil

Article by Sharareh Shahidi Hamedani / Copyright owned by Fastener World

Iranian Fastener Statistics

(Note: Table numbers are in Thousand USD. Year of Analysis is 2021 and there is no data for 2022 yet.)

Situation of Iranian Economy

Iran is the 170th freest in the 2022 Index. Iran is ranked last among the 14 countries in the Middle East and North Africa region. Based on the sanctions, over the past five years, Iran experienced very slow growth: an average of only 1.2 percent annually.

Iran has 84 million population with USD 1.1 trillion GDP, which means its GDP per capita is USD 13,073. On the other hand, Iran is one of the industrialized country in MENA. It has energy industry, automotive industry, home appliance manufacturers, etc. All of these industries consume millions of different types of rivets. The political issue is the reason of negative numbers in Iranian economy.

E xported Fasteners to Iran (Iran’s Imported Fastener Statistics)

S anctions against Iran have influenced the numbers of imported fasteners by Iran, resulting in a decrease since 2014 (see Table 1). In 2014, the value of imported

fasteners by Iran was USD 86.337 million, but it was USD 47.045 million in 2021. It dropped by 45%.

Product Categories Iranian Consumers

Purchase the Most were:

1- Product HS Code 731815: Threaded screws and bolts, of iron or steel, whether or not with their nuts and washers are categorized in this HS Code. The value of this sector was USD27.144 million

a In this sector the main exporter to Iran was China, its export value was USD 15.546 million which wa s 57% of whole exported fasteners in this sector to Iran.

b UAE was ranked in the second place; its value of exported fastener was USD 5.740 million which was 21% of the whole imported fasteners in this sector by Iran.

Table 1. Iran's Fastener Import to the World in 2014-2021

c Taiwan as the 3rd biggest exporter in this sector sold USD3.184 million to Iran. It wa s 12% of the whole imported fasteners in this category by Iran.

d Turkey had 6% of Iran's market in this sector. The value of their exported fasteners was USD 1.591 million.

2- Product HS Code 731816: Nuts of iron or steel are defined under this category. The value of this category was USD 4.525 million.

a China wa s the main exporter to Iran in this category, it had 68% of Iran's imported fasteners in this sector. China exported USD 3.083 million nuts to Iran.

b. UAE was the 2nd exporter of nuts to Iran; it sold USD 0.708 million to Iran and it had 16% of Iran's market share.

c France was the 3rd biggest exporter of nuts to Iran; its export’s value was 0.277 million which was 6% of Iran's market share.

d Taiwan with USD 0.196 million and 4% of Iran's market share ranked 4th of this category.

3- Product HS Code 731814: Self-tapping screws, of iron or steel is categorized under this category. The value of this category was USD 3.289 million.

a. China had 73% of Iran's market share in this category, its exported value was USD 2.412 million.

b UAE was in the 2nd place with 16% of Iran's market share. Its exported fasteners in this sector were USD 0.542 million.

c Turkey had 6% of Iran's market share with an export value of 0.192 million

d. Taiwan was ranked 4th with an export value 0f USD 0.140 million and 4% of Iran's market share.

4- Product HS Code 731822: Washers of iron or steel is listed in this HS Code. The value of imported washers to Iran was USD3.148 million.

a China had 67% of Iran's market share. Its export value was USD 2.106 million.

b UAE wa s ranked 2nd with USD 0.344 million exported washers. It was 11% of Iran's market share.

c. The value of Turkey's exported washers to Iran was 0.276 million which wa s 9% of Iran 's market share and was ranked 3rd.

d. Germany was in the 4th place with 0.124 million exported washers to Iran. It was 4% of Iran's market share.

E xported Fasteners from Iran

5- Product HS code 731812: It is called wood screws of iron or steel category. Its value was USD 2.894 million.

a. UAE was the main supplier in this sector, it imported USD 1.391 million which was 48% of Iran's market share.

b China was ranked 2nd with 41% of Iran's market share. Its exported wood screws to Iran was USD 1.181 million.

c Turkey with 11% of Iran's market share and the export value of 0.306 million was ranked 3rd.

6- Product HS Code731829: It is categorized as nonthreaded articles, of iron or steel. The exported fasteners value of this category was USD 2.023 million.

a China h ad 57% of Iran 's market share and its exported fastener value in this sector was USD1.151 million.

b South Korea as the 2nd supplier of Iranian customers supplied USD 0.454 million which wa s 22% of Iran 's market share.

c Italy was ranked the 3rd largest supplier to Iran; tit sold USD 0.14 million. This value was 7% of Iran 's market share.

d Taiwan wa s ranked the 4th biggest supplier for Iranian consumers, it had 5% of Iran's market share, and it sold USD 0.100 million non-threaded fasteners to Iran.

7- Product HS Code731819: It is threaded articles, of iron or steel. Its value was USD 1.157 million.

a Switzerland was the main supplier of this category with USD 0.799 million and it was 69% of Iran's market share.

b Taiwan was ranked 2nd with 14% of Iran's market share, it sold USD 0.173 million.

8- Product HS Code 731823: Rivets of iron or steel is the name of this category; its value was USD 1.137 million.

a China was the main supplier of rivets Iran required, it had 51% of Iran's market share whose value was USD 0.578 million.

b Italy sold USD 0.228 million rivets to Iran and it had 20% of Iran 's market share. It was the second biggest rivet supplier to Iran.

c Turkey had 16% of Iran's market share and its value was USD 0.124 million. It was in the 3rd place.

9- Other HS Codes are lower than USD 1 million , so in this article I didn’t mention them.

In 2021, Iran exported just USD 11.00 thousand rivets to Iraq which is nothing in comparison to the other countries. Therefore, there is no issue in this section to discuss unless the agreement between Iran and Western countries is signed.

Conclusion

Iran's economic and industrial growth has stopped for years due to sanctions, but on the other hand, if the JCPOA agreement is signed, the activists in the fastener industry will face a pristine land that will open countless opportunities for them.

Industrial Fastener Market in Egypt

The industrial sector in Egypt is receiving exceptional attention from the government, as it is a key driver of economic development in the country and a backbone of achieving social stability. The growth of “industrial” in the country, more than any other sectors, creates more job opportunities and develops the standard of living of citizens. “Industry” sector contributes 11.7 percent to the gross domestic product (GDP), which is targeted to achieve 15 percent in the near future, and to employ more than 28 percent of the total Egyptian workforce.

Egyptian industrial sector has experienced significant improvements during the past years at the level of legislation, new investments and expansions in cities and industrial areas, as well as the rise in export indicators for all industrial sectors. Egyptian leadership has paid excessive attention to the export sector, which contributed to achieving outstanding improvement in the country’s foreign trade indicators, especially relating to the increase in export rates and the decline in imports.

All these factors contributed to the increase in the value of Egyptian merchandise exports during 2021 to reach USD32.34 billion, as reported by the Industry Ministry, which is the highest value of exports in the history of Egypt’s foreign trade.

During the last 8 years, the Egytian Government has taken a number of measures to stimulate investment in the industrial sector, including the establishment of 17 industrial complexes in 15 governorates nationwide, at a total investment cost of more than USD520 million, and a total of 5,046 industrial units providing about 48 thousand direct job opportunities. During the fiscal year 2020-2021, the industrial sector investments amounted to about USD2.55 billion, and this amount represents about 6 percent of the total public investments. The value of industrial output reached about USD 51.2 billion last year supported by diversified industrial bases spreading across over 150 industrial zones all around Egypt. All the investments are expected to reinforce the country’s geostrategic position as a key economic link between the Middle East, Africa and the rest of the world.

Following the disruption caused by the pandemic, Egypt is playing a crucial role in the restoration of international supply chains. The country’s ports on the Red Sea and Mediterranean have been undergoing substantial improvements which should be completed by 2024 while the modernization of the systems used to process shipments, significantly cutting transit costs, will be fully operational from October this year.

In terms of industrial fasteners, the market in Egypt is expected to grow, thanks to increasing local, regional and global manufacturing and construction activities after the pandemic. Additionally, the growing use of fasteners in the electric and electronic industries is expected to drive the industrial fastener market forward.

In 2021, exports of fastener products from Egypt, such as screws, bolts, nuts, coach screws, screw hooks, rivets, cotters, cotter pins, washers decreased by about 20% mainly due to the decline in exports to the US. Fastener manufacturers in Egypt shipped about USD3.7 million worth of fasteners to the global market last year. The US has been a main destination for fasteners manufactured in Egypt for many years until last year in which Saudi Arabian market took over that position and became the top importer of fasteners from Egyptian manufacturers. In 2021, about 41% of the total value of exports has been delivered to the Saudi Arabia market. The US market which has given its 1st position as a top importer to the Saudi market, imported more than USD925,000 worth of screws and other fastener products from Egypt within last year.

In terms of product type, metal self-tapping screw exports rose steeply in 2021. Exports by Kuwait (USD137,000), Saudi Arabia (USD63,000) and Tunisia (USD48,000) were the main destinations for metal self-tapping screw exports from Egypt. The US was the main destination for wood screws (made of iron or steel) from Egypt. Last year, Egypt sold USD918,000 to the American buyers. Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Kenya and Tunisia were the key destinations for threaded screws and bolts. The total value of exports last year for threaded screws and bolts was about USD2 million. Nuts of iron or steel shipped to Sudan with the value of USD42,000 and USD206,000 of rivets were shipped to Madagascar from Egypt in 2021. The manufacturers in Egypt exported more than USD13.2 million of nails, pins, and similar products to the global market. More than 75% of the total exports of nails were shipped to Madagascar and the US.

On the other hand, looking at the imports market, there was a drastic decline in 2021 in comparison with previous years. Last year, Egypt imported more than USD96.8 million worth of fasteners mainly from China. Chinese fasteners with the value of USD45.7 million were shipped to Egypt in 2021, recorded 47% of the total imports value, but lower than the values of imports, USD51.7 million in 2020 and USD62.7 million in 2019. Italy, Japan, Germany, Taiwan and the US were other key fastener exporters to Egypt. However, in terms of both value and quantity those countries were far behind China. Italy, for instance, the second largest fastener exporter to Egypt, shipped about USD7.55 million worth of fasteners in 2021, which is slightly less than 17% of the total value of Chinese fasteners exported to Egypt.

The chart below shows the value of imports and exports of fasteners (HS Code 7318) within the last five years in Egypt:

Industrial development in Egypt will continue to prosper and stay to impact the country’s industrial output, in general, and fastener production, in specific. There are several projects designed and budgeted by the Government which are expected to boost the demand for fasteners in the country. Some of the major industrial development projects in the future include building more than 4,800 km of roads, developing the railway system for transporting goods, the new Suez Canal, developing commercial ports, increasing the length of docks, establishing 8 new airports, and the establishment of new power stations. All these strategic projects together with the geostrategic position of Egypt will contribute to generating a large local demand for industrial fasteners.

Article by Shervin Shahidi Hamedani Copyright

New Plant

“Three Seconds Fastener” Developer Guangdong Yangjiang Honghui Metal Technology

Top Self-drilling Screw Company in Guangdong

With performance featuring the “Three Seconds” tagline, Honghui’s stainless steel and carbon steel screws can resist corrosion and rust, and by design, the quality is monitored right from the manufacturing process for clients’ sake. Therefore, Honghui has made its reputation in the fastener industry and sells not only nationwide but also globally to Asia, Europe, Latin America and many more.

For 20 years, this fastener company has been dedicated to developing and manufacturing self-drilling screws. It is one of the first expert manufacturers and developers of self-drilling screws in China. Besides, it manufactures and sells various types of fastener products, providing high-end clients with premium service. Now it is the top manufacturer of self-drilling screws in Guangdong.

One-stop Fastener Service Tailored to Self-drilling Screws

In 2021, Honghui completed a new plant which marks a new milestone for its business. The new plant is located in Yinling Technology Industrial Park in Jiangcheng District of Yangjiang City in Guangdong, only a little more than 10 kilometers away from Yangjiang High-speed Railway Station, providing convenient access by traffic. The new plant spans 80,000 square meters and has over 200 pieces of elaborately designed production and inspection equipment. In the plant is a professional team of over 300 people who perform round checks and final product inspection in compliance to ISO 9001 quality system to manufacture GB, DIN, AS3566, ANSI, JIS and BS standard compliant products.

T hrough a manufacturing process including heading, wire drawing, annealing, threading, heat treatment, electroplating, washer assembling, packaging and shipping, Honghui provides clients with one-stop fastener service. It can also design and manufacture various self-drilling and self-tapping screws per clients’ requests. Currently it can manufacture up to more than 20,000 tons of high quality carbon steel and stainless steel self-drilling screws annually.

Top-of-the-class Drive Speed & Sharpness

“On the path of development, we adhere to the guideline of 'quality for survival and reputation for growth'”. We continue to enhance our corporate structure and we have acquired CNAS, ISO9001 and IAF certificates. We continue to pursue technical advancement and devote ourselves in self-drilling screw development. We have successfully developed self-drilling screws with high drive speed and sharp blades. The drive speed and sharpness exceed those of ordinary self-drilling screws made by conventional die punching.”

With excellent design, production and a complete after-sale system, Honghui has built a huge client pool domestic and abroad since its inception in 1999. “We will continue to strive for mutual gains and client satisfaction. We hope to continuously grow while having the strong support of many clients, and we want to position ourselves as the top self-drilling screw manufacturing expert in China to contribute our forces to the prosperity of global fastener industry!”

by Dean Tseng, Fastener World

「快三秒」螺絲研發者 廣東陽江宏惠金屬科技 新廠營運

Contact: Mr. Tao Tsai honghui02@chinaselfdrilling.com

惠達特搜全球新聞

Fastener World News

China Continues Anti-dumping Duties on EU/UK Carbon Steel Fasteners Effective from June 29

T he Ministry of Commerce of China announced to continue anti-dumping duties for 5 years on partial carbon steel fasteners originated from EU and UK, effective June 29, 2022. The Ministry claimed that if it ceased this anti-dumping measure, the dumping of carbon steel fasteners from EU and UK to China as well as the injury made to the Chinese carbon steel fastener industry would continue or happen again.

J une 28, 2010, the Ministry decided to impose anti-dumping duties (rates from 6.1% to 26.0%) on carbon steel fasteners originated from EU. June 28, 2016, the Ministry decided to continue the antidumping duties for 5 years from June 29, 2016.

T he carbon steel fasteners subject to the duties include wood screws, self-tapping screws, screws and bolts with or without nuts or washers (excluding rail screws as well as screws and bolts with a diameter under 6mm), and washers. The scope of the investigation did not include nuts and fasteners used for the maintenance and repair of civil aircrafts.

UK Maintains Steel Safeguard Measures Until June 30, 2024

UK Department for International Trade announced June 23 the decision to maintain the transitioned trade remedies. Particularly on the fastener-related "non-alloy and other alloy wire rods" under product category 16, the Department decided to extend the safeguards for 2 years from July 1 2022 to June 30 2024.

The quarterly tariff rate quota remains as it is and the amounts that exceed the quota are subject to a 25% safeguard tariff.

compiled by Fastener World

U.S. Terminates Antidumping Duties on Helical Spring Lock Washers

The U.S. Department of Commerce revoked the AD orders on helical spring lock washers from China and Taiwan because no domestic interested party filed an application.

J une 28, 1993, Commerce issued an AD order on helical spring lock washers from Taiwan. October 19, 1993, Commerce issued an AD order on helical spring lock washers from China. The U.S. initiated 4 sunset reviews respectively on February 23, 2001, July 3, 2006, December 5, 2011, and May 26, 2017, each prolonging the duty expiration date. April 1, 2022, Commerce initiated the 5th sunset review investigation on helical spring lock washers from China and Taiwan.

FIJ Releases Cost Passthrough Survey Result

T he Japanese fastener industry encountered great cost pressure in the peak years of COVID, but a bigger pressure burdened it with the first trigger pulled between Russia and Ukraine at the dawn of February 24, 2022. The Fastener Institute of Japan (FIJ) had members who wrote in saying "increased material price has had an impact on business. We are puzzled at our inability to put the cost on product price". It was then that the Institute launched a survey on cost pass-through within the Japanese fastener industry. The result was released in mid-June.

Up to the end of this April, the Institute received responses from a total of 126 member companies. The response rate was up to 70%. Among them, 95 member companies take up 75% work in the production and sales of fasteners, reflecting a high level of the industry's attention to the issues regarding cost pass-through. Out of the 126 member companies, 52% are in the automotive industry, 12% in machinery, and 9% in construction.

Up to 87% member companies replied that increased price brought a large impact on business. In sub-industries, 92% member companies of the automotive industry recognized a large price hike impact on business; the machinery industry had 82% and the construction industry had 78%. The hike was stronger on ferrous materials than on non-ferrous materials, regardless of the automotive, machinery or construction industry.

Up to 97% of the member companies had negotiated with clients for a higher product price; only 2% of them had considered but never embarked on the negotiation. Intriguingly, only 37% of them succeeded in the negotiation and went on to raise the product price. To this, an average of 45% out of all member companies did not think it was enough proportion. In the automotive industry, 51% member companies did not think it was enough. Over 60% of all member companies felt puzzled at this.

Judging from the above figures, over 80% Japanese fastener companies we re taking the impact of increased material price s . The automotive, machinery and construction industries — large consumers of fasteners — had all been impacted by the price hike which was most obvious in iron price. Although almost all the member companies (97%) had attempted the negotiation, the success rate was about only 30%.

The Institute proposes to form a "industry group" comprising multiple companies that work in tandem to solve the current problems instead of going alone.

Industrial Fasteners Institute (IFI) Announces New Board Leadership

The Industrial Fasteners Institute (IFI), has elected new leadership for the organization’s Board of Directors for the 20222023 term. Jeff Liter of Wrought Washer Manufacturing, Inc. was selected to lead the Board as Chairman, along with Gene Simpson of Semblex Corporation as the new Vice Chairman.

In addition to Mr. Liter and Mr. Simpson, the Board of Directors also includes:

Dan Curtis, MacLean-Fogg Company

Jerry Bupp, National Machinery L.L.C.

Khinlay Maung, Consolidated Aerospace Mfg.

Michele Clarke, Valley Forge & Bolt Mfg.

Steven Sherman, Industrial Rivet & Fastener

David Monti, Fall River Manufacturing Co., Inc.

Edward Lumm, Shannon Precision Fastener, LLC

Larry Valeriano, Avantus Fasteners

Ryan Surber, ATF, Inc.

Greg Rawlings, Nylok LLC

Division Chairs for IFI are:

Div. I – Industrial Products: Brian Prodoehl, Valley Fastener Group, LLC.

Div. II – Aerospace Fastener Products: Bob Gurrola, Howmet Fastening

Systems

Div. III – Automotive Industry Fastener Group: Kevin Vollmert, ITW

Shakeproof Automotive

Associate Suppliers’ Division: Jerry Bupp, National Machinery, LLC

EU Agrees to Ban Fossil Fuel Vehicle Sales by 2035

E U announced on June 29 that it has approved a full-range ban of new fossil fuel vehicle sales by 2035 on the European continent. This is aimed to pull carbon emission down to zero. The proposition was brought to the table in July 2021, and the final determination hints at a total cease of fossil fuel vehicle sales and EU's full transition into EVs starting from 2035.

The purpose of this determination is to facilitate the climate target for Europe, which particularly is to reach carbon neutrality by 2050. At the request of countries including Germany and Italy, the 27 EU nations agreed to consider giving the green light to the use of alternative technologies such as plug-in hybrids if they can achieve the complete elimination of greenhouse gas emissions.

E nvironment ministers meeting in Luxembourg also approved a five-year extension of the exemption from CO2 obligations granted to so-called “niche” manufacturers, or those producing fewer than 10,000 vehicles per year, until the end of 2035. The clause, sometimes referred to as the “Ferrari Amendment”, will benefit luxury brands in particular.

“This is a big challenge for our automotive industry,” acknowledged French Minister of Ecological Transition Agnes Pannier-Runacher, who chaired the meeting. But she said it was a “necessity” in the face of competition from China and the United States, which have bet heavily on electric vehicles seen as the future of the industry.

Tim O’Keeffe Awarded NFDA’s Fastener Professional of the Year

T he National Fastener Distributors Association (NFDA) is pleased to announce that Tim O’Keeffe of G. L. Huyett (Minneapolis, Kansas) is the 2022 recipient of its Fastener Professional of the Year award. The Fastener Professional of the Year award was created by NFDA to honor individuals and companies that make a substantial positive impact on people’s lives. In 2020, O’Keeffe was inducted into the National Fastener Hall of Fame. O’Keeffe was the Associate Chair of the NFDA from 2007-2010. Tim received his award at the NFDA Annual Meeting & ESPS®

China Fastener Import & Export Data in First-half 2022

China exported 2,471,567 tons of fasteners in the first half of 2022, up 210,337 tons (9.3%) from the same period of last year. The export value reached USD 6.37 billion, up 1.3 billion (27.4%). The average export price was USD 2,600 per ton, compared to USD 2,200 per ton in the same period last year. In June 2022, China exported 484,642 tons of fasteners, up 56,344 tons (13.2%) from the same month last year. The export value in June 2022 was USD 1.33 billion, up USD 320 million (31.7%). The export price in June 2022 was USD 2,800 per ton.

China's New Energy Car Export Grows 130% in H1 2022

China Association of Automobile Manufacturers' statistics reveal an uptrend in China's car export in June 2022. New energy car has been the highlight of China's export in recent years. Some of the Chinese automakers have made it into Europe and other regions. In the first half of 2022, China's new energy car export grew 130%, taking up 16.6% of all China's car export.

The data released by the Association shows that China manufactured 12.11 million units of vehicles and sold 12.05 million units of vehicles in the first half year of 2022. In terms of export, China set a new record in June in which the Chinese automakers exported 249 thousand units of vehicles, up 57.4%. This includes 198 thousand units of passenger cars that were exported, up 65.6%, and 51 thousand units of commercial cars, up 32.4%. In the first half of 2022, Chinese automakers exported a total of 1.218 million units of cars, up 47.1%. "The Russia-Ukraine war affects part of our export market, but from what we heard from the automakers, they are doing well with oversea orders that don't appear to reduce in number," said the vice secretary of the Association.

T he drastic growth of Chinese new energy car export was also attributed to Tesla. In 2021, Tesla Giga Shanghai delivered a total of 480 thousand units of vehicles, among which one third were exported to Europe and Asia Pacific. It is worth noting that the number of export which was 163 thousand units of vehicles represents half of all new energy cars exported by China in 2021. In the first 5 months of 2022, Tesla Giga Shanghai exported 96,214 new cars as compared to 36,753 cars exported in the same period last year. After Tesla Giga Shanghai resumed production, Tesla outperformed the record in its monthly sales it reached before the pandemic.

China's Lengshuijiang City Makes RMB 1.6 Billion on Fasteners a Year

The fastener industry in Lengshuijiang City of Hunan Province makes a production value of RMB 1.6 billion a year on screws and nuts. Through the Chinese government, Lengshuijiang Tianbao Industrial (a fastener developer and manufacturer) signed a contract of collaboration with a little over ten local companies including Zoomlion, SANY Heavy Industry, and Hunan Valin Steel.

With its strength in steel materials, Lengshuijiang City is fully supporting the fastener industry. The city has had a company manufacturing high strength fasteners of grade 8.8 and above, the highest grades within China. These highperformance fasteners are extensively applied in equipment manufacturing, infrastructure, automobile, ship building and other areas across 29 provinces. Lengshuijiang Tianbao Industrial tops the chart of fastener production and sales in China. Last year Lengshuijiang City sold over 210 thousand tons of fasteners and made a production value above RMB 1.6 billion.

China Yongnian Fastener Technical Service Center to Speed up Construction

The Fastener Technical Service Center in Yongnian District of China is being built on a total floor area of 55 thousand square meters with a total investment of RMB 380 million. It comprises a commercial reception center and an inspection center and is expected to complete in October 2023.

Welcome Reception in Minneapolis, Minnesota on June 21, 2022. Nominations for the next Fastener Professional of the Year award will open in January 2023.

The fastener industry in Yongnian produces a value worth of RMB 34 billion a year with a market share over 55% across China. The products from this district are sold across China and exported to more than 100 countries. The district has an increasing proportion of highend products and an improving fastener supply chain, but still requires improvement on inspection capabilities. After the center completes, the annual profits and taxes will amount to RMB 18 million and the center will add 500 jobs, provide standard parts inspection, R&D, and attract funds and technologies as well as talents.

Zhejiang Ronnie Precision Machine Now on Beijing Stock Exchange

Z hejiang Ronnie made it to Beijing Stock Exchange on June 9, 2022. The company issued 3,790 shares starting from a floor price of RMB 3.21 per share, raising a total of around RMB 122 million.

T he company was founded in 2002, focusing on developing, manufacturing and selling precision metal parts including precision fasteners, connectors and structural parts supplied to downstream application industries including electronic products, automobile, telecommunications and power equipment. It has 90 patents.

E mbedded nuts for notebooks which are the company's main product takes up over 40% of the world's market share. The income in 2020 grew 28.07% from 2019, and in 2021 it grew another 45.06% from 2020. The company has extended from electronic products to the automotive, telecommunication and medical industries to lift profitability. The funds raised in this IPO are mostly used to invest in building a smart precision parts factory that can produce 300 million parts per year, as well as building an R&D center and refilling circulating capital.

Gem-Year Works with Beijing–Shenyang High-speed Railway

Wenzhou Intelligent Fastener Warehousing Base Trial Run

L ocated in Shangjiang Village of Wenzhou City in China, Taodingding Intelligent Fastener Warehousing Base started a trial run on August 28, 2022. The land where it stands used to be a wire drawing area spanning 60 thousand square meters. The base launched a makeover this May and will create a structure of 30 thousand square meters to contain 390 shops, and up to 430 shops if we count in the warehouse. So far, 180 fastener companies from Wenzhou and surrouing areas have signed contracts to move into the base. Around 80 companies were furnishing their shops.

Wenzhou Yueshi Technology, the investor of the base, said it deployed the base in the village because the local fastener industry has a long history, a solid foundation and a complete supply chain. Besides the shops' offline sales, the base works with "Taodingding" to create an online plus offline sales model. "Taodingding" is an online one-stop B2B purchase platform focused on fasteners, covering 10 fastener categories.

Chun Yu to Keep Positive Growth in H2 2022

Gem-Year signed a contract on June 9 this year with Beijing–Shenyang High-speed Railway to supply materials for a highspeed railway construction stretching from Shenyang to Baihe. The contract involves the supply of fasteners and parts for high-speed rail and is worth RMB 728,894,241 which is expected to increase GemYear's profitability and competitiveness, and further consolidate the company's position in fasteners and parts for high-speed rail.

In 2021, Gem-Year's revenues derived from businesses including fasteners (87.3%), components and tools (1.62%), and automated inventory equipment manufacture (0.78%). The company has a market value of RMB 4.9 billion.

On markets in China, Europe and the U.S., Chun Yu said China has gone through the worst of the lockdown. The Chinese demand will come back and Chun Yu will regain its normal sales performance in China in the second half of the year. The company maintains a certain level of growth in the U.S. and Europe despite decelerated growth in these regions.

The war between Russia and Ukraine affects the global steel industry. Particularly, both the countries supply wire rods to the world. Reduction in steel supply pushes up steel price. Higher inflation and higher steel materials (coal and iron) cost contribute to price hike. As the U.S. and China embark on infrastructure construction, demand is expected to rebound.

NAFCO's Q2 Business Stabilizes with Global Shipping Rebound

A erospace fastener manufacturer NAFCO stabilizes business in the first half year as global shipping continues to rebound. The company saw a rebound in profit margin, operating profit margin and net profit margin after tax. The EPS stood at NTD 0.94, a record high in the last 9 quarters.

NAFCO's shipment and revenue dipped low in April as a result of China's COVID lockdown, but work resumed in the company's factories in May and June. Despite a delay in shipment, NAFCO's revenue gained 17% quarter on quarter and 59.8% over the same quarter last year, arriving at NTD 497 million, a new quarterly record since 2020.

W ith increased revenue, NAFCO had a gross margin of 22.07％ and operating profit margin of 5.13 ％ . The net profit margin after tax reached NTD 49.59 million, upping net profit margin to 9.98

Ukraine Crisis Takes a Heavy Toll on Japanese Small & Medium Fastener Companies

K insan Fastener News

(Japan) reports, the Russia-Ukraine is creating a new economic risk that is pressing against the fastener industry in Japan. The increased price of materials is reflecting in selling price, but the Japanese fastener companies still find themselves unable to keep up with the frequent material price change. More and more companies as such find themselves shying away from buyers who don't accept the cost pass-through.

It also becomes problematic that the price raised on sub-materials is yet to reflect in product price. As petroleum price goes up and triggers a higher electricity and utilities cost, it also pushes up the costs for electroplating, heat treatment, oil, packaging materials and tools. In some cases, it costs an extra JPY 20 per kilogram of electroplating. The Japanese fastener makers have been covering the costs for sub-materials because it is their convention not to reflect such costs in product price, but they are faced with the fact that submaterial price hike is a harsher problem to tackle compared to increased prices of materials. Some of them have ended up in closing business. To the Japanese fastener makers, how they could quickly reflect the increased cost on product prices is a crucial factor that hugely impacts their business.

Ever Saw a Flower-like Screw? The Japanese Have Made it

Helicodesign (Japan) designed a flower screw named "Fa head", which utilizes the curve, contour and arc structures of a petal and applies the rules of the nature to create a unique head shape along with a function to suppress loosening and deformation incurred by fastening.

T he screw design was conceived by president Yamamura of Helicodesign, but it was actually inspired by a three-year-old girl. Back in 2015, the three-year-old girl came by Yamamura who was designing a screw shape and said, "Daddy's screws are not cute! Flowers screws are cute!" His daughter's words motivated him to start digging into the possibility of producing flower screws. The cold rolling engineer drew hundreds of screw models with forgeability in his mind and finally arrived at the birth of "Fa head" screw. "Fa head" is still in the process of refining design and evolving, but its added value already precedes performance.

Japanese Torque Inc Launches Taisho Distribution Center

Located in Kujo, Osaka, Taisho Distribution Center is dubbed the industry's top advanced distribution center and the heart of Torque Inc. The Center is 3 stories high with a floor area 1.5 times larger. It has a 30-meter high automated warehouse containing 10,000 pallets, an automated warehouse containing 60,000 product bins, and an automated rack warehouse containing 400 pallets. The investment value is JPN 7 billion, the largest investment in Torque's history. The company hopes to revolutionize fastener logistics with efficiency and speed.

BNEF: 77 Million EVs on the Road by 2025

B loomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) released the latest Electric Vehicle Outlook that states electric passenger cars sales will grow rapidly in the coming years, from 6.6 million vehicles in 2021 to 21 million in 2025. The fleet of EVs on the road will hit 77 million by 2025 and 229 million by 2030, up from 16 million EVs on the road at the end of 2021.

A ccording to BNEF, developed countries and multilateral institutions should include electric vehicle investments, incentives and charging infrastructure deployments in their international climate finance plans, making capital available to emerging economies that have credible plans to develop this sector.

The fleet of passenger electric vehicles is set to hit 469 million units in 2035 in the Economic Transition Scenario but needs to jump to 612 million by the same date in the Net Zero Scenario. Much of the gap will have to be met in emerging economies, while wealthy countries should look at ways to support the transition in those markets and avoid a global slowdown of adoption.

Vossloh to Supply Rail Fastening Systems for High-Speed Line in Egypt

V ossloh, one of the world’s leading providers of products and services related to rail infrastructure, has secured an economically and strategically important contract to deliver rail fastening systems for a new high-speed line in northern Egypt. As commissioned by the end customer, stateowned company National Authority for Tunnels (NAT), the coastal city of El Alamein will be connected to the city of Ain Sokhna, which is located on the Suez Canal. A high-speed line is also planned between El Alamein and Mersa Matruh, which means that the planned double track line will be approximately 660 kilometers long. Delivery of the rail fastening systems by Vossloh is scheduled to begin already this year, with completion of the project expected in the course of 2024. The order, with a volume exceeding €40 million, will be carried out by subsidiary Vossloh Fastening Systems GmbH, which is headquartered in Werdohl.

Egypt plans additional massive investments in its rail network over the next few years, including in particular the establishment of a high-speed network which is to be expanded to over 1,800 km in the future.“The new rail line will be designed for speeds of up to 250 km/h. It will shorten the travel times of millions of people by up to 50 percent while producing more than 70 percent fewer carbon emissions than road traffic. We are delighted to be able to make a substantial contribution to this landmark project in this region,” says Jan Furnivall, Executive Board member of Vossloh AG, adding: “Our extensive experience with the equipment of high-speed lines will allow us to create significant value for our customers.”

Tesla Locked on Seeking New EV Manufacturing Hub in Indonesia

(Source: livemint) From India to Indonesia, Elon Musk is scouting for sites to make more Teslas. With the world mired in supply chain chaos, access to materials matters most. He’s got it right. After lobbying against India’s tight manufacturing policies and prohibitive import duties, Musk went to meet Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo and visited parts of the country, which is also the top producer of nickel, a key metal for batteries. That’s an astute bet—for Tesla and Indonesia. And a missed opportunity for New Delhi. To meet ambitious electric vehicle (EV) targets, Indonesia has drawn in several battery and car makers in recent months with a variety of incentives.

With a friendly policy bolstering the country’s EV goals, companies have started committing billions of dollars. LG Energy Solution, along with others, is investing about $9 billion in a full supply chain in the country. With Hyundai, the firm is developing a battery plant, too. Meanwhile, the world’s top powerpack maker Contemporary Amperex is investing almost $6 billion in a battery project with statebacked Aneka Tambang and Industri Baterai Indonesia. Further up the value chain, China’s Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt and Vale Indonesia announced they would work together on a nickel project.

The move by companies across the EV supply chain into Southeast Asia’s largest economy shows how important it is to be close to a source of raw materials. Tesla knows this well. It has created large manufacturing hubs in China and Germany. Now the EV-maker is looking to secure materials and make its own batteries. Wherever Musk sees problems in production, he looks for a solution. Tesla is essentially creating discrete supply chains across the globe.

Just as China made Tesla a global company, Indonesia could do the same for its battery supply chain. All while making manufacturing more affordable and eventually, EVs, too. It’s a means to an end—and a smart one at that.

Capri Fund Invests in Deepak Fasteners

Capri Stressed Assets Fund announced in June that it has recently made its first investment in Deepak Fasteners Limited headquartered in India, taking significant minority stake in the company. By capitalizing on its strong

brand, market positioning, and distribution network, Deepak Fasteners targets to emerge as a major player in the industrial fasteners segment worldwide over the next few years and intends to come out with a public offering of its equity shares in the next few years.

“It is our belief that the company is at the cusp of emerging as a preferred fastener partner for the Indian industry driven by its strong world-renowned ‘Unbrako’ brand, excellent manufacturing capabilities and the unfolding India growth story. This investment underlines our philosophy of working with companies having strong and resilient business models, help them turnaround their business operations and evolve as a major player within their industry,” commented Rajesh Sharma, Founder of Capri Global Group.

SPIROL UK Achieves IATF 16949 Certification

SPIROL International Corporation, a global manufacturer of Engineered Fasteners, Shims and Installation Equipment, is pleased to announce that a fifth manufacturing facility, SPIROL Industries in the United Kingdom, has been certified to IATF 16949. S PIROL Industries, located in Corby, Northamptonshire, UK, manufactures Coiled Pins, Slotted Pins and Compression Limiters for the automotive, agriculture / heavy equipment, alternative / green energy, industrial, medical and many other industries. Like all SPIROL manufacturing facilities, SPIROL UK develops their own precision tooling, and is equipped with in-house primary and secondary operations to bolster the organization’s extensive manufacturing footprint. The ability to service customers from sales, manufacturing, and distribution facilities strategically located around the world ensures that SPIROL’s customers receive the support and product they need - when they need it. This is especially important in today’s industrial climate given the volatility in the global supply chain. As stated by Simon Ward, the Managing Director of SPIROL UK, "Focusing on the long term support of our customers in gaining IATF certification is key to everyone’s success. The team’s contributions culminating in IATF accreditation for SPIROL’s UK site are testament to everyone’s drive and commitment supporting and living our quality vision in every action they take. The team’s efforts, both collectively and individually, that were required to not only gain IATF certification, but to sustain and support its values, are recognized and something I am proud of them all for."

A Primer on the US Construction Fastener Market

Construction fasteners constitute one of the four primary families of fasteners in the United States. The global fastener market was estimated in 2021 at a little over 90 billion U.S. dollars. The North American market constituted about 19 billion U.S. dollars of that pie, of which the Building and Construction segment was about 1.5 to 2.0 billion U.S. dollars.

Although small in comparison to the Automotive and Aerospace fastener segments, these numbers still represent a significant market with potential for both existing and new entrants.

The health of Building and Construction fasteners in North America is directly proportional to the health of residential, commercial, and infrastructure activity. Commercial and infrastructure activities usually are committed to over longer time frames and serve as a lagging indicator, meaning that they may be going strong during economic downturns. Once the projects are completed, however, in economic hard times there will be slowdowns in backfilling new projects, resulting in gaps of activity. Initially because of the pandemic, raw material, and labor shortages, a gap in new construction activity may have been expected, however, in the second half of 2020 construction projects, especially residential and infrastructure construction, took off and has not slowed much. This is partially a function of individuals trapped at home due to the pandemic seeking to make improvements and partially because government stimulus provided families with unexpected cash to invest in long dreamed of projects. Additionally during this time period both the U.S. federal government and many states legislatures passed infrastructure improvement legislation, guaranteeing many large scale, infrastructure projects for years to come. These projects will be spread out into the future and benefitting construction fastener suppliers for many years into the future.

Like the other large market segments, construction fasteners can be further broken down into sub-segment specialties. These include bolts, nuts, screws, washers, structural assemblies, anchors, nails, and threaded rod. It is uncommon for a fastener manufacturer to actually make all of these product categories but rather will specialize in only one or several of these categories. For example, a particular supplier may be a large provider of drill screws but not make a single structural bolt or nut. Even within the sub-categories, there are some producers that may provide only a single “specialty” product such as bi-metallic drill screws, concrete wedge anchors, or direct tension indicating washers.

Bolts:

Bolts are generally considered to be threaded products which are connected with a free spinning nut. These can have a variety of head styles: square, hexagonal, and hexagonal flange heads. They may be regular hex bolts or heavy hex bolts, and in North America are usually inch products produced to ASME B18.2.1. For similar metric products they are produced to ISO4014 or DIN931. In North America, most of these products remain inch so that the subsequent strength grades are Grades 2, 5, and 8 governed by SAE J429 or ASTM A307, A449, and A354 grades BC and BD.

Nuts:

Free spinning nuts are internally threaded fasteners that are used in combination with bolts to produce the clamped connection. Like their bolt counterparts they come in hex, heavy hex, hex flange, and square varieties. For North America these are usually produced to ASME standard B18.2.2 for the inch product and ISO 4032 or DIN 934 for metric product. Product strength is generally governed by SAE J995 for Grades 2, 5, and 8, ASTM A194/A194M or ASTM F563/F563M for inch nuts and ISO898 Part 2 for metric nuts.

Washers:

There are a variety of different types of washers available for different applications but generally for construction and building purposes the only washers used are flat washers. Flat washers are used in construction applications to better distribute load and to span large clearance holes or slots. In North America washers are usually produced to ASME B18.21.1 and to strength requirements governed by ASTM F436/F436M. Metric washers are produced to ISO 789 or DIN 125A.

A special variant of washers used in construction applications are Direct Tension Indicating, DTI, washers. These are highly engineered, flat washers that have three or four top protruding projections. They are placed in service like a regular flat washer in structural bolting applications, however, when the bolted joint reaches the desired tension, these protruding projections collapse back down level to the top surface of the washer. A special feeler gage is used to verify that the projections have completely flattened signaling that the desired tension has been reached. There are also special versions where the concave underside of these projections are filled with silicon, so that when the projection collapses back in, the silicon is squeezed out providing the installer a positive indication that the projections have collapsed and the proper joint tension is achieved. These products are governed by ASTM F2437/F2437M.

Screws:

Screws are considered to be products that either thread into non-turning nut members or create their own internal threads. There are several different varieties of screws that are typically used in building and construction. These include:

• Wood Screws

• Sheet Metal Screws

• Drywall Screws

• Deck Screws

• Drill Screws

• Bi-Metallic Drill Screws

• Socket Head Cap Screws

• Timber Screws

• Hex Cap Screws

• Masonry Screws

These screws constitute products used for a variety of building and construction applications. Sheet metal screws are used in metal ducting and HVAC installations. Deck screws come in varieties for both wood and composite materials and are designed to properly fasten exterior decking. Drywall screws come in varieties for both wood and metal structural members and are designed to properly hang drywall. Both deck and drywall screws are often used by installers for general purpose construction applications. This, however, may not always be the best application as these screws may not be optimally designed for these other applications. Drill screws are used to attach metal roofing and building sheathing components. Masonry screws are used for light duty connections to masonry and brick.

Structural Fasteners:

Structural fasteners are used for connecting iron and steel structures, such as the girders in a skyscraper or beams in a bridge. Structural fasteners are typically sold as an assembly, meaning that the bolt, nut, and washers are sold as a single unit. The reason for this is that these parts usually leave the factory verified to reach a minimum prescribed preload. As such, frictional characteristics must be closely maintained and they do not leave the factory without careful packaging and certification that they will meet the declared performance. In fact, for one special type of structural bolt, Tension Control Bolts, certifying the torque-tension relationship is absolutely paramount. North American structural fasteners are produced to ASME B18.2.6 and to strength grades A325, A490, A325TC, and A490TC per ASTM F3125/F3125M. Structural bolts are most often used in shear applications, so that they are designed and produced with tighter Full Body Diameter and Grip Length tolerances. Structural Bolts are usually larger in diameter than general purpose hardware and can actually reach standard sizes as high as 3 to 4 inches in diameter.

Anchors:

Like screws there are many different varieties of anchors. Anchors are intended to attach construction members to a concrete base. Anchors fall into the following categories:

• Headed Anchor Bolts

• Bent Anchor Bolts

• Drop-in Anchors

• Single Expansion Anchors

• Double Expansion Anchors

• Machine Screw Anchors

• Wedge Anchors

• Epoxy Anchors

• Lag Shields

• Plastic Anchors

• Sleeve Anchors

• Drive Anchors

Headed anchor bolts are just very long headed bolts. Depending on the intended project they might be a foot or two long to many feet long. They are usually hex headed so that when embedded deep into concrete they will not rotate. Bent anchors are similar except that instead of a head on the embedded end, the rod is bent into

a “J” shape. Again, once embedded in concrete, they will not rotate. Both of these types of anchors have to be set prior to the concrete being poured and setting up.

Most of the anchor types listed above are installed after the concrete is in-place. They work on the principle that the anchor will expand into a pilot hole. There are a variety of different ways to accomplish this, but essentially the anchor is either designed to split or to expand once in the pilot hole and generate enough friction against the sides to prevent it from dislodging. These generally work so well that it becomes very hard or impossible to remove once they are set.

Epoxy Anchors are a variety of anchor where a pilot hole is drilled and the anchor is set into an epoxy adhesive. Once the epoxy sets the anchor is locked into place. Drive Anchors refer to the group of anchors that directly connect to the concrete or masonry base. There are a variety of trade named screws that perform this function and require a pilot hole as well as powder driven nails which can be driven right into the masonry substrate without any pilot hole. The strength of the powder charge in the driving cartridge determines how hard of a material the nail can be driven into and how deeply it will penetrate.

Materials:

Most building and construction fasteners are made of metal. In fact, 93% of construction fasteners are made of metal with the balance being made of plastic. Most of these metal fasteners are made of steel or alloy steel and provided in the as-formed condition or heat treated to increase their strength. Some applications, however, possess more demanding performance requirements and may be made of other metals such as aluminum, brass, copper, silicon bronze, stainless steel, titanium, and, in rare circumstances, nickel super alloys. Like other fastener applications, the users need for improved corrosion resistance, strength, and weight are all decisions points on the best material to use.

Coatings:

Unlike the automotive industry which uses many different coatings, building and construction fasteners employ only a few common coatings. These include:

• Hot Dip Galvanizing

• Mechanical Galvanizing

• Vapor Galvanizing (Also known as Dry Galvanizing)

• Electroplated Zinc

• Zinc Flake Coating

• Ceramic Coating

• Powder Coating

• Teflon Coating (Also known as Xylan®)

Hot Dip Galvanizing, HDG, is very commonly used for construction fasteners that are used outdoors. Hot Dip Galvanizing entails dipping steel parts into a molten bath of zinc. The coating forms several layers with the closest layer to the part being a zinc-iron conversion coating and the subsequent layers being different phases of zinc. The resulting coating is very durable and can withstand many years of exterior service.

Mechanical Galvanizing deposits the zinc layer by pounding zinc onto the surface of the part. Vapor Galvanizing ionizes the zinc and subsequently deposits it onto the steel substrate. This form of galvanizing is generally considered to perform similarly to Hot Dip Galvanizing. Compared to HDG, electroplated zinc does not stand up as well to rigorous environments, but is very commonly used on general purpose construction screws and those employed in interior environments. Zinc Flake Coating, also sometimes referred to as Dip Spin Coatings are paint-like coatings that are highly impregnated with fine zinc or aluminum particles. These finishes can be varied to provide moderate to excellent corrosion protection and have been steadily gaining in popularity for construction and building uses. Finally, Teflon coatings have long been used in certain construction and building applications for both their torquetension and corrosion protection benefits.

Summary:

The North American Construction fastener market segment is one of diverse products and rich potential. Although not the largest in size, it is still about a two billion U.S. dollar market, representing excellent opportunity for both existing and potentially new suppliers. It also has the attractive quality of having many different types of parts, shapes, and sizes to provide those interested in this segment with multiple opportunities to find a niche that fits their capabilities well.

Article by Laurence Claus

Copyright owned by Fastener World

Fastener Trade Statistics of USA/Canada/Japan/Taiwan (H1 2022)

2022上半年美、加、日、台扣件進出口統計

(In million USD), in descending order according to figures of 2022

Both the U.S. global fastener import and export values had a steady growth in the first half year of 2020 to 2022. Taiwan, China and Japan were the top three sources of import for the U.S., and it indicates Asia as the primary source of fastener import for the U.S., while some of the remainders were taken up by Canada, Germany, etc.

Compared to China, the value of fasteners coming from Taiwan was higher by one fold.

For the U.S. fasteners, the top export destinations were Mexico and Canada (mostly in the Americas) with the export values way larger than those with China, UK and other countries.

Source: U.S. ITA of Department of Commerce

(In USD), in descending order according to figures of 2022

In the first half year from 2021 to 2022, Canada grew 16% in global fastener import value and 12% in global fastener export value. The U.S. remained the top fastener trading partner with Canada in both import and export. Other primary import sources were Taiwan and China from Asia. Aside from the U.S., the second largest import source was Mexico but it is miles away from the share taken by the U.S.

Source: Canada.ca

HS 7318 Iron and steel screws, bolts, nuts, washers, etc.

HS 7318 Screws, bolts, nuts, screw hooks, rivets, washers, cotter pins and like articles of iron or steel

Comparing the past two years, there wasn’t an obvious growth in Japan’s global fastener import value until the first half of this year with a 37% increase. The global export value was the opposite with a stark 35% growth in the first half of last year and merely 1.8% growth in the same period this year. The primary import sources were in Asia, including China, Taiwan, South Korea and Southeast Asia. China was Japan’s top fastener trading partner in both import and export.

(In million USD), in descending order according to volume of 2022

Source: Ministry of Finance, Japan

Taiwan’s global fastener import value jumped 30% in the first half of last year, but the growth reduced to 10% in the same period this year. The global export value grew 28% in the first half of last year and the growth mildly dropped to 30% in the same period this year. Japan, the U.S. and China were the primary import sources for Taiwan, and the U.S., Europe and Japan were the main export destinations.

In descending order according to figures of 2022

HS 7318 Screws, bolts, nuts, coach screws, screw hooks, rivets, cotters, cotter-pins, washers (including spring washers) and similar articles, of iron or steel

HS 7318 Screws, bolts, nuts, coach screws, screw hooks, rivets, cotters, cotter-pins, washers (including spring washers) and similar articles, of iron or steel

Source: Bureau of Foreign Trade (Taiwan)

An Overlook of Israeli Economic Environment

T he population of Israel is 9.2 million people and its GDP was 373.7 billion dollars in 2021, which decreased by 2.4% compared to 2020. Its GDP per capita was 40,547. Its unemployment rate was 4.6% and foreign capital investment was 24.8 billion dollars in Israel with a -0.6% inflation. Israel’s economic freedom score is the 43rd freest country in 2022. Israel is the 2nd strongest economy among the 14 countries in the Middle East and North Africa region. The Israeli economy slowed from 2017 through 2019, and turned negative in 2020, but it is predicted to recover in 2022.

Industries in Which Fasteners are Used the Most Car Manufacturers and Transportation Industry

1- Automotive: Big multinationals, in the past years, have shown a growing interest in opening R&D centers in Israel, followed by major investments by the Israeli government in the sector. The automotive sector, highly linked with the smart transportation industry and further development of HLS technologies applied to civilian use, has shown significant progress in transportation management systems, computer vision, control of sound systems, gestures’ recognition, cyber security, location-based services and various technologies that make driving experience smarter, faster, safer and more energy efficient. Among the multinationals operating in Israel looking for subcontractors and potential new companies to further develop the automotive sector in Israel are Ford, Toyota, VW, Volvo, General Motors, Daimler, Renault and many others.

Israel’s Fastener Statistics 以色列扣件進出口分析

2- Smart Transportation Industry: Israel's automotive industries are coming up with new technologies and systems to improve performance, efficiency, safety and air quality in a world with congested roads and polluted air. While Israel does not produce vehicles on a large scale, around 150 Israeli companies manufacture and supply systems, parts, modules and tools to the original manufacturers and the aftermarket. Israeli companies have successfully integrated military tech for civilian use and have made Israel a notable destination for the international automotive industry. The Israeli government has also had a big role in the sector, by giving support and incentives to companies in the business. There is cooperation and discussion with the purchase consultants of original equipment manufacturers based in Israel to find suitable companies for their purpose in the Israeli market. Some of these partnerships and companies include: VW, Toyota, Ford, Volvo, Renault, etc. A perfect example can be observed with the sponsorship of Intel in MobilEye.

Devices, Gadgets and Machinery

Any industry that uses any type of devices, gadgets and machines relies heavily on the use of fasteners. For example, medical devices (e.g., dental and orthopaedic implants, instruments) employ literally hundreds of different types of fasteners to hold their assemblies together or in the food producers’ machines there are a hundred types of different fasteners as well. There are some industries in Israel where they use different types of fasteners like:

1- Cybertech & Homeland Security Industry: Israel is the worldleading provider in HLS technology. The geopolitical situation in Israel has brought the country to invest high capitals in Cyber S ecurity and Homeland Security Industry, which have caused the sector to be one of the most advanced in the world. There are over 300 companies offering automated systems in border control, biometrics scans, IED and UAV jamming systems, video surveillance and intelligence gathering.

2- Agrotechnology Industry: Israel's manufactures and exports a variety of specialized agricultural equipment, including mobile celery packaging plants, machinery for digging silage and mixing feed, poultry equipment (automatic egg collectors, climate control systems, weigh scales, etc.), air-blast sprayers, flower bulb transplanters and fruit & vegetable packing machinery.

3- Cleantech Industry & Clean Water Technology: The Cleantech industry in Israel focuses mainly on three different sectors: r enewable e nergy, e nergy e fficiency and m aterials and e nviro nment. Today the country boasts more than 200 industries in renewable energy solutions and devices and about the same number in clean water solutions and devices.

Fasteners Numbers

Imported Fasteners

T otal imported fasteners by Israel were USD 184.4 million in 2021, 16.3% more than 2020. In 2021, China had 36% of Israeli market and was the leader of this market, USA had 25% of Israeli market and it was ranked 2nd. Taiwan with 9% and Germany with 7% were ranked respectively 3rd and 4th. These 4 countries supplied 77% of the Israeli market.

3- Since 2017 the trend of imported fasteners was positive.

4- The numbers for 2022 haven’t been released yet.

Exported Fasteners

Total exported fasteners from Israel were USD 31.8 million in 2021, 19.3% more than in 2020. In 2021, Germany was the main buyer of Israeli fasteners, and it bought 22% of Israel’s exported fasteners. U.S. consumers bought 16% of Israel’s exported fasteners. Belgium was the 3rd consumer of Israeli fasteners and it bought 11% of Israel’s exported fasteners. Singapore was the buyer of 9% of Israel’s exported fasteners and India was the buyer of 8% of Israel’s exported fasteners.

The significant points of Table 1 are:

1- USA was the leader in the Israeli market in 2017-2020 and China was the leader by surpassing USA in 2021.

2- In 2017 and 2020 Germany had tried to sur pass Taiwan’s numbers but they failed.

The significant points of Table 2 are:

1- G ermany was the main buyer of Israeli fasteners in 2017-2021 except for 2019 in which the U.S. was the leader.

2- In 2020 Belgium had tried to be the 2nd largest buyer of Israel’s fasteners, but it couldn’t surpass the numbers of the U.S.

3- The numbers for 2022 haven’t been released yet.

Last Word

Israel is a growing country with an infinite need for fasteners, but there has been little attention to the production of fastener inside Israel, which has created a great opportunity for both machines factory and fasteners exporters.

References:

1- https://www.italia-israel.com/sites/default/files/2019-07/ Tech%20profile%20Israel.pdf

2- https://www.heritage.org/index/country/israel

3- https://www.industrialheating.com/articles/92174fastener-industry-overview-applications-materials-equipment

Article by Behrooz Lotfian

Table 2. Israel's Fastener Export

Table 1. Israel's Fastener Import

Irsael's

German,

UK, French, Netherlandish Fastener Trade with 歐洲德、英、法、荷蘭前十大進出口國扣件統計 Top 10 Partners

German Fastener Import Value with Top 10 Partners (Euro)

German Fastener Import Quantity with Top 10 Partners (Kg)

German Fastener Export Value with Top 10 Partners (Euro)

German Fastener Export Quantity with Top 10 Partners (Kg)

★ Data for UK only updated to 2020

UK Fastener Import Value with Top 10 Partners (Euro)

UK Fastener Import Quantity with Top 10 Partners (Kg)

UK Fastener Export Value with Top 10 Partners (Euro)

UK Fastener Export Quantity with Top 10 Partners (Kg)

French Fastener Import Value with Top 10 Partners (Euro)

French Fastener Import Quantity with Top 10 Partners (Kg)

French Fastener Export Value with Top 10 Partners (Euro)

French Fastener Export Quantity with Top 10 Partners (Kg)

Netherlandish Fastener Export Value with Top 10 Partners (Euro)

Netherlandish Fastener Export Quantity with Top 10 Partners

The gap between China's self-produced fastener materials and those of developed countries is relatively large, so it is necessary to formulate cold-forged steel wire rod dedicated to automotive fasteners and upgrade the technical level of cold-forged steel wire rod, to meet the demand for raw materials for highstrength fasteners for automobiles in a targeted manner and regulate the technical quality level of Chinese fastener products. This article briefly introduces the technical progress of "cold-forged steel wire rod for auto fasteners", which is marked by adding the specific letter of "Q" from Chinese phonetic transcription to the first letter of the grade. With reference to the current national standard GB/T 6478 for cold forged steel wire coil, there are 5 types of cold forged steel wire rod: Type 1 non-heat-treated steel wire rod with 11 categories; Type 2 case hardened steel wire rod with 4 categories; Type 3 tempered steel wire rod with 23 categories; Type 4 boron-containing tempered steel wire rod with 19 categories; Type 5 non-tempered steel wire rod with 3 categories. 7 new categories are added to the item of tempered steel wire rod; 10 new categories are added to the item of boron-containing tempered steel wire rod.

Technical Progress of "Cold-Forged Steel Wire Rod for Automotive Fasteners”

1. Overview

In the environment of rapid development of the automotive industry, with the increasingly fierce competition in the market, coupled with the continuous improvement in the quality of automotive fasteners, such as light-weighting, environmental protection, long service life and other requirements, the technology and equipment of automotive fastener enterprises will continue to innovate. The market space for automotive fasteners is huge. As one of the key components of automobile manufacturing industry, the variety and quality of fasteners have an important impact on the quality of cars. China is a large automobile manufacturing country, but for a long period of time the U.S., German, Japanese, and other countries’ joint ventures with manufacturers in China have had to rely upon imports of critical auto parts, such as grades 10.9 and 12.9 engine fasteners made of steel supplied by (Japan) Kobe, (Japan) Nippon Steel, (S. Korea) POSCO, and other steelmakers.

In an automobile engine, connecting rod bolts, cylinder head bolts, crankshaft pulley bolts, flywheel bolts and crankshaft bearing cover bolts are called the five critical bolts. In addition, components related to chassis, driving, and steering also use high-strength fasteners, all of which account for over 60% of the number of fasteners used in a car and are of the strength above Grade 10.9 with the category being alloy cold-forged steel requiring heat treating. For this reason, production of high-strength fasteners for automobiles has stricter requirements for fatigue strength, plasticity and toughness, content of impurities, surface quality, metallography, and cold forgeability of raw materials. To ensure a certain clamping force, the assembly in production

《汽車扣件用冷鐓鋼盤元》的技術進展

basically uses the torque and angle control method. The connecting rod bolts as the key engine bolts will be tightened to the yield state. The connecting rod bolts in the operating engine must withstand the inertia and centrifugal forces of the piston connecting rod generated from reciprocal motion, and in the cylinder compression and burst stroke, it also has to withstand the impact of thousands of times per minute. The fracture is usually called fatigue fracture.

T hroughout the continuous progress of China's steel production technology, the self-production of steel for highend automobile fasteners has been gradually advanced. At present, Baosteel, Xingtai Iron & Steel, Jiangsu Yonggang, Jinan Iron & Steel, Magang, Xingcheng Specil Steel, Xiangtan Iron & Steel and other enterprises can produce high strength fastening steel, and some of their products have been certified by car manufacturers and are used in critical parts of high-end automobiles. Up to now, the common grades of steel for high-strength fasteners are: SWRCH35K, 10B21, 10B28 steel for Gr. 8.8 fasteners; 10B33, 35CrMo, 40Cr steel for Gr. 10.9 fasteners; 35CrMo, 42CrMo, SCM435 steel for Gr. 12.9 fasteners, etc.

2. Presentation of Problems

U nder the trend of more stringent requirements for high strength, long service life and light-weighting of automobile fasteners, bolt materials are urgently required to have better performance and more stable quality, to meet the advanced design concepts and methods and promote the development and progress of fastener manufacturing level in Chinese automobile fastener industry. Due to the late start of research on automobile fasteners in China, the research and development of materials lags behind developed countries such as Europe, the United States and Japan, and there is relatively few research on basic materials in China, such as actual fatigue characteristics and R&D of new materials. At present, the materials in China are mainly made by the European Union, the United States and Japan. There is a big gap between Chinese fastener materials and the developed countries, which is mainly manifested in high impurities and uniformity of domestic steel, and the high oxygen content and non-metallic impurities. Steel hardenability fluctuates, high temperature & high performance steel, low temperature impact resistant steel, economical and high strength fasteners for mass production lack raw materials.

With the successive development of cold forged steel for automobiles by various enterprises, the basic technical indexes of GB/T 6478 and GB/T28906 (the existing national standard for cold forged steel), cannot meet the latest quality demand of cold forged steel for automobiles, and in addition, raw materials for high strength fasteners have high requirements and higher cost than ordinary cold forged steel. Since there is no national or industrial standard for these special cold forged steel in China, many enterprises have formulated their own standards. Since 2018, in order to improve their technical level, enterprises have begun to formulate their own standards based on GB/T 6478. The main purpose of these corporate and group standards is to improve the standard technical indicators for reference of automotive fasteners manufacturers. However, due to the differences in the starting point, technical level and standard drafting level of the standard-setting units or institutes, the quality and technical index requirements of the final

industrial standards for cold forged steel for automobiles vary, it is not favorable to the standardization and unification of the standard quality requirements and it is also not favorable to the use of users and standardization of fasteners. YB metallurgical industrial standards “Cold Forged Steel Wire Rod for Automobile Fasteners” will be undertaken by the Secretariat of Technical Sub-committee for Steel Wire Coil and Rod Standards of China National Steel Standard Committee, standard formulation by Jiangsu Yonggang to formulate standards for cold forged steel wire rod for automotive fasteners, which will upgrade the technical level of cold forged steel wire rod. Due to high requirements for composition, purity, cold forging and surface quality, the cold forged steel wire rod for automotive use can meet the demand of high strength automotive fasteners and improve the technical quality of fastening products in China. China can also make use of the export of fastening products to advance the process of self-production of highstrength steel for automotive fasteners. In addition, the standards are used as a guide to lead the quality level of cold forged steel for automobiles in China, with the goal of improving the quality of cold forged steel throughout China and reducing the import volume of high-end automotive fasteners.

3. Process of Steel Wire Rod

T he basic production process of cold forged steel wire rod for automotive fasteners is as follows: KR → BOF → LF → RH/VD → Continuous bloom casting → cogging → grinding → flaw detection → grinding → rolling. Steelmaking process control focuses on impurities, segregation, grain size, composition uniformity and consistency, and oxygen/ nitrogen/ hydrogen content, etc. The rolling process focuses on surface quality (avoiding scratches and cracks), decarburization layer, dimensional accuracy, oxidation, head and tail trimming, microstructure (avoiding Weiss), cold forging performance, etc. Critical fasteners have high requirements for hydrogen embrittlement. For example, the commonly used material is SCM435 steel, and China mostly uses materials from Japanese Kobe and Japanese Nippon Steel.

The process for this material is PASAIP, which focuses on blank size selection, spheroidizing, decarburization, phosphate coating, surface quality, etc. To meet the requirements of cold forged automobile fasteners, the control of surface quality (in addition to reasonable spheroidizing) is very critical. For this reason, the appearance of the material is required to be free of defects such as scratches, indentations, bent areas, oxide residue and rust spots.

4. Revision of Standards

4.1 Citation of Standards

" Cold Forged Steel Wire Rod for Automotive Fasteners" combines the development of domestic steel enterprises, optimization of production process and progress of technology and equipment as well as needs of the fastener industry, refers to relevant standards outside China, and is formulated based on GB/ T 6478-2015. The main domestic and overseas standards for reference are: (1) GB/T 28906 "cold forged steel hot rolled wire rod"; (2) ISO 4954-2018 "cold forged and extruded

steel"; (3) EN 10263-1-4:2017 "cold forged and extruded steel wire rod, bars and wires including part 1: general technical conditions of delivery, part 2: nonheat treating conditions, part 3: technical conditions of delivery for case hardened steel, and part 4: technical conditions of delivery for tempered steel"; (4) JISG 3507-1:2010 "carbon steel for cold forging including part 1: wire rod", JIS G 3508-1:2010 "boron-containing steel for cold forging Part 1: wire", JISG 4053:2016 "alloy steel for machine manufacturing".(5) ASTM A29/A29M-16 "carbon and alloy steel bars for hot forging and cold processing"; ASTM A510/A510M-18 "general requirements for carbon steel wire and rough drawn round steel wire", etc.

4.2 Categories and Chemical Composition

I n order to ensure the stability of material properties and consider the properties of cold forging and extrusion, the range of carbon and impurity content of each category has been tightened, i.e., the general classifications of carbon content has been adjusted to 5 and the impurity contents (P and S) has been reduced to 0.020%. To facilitate the distinction between cold forged steel wire rod for automobile fasteners and existing categories, the category follows the way in GB/T 6478 and is preceded by a letter “Q (a phonetic transcription of “automotive” in Chinese) for identification. For Grades 13.9 and 14.9 fasteners, as the development of their corresponding steel hasn’t been mature and are not used often, so they’re not included in the category. As non-tempered cold forged steel features considerable advantages in new energy vehicles, and its current development progress goes smooth, it’ll be continuously included in the standard.

A ccording to the current national standard GB/T 6478-2015 for cold forged steel, there are 5 types of cold forged steel wire rod, including 11 categories of type 1 non-heat treated steel wire rod, 4 categories of type 2 case hardened steel wire rod, 23 categories of type 3 tempered steel wire rod, 19 categories of type 4 boroncontaining tempered steel wire rod, and 3 categories of type 5 non-tempered steel wire rod.

8 new categories are added to tempered steel wire rod: QML38, QML40Mn and QML50, respectively corresponding to SWRCH38K, SWRCH41K and SWRCH50K of JIS 3507-2010, QML15CrMo and QML42CrMo, respectively corresponding to SCM415 and SCM440 of JIS G 4053-2016; and QML41CrMoV, QML35CrMoV, and QML21CrMoV for heat resistant steel for automotive fasteners; ASTM A29/A29M is also referenced .

1 0 new categories are added to boron-containing tempered steel wire rod: QML23B corresponding to 10B23 in ASTM A29-16, QML28B corresponding to 28B2 in ISO 4954: 2018, QML33B, QML38B, and QML45B respectively correspond ing to 10B33, 10B38, and 10B45 in ASTM A29-16; QML20CrB corresponding to 51B20 in ASTM A29-16. Categories that can improve hardenability and mechanical properties are added and the addition of Cr is required.

4.3 Others

4.3.1 Cold Forging - according to the technical requirements of ISO 4954-2018, the requirements for cold forging property of steel have been revised, removing the option of normal level (1/2 cold forging) and adding the option of 1/5 cold forging for users’ own choice. The plastic cracking problem will occur if wire rod is processed by 1/4 or 1/5 cold forging without annealing; as a result, the step of annealing before 1/4 or 1/5 cold forging should be added.

4.3.2 Decarburized Layer - Referring to ISO 4954-2018 and EN10263.1-2017 the requirements for the decarburized layer have been revised: tempered steel (incl. boron-containing steel) and non-tempered steel should be examined in accordance with GB/T 224 and section 7.3 for decarburized layers, and the depth of the decarburization layer should be in accordance with the provisions of Table 1. If users have special needs, they should be stated clearly in contracts.

4.3.3 Grain Size - Referring to relevant standards, the austenitic grain sizes of non-heat treated, case hardened, and tempered (incl. boron-containing steel) steel are required to be no coarser than the requirements of Gr. 6.0.

4 .3.4 Non-metallic Impurities - The requirements for impurities have been revised with reference to ISO 4954-2018 and the requirements of the automotive fastener industry. To accommodate different needs, two impurities levels have been proposed to cover different grades of fastener requirements (See Table 2).

5. Conclusions

Under certain conditions, the quality of raw materials will affect the selection of production process parameters of fasteners, which will also directly affect the comprehensive mechanical properties and safety of high-strength automotive fasteners. In the process of automobile assembly, the development and application of high-strength automotive fasteners are still faced with challenges from suppliers and manufacturing. Selecting the right materials for use in right locations is the best way to meet the requirements of car manufacturing. Due to the increasing demand for high precision and high strength fasteners, the demand for high purity, high performance and high-quality cold forged steel has also become more urgent. Through the formulation and implementation of standards, the quality of fasteners and the development of the industry will be both promoted.

Table 1. Decarburized Layers of Tempered Steel (Incl. Boron-Containing Steel) and Non-Tempered Steel

Table 2. Requirements for Non-Metallic Impurities

Market Leaders to Mould the Future of Smart Manufacturing at Asiamold 2023

中國廣州國際模具展薈萃行業精英 共同塑造智能製造未來

Press release provided by Asiamold

T he mould and 3D printing community is set to thrive, with prominent brands to showcase new technologies and share invaluable market insights at next year’s Guangzhou International Mould & Die Exhibition (Asiamold). Riding on the success of its previous editions, the fair will take place from 1 – 3 March 2023 at the China Import and Export Fair Complex. Asiamold will once again be held concurrently with SPS – Industrial Automation Fair Guangzhou (SIAF) to generate greater synergies with smart manufacturing.

W ith strong support from the Chinese government towards innovation and the increasing domestic consumption in the country, there is growing demand for different manufacturing methods. As part of this, the Chinese mould market is expected to reach a value of USD 50 billion by 2026. Against this backdrop and the strategic location of Asiamold in the Greater Bay Area, the fair will continue to be an important event for mould, die and 3D printing industry players in southern China.

A fter just a few months of the fair being open to exhibitor applications, many well-known companies from around the world have already confirmed their participation for 2023. They are eager to showcase their latest innovations in mould making, 3D printing, die casting technologies and solutions.

I ndeed, exhibitors believe that prospects for the industry’s growth are promising given the current business environment.

Mr. Gongsheng Zhou, Deputy General Manager of Guangdong Additive & Subtractive Manufacturing Technology Co Ltd explained at the previous edition in 2022, remarking: “The Chinese government has introduced many favourable measures not only for companies which produce innovative technologies like we do, but also for traditional manufacturers to accelerate the upgrade and transformation of their businesses.”

M r . Enderwick Pei, China Marketing Director of Raise3D also commented on the advantages of the show: “Located in the Greater Bay Area, Asiamold is an innovation hub that gathers a number of my company’s vital customers, including Xiaopeng and Huawei. Despite the global healthcare situation, we are pleased with the fair’s visitor flow as well as the exhibition as a whole, which has exceeded our expectations. All of this proves many companies are still very keen to participate in physical trade fairs to keep pace with market trends and enjoy face-to-face communication with their customers.”

A lthough the pandemic is affecting participation from the cities of Dongguan and Shenzhen, Asiamold and SIAF 2022 still attracted 408 exhibitors who showcased their latest innovations and smart manufacturing solutions across 40,000 sqm of exhibition space, with 23,825 visits also recorded.

Shedding Light on Smart Manufacturing to Give Participants a 360-Degree View of the Market

Digital manufacturing and digital transformation have become the main buzzwords for the global manufacturing industry in recent years. To keep track of international trends and to accommodate market demand, Asiamold will once again join forces with the Society of Advanced Moulding Technology (SAMT) to provide a diverse range of high-calibre moulding technology events to deep dive into the development of digital manufacturing. Renowned speakers within the industry will introduce the most recent moulding technologies through inspiring case studies, to drive the market towards digital transformation.

N otably, the Foshan Nanhai District Machinery Equipment Trade Association will continue to support Asiamold by forming a delegation group to exhibit at the fair, highlighting the latest products and technological advancements in digital manufacturing. In addition, they will also source for cutting-edge smart manufacturing solutions offered at Asiamold and SIAF.

“International Hardware Fair Cologne” Returns in 2022

「德國科隆國際五金展」 2022再度回歸

"International Hardware Fair Cologne" held in Germany every two years opened its gates again to domestic and foreign exhibitors and industrial professionals after the postponement in 2020 due to the pandemic. This Fair opened on September 25 at Kolnmesse.

The 2022 Fair opened from 09/25-27 (time: 09:00-18:00) through 09/28 (time: 09:00-17:00). The organizer opened Halls 3, 10, and 11. According to the organizer’s statistics, there were 1,411 German and international companies coming to exhibit this year, which were mainly from the industry sectors of hand tools/power tools, construction & furniture fittings, fastener & fixings, factory equipment, products for industrial use, DIY & relevant services for industrial purposes, etc. Taiwanese companies and exhibiting groups were also present to demonstrate their latest hand tools, aftermarket tools, gardening tools, relevant industrial tools, sockets & wrenches, and many other hardware products.

Fastener World’s staff onsite also observed at the Fair many market trends for future industrial development especially focused by the industry this year, such as energy saving, carbon emission reduction, environmental protection & sustainability, multiple applications, etc. In accordance with buyers’ various sourcing demands in different markets, our staff onsite took a lot of recently released and printed copies to the Fair, which included “Fastener World Magazine, China Fastener World Magazine, Hardware & Fastener Components Magazine, and Emerging Fastener Markets Magazine.” We also talked with several corporate purchasing reps coming to our stand asking for magazines during the Fair and they told us that they were highly interested in purchasing Taiwanese products featuring high performance/price ratios, excellent design, and high quality and collaborating with these suppliers. They hoped that through those printed copies received from Fastener World and our online B2B purchasing platform, they could understand more about superior products from suppliers based in Taiwan and other countries and establish closer collaboration approaches. They also hoped that through the collaboration with Taiwanese and other countries’ suppliers they could build up a more tenacious and integrated post-pandemic global industry supply chain.

T he next edition will take place on March 3-6, 2024.

Concurrently Held with Virtual Materials & Parts Exhibition

材料/零件線上展同期展出 2022韓國工業大展 (

)

Korea Metal Week has made it across 30 years since it debuted in 1989. Now it has become the top and benchmark metal and industrial parts related fair in South Korea, as well as a stepping stone to tap into the South Korean fastener and industrial parts market. The 2022 edition of this fair was held at Hall 3, Exhibition Center 1, KINTEX in Goyang City, S. Korea from September 21 to 23.

The fair attracted a total of 206 exhibitors. Given the fact that Southeast Asian countries have risen up lately after the pandemic years, the organizer put up a Vietnam Pavilion and India Pavilion at the fair. In addition, the organizer held seminars at the venue focusing on die casting, eco-friendly car parts joining and welding technology, climate change and other automotive industry related issues.

F astener World’s staff onsite reported that visitors were manufacturers, traders and academic institute personnel mostly from automotive, shipbuilding, electronics and other peripheral industries. Although South Korea highly relies on metal and industrial parts imported from China, quite a lot of visitors said Taiwanese fastener and industrial related products are also very attractive and wellrecognized for high quality. At the venue were a lot of visitors and exhibitors from fasteners, metal wires, forging, metal heat treatment and coating, automobile and machine parts, and hand tool industries.

To learn more about the latest information of Korea Metal Week, please always stay connected with Fastener World at www.fastenerworld.com.

by Fastener World

Fastener World hands out publications onsite

韓國首爾金屬週