Fastener-World Magazine No.195_Global Version by Fastener-World

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Cover Story

by Dean Tseng, Fastener World

Proud from Japan: Perfect Lock Bolt v2 ISO16130-certified Top Anti-loosening

hen it comes to anti-loosening fasteners, there are numerous types and we’ve seen them all. If that’s what is on your mind, think twice. Nissei, a Japanese thread rolling master, is going to amaze you with the one and only patented product called Perfect Lock Bolt (PLB), and it has been renewed for version 2.

Users could be struggled with conventional bolts that have a dualnut design, simply because it requires as many as 3 steps to finish tightening. PLB v2 saves the time and labor, all in a single step.

Extreme Vibration Only Tightens It More “Top-class anti-loosening quality” is what you will get from PLB v2, which is proven by acquiring the ISO16130 certificate. On a bolt-nut structure, loosening usually is caused by the inner nut from vibration, and this is where Nissei comes in. The secret to PLB v2 is that the inner nut has a lead angle larger than the outer nut, so when you tighten the outer nut, the inner nut follows along and tightens as well. “Both nuts in one action”, and it is as simple as that. Notably, the outer nut blocks off the loosening of the inner nut and forms a mechanical lock, a stark feature of PLB v2’s innovative and clever design.

PLB v2 in Action: Strong, Productive, Less Cost, Secure, Less Maintenance

PLB v2 used on a rotary kiln

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Fastener World no.195/2022

A great example of its application is when it is mounted in the preheater section of a rotary kiln owned by a Japanese client. The client used to weld up the section, but this was so timeconsuming that they turned to implementing PLB v2. “When loosening occurs and creates gaps, corrosive gas can get in and cause corrosion. We’ve been using our kiln with PLB v2 for a year and have never seen any gaps or signs of loosening,” said the client. Another customer from the dog food industry uses PLB v2 on their vibratory sorting machine. “The vibration loosens the machine parts over time, and the machine could fail or introduce contamination. Not all of our staff can do the maintenance, but PLB v2 saves the trouble and proves to be useful.”

Seeking PLB v2 Users & Licensee Manufacturers Worldwide “We don't sell PLB v2 itself but provide its samples to those who would like to try and use them where severe vibration occurs,” said Nissei, “We are also negotiating with potential candidates domestic and abroad who can be our licensed PLB v2 manufacturers, and we are looking to close 5 contracts by March 2023.” With Japan and several other places in the world in progress to open up borders, Nissei has made plans to exhibit in Manufacturing World Japan, International Fastener Expo, and Fastener Fair Italy this year. “We’ve been approached by visitors who said they had never seen a mechanism like dual-thread PLB v2, so visitors will be able to get their hands on PLB v2 at the shows to understand its outstanding performance.”

Contact: Yuki Okimoto, Engineer Email: y_okimoto@nisseiweb.co.jp

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Advertisers Index 174

262 171

A-PLUS SCREWS INC. Chipboard Screws, Customized Special Screws / Bolts... 奕瑞

284

ABC FASTENERS CO., LTD. Drop-in Anchors, Expansion Anchors, Wire Anchors...

聯欣

125

ACHILLES SEIBERT GMBH (Germany) new Tapping Screws, Drilling Screws, Thread Rolling Screws...

彰濱

CHAO JING PRECISE MACHINES ENTERPRISE 朝璟 Cold Forging Bolt Formers, Thread Rolling Machines...

236

CHENG I WIRE MACHINERY CO., LTD. Wire Machine, Drawing Machine, Take-up Coiler...

232 80

ADOLF WÜRTH GMBH & CO., KG 阿道夫 Screws, Screw Accessories, Anchors, Chemical-technical products... AEH FASTEN INDUSTRIES CO., LTD. Clevis Pins, Dowel Pins, Hollow Rivets...

ALEX SCREW INDUSTRIAL CO., LTD. 禾億 Button Head Cap Screws, Button Head Socket Cap Screws...

AMBROVIT S.P.A. (Italy) Chipboard Screws, Combined Screws, Machine Screws...

294

CHANG BING ENTERPRISE CO., LTD.

239

102

173

Hook Bolts, Holders / Hooks / Rings, Dowel Screws...

A & M PRODUCTS CO., LTD. Automotive Fasteners...

282

310EXPRESS COMPANY (Japan) Security, Tamper Proof, Anti-theft Screws...

CHIAN YUNG CORPORATION SEMS Screws

將運

CHIEN TSAI MACHINERY ENTERPRISE Thread Rolling Machines

鍵財

CHIN LIH HSING PRECISION ENTERPRISE 金利興 Automotive Nuts, Brass Inserts, Bushes, Bushings...

238

CHING CHAN OPTICAL TECHNOLOGY Eddy Current Sorting Machines, Fastener Makers...

精湛

196

CHIREK FASTENER CORPORATION Stainless Steel Fasteners, Self-Drilling Screws, Washers...

錡瑞

CHONG CHENG FASTENER CORP. Cap Nuts, Coupling Nuts, Conical Washer Nuts...

宗鉦

鉞昌

AMPLE LONG INDUSTRY CO., LTD. Hollow Rivets, Drive Rivets, Semi-tubular Rivets...

36 230

寬長 89

ANCHOR FASTENERS INDUSTRIAL CO., LTD. 安拓 ETA Series, Anchor Bolts, Anchor Nuts, Automotive Parts...

CHUN ZU MACHINERY INDUSTRY CO., LTD. 春日 Cold Headers, Header Toolings, Heading Machines... CPC FASTENERS INTERNATIONAL CO., LTD. Stainless Steel, Bi-metal Self-drilling Screws...

冠誠

DA YANG ENTERPRISE CO., LTD. Special Automotive Nuts, Special Weld Nuts...

大楊

APEX FASTENER INTERNATIONAL CO., LTD. Nuts, Wing Nuts & Bolts, Turning Parts, Stamping Parts

嵿峰

ARUN CO., LTD. Bi-metal Screws, Chipboard Screws, Drywall Screws...

鉅耕

179

DAISHIN CO., LTD. (Japan) Thread Rolling Dies

283

ASCCO INTERNATIONAL CO., LTD. 今大唯 Chipboard Screws, Drywall Screws, Wood Screws, Tapping Screws...

104

DAR YU ENTERPRISE CO., LTD. Chipboard Screws, Drywall Screws, Screw Nails…

127

ATLAS DISTRIBUTION SERVICES LTD. Tailoring Fulfillment & Supply Chain Solutions

正一直線

達宇

鷹世服

DE HUI SCREW INDUSTRY CO., LTD. 德慧 Drywall Screws, Decking Screws, Self-drilling Screws, Roofing Screws...

AUTOLINK INTERNATIONAL CO., LTD. Automotive Screws, Machine Bolts, Flange Nuts...

浤爵

180

DICHA FASTENERS MFG 集財 Expansion Anchors, Sleeve Anchors, Nylon Nail Anchors...

BCR INC. Automotive Screws, Piston Pins, Weld Bolts (Studs)...

必鋮

195

BESTWELL INTERNATIONAL CORP. Eye Bolts, Flanged Head Bolts, Hanger Bolts...

凱壹

234

BIING FENG ENTERPRISE CO., LTD. 秉鋒 Blind Nut Formers, Multi-station Cold Forming Machines...

BI-MIRTH CORP. 吉瞬 Carbon Steel Screws, Chipboard Screws, Concrete Screws...

BOLTUN CORPORATION Automotive Screws, Bushes, Conical Washer Nuts...

恒耀工業

DIN LING CORP. Chipboard Screws, Drywall Screws, Furniture Screws...

登琳

DRA-GOON FASTENERS INC. Chipboard Screws, Phillips Head Screws, TEK Screws...

丞曜

DUNFA INTERNATIONAL CO., LTD. 敦發 Bushes, Spacers, Automotive Parts, Tubes, Turning Parts...

E CHAIN INDUSTRIAL CO., LTD. Chipboard Screws, Drywall Screws, Machine Screws...

144

E.U.R.O.TEC GMBH (Germany) All Kinds of Screws, Bi-metal Self-drilling Screws...

毅程

119

EASON TECH INDUSTRIAL CO., LTD. Spring Pins, Cage Nuts, Clip Nuts, Retaining Rings...

鈺森

197

EXCEL COMPONENTS MFG CO., LTD. Turning Parts, CNC Parts, Forged and Stamped Parts...

鑫廣

186

GINFA WORLD CO., LTD. 濟音發 Chipboard Screws, Countersunk Screws, Drywall Screws...

240

GREENSLADE & COMPANY, INC. (U.S.A.) Concentricity, Ring Gage, Plug Gage Calibration, Gages...

248

GROWERMETAL S.P.A (Italy) Security Washers

105

HAO CHENG PLASTIC CO., LTD. PP Boxes, PET Jars, ABS Boxes, PC Boxes..

FAITHFUL ENGINEERING PRODUCTS CO., LTD. 誠毅 Anchors, Box Nails, Door/Window Accessories...

139

FALCON FASTENER CO., LTD. Automotive & Motorcycle Special Screws / Bolts...

鉮達

FANG SHENG SCREW CO., LTD. Shoulder Bolts, Button Head Socket Cap Screws..

芳生

HARVILLE FASTENERS LTD. 豪威爾 Special Screws and Bolts, Sems Screws, Stainless Steel Fasteners...

FASTENER JAMHER TAIWAN INC. Automotive Nuts, Blind Nuts / Rivet Nuts, Bushings...

占賀

265

HAUR FUNG ENTERPRISE CO., LTD. 豪舫 External Tooth Washers, Long Carriage Bolts, Roofing Bolts...

FASTNET CORP. Dowel Pins, Flange Nuts, Weld Nuts, 4 Pronged T Nuts...

俊鉞

260

HEADER PLAN CO. INC. Chipboard Screws, Collated Screws, Deck Screws...

243

HEY YO TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD. Precision Pins, Rollers, Dowel Pins...

255 61

FIXI SRL. (Italy) Threaded Inserts

皓正

恆勇

FONG PREAN INDUSTRIAL CO., LTD. 豐鵬 Automotive Screws, Bi-metal Screws, Brass & Bronze Screws...

HOSHENG PRECISION HARDWARE CO., LTD. 和昇 Auto Parts, CNC Machined Parts, Bolts...

FONG YIEN INDUSTRIAL CO., LTD. Eyebolts, Spindles...

宏盈

HSIN JUI HARDWARE ENTERPRISE CO., LTD. 欣瑞 Bushes, Construction Bolts, Special Cold / Hot Forming Parts...

FORTUNE BRIGHT INDUSTRIAL CO., LTD. Cap Nuts, Dome Nuts, Nylon Cap Insert Lock Nuts...

鋒沐

185

FU HUI SCREW INDUSTRY CO., LTD. Automotive & Motorcycle Special Screws / Bolts...

福輝

Inside front cover

150

FU KAI FASTENER ENTERPRISE CO., LTD. 福凱 Precision Electronic Screws, Special Screws, Weld Screws...

100

FUSHANG CO., LTD. 甫商 Carbon Steel Screws, Chipboard Screws, Concrete Screws...

233

GIAN-YEH INDUSTRIAL CO., LTD. Rivet Dies, Self-drilling Screw Dies, Screw Tip Dies...

141

健業

HSIN YU SCREW ENTERPRISE CO., LTD. Acme Screws, Hexagon Head Cap Screws...

新雨

HU PAO INDUSTRIES CO., LTD. Automotive Nuts, Flange Nuts, Hexagon Nuts...

如保

146

HWA HSING SCREW INDUSTRY CO., LTD. Chipboard Screws, Collated Screws, Drywall Screws...

華興

205

HWEI NEN CO., LTD. Automotive & Motorcycle Special Screws / Bolts...

輝能

237

INFINIX PRECISION CORP. Customized Punches and Dies

英飛凌

Advertisers Index I J

117

10 56 292 22 94

金大鼎

143

LAIEN CO., LTD. 高昱 Screws, Multi-stroke Forming Screws, CNC Machined Parts... LIAN CHUAN SHING INTERNATIONAL

連全興

Weld Nuts, Special Parts, Special Washers, Flat Washers... 288

JERN YAO ENTERPRISES CO., LTD. Multi-station Cold Forming, Parts Forming Machines...

正曜

LIAN SHYANG INDUSTRIES CO., LTD. Nut Formers, Nut Tapping Machines

296

JET FAST COMPANY LIMITED Blind Nuts / Rivet Nuts, Aircraft & Aerospace Washers...

捷禾

LINKWELL INDUSTRY CO., LTD. 順承 All Kinds of Screws, Automotive & Motorcycle Special Screws...

JIEN KUEN ENTERPRISE CO., LTD. 健坤 Hexagon Nuts, Nylon Cap Insert Lock Nuts, Square Nuts...

163

JIN-YINGS ENTERPRISE CO., LTD. 晉營 Special Custom Fasteners, Auto/Motorcycle Fasteners, Special Screws…

L & W FASTENERS COMPANY Construction Fasteners, Flat Washers, Heavy Nuts...

JAU YEOU INDUSTRY CO., LTD. 朝友 Chipboard Screws, Drywall Screws, High Low Thread Screws...

JINGFONG INDUSTRY CO., LTD. 璟鋒 Hex Nylon Insert Lock Nuts, Wing Nuts with Nylon Insert...

126

110

254

106

259

俊良

JIN SHIN CHYUAN INDUSTRY CO., LTD. Automotive & Motorcycle Special Screws / Bolts...

169

J.C. GRAND CORPORATION All Kinds of Screws, Chipboard Screws...

145

INNTECH INTERNATIONAL CO., LTD. 建豪 All Kinds of Nuts, All Kinds of Screws, Automotive Special Screws...

JOKER INDUSTRIAL CO., LTD. Hollow Wall Anchors, Concrete Screws, Jack Nuts...

金欣全

久可

KAN GOOD ENTERPRISE CO., LTD. 鋼固 Fastener, Hardware, Plastic, Instruction Booklet Package in Bags... KING CENTURY GROUP CO., LTD. Drop-in Anchors, Self-drilling Anchors, Sleeve Anchors...

LOYAL & BIRCH CO., LTD. Construction Fasteners and Building Fasteners

今湛龍業百起

MAC PRECISION HARDWARE CO. Turning Parts, Precision Metal Parts, Cold Forged Nuts...

鑫瑞

118

MACRO FASTENERS CORP. Multi-Station Screws, Nuts, Washers, Furniture Screws...

宏觀

MASTER UNITED CORP. Chipboard Screws, Drywall Screws, Furniture Screws...

永傑

192

MAUDLE INDUSTRIAL CO., LTD. 茂異 Button Head Socket Cap Screws, Flange Washer Head Screws...

123

METAL FASTENERS CO., LTD. Thread Inserts, Self-Clinching Fasteners...

20 228 寬仕

LOCKSURE INC. Custom Washers, Flat Washers, Automotive Screws...

慶宇

KLIMAS (Poland) Timber Construction Screws KWANTEX RESEARCH INC. Chipboard Screws, Drywall Screws, Furniture Screws...

157

連翔

MIN HWEI ENTERPRISE CO., LTD. Button Head Socket Cap Screws, Chipboard Screws...

法斯訥明徽

MING TANG MACHINERY CO., LTD. (WEN YANG)玟暘 Screw Head Making Machines, Bolt Parts Former...

114

112

NCG TOOLS INDUSTRY CO., LTD. Tools for Fastening Anchors, Blind Nuts / Rivet Nuts...

153

ND INDUSTRIES ASIA INC. 穩得 ND Pre-Applied Processes, Advanced Sealing Technologies...

MOUNTFASCO INC. 崎鈺 All Kinds of Screws, Alloy Steel Screws, Automotive Screws... 昶彰

235

Net-Shape Parts Former 2 55

NOVA. FASTENER CO., LTD. 鑫星 Hexagon Nuts, Square Nuts, Wood Screws, Chipboard Screws...

249

PAKWELL GROUP Bi-metal Screws, Stainless Steel Screws

189

PEARSON INDUSTRIAL CO.,LTD. 春郁 Automotive Cold Formed Parts, Self-Clinching Cold Formed Parts...

280

PENGTEH INDUSTRIAL CO., LTD. SEMs Screws, Special Screws, Binder Screws, PT Screws...

PPG INDUSTRIES INTERNATIONAL INC. 美商必丕志 Chromium-free Coating, ED Coating...

33 109

Q R

16 176

彭特

158 108 44

飛可斯

SHEH FUNG SCREWS CO., LTD.

世豐

SHEH KAI PRECISION CO., LTD.

世鎧

SHEN CHOU FASTENERS INDUSTRIAL

神洲

SHIH HSANG YWA INDUSTRIAL CO., LTD. 新倡發 Flange Nuts, Flange Nylon Nuts With Washers...

115

PS FASTENERS PTE LTD. (Singapore) Washers, Socket Set Screws, U Bolts, Alloy Steel Screws...

116

汎昇

SHANGHAI FAST-FIX RIVET CORP.

Button Head Cap Screws, Chipboard Screws...

PRO-VISA (LIN) INT'L CORP. 佾鼎 Self-drilling Screws, Stainless Steel Screws, Furniture Screws...

SHIN CHUN ENTERPRISE CO., LTD.

昕群

Automotive Screws, Chipboard Screws, Customized Screws... SHUENN CHANG FA ENTERPRISE CO., LTD. 舜倡發 Long Screws, Concrete Screws, Machine Screws... SIN HONG HARDWARE PTE. LTD (Singapore) 新豐 Hexagon Nuts, Hexagon Head Bolts, Blind Rivets...

QST INTERNATIONAL CORP. 恒耀國際 Hexagon Head Bolts, Square Head Bolts, Weld Bolts (Studs)...

RMZ AUSTRIA Bolts, Nuts, Nails, Screws, Collated Nails...

昇錩

Bi-metal Concrete Screw Anchors, Bi-metal Screws...

168

Clinch Nuts, Clinch Studs, CNC Parts, Stamped Parts...

SEN CHANG INDUSTRIAL CO., LTD.

Chipboard Screws, Countersunk Screws, Wood Screws...

鉑川

REXLEN CORP.

銳禾

Blind Rivets, High Shear Rivets, Closed End Rivets...

開懋

PRO POWER CO., LTD. Screws, Bolts...

SCREWTECH INDUSTRY CO., LTD.

Customized Special Screws / Bolts, Socket Head Cap Screws...

103

193

三星

Machined Parts, Thumb Screws, Micro Screws...

160

SAN SHING FASTECH CORP. Automotive Nuts, Automotive Parts, Carbide Dies...

289

NISSEI CO., LTD. (Japan) Powerful Lock Bolt, Anti-Loosing Double-Nut Bolts

SACMA GROUP (Italy)

175

SOURCING SOLUTIONS FASTENERS CO., LTD. 優德 Concrete Screws, Wood Construction Screws, Decking Screws...

SPEC PRODUCTS CORP.

友鋮

Lincensee Fasteners, Turned/Machined Parts...

連宜 12

SPECIAL RIVETS CORP. Blind Nuts / Rivet Nuts, Blind Rivets, Air Riveters...

恆昭

Advertisers Index S

177

SUCOOT CO., LTD.

實固

152

Formwork Screws 57

SUN CHEN FASTENERS INC.

Hex Washer Head Screws, Indent Hex Head Screws... 展鴻鑫

TONG HWEI ENTERPRISE CO., LTD. A2 Cap Screws, Button Head Socket Cap Screws...

TONG MING ENTERPRISE CO., LTD. Stainless Steel Fasteners, Wire Rods...

Cup Washers, Flanged Head Bolts, T-head or T-slot Bolts... 131

SUNCO INDUSTRIES CO., LTD. (Japan) Distributor Specializing in Fasteners

SUPER DPD CO., LTD.

三御

164

TSIN YING METAL INDUSTRY CO., LTD. 晉英 Stainless Steel Cold Heading Wire, Oxalate Coating Wire...

242

TZE PING PRECISION MACHINERY CO., LTD. 智品 Open Die Machines, Cold Headers, Cold Forming Machines...

UNISTRONG INDUSTRIAL CO., LTD. 六曜 Retaining Nuts, Sleeve Nuts, Weld Nuts, Automotive Screws...

TAIWAN FASTENERS INTEGRATED SERVICE 全聯鑫 Bolts, Screws, Nuts, Precise Mechanical Parts, Stampings...

181

TAIWAN NYLON WASHER CO., LTD.

東佑典

Rubber Washers, Silicone Washers, Plasterboard Nails... 96

東徽

120

All Kinds of Screws, Bi-metal Screws, Carbon Steel Screws...

TONG HO SHING INTERNATIONAL CO., LTD. 桐和興

182

UNIVERSAL PRECISION SCREWS (India) Dowel Pins and Shoulder Bolts...

137

VERTEX PRECISION INDUSTRIAL CORP. 緯紘 6 Cuts/ 8 Cuts Self Drilling Screws, Barrel Nuts, Cap Screws...

167

WAN IUAN ENTERPRISE CO., LTD. 萬淵 Punches/Dies of Various Nuts, Screws, Sleeves and Socket Boxes

TAIWAN SELF-LOCKING FASTENERS IND. 台灣耐落 Nylok®, Precote®, Nycote®, Nyplas®, Loctite®...

151

TANG AN ENTERPRISE CO., LTD.

鏜安

Customized Automotive Parts and Special Fasteners 14

THREAD INDUSTRIAL CO., LTD.

英德

Chipboard Screws, Flange Nuts, Heavy Nuts... 253

TINA FASTENER CO., LTD.

金榮達

Sems Screws, Weld Screws, Automotive Screws, Nuts... 52

TONG HEER FASTENERS (THAILAND) CO., LTD. Hex Bolts, Stud Bolts, Socket Cap Screws, Hex Nuts...

TONG HEER FASTENERS CO., SDN. BHD (Malaysia) Stainless Steel Metric Screws, Stainless Steel Screws...

WE POWER INDUSTRY CO., LTD. Chipboard Screws, Concrete Screws, Drywall Screws...

威力寶

154

WEIMENG METAL PRODUCTS CO., LTD. new 偉盟 Standard / Customized Parts, Machining Parts, Stamping Parts...

286

WILLIAM SPECIALTY INDUSTRY CO., LTD. Chipboard Screws, Concrete Screws, Drywall Screws...

威廉特

WYSER INTERNATIONAL CORP. Open-Die Parts, Automotive Parts...

緯聯

Machines & Equipment 機械暨周邊設備區

190 48 98 241 38 290 95 111

183

YAMAWA ASIA CO., LTD. new Taps, Dies, Center Drills, Thread Inspection Tools

彌滿和

YI CHUN ENTERPRISE CO., LTD. 誼峻 Cap Screws, Socket Set Screws, Cage Nuts, Automotive Parts... YI HUNG WASHER CO., LTD. Rubber Washers, Plastic Screws, Custom Washers...

益弘

YI SHENG MACHINERY CO., LTD. Self-drilling Screw Froming Machines

鎰晟

YING MING INDUSTRY CO., LTD. Automotive & Motorcycle Special Screws / Bolts...

穎明

YOW CHERN CO., LTD. 侑城 Flanged Head Bolts, Chipboard Screws, Floorboard Screws... YUH CHYANG HARDWARE INDUSTRIAL Automotive & Motorcycle Special Screws / Bolts...

GIAN-YEH INDUSTRIAL CO., LTD.

237

INFINIX PRECISION CORP.

167

WAN IUAN ENTERPRISE CO., LTD.

190

YAMAWA ASIA CO., LTD.

秉鋒

239

CHAO JING PRECISE MACHINES ENTERPRISE

236

CHENG I WIRE MACHINERY CO., LTD.

232

CHIEN TSAI MACHINERY ENTERPRISE CO., LTD. 鍵財

238

CHING CHAN OPTICAL TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD. 精湛

230

CHUN ZU MACHINERY INDUSTRY CO., LTD.

240

GREENSLADE & COMPANY, INC.

292

JERN YAO ENTERPRISES CO., LTD.

正曜

288

LIAN SHYANG INDUSTRIES CO., LTD.

連翔

228

MING TANG MACHINERY CO., LTD. (WEN YANG) 玟暘

235

SACMA GROUP (Italy)

242

TZE PING PRECISION MACHINERY CO., LTD.

智品

241

YI SHENG MACHINERY CO., LTD.

鎰晟

朝璟

正一直線

春日

Exhibitions

展覽

184

FASTENER FAIR MEXICO

187

EXPO NACIONAL FERRETERA

199

VIETNAM MANUFACTURING EXPO

201

MIDDLE EAST DESIGN & BUILD WEEK

203

MIDDLE EAST MANUFACTURING & TECHNOLOGY EXPO

207

NEPCON VIETNAM

209

VIETNAM WOOD

211

FASTENER TRADE SHOW SUZHOU

213

METALEX VIETNAM

健業

215

TAIWAN INTERNATIONAL TOOLS & HARDWARE EXPO

英飛凌

217

MACTECH EGYPT

萬淵

219

INTERNATIONAL METAL TECHNOLOGY INDONESIA

彌滿和

221

HAND TOOLS & FASTENER EXPO (IIHT) (India)

ZIXXON INDUSTRIAL(SHANGHAI) INC. new 聚山 Nylon Plugs, Drop-in Anchors, Concrete Screw Anchors…

233

BIING FENG ENTERPRISE CO., LTD.

鈺強

YUNG KING INDUSTRIES CO., LTD. 榮金 Dowel Pins, Roll Pins, Self-locking Pins, Cotter Pins, Split Pins...

Tooling / Dies

234

工 / 模具區

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Feature

inside front cover

“Sustainability & Safety” Sets a

New

nvesting NT$ 0.6 bn in establishing its new Guiren plant last year, Hu Pao Industries Co., Ltd., responding to the sustainability issue discussed in global industries having gradually incorporated the ESG idea into the indicators for evaluating corporate performance, spearheaded its industry peers to optimize internal management and introduce external resources within the ESG framework in order to consolidate a solid base for creating a “sustainable & safety-first”company. Having specialized in automotive, special, and anti-loosening customized nuts for years, Hu Pao mainly supplies products significantly used in areas with serious work safety concern. Moreover, noticing people’s stereotype of “traditional industries’ manufacturing used to cause great impact on the environment” and being a company actively seeking sustainability, Hu Pao under the leadership of Vice President Bill Wang realizes its social responsibilities, value, and outlooks, and continues to do what others haven’t done before to create opportunities for Hu Pao to earn more customers’ recognition.

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Benchmark for Industries by Gang Hao Chang, Vice Editor-in-Chief of Fastener World

Member of the 1st Session of “Zero+ College” and “Net Zero Alliance” Cross-Industry Resources Sharing to Maximize Strength of Teamwork “ESG is a trend and key point future regulations and customers will definitely keep a close watch on. Hu Pao pulls well ahead of more than 1,800 Taiwanese fastener companies in anticipation of bringing better prospects and future for stakeholders, employees, society, and the Earth in addition to seeking profit and added value,’ said Vice President Wang. As a result, Hu Pao attended the 1st session of “Zero+ College”to learn with other new generation from 13 different Taiwanese industries, receive guidance from industry mentors, and make the most of resources/experience of TDEA to find a transition way toward net zero carbon emission. Over the past 6 months, Hu Pao has been receiving the guidance from its industry mentors to direct a right path for carbon neutrality, carbon emission reduction, and solutions in the next 3-5 years. On the other hand, Hu Pao is also the 1st batch of companies receiving the guidance from CJCU’s “Net Zero Alliance” aiming at integrating resources in Southern Taiwan and near CJCU to “fight as a team” and fulfils the ISO 50001 (energy management system), ISO 14064-1 (greenhouse gases emissions), and ISO 14067 (carbon footprint of products) for developing the path for net zero.

“Incorporating ESG into both publicly traded companies and SMEs is essential. Through participation in “Zero+ College” and “Net Zero Alliance” (both provide substantial guidance), Hu Pao is heading toward the compliance with ISO 50001, ISO 14064-1, and ISO 14067, i.e., starting from energy management to control greenhouse gases emissions and reduce carbon footprints to achieve the goal of net zero in the end. The Alliance is currently guiding Hu Pao to apply for ISO 50001 and prepare required documents for ISO 14064-1 auditing, which are for making Hu Pao achieve net zero quicker with the assistance of professional industry mentors. The fastener industry is closely connected with the steel industry after all. If it can develop with overall plans, it’ll be not only favorable to environmental protection and corporate sustainability, but also give customers more confidence in Hu Pao,” noted Alvin H.M. Chen, Director of CJCU Alumni Services & Resource Development Center and Associate Professor of Bachelor Degree Program in Management. “It takes at least a year to prepare documents for some certificates. We expect to submit our application for ISO14064-1 next year and get the approval in the same year. As a result, when EU’s CBAM officially takes effect after 2026 and if our products are subject to taxes, the invisible cost is estimated to increase by 20-30%, but we’ll be ready by then,” said Hu Pao Vice President Bill Wang.

Optimized Facilities, Manufacturing, and Employment

Keyence 3D Optical Profilometer (VR-6000 series)

Keyence Instant Measurement System (IM-8000 series)

Fulfilling Carbon Reduction via Multiple Approaches Hu Pao focuses on its facilities, manufacturing, and employment in order to achieve carbon reduction. In terms of facilities, it set up an over 16,500 sqm, well-equipped, neatly arranged, bright & ventilated, and solar panels covered energy-saving new plant; in terms of manufacturing, it uses recycled oil, maintains good PM 2.5 levels in the plant area and goes paperless at work; in terms of employment, it also invited retirees back to share their experience, values the workplace, and offers employees bonus and free veggie mea ls, i n order to ma ke a ll employe es understand how to love our Earth and protect the environment and work together to execute the Climate Change Actions. Hu Pao also plans to introduce digital IoT system into manufacturing, which is expected to finish installation and tests by this Aug. or Sep. For exa mple, t he “Measurement Systems Analysis (MSA)”for self-check and errors alert will transmit realtime data to ERP and utilizes Big Data to do statistical process control (SPC). If errors occur, machines will be stopped immediately and send notifications to QC to determine if production should be restarted or not. The Situation Room for PLC machine stoppage and online task assignment can reveal the real-time production status. In the future, it also plans to introduce PLC die service life reporting and electronic weighing blue tooth transmitting mechanisms. In the product development phase, its planning, ma nu fact u r i ng developi ng /ver i f ication / confirmation, and appraisals & corrections are also carried out in the APQP framework; in the early development phase it uses FMEA to evaluate and distinguish risks; before trial production it uses MSA to control systematic stability; in the mass production phase it uses SPC to do risk monitoring and avoid errors; finally it delivers samples based on customers’ PPAP requirements and complete confirmation and verification of developed products.

What’s worth mentioning is that Hu Pao has recently purchased Japanese Keyence 3D Optical Profilometer (VR-6000 series) and Instant Measurement System (IM-8000 series) for NT$ 5.5 million in order to ensure the compliance of each die & punch with set dimensions and avoid production of defective products due to man-made errors, which can not only greatly shorten measuring time, but also help develop more high-quality products. “Not many SMEs will do so, but Hu Pao introduced lots of systems and equipment to ensure the yield rates of products, reduce man-made errors, optimize labor utilization, reduce futile carbon emissions, and gain more customer satisfaction and trust,” added Director Chen.

Targeting German Market with a Fresh Look of Hu Pao Hu Pao has been doing digitalization, zero carbon transition, and structural revitalization for 3 years. However, due to the pandemic, foreign customers are unable to visit Taiwan to witness Hu Pao’s effort in these aspects. Accordingly, Hu Pao has also received “Subsidies for Industries to Develop Int’l Markets” from Bureau of Foreign Trade (MOEA). Through the new website construction and the English/German VR video, foreign customers can virtually visit Hu Pao’s new and clean plant with standardized die management and its effort invested in ESG and equipment optimization. Vice President Wang added, “Every day we must continuously renew ourselves and be active in innovation. Don’t be satisfied until you achieve perfection. In addition to profit, a company must also create a better environment. Carbon reduction is important, but should be done with everyone’s power. With the core spirit of ESG, we can utilize external resources to increase our strength.” Hu Pao contact: Ricky Wang (Sales Manager) Email: hupao@hupao.com.tw Fastener World no.195/2022

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Editorial

Are You Impervious to All Challenges?

“Innovation & Certification” will be the Prerequisites in the Post-pandemic Competition by Gang Hao Chang, Vice Editor-in-Chief of Fastener World Former senior vice president of the already bankrupt Tsinghua Unigroup Yukio Sakamoto recently told Nikkei News, “The best process of Chinese SMIC still needs 8 more years to keep up with the current pace of the Taiwan headquartered TSMC…” Such a notion clearly tells a truth that in the highly technology-intensive global supply cha in, a company having big dreams but with insufficient innovation and competitive edge may quickly fall off the pedestal. Although the entry barrier of the century-old fastener industry is not as high as the IT industry, with more and more companies joining the fierce competition, those lacking innovative technology will gradually get mired into the deadlock of price cutting or even be kicked out from the market, but those seeing clearly the market trends and grasping opportunities to develop new materials or technology will continue to leave other competitors further behind and step by step take the lead in their own niche market. Similar situations continue to be watched in various industry sectors. Do you want to be the one that is going to be kicked out from the market or the one with critical technology that is going to continuously shine bright in the industry?

Multifaceted Innovation to Accumulate Competitive Strengths Observing some 20 Taiwanese companies among the top 100 publicly traded companies in 2021, it is not hard to find that most of them are with a long company history, but over the past years they continued to introduce new technology through overseas acquisitions, invest in local and overseas plants/warehouses/technical centers, purchase advanced equipment, introduce labor and resources from the outside, or even inject a great amount of capital into the R&D of new products or establish cross-industry collaborations and alliances, which not only consolidated their existing development foundation, but also created their own niche different from their counterparts. The reason that these companies could make continuous progress was mainly resulted from their cumulative competitive strengths generated from relentless innovation. Accordingly, they could still achieve outstanding revenue records amid the Covid-19 pandemic and regional warfare. Half of the fastener companies in the list (e.g., Ta Chen, Tong Ming, Chun Yu, Boltun, San Shing, Lu Chu Shin Yee, Ofco, Spec, Thread Industrial) even reported their revenue growth rates at over 40%, and some also reported their profit margins at over 10%.

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Editorial For most of the other SMEs whose capital is not as much as those publicly traded companies, the money-burning strategy for R&D and investment projects may not be completely applicable to them, but they can still reinforce their industrial features and exclusiveness from various aspects like manufacturing procedures, management, quality, service, etc. For example, in the “Special Fasteners” feature of this issue, we introduce Homeyu Fasteners extending its manufacturing from semiconductors and food processing to automotive and Dicha Fasteners mastering corrosion-resistant zinc alloy expansion anchors, while in the “Construction & DIY Fasteners” feature, we introduced Vertex extending its manufacturing from automotive/electronics/machinery fields to wood screw manufacturing, Falcon Fastener understanding how the customized fastener supply chain is working, Pro Power purchasing high-end Italian equipment to manufacture standard parts, Sheh Kai offering ETA certified bimetal screw anchors, and Sheh Fung releasing the all-new Composite Deck Screw Twin Cut- Patented and Cement Board Screws Pineapple Knurl – Patented, all of which are the best examples of companies making effort to increase their brand value and find out for themselves the most suitable position in the market. Of course, achieving these goals will require some costs to be invested. If Taiwan’s China Steel Corp. (Taiwan CSC), the largest fastener wire rod supplier for Taiwanese companies, can be their strongest support behind and make the quarterly price adjustments that best meet the interest of both sides after considering the cost-influencing factors in the int’l market, it is believed that Taiwanese fastener companies definitely can have enough time to face int’l market challenges and continuously demonstrate their undefeatable tenacity in competition. While increasing their investment activities, companies should also pay more attention to whether their cash flows are smooth and avoid the risk of poor cash flows caused by customers’ bad debts.

Getting Int’l Certification as Early as Possible On the other hand, with the governments’ and customers’ growing concern over the safe use of products, whether a supplier has gained any int’l certificate (be it of products or management) will definitely become a prerequisite for future market expansion. Even in emerging markets where the formulation of regulations and standards is still not complete yet, such as Southeast, the Middle East, Latin America, and Africa, buyers there also gradually prefer purchasing internationally certified products. In Europe, the U.S., Japan, Australia, and other advanced countries where strict standards and technical guidelines for products have been adopted, some products are not even allowed to be imported until they are certified by certain certificates. All of these evidences imply that companies that are not internationally certified may not be accepted easily by consumers in the future, thus reducing the possibilities and opportunities of market expansion. For example, in the aerospace or construction field, that suppliers are required to gain Nadcap, ETA, or ICC has been really common. As a result, working hard to gain more int’l certificates will be a key for companies to achieve corporate sustainability.

Exposure at Int’l Tradeshows and Making Yourself Known to the World The physical events of many int’l tradeshows in Europe, the U.S., and Japan (Fastener Fair USA and M-Tech Nagoya, for example) were recently held, buyers/visitors were gradually back to look for more opportunities for collaboration with local and overseas suppliers, and exhibitors also received lots of inquiries and feedback from buyers. It is expected that after Taiwan and other countries start to loosen up their border control policies by the end of 2022, more tradeshows will be given. Thus far, we’ve heard that quite a few of Taiwanese companies were inquiring about attending tradeshows in Europe and the U.S. To companies which have been absent from int’l tradeshows for some two years, it’s about time that they should be well-prepared for grasping the ready-to-come overseas business opportunities. International Fastener Expo in Las Vegas (Oct 18-19), Fastener Poland (Oct 19-20), and even Fastener Fair Global in Stuttgart (Mar. 21-23, 2023) are all the best platforms for exhibitors to establish business contacts with potential buyers from around the world. For more information, please contact the Foreign Dept. of Fastener World, the Taiwan sales representative of many int’l tradeshows. (TEL: 886-6-295-4000 / foreign@fastener-world.com.tw)

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Association

New President

Interview with

Andreas Bertaggia

Compiled by Fastener World

The 7th European Fastener Distribution Conference was held from 11 to 14 May 2022 in Madrid, Spain. Could you please share with our readers first what important issue has been discussed and what agreement has been reached during the conference?

The triennial EFDA conference is in the first place a major event for networking for our members giving them the opportunity to build relationships and discuss relevant issues affecting our business. After two difficult years of pandemic, I am glad that we were able to organize the conference in Madrid and, given the circumstances, it was a great success. The leading fastener distributor companies from across Europe were present at the meeting. We had high-ranking speakers presenting on topics from the fields of logistics, the steel market, and antidumping duties. The continuing international sea freight problems and the general uncertain supply & demand situation belong to the major challenges EU fastener distributors are facing in these times. Of course, our industry is still under the impact of the anti-dumping duties, which were introduced in February and make trade with China even more difficult. We had also a speaker who gave us an overview of the frameworks of the economy of the host country Spain. All in all, there was a lot we could learn at the conference. I did.

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Association As you know, during the conference the Assembly of Delegates elected the EFDA officers for a new two-year-term. I am glad that apart from electing me as President, the Assembly also reaffirmed Gian Marco Dalpane from our Italian member association UDIB as Vice-President, and Vincent van Dijk from our Dutch member association NEVIB as Treasurer. Furthermore, Luca Bernasconi, also from UDIB, was nominated as new leader of the EFDA Task Force. I have known all of them for many years now and I very much like working together with them in a team.

Being both the Vice President, Head of Global Supply Chain of Bossard Group based in the city of Zug in Switzerland and the newly elected EFDA President, how do you feel about your new and extra role in the European fastener industry?

It is an honor for me that all EFDA member associations from across Europe have expressed their confidence in myself and elected me unanimously as their President. I am proud to have been given the opportunity to act in their interests for the benefit of the European fastener distribution industry.

Having been a member of the Assembly of Delegates since 2019 and leader of the EFDA Task Force, how will you make the most of these experiences in EFDA to fulfil your responsibility as the new EFDA President? With many years of involvement within EFDA and with my professional experience in the operative business of this industry, I think I bring good prerequisites for a successful work as EFDA President. For once, it is about bundling the common interests of the European The person looking into the camera is José Unzueta, President of the EFDA＇s fastener distribution industry and successfully Spanish member association ADEFI, which hosted the conference in Madrid. representing our members to the outside world. And on the other hand, it is as important that the association remains strong within itself. I associations in other partners of the world. Of course, I will be will work to ensure that we European fastener distributors happy to continue our relationship with the European fastener continue to form a strong team - under the umbrella of EFDA. manufacturers’ association, EIFI.

Being the new EFDA President, what is the current priority task you’d like and have planned to complete for EFDA?

To the purpose of successfully representing the common interests of the European fastener distributors, it will be important to make EFDA’s voice even more present and stronger to all stakeholders than it already is.

There must be no doubt that protectionist measures by the EU or other global political forces are wrong. It will be a priority under my presidency to ensure that EFDA continues to be the unmissable voice within the EU fastener industry which stands up for free trade. In addition to EFDA's outward-facing activities, the association offers important services to its members. We will work even more successfully to ensure that EFDA is perceived as THE point of contact for its members when it comes to politics, legislation, technical information, and networking. Finally, EFDA is not only as strong player at EU level but also active at international level. It is therefore very important to me that EFDA continues and intensifies its global network with its partner associations in Taiwan, the US, China, and Korea, and builds new partnerships with

In Feb. this year, the EC announced the 5-year AD tax imposition on Chinese iron and steel fasteners, which EFDA, previously under the leadership of Dr. Volker Lederer, was strongly against it. As antidumping remains a very important issue to European fastener distributors, what will you do to speak for EFDA members who may have been indirectly influenced by this AD measure? EFDA has always opposed the antidumping duties on imports of Chinese fasteners imposed by the European Commission. We are still convinced that they are violating the law in many aspects. However, from our experience as interested party in the antidumping investigation we are convinced that the European Commission has no intention to make any changes to the measures or to suspend them. We are monitoring the situation very closely, which poses problems in two respects because of the inappropriately high level of the duties and the different duty levels. As I said, these tariffs are very vulnerable and will also be judicially challenged from different sides. For the time being, we as an association will continue to support our members to answer questions on the practical application of the Antidumping Regulation and to clear up ambiguities. Fastener World no.195/2022

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Association In doing so, it also plays a major role to inform the actors on the fastener market about the risks and consequences of circumvention. With the current Antidumping Regulation, an importer can not only become involved in circumvention by mistakenly sourcing Chinese fasteners via third countries, but also by mistakenly importing from a Chinese producer at a reduced duty rate if the reduced rate does not apply to that company. We will not let up in educating market participants about these risks so that importers do not fall into traps.

Is there any other important issue (in addition to antidumping) you think should be the next major concern for all EFDA members? What will EFDA do regarding the concern to make members’ voices heard?

One important piece of legislation on which EFDA will focus its attention as lobby organization is the European Commission’s proposal for a Directive on Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence. The proposal aims to foster sustainable and responsible corporate behavior throughout global value chains. This law will have a great impact on EU fastener distributors’ day-to-day business and should therefore play a major role on our association’s agenda.

Last two years were challenging to the global industries, but the situations seem to be getting better due to better pandemic control in Europe, what is your thought on the current market development in Europe and any other important fastener application markets around the world?

After a very difficult year 2020 with decreasing turnover, the situation on the EU fastener market has improved considerably during the last year. The demand by the EU industry and customers all over the world continues to be high and most of the companies of our industry could sell more fasteners if they had the possibility to source the corresponding quantities. However, we do not know whether the situation will remain as it is. In fact, there are so many factors with a negative impact on the world economy, e.g. the ongoing pandemic in PR China, the war in Ukraine, the price inflation, increase of interests and decreasing PMI’s, that it is not unlikely that the situation will altogether deteriorate. What is certain is that we are living in a time of great uncertainty.

Is there any activity EFDA has planned for the upcoming two years to boost the industrial interaction among all members? Any update for the event/activity calendar of EFDA? Apart from several internal meetings of EFDA, we are planning to be present again with a stand at the Fastener Fair Global held in March 2023 in Stuttgart.

From left to right is: the new EFDA President Andreas Bertaggia, former EFDA President Dr. Volker Lederer, and EFDA Secretary General Alexander Kolodzik.

T he n ex t E u r op e a n Fa s t e n er D i s t r ibut i o n i s scheduled for 2025 in Brussels. EFDA will have its 25th anniversary by that time, and I think as the “capital” of the EU, Brussels is the right place for a European association to hold the jubilee festivities.

In the following two years, will EFDA have any plan to strengthen collaboration and interaction with other national-level fastener institutes, organizations, associations, or governments in America, Asia, etc.?

It is a long tradition that EFDA invites its partner associations from Europe, Taiwan, the US, PR China and ultimately also Korea, to its triennial conferences. Unfortunately, our colleagues from overseas were not able to attend the Madrid conference this year to the impacts of the pandemic. However, we have received videos from three organizations in which the presidents of the associations greet EFDA and the audience and report on developments in the fastener markets in their respective countries. After this very nice gesture in special times, I cannot wait to meet our colleagues from Asia and America in Europe or in their home countries. I am confident that we will find the opportunity to meet and enhance our cooperation.

10.

Is there any other word you’d also like to share with our readers? I wish all market participants that they are able to overcome all challenges ahead of us and that a certain level of “fair play” among all of us is still a value to consider for the sake of the global community.

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Construction & DIY Fastener Suppliers

Interviewed and edited by Gang Hao Chang, Vice Editor-in-Chief of Fastener World

Feature: Construction & DIY Fasteners Suppliers With more countries loosening their border control policies, the industrial demand is expected to gradually recover and the demand for construction and DIY fasteners is also expected to increase. In such a big market with fierce competition, Taiwanese suppliers continue to demonstrate their innovation and develop many outstanding new products. The excellent functions, design, applications, and multifaceted service continue to create more competitive edges for their customers.

FOCUS THIS MONTH

PRO POWER

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SHEH FUNG

VERTEX

FALCON

Construction & DIY Fastener Suppliers

Challenges Lowest Price ~Pro Power has recently focused on the OEM production of drywall piercing screws and aims at offering the cheaper price, shorter lead time, and more superior quality to the market.~ Leading construction and DIY fasteners supplier, Pro Power Co., Ltd., is well known in the industry for its “cheap prices, quick delivery, and extremely high quality” and its strength of manufacturing many customers’ products which later have been ICC or ETA certified has been also greatly recognized in U.S. and European markets for years. Its major products include various wood screws with sizes below 10mm and lengths less than 150mm. Its current monthly capacity can be up to 4,000 tons. In order to broaden the supply range of its construction and DIY fasteners as well as correspond to diversified customer demand and reinforce its market share in U.S. market, Pro Power has even recently announced its further deployment in the OEM production of “Drywall Piercing Screws” with a goal to offer customers an alternative approach to getting access to products at cheaper prices, with faster delivery, and of more remarkable quality.

Lower Price, Quick Penetration Drywall piercing screws featuring fine threads and standard sharp drilling points (also a kind of wood screws) are used to penetrate thick and hard sheet metal. As the technical entry barrier of manufacturing such type of products is higher than that of general drywall screws, the quoted prices suppliers can offer customers are usually a bit high. There are limited suppliers in the market, so customers can only choose from the suppliers offering comparatively lower prices. However, with the addition of Pro Power, customers can now purchase drywall piercing screws that are “cheap indeed.” “Although our quoted price of drywall piercing screws is cheaper than those of other suppliers, this is not a price-

Pro Power contact: President Chris Chen

cutting competition, but greater utilization of our experience, technique, and capabilities to achieve better cost control and finally give the saved cost back to customers. Thus far, we’ve received quite a few inquiries from customers,” said Pro Power President Chris Chen.

Precision Automation, Better Cost Control Pro Power’s sales last year were 50% up from the 2020 record, with roughly 95% of its products being sold to the U.S. As U.S. customers value prices a lot and are very strict with product quality, Pro Power introduced sets of sophisticated automated equipment from Italian SACMA and Korean Hyodong into manufacturing lines to prevent man-made factors from influencing the quality stability of its products. It has also integrated various management software into its manufacturing lines, which helps achieve the most suitable control based on different customers’ demand and tolerances and fulfil the management strategy of “reduced cost and less waste.” The 3 new plants under construction (over 6,000 sqm) are expected to be officially put into operation this year after the building occupancy permits are received and can also become a powerful support to the capacity of its existing plant of nearly 6,000 sqm. President Chen added, “U.S. demand for construction and DIY fasteners is forecast to gradually recover by the end of this year. We hope our sales in the U.S. will grow further or even take 90% of U.S. DIY fastener market to make more customers experience the competitive edge brought by our price and quality.”

Email: chris@propowerfastener.com

- Ad page 193 Fastener World no.195/2022

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Anti-corrosive & Durable Sheh Kai ETA Certified Bi-metal Concrete Screw Anchors

Corrosion-incurred screw anchor failure or poor fastening results due to insufficient drilling point hardness have been sometimes heard, and the potential risk of unexpected fall of not-securely fastened objects may also lead to property loss or severe casualties. In such an era when regulations and users worldwide become more concerned about fastening security, how to develop products featuring both security and durability has undoubtedly become the priority consideration in the R&D of new-generation screw anchors. Sheh Kai Precision Co., Ltd. knows what challenge users may face in fastening applications, as a result, with years of leading bimetal welding and heat treatment technology, it has developed several amazing products for users. Drill bits with tungsten carbide tips and ETA Option 1 certified bimetal screw anchors approved by German DIBt are its most recent representative products.

Made of Stainless and Carbon Steel Excellent Corrosion Resistance & Quick Fastening Sheh Kai bimetal screw anchors are made of 300 series austenitic steel (body) and carbon steel (tip) and processed with precision welding and heat treatment to ensure high corrosion resistance of the stainless steel body and more effective fastening than other general screw anchors. However, manufacturing such products requires the welding strength to exceed the installation torque, otherwise, they are prone to breakage at the welding point, resulting in a more complicated situation. In addition, carbon steel tips must be also processed with localized hardening treatment, which will require sufficient experience and strong R&D capabilities and shows quite high technical entry barriers. Technically, the entry barrier is very high. Sheh Kai contact: Barry Tsai (Manager)

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“300 series austenitic steel features exceptional anti-corrosion. While used outdoors, they reveal greatly increased service life and avoid security issues related to corrosion-incurred screw anchor failure, especially in highly corrosive environments. Tips made of harden-able carbon steel are used as lead threads during fastening to avoid unsuccessful fastening of stainless steel bodies due to material properties,” says Sheh Kai Manager Barry Tsai. Available head types and sizes Sheh Kai currently offers are: hex washer head (M6 x 75 ~ 150 / M8 x 90 ~ 150 / M10 x 105 ~ 150 / M12 x 125 ~ 150 / M6 x 75 ~ 150 / M8 x 90 ~ 150 / M10 x 105 ~ 150 / M12 x 125 ~ 150), pan head ( M6 x 75 ~ 150 / M8 x 90 ~ 150 / M10 x 105 ~ 150) and countersunk head (M6 x 80 ~ 150 / M8 x 95 ~ 150 / M10 x 110 ~ 150). Besides ETA, the application for U.S. ICC-ES is already underway.

High Security to Become Future Market Concern Strict regulations of screw anchors for construction have been adopted in many markets. Australia, for example, adopts strict restrictions against the entry of non-certified products. Sheh Kai with OEM ability and int’l approval can help clients develop markets and supply latest regulationscompliant products. In Taiwan, its screw anchors have been also installed on fire protection pipes in many high-rise buildings and Ubike facilities. Tsai added, “Screw anchors share only a minimal part of the total construction cost, and the security, convenience, and durability resulted from the correct use of products are more significant than future maintenance & repair cost. That air-con outdoor units fell down onto somebodies has been common, we've all heard stories of outdoor installation failures, such as air-con units, that caused horrible injuries, if installers can use specialty stainless steel products, such things can be avoided. Contractors can also require project builders to use parts that are suited for projects to avoid future disputes. For more info please link to https://www.facebook.com/shehkai/ Email: printf@shehkai.com.tw

- Ad page 158 Fastener World no.195/2022

Construction & DIY Fastener Suppliers

V-Tex Thread for Wood by VERTEX PRECISION

Vertex Precision (VP), which specializes in automotive, electronics, and mechanical fastener manufacturing, has recently taken another leap forward to a new industry sector. The recently released and patented “V-Tex Thread for Wood” (V-Tex) is VP’s official entry announcement into the household & DIY markets. Considering the growing demand for household & DIY fasteners due to the global pandemic in addition to the high interest of European and American market users in wood screws with more astonishing functions and performance, VP reacted by expanding our service range to meet diverse customer demands. Through detailed testing, research, and evaluation by VP’s Research & Development Team, VP successfully developed the “V-Tex”, which features a more optimized appearance and better performance than other counterparts in the market.

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Distinctive Structure Featuring Excellent Functions “V-Tex” wood screws offer three kinds of minor diameters, which (sorted by value from large to small) are cutting ribs, shank, and chip recesses. After its sharp-point drill drills into the material, the cutting ribs will twist off fibers to create a larger hole diameter and the special cutting teeth on threads will cut off wood fibers. Then, the chip recesses offer extra space for dust to reduce drilling resistance, facilitating the assembly/engagement/fastening of wood materials and revealing excellent functionality. “V-Tex” is a type of screw for hard wood featuring both cutting and quick drilling and fastening. kgf/mm2

3 Major Features of “V-Tex” Low Driving Torque

Low Drilling Time

In a test using European hard wo o d , “ V-Tex” fe a t u r e s t h e driving torque lower than the other 3 brands, giving users more labor-saving fastening experience.

Fastening can be completed within 0.72 second, which is almost on pair with other European leading brands in the same test. This will save a lot of drilling time and enhance work efficiency for users.

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Strong Pull-Out Value Be it the pull-out force test or the tensile strength test, V-Tex wood screws have proven to function to the same levels as those of products made by other European leading manufacturers. After fastening is completed, it won’t become loose easily. It is not only easy to use, but can also be applied to maximize the work efficiency. VP contact: Sales Dept.

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Email: sales@vertexprecision.com.tw

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Better Product Application Experience With Europe and the U.S. being its major markets, VP values every customer’s demand greatly. In order to provide customers with better quality and service, VP not only continues to improve its manufacturing capabilities, but also carries out more complete production assessment for certain products to lower the defective rate in manufacturing. Years ago, VP established a new plant in order to manufacture automotive screws due to a customer demand. VP hopes to make the most of the experience in co-developing products with customers to realize the modularization of automotive fasteners. At the present stage, when the demand for construction and furniture fasteners continues to be substantial, VP will also extend its product portfolio and focus on global marketing. According to VP, “We hope to give users new product experience and help them complete their home improvements in a more labor and time saving manner. At the same time, we’ll also keep strengthening our research & development on V-Tex and en hancing functions based on customer’s feedback. We hope to offer better prices and service to support customers with a win-win situation.”

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Construction & DIY Fastener Suppliers

Falcon FastenerThe Strongest Support to Diverse Customers’ Demands changes, all made it treated by buyers from advanced markets with increased reliance and continuous order placements. A leading German distributor with which it has been collaborating for years even contacted Falcon last year to supply urgent order which was delayed by other suppliers, fully showing the fact that Falcon’s strength of solving problems quickly has been deeply recognized by overseas customers.

Specialized in customized and non-standard screws as well as the supply of standard items like tri-lobular screws, selftapping screws, self-drilling screws, machine screws, SEMS screws, roofing screws, collated screws, concrete screws, micro screws, security screws, and bimetal screws, Falcon Fastener, with 14 years of company history, has not only been good at offering specialized and diverse products, but also has a wide knowledge of relevant standards and regulations of Europe, America, Japan, and many other advanced markets. Falcon’s business not limited in its own factory. Due to its familiarity with the operation of Taiwanese industrial chain, it has established close collaboration with many domestic excellent associate factories since very early times. Through flexible deployment and collaboration between its self-owned factory and associate factories, Falcon Fastener is fully capable of satisfying various customers’ demands for products and can also greatly expand the product range it can offer. “Such flexibility allows us to present the strengths of Taiwan fastener industry perfectly to customers.” said Falcon General Manager Eric Chiu.

“The Covid pandemic caused significant influences on our lives, ways of consumption. Falcon keeps high sensitivity to obser ve industrial supply-demand, sea freight costs, exchange rates and our own capital utilization. We frequently discussed with customers and hope to reduce the impact to the lowest. For example, since Falcon was aware of the raw material shortage problems, we informed customers to review safety stock and place annual order as earlier as they could. Therefore, both of us pass through the challenge when the lead time extends from 2-3 months to 6-9 months. For another case, in the hard time of vessel capacity, it’s difficult to find shipping space even if the consignee was willing to pay sky-high ocean freight. Falcon actively looked for container space for customer choice. We don’t have to do that in FOB terms, but we always try to do everything we can do to make our customer happy.” Chiu added. According to relevant data, the growth margin of Taiwan’s fastener export in 2021 reached around 35% and the demand of the global fastener market continues to exceed its supply. It is expected that such a high growth margin could be continuously maintained this year. As one of the models of quality service in the fastener market, Chiu added, “Falcon’s well-trained team will keep our deployment and hope that in the post-pandemic era and after considering the balance between the supply and the demand we can utilize the increased capacity and operating capital to the most proper level and always put customers’ demands in our priority list.”

High Sensitivity to Help Buyers Adapt to Market Changes Falcon Fastener has continuously made progress and breakthrough in operation since its inception in 2008. Even though the pandemic last year continued to pose challenges, it still reported a growth of up to 60%. Falcon’s strict quality control mechanism, competitive prices, and what’s more important, the ability to flexibly and quickly react to market Falcon contact: Eric Chiu, General Manager

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Email: falcon.senda@msa.hinet.net

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Industry Focus by Gang Hao Chang, Vice Editor-in-Chief of Fastener World

Fastener Trade Statistics of the in 2021

According to the most recent fastener (HS code: 7318) trade statistics of 27 EU member states for 2021 officially released by the EU, both import and export of the EU revealed a downward trend within the timeframe of 2018-2020 and showed a rebound again in 2021 (both import and export in 2021 exceeded the records in 2018), a sign that the fastener market was in a period of strong growth again. Now let’s review together how the EU’s fastener import and export were changing during 2018-2021.

Import >> The fastener import of 27 EU member states shrank from around 1.77 million tons in 2018 to around 1.56 million tons in 2020. However, in 2021 there appeared a dramatic change, i.e., its import volume suddenly climbed to around 1.86 million tons, which was higher than the record in 2018. According to the import volumes in 2021, top 10 fastener import sources of the EU were China, Taiwan, India, Turkey, Vietnam, India, Thailand, S. Korea, UK, and Malaysia. Amongst these major sources, China represented the highest import volume at around 0.78 million tons and China was also the only one showing consecutive years of growth amongst the top 20. The EU had more than 40% of its fasteners imported from China. Taiwan ranked the 2nd place represented over 20% (0.43 million tons) of the EU’s total fastener import. As for Turkey, it took the 3rd place originally taken by Vietnam in 2020 and demonstrated a supply momentum of around 0.12 million tons to the EU. Top 5 import sources represented over 80% of the EU’s total import volume, fully showing that in addition to partial reliance upon supply from Turkey due to its proximity to the EU, most of the EU’s fastener demand was supported by Asia’s huge supply chain. Table 1 shows that Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia were also major fastener import sources of the EU in 2021. However, with all those manufacturing stoppages caused by the Russia-Ukraine

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Table 1. Top 20 Fastener Import Partners of the EU (Excl. UK) in 2018-2021 (Kg) Partners

Years

Total non-EU China Taiwan Turkey Vietnam India Thailand South Korea U. K. Malaysia Switzerland Japan Bosnia and Herzegovina U.S.A. Liechtenstein Serbia Indonesia Norway Ukraine Belarus Russia

2018

2019

2020

2021

1,770,318,825 593,939,072 488,307,131 90,337,283 127,801,115 86,513,845 64,836,014 41,722,245 56,439,435 44,950,338 31,879,531 24,132,011

1,696,085,746 627,259,520 432,616,376 89,081,136 109,260,953 83,458,740 51,105,019 38,775,122 61,742,835 39,877,271 28,110,894 23,780,507

1,560,878,862 643,167,531 373,179,745 78,892,084 99,433,493 67,732,375 42,867,152 30,802,081 54,459,219 32,364,141 25,686,911 18,677,863

1,857,604,906 784,476,250 432,256,373 116,343,491 98,592,164 97,898,558 46,639,823 37,167,945 36,061,217 33,581,217 29,621,645 26,308,972

14,361,715

15,746,964

12,814,087

17,666,089

24,877,982 12,301,033 12,159,746 8,834,496 12,365,937 5,303,328 5,839,301 3,807,751

22,045,753 12,056,289 10,121,012 7,810,349 12,090,596 4,303,617 3,617,822 6,524,496

14,798,371 12,641,672 8,006,345 8,435,855 8,909,692 6,696,528 4,591,202 4,172,095

17,400,587 13,568,324 11,044,115 9,756,818 8,841,036 8,593,395 7,033,184 6,650,687

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Industry Focus War and the after effects resulted from the EU’s sanctions against Russia, certain EU buyers originally purchasing from these three countries may need to look for other sources in the next few years. In terms of import value (euro) (Table 2), the EU imported around EUR 5.5 bn worth of fasteners from the world in 2018, which later dropped to around EUR 4.7 bn in 2020, and then significantly grew to around EUR 6 bn in 2021. Such a development trend was in sync with the EU’s import volume. In 2021, the EU’s top 10 import sources were China, Taiwan, USA, Switzerland, Turkey, UK, India, Vietnam, Japan, and S. Korea. The import values from China and Taiwan showed quite similar scale in the past 4 years and both reached the level of over EUR 1 bn. However, if compared with import volumes from China and Taiwan, we could observe that although the export values of China and Taiwan to the EU were quite close to each other during the years, the export volume of China was almost twice the scale of Taiwan’s export in 2020-2021, fully revealing that Taiwan en route to the development of high value-added fasteners gradually left its competitors in China further behind over the past two years. As for the U.S. and Switzerland respectively ranked the 3rd and 4th places, both countries have dedicated themselves to the development of more high value-added fasteners for years. Although the entire supply of these two countries was much less than those of other sources, they both played very critical roles in European advanced industries (e.g., aerospace, automotive, motorbikes, 3C, and many other applications).

Export >> Next, let’s talk about the EU’s export volume. In 2018, the EU exported around 0.65 million tons of fasteners to the world. After then, it saw consecutive two years of decline and reached 0.57 million tons of fasteners in 2020. Although the scale returned to around 0.63 million tons in 2021 and exceeded the record in 2019, it was still lower than the record achieved in 2018. According to the data statistics in 2021, EU’s top 10 fastener export partners were China, the U.S., UK, Switzerland, Russia, Mexico, Turkey, Brazil, India, and Norway. EU’s fastener export volumes to China and the U.S. were very close to each other (both countries reached the scale of nearly 0.1 million tons). China and the U.S. altogether represented more than 30% of the EU’s total fastener export to the world. Different from the import, the EU’s fastener export relied heavily upon the trade with two manufacturing giants- China and the U.S. In the past two years (2020-2021), EU’s fastener exports to its top 20 trade partners all showed a growing trend, except for Liechtenstein. Its export performance continued to head toward a promising future. On the other hand, manufacturing industries of Mexico, Turkey, Brazil and India also showed significant demand for fasteners exported from the EU, which is a trend that should be paid more attention to. If we compare the EU’s fastener export values with its export volumes, import volumes, and import values in 2018-2021, we can see that there appeared many

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Table 2. Top 20 Fastener Import Partners of the EU (Excl. UK) in 2018-2021 (EURO) Partners

Years

2018

Total non-EU 5,493,456,488 China 1,088,660,871

2019

2020

2021

5,422,381,868 1,167,648,479

4,703,454,100 1,124,834,946

5,980,365,768 1,683,493,747

Taiwan

1,251,356,825

1,174,902,180

1,012,236,960

1,304,072,703

U.S.A.

594,032,755

636,441,679

475,962,336

487,427,278

Switzerland

443,751,589

405,720,448

362,346,187

414,576,178

Turkey

290,545,586

284,024,200

250,113,448

363,788,088

U. K.

423,477,240

411,171,446

346,297,368

304,910,363

India

235,943,767

238,514,535

187,415,500

277,689,303

Vietnam

238,751,136

218,214,796

193,789,714

220,150,171

Japan

181,201,865

184,622,969

150,612,320

188,062,010

South Korea

171,713,746

168,691,182

145,460,929

178,788,095

Liechtenstein

85,939,275

86,521,652

89,922,253

92,731,145

Thailand

109,266,345

88,192,649

69,203,790

83,364,241

Malaysia Bosnia and Herzegovina Indonesia

89,862,629

82,316,026

64,884,590

74,273,850

36,531,684

39,473,824

32,678,741

49,280,909

34,419,703

30,486,852

32,465,625

41,557,088

Norway

35,802,661

37,905,995

29,749,396

29,220,836

Canada

26,473,591

24,128,067

19,695,125

26,988,742

Serbia

22,596,266

16,998,766

13,281,848

19,341,772

Philippines

26,638,426

18,583,719

13,157,133

15,799,698

Russia

12,760,280

15,739,566

11,419,547

15,622,122

Table 3. Top 20 Fastener Export Partners of the EU (Excl. UK) in 2018-2021 (Kg) Partners

Years

Total non-EU China

2018

2019

2020

2021

651,283,816 103,014,480

625,249,028 88,409,792

569,568,536 96,394,081

632,645,796 98,281,817

U.S.A.

81,836,122

87,191,515

79,211,110

98,096,707

U. K.

96,230,254

89,841,466

71,529,905

77,803,342

Switzerland

42,983,393

38,954,356

36,737,160

42,576,594

Russia

37,177,758

36,778,531

35,048,339

37,031,041

Mexico

30,714,333

31,815,507

27,688,203

33,635,395

Turkey

35,500,476

32,724,722

29,857,420

31,314,906

Brazil

31,082,268

28,190,483

22,576,028

30,011,858

India

23,111,148

17,858,655

13,304,946

19,806,453

Norway

22,836,135

24,662,528

21,431,091

19,250,468

Morocco

9,580,676

10,037,929

9,863,875

14,512,807

Ukraine

7,450,637

9,625,894

11,966,401

11,730,087

Liechtenstein

12,599,326

12,050,310

11,431,710

10,988,668

South Africa

12,472,206

13,401,391

8,631,463

10,121,672

Serbia

6,482,611

6,242,090

6,439,015

7,953,383

Argentina

5,562,914

4,256,271

3,031,967

5,323,966

Australia

5,587,132

4,879,722

4,880,197

5,050,401

U.A.E.

4,268,103

4,439,593

4,750,769

4,819,167

Thailand

5,428,534

4,713,769

3,641,611

4,685,865

South Korea

3,402,943

3,277,962

4,440,134

4,628,225

Table 4. Top 20 Fastener Export Partners of the EU (Excl. UK) in 2018-2021 (EURO) Years Partners

2018

2019

2020

Industry Focus

2021

Total non-EU 4,754,558,194 4,806,783,233 4,318,420,585 4,891,900,919 China 852,490,859 789,437,458 855,893,468 889,820,742 U.S.A. 751,919,105 868,351,201 734,819,951 849,800,135 U. K. 606,388,253 578,579,988 464,291,734 531,174,210 Switzerland 318,581,920 303,738,687 276,058,689 328,637,353 Russia 207,258,946 212,652,099 201,906,449 232,009,099 Mexico 219,684,638 231,938,423 192,133,841 230,638,839 Turkey 218,943,617 206,124,750 190,304,726 211,962,532 Brazil 174,535,897 171,592,789 146,512,499 182,899,660 India 151,626,170 129,333,696 99,645,707 146,116,282 Norway 122,231,581 137,559,116 122,528,698 125,074,306 Morocco 74,721,538 92,138,197 78,485,181 96,228,257 South Africa 73,746,755 76,058,384 54,261,741 67,721,995 South Korea 50,483,267 50,743,869 59,601,811 61,725,771 Liechtenstein 68,200,481 65,124,488 63,211,337 60,388,166 Australia 50,744,535 48,409,165 50,595,224 53,512,668 Japan 51,691,773 50,188,295 46,984,252 53,126,957 Canada 53,300,731 61,978,226 45,911,464 49,617,084 Ukraine 30,028,755 38,152,226 41,226,609 48,056,500 Serbia 34,083,559 32,936,662 33,949,277 44,676,324 Singapore 44,523,408 44,956,142 40,901,902 41,959,647

fluctuations in fastener export values. The EU’s fastener export slightly grew from around EUR 4.75 bn in 2018 to around EUR 4.8 bn in 2019, and then dropped to around EUR 4.3 bn in 2020, and bounced back to around EUR 4.9 bn in 2021. In terms of the export value in 2021, China and the U.S. were also respectively ranked the 1st (around EUR 0.89 bn) and 2nd places (around EUR 0.85 bn) in EU’s top 10 fastener export partners. China and the U.S. altogether represented 35% of the EU’s total export value of the year, which is a high percentage. The same as the export volume, in the past two years, fastener export values of the EU’s top 20 trade partners (except for Liechtenstein) all appeared a positively growing trend.

Summary >> To sum up the trends previously referred to in the paragraphs for the EU’s import volume, import value, export volume and export value, we realize that the EU is also one of the world’s most important fastener manufacturing, purchasing, and applications heartlands. And, with more European countries starting to gradually loosen up their border control policies and travel restrictions, consumption in various industries will be boosted and the demand for product assemblies will be also greatly increased, thus beefing up relevant fastener applications. The bull market for fasteners which has lasted for months also explains why fastener orders continue to be placed to major fastener manufacturing countries in Asia, America, and Southeast Asia. With the existence of multiple positive external factors that may stimulate market demand, it is expected that in 2022 the EU’s fastener import and export will continue to develop along a significantly growing curve. Fastener World no.195/2022

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Special Non-ferrous Fasteners

HOMEYU FASTENERS

Recognized by Semiconductor Industry & National Institutes for Quality & Performance by Dean Tseng, Fastener World

Formerly known as Jbest Cooperation, Homeyu Fasteners based in Hsinchu City of Taiwan previously focused on supplying fasteners to academic institutes and high-end semiconductor industry. Clients have supported and led the company to progressively open up business opportunities in conventional mechanical processing, construction and automotive industries. It led to the birth of Homeyu Fasteners which leveled up from the strengths of Jbest Cooperation. In mechanical processing, the company recently added cold forging, open-die forging and multi-stroke process to the existing manufacturing process including seamless stainless steel pipe cutting, machining and welding, further increasing product diversity. It will focus on domestic and overseas sales in construction and automotive industries. Inheriting past years of experience in serving high-tech and academic institutes, it does the right job to meet the quality and client’s requirement.

ITRI-certified High-end Fastener Quality Homeyu's fastener products are used in the semiconductor, food and material chemical markets, and mainly supplied to manufacturing equipment companies, connecting various components in manufacturing equipment. Additionally, the company has clients including Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI), and academic entities including National Taiwan University, National Tsing Hua University, and National Chiao Tung University. The fact that these high-end equipment companies and R&D-capable academic entities use Homeyu products means its product level meets very high quality requirements. Furthermore, the company has QA personnel to inspect using 2D projectors and ensure the products are manufactured to client-specified tolerances before shipment. The manufacturing equipment onsite is scheduled as per manufacturing efficiency, and are routinely checked by an appropriate number of inspectors who can immediately monitor dies and cutting tools wear and quality. The company can also provide customized products with various quality levels, performance and durability as per clients’ request. The options are diverse and the company can provide advice on use of materials and manufacturing methods according to clients’ need for environment application.

Continuous Manufacturing Process Improvement Homeyu’s high-end fasteners derive from continuously adding novel manufacturing methods, through which the company can provide customized products that are infused with diverse technology. The company has set the target this year to integrate the manufacturing process by migrating from “all machining” to “forging before machining”. This way it can save material cost for clients and control quality more effectively.

From Domestic to Overseas; Headed for Global Market From Jbest to Homeyu, the company has full curiosity to understand clients’ demand in various fields and double hospitality to provide clients with best-suited quality and service. In the past, it mainly served the domestic academic entities and semiconductor industry. Now it has turned to the overseas to develop clients and hopes to build a bridge for trade and collaboration utilizing its high quality products and rich experience.

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Contact: Belinda Chang

Email: belinda@homeyu.com.tw

Special Non-ferrous Fasteners Rust & Corrosion Resistant “Zinc Alloy Expansion Anchor” Mainly Targeting the U.S. & Europe Dicha zinc alloy expansion anchor in conjunction with screws can be used in high-load hanging for concrete or brick walls. It is best suited for professionals and DIYers. This type of anchors are both rust and corrosion resistant, showcasing a strength better than average screws in a humid environment. The biggest challenge of developing this anchor is the dies. Master the dies’ passage design and the knowledge of air venting, then you’d have already completed 80% of total development. The remaining 20% is adjusting material quality and machine parameters. These factors will affect the appearance and strength of the final product, and the proportions for feeding new and used materials have to be just right so as not to change machine properties. Additionally, Dicha's pre-embedding concrete anchors are early embedded during concrete pouring. When the concrete dries, the inner threads on the exposed end are used for fastening screws or hanging concrete blocks. These anchors provide the indispensable support for construction work.

MES + ERP = A Leap in Manufacturing Process

DICHA

Ad Page 180

“Zinc Alloy Expansion Anchor” Best Construction Product Against Rust & Corrosion by Dean Tseng, Fastener World Founded in the 80s and a long-standing professional maker in Taiwan, Dicha Fasteners Mfg is the name that is naturally associated with zinc alloy expansion anchor when the local people speak of this product. Whether it is furniture hanging, electric and water facility parts hanging, or fastening doors and windows, people would most often find traces of Dicha’s anchors products. With a thorough knowledge of safety in application, Dicha is very careful with the use of materials. It can provide clients with advice on product strength and optimized size prior to product development, thereby saving them material costs. One of its biggest strengths is reaching the balance between safety and cost.

Contact: Gavin Chang, Manager

The company has accumulated nearly 40 years of experience in dies development. It is confident that the products’ strength is above par, and it has become a long-time partner with the top players of global construction hardware industries. Dicha has standardized product quality and procedures, introducing MES which is integrated with the existing ERP system which handles operation management. The company uses MES to collect real-time information in the manufacturing area and support the management of manufacturing procedure regarding all the details of the factory. This dual integrated system makes it convenient for the company to deploy resources with precision, reduce low-value-add activities’ negative effect on factory operation, improve the manufacturing procedure, and increase production efficacy.

Engaging in Community Empowerment and Expanding Investment Dicha is headquartered in a town surrounded by farms in Lukang (Central Taiwan) where young people have migrated out leaving the town with many older people. The company will take its social responsibility to set up an ESG unit this year. The unit will serve to improve the lives of the elderly and provide them with medical/ health care, disaster/crime prevention, and deliver meals to elderly people living alone, so that they stay in the community that they are familiar with for the remaining life, thereby fulfilling community empowerment. It hopes to be an example for more local business owners to invest in corporate social responsibility. Furthermore, the company launched a domestic investment expansion plan where it had purchased a land in Zhangbin Industrial Park which will house the second and third automated manufacturing plants expected to be completed by 2024. The plants will cut the lead time for clients, reduce work load for employees, create a better work environment, and achieve smart manufacturing to upgrade Taiwan’s zinc alloy die casting industry.

Email: service@topseat.com.tw

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Industry Focus

Global

0 Producing Companies in 2021 Top 5Steel

4 China Tops the Chart as the Head of Steel Production In the Top 50 Steel Companies Chart released in early June of 2022 by World Steel Organization, China continues to take up the largest proportion of steel production and scatters across up to 26 places in the chart. Among the Chinese steelmakers is Baowu Group producing 119 million tons a year which is the only entrant breaking the 100 million tons mark. Among other Chinese steelmakers, the one exceeding the 50 million tons mark is Ansteel Group (55.65 million tons), and the ones that fall between 10 and 50 million tons include: Shagang Group (44.23 million tons), HBIS Group (41.64 million tons), Jianlong Group (36.71 million tons), Shougang Group (35.43 million tons), Shandong Steel Group (28.25 million tons), Delong Steel Group (27.82 million tons), Valin Group (26.21 million tons), Fangda Steel (19.98 million tons), Liuzhou Steel (18.83 million tons), Baotou Steel (16.45 million tons), Jingye Group (15.38 million tons), Sinogiant Group (14.34 million tons), CITIC Pacific (13.97 million tons), Rizhao Steel (13.57 million tons), Zenith Steel (12.76 million tons), Shaanxi Steel (12.39 million tons), Tsingshan Holding (12.37 million tons), Shenglong Metallurgical (12.16 million tons), Nanjing Steel (11.58 million tons), Sanming Steel (11.40 million tons), Donghai Special Steel (10.42 million tons), and Xinyu Steel (10.14 million tons). Those below 10 million tons are Anyang Steel (9.5 million tons) and Jiuquan Steel (8.75 million tons).

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4 ArcelorMittal is the Leading Steel Producer in Europe Following Baowu Group, ArcelorMittal headquartered in Luxembourg comes in second on the global chart, reaching 79.26 million tons. Moreover, the second largest steelmaker in Europe is Novolipetsk Steel (NLMK) from Russia, producing 17.29 million tons. Again from Russia, the third in the global chart is Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works (MMK) at 13.59 million tons, followed by EVRAZ (13.57 million tons) from Russia, thyssenkrupp (12 million tons) from Germany, Severstal (11.65 million tons) from Russia, Metinvest Holding LLC (11.48 million tons) from Ukraine, Erdemir Group (9.02 million tons) from Turkey, and SSAB (8.18 million tons) from Sweden. ArcelorMittal is the only steel company in Europe exceeding 50 million tons.

4 Japan, S. Korea, India, Taiwan, the Middle East Nippon Steel (49.46 million tons) from Japan comes in fourth in global steel production, following Ansteel Group (China) on the third place and surpassing Shagang Group (China) on the fifth place. Nippon Steel has a capacity nearing 50 million tons. The second largest Japanese steel company on the chart is JFE at 26.85 million tons. POSCO (42.96 million tons) is the only South Korean company that made it to the top 50, and Taiwan CSC is the only Taiwanese steelmaker in this chart, producing 15.95 million tons a year. And then from India are three entrants including the local top player Tata Steel (30.59 million tons), JSW Steel (18.59 million tons) and Steel Authority of India Ltd. (SAIL) (17.33 million tons). From the Middle East is the sole entrant Iranian Mines & Mining Industries Development & Renovation (IMIDRO) at 16.70 million tons.

4 Americas There are 4 American steelmakers on the chart including the top local maker Nucor (25.65 million tons), U.S. Steel (16.30 million tons), Cleveland-Cliffs (16.30 million tons), and Steel Dynamics (9.84 million tons). From Latin America are the Argentinian Techint Group (14.91 million tons) and the Brazilian Gerdau S.A. (14.20 million tons). In the top 50, the total production of all Chinese entrants is 638 million tons. It totals 176 million tons for all entrants from Europe, 68.09 million tons for Americas, 29.11 million tons for Latin America, and 218 million tons for other regions (Japan, S. Korea, India, Taiwan, the Middle East). Interestingly, excluding China, all other entrants in the top 50 make a total of 491 million tons which is far below the total of all Chinese entrants at 638 million tons.

by Dean Tseng, Fastener World

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Brazilian News

Brazilian News NOF South America Under New Management The expert global company in surface treatment products has a new commander, since last April 1st. As 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 products 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 Portuguese 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 the 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 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. Is important that we highlight our action as ecological production, in which we are a global reference using solvent liquid”, said Kay-Uwe.

Fig 1. NOF SA Industrial Plant Fig 2. Haroldo Chieza and Kai-Uwe Hirschfelder

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. For getting 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. Fig 3. Rodrigo Egêa

“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, especially for the automotive industry, Metalac is a Brazilian subsidiary of Precision Castparts Corp., USA.

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Brazilian Steel Production Falls Local production shrank 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.

Brazilian News

Fig 4. AVB Industrial Plant

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.

Fig 5. Ricardo Carvalho

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

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American News

American News 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,

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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 double-digit 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.

American News 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.”

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.

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 22.2% estimate. Fastener sales were very strong at 25.5% y/y (essentially consistent with last month’s 25.2% growth).

STAFDA: Employee Retention About More Than Money A company’s culture is what can keep stand-out 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 Fastener World no.195/2022

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American News 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 $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.

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.

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, USAbased 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 Vice-President 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 world-class 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.

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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 profound change.”

John Wolz, Editor of FIN (globalfastenernews.com) Mike McNulty, FTI VP & Editor (www.fastenertech.com)

sales@amproducts.com.tw www.fastener-world.com/en/supplier/a&m

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European News 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 double-digit growth in local currency for the sixth quarter in a row.

European News

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.

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

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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 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.

European News 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.

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).

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.

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. Fastener World no.195/2022

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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

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Fastener World News

compiled by Fastener World

Association News New Vice President, Honorary Treasurer and Board members at HAI Paul Ca ndon ( Un ited Ha rdwa re CEO) has been announced as Vice President of Hardware Association Ireland (HAI). Senan Foley (Glanbia) is the new Honorary Treasurer. At a recent board meeting in Galway of Hardware Association Ireland, President Michael O’Donohoe thanked the board on behalf of outgoing directors Dave Gavin, Mark Lohan, and Sean Moran for all their dedication and contribution to the board of HAI over many years. Three new directors, each of whom are well known in the sector, were also appointed – Senan Foley (Glanbia), Eddie Kelly (Brooks/Murdocks), and John Peare (DPL). HAI would like to congratulate and thank the new incumbents for coming on board and wishes them well.

Tim O’Keeffe Awarded NFDA’s Fastener Professional of the Year The National Fastener Distributors A s s o c i a t io n ( N F DA) i s ple a s e d t o 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® Welcome Reception in Minneapolis, Minnesota on June 21, 2022. Nominations for the next Fastener Professional of the Year award will open in January 2023.

IFI to Hold 2022 Fall Meeting Industrial Fasteners Institute (IFI) to hold 2022 fall meeting. Location: The Westin Savannah Harbor Golf Resort & Spa, 1 Resort Drive, Savannah, GA Phone: 912-201-2000 Starts: Saturday, October 1, 2022 Ends: Tuesday, October 4, 2022

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Industry Update

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

Fastener World News costs an extra JPY 20 per kilogram of electroplating. Japanese fastener makers have been covering the costs for sub-materials because it is their convention not to reflect such costs in product prices, but they are faced with the fact that sub-material price hike is a harsher problem to tackle compared to increased prices of materials. Some of them have ended up in closing business. To Japanese fastener makers, how they could quickly reflect increased costs in product prices is a crucial factor that hugely impacts their business.

China's Lengshuijiang City Makes RMB 1.6 Billion on Fasteners a Year The fastener industry in Lengshuijiang City of Hunan Province (China) 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, shipbuilding 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 on inspection center and is expected to complete in October 2023. T he fastener i ndustr y i n 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 Ch i na and exported to more than 100 countries. The district has an increasing propor tion of high-end products and an improving fastener supply chain, but still requires improvement on inspection capabilities. After the center is completed, 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.

Companies Development OFCO Sees Full Order Book and Increases 20% Capacity OFCO's order book is full to the yearend and its average product price continues to rise. The company expects business to grow quarter by quarter. To cope with EU's anti-dumping measures against China, the company increased 20% capacity to cater to a strong demand. It grossed NTD 1.9 billion in the first 5 months of 2022 with an annual growth rate of 41.6%, a record result compared to the same period last year. Fastener World no.195/2022

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Fastener World News SUMEEKO's Subsidiary in Germany Sees Improved Business and Stabilized Gross Profit OFCO optimizes the use of mater ials a nd t he benefits have gradually ma nifested in production cost. It imports steel billets and integrates upstream and downstream manufacturing to reduce production cost. The fastener profit margin will stay above 30% and steadily go up. OFCO said it didn't have the best price for fasteners previously and its profits mainly came from the subsidiary. However, now the increased fastener volume and price largely contribute to OFCO's f a s t e n e r u n i t . To c o p e w i t h increased demand, OFCO has made plans to increase monthly capacity which is expected to go from 2,500 tons to 3,000 tons by yearend.

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Alex Chen, president of automotive fastener and component maker SUMEEKO, said the subsidiary MMG is in a growth trajectory after two years of business and generates Q1 profit gain nearing last year's record. SUMEEKO had expected the inflation and price hike caused by RussiaUkraine war. The company had planned ahead and prepared materials for the amount of orders, and raised the product prices. The first-quarter gross profit is expected to stabilize onward into the future. Alex said his main automaker clients include GM, Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz, Toyota and Tesla. Despite the influence of COVID over the past two years, SUMEEKO has had its clients increased by about 1.3 times and this will reflect in the company's upcoming business performance. SUMEEKO grossed NTD 667 million in Q1, up 12.5%. The gross profit was 28.54%, up 1.43 percentage points from last year's 27.11%. The operating profit was NTD 51.37 million, up 30%; net profit after tax at NTD 59.33 million, up 121%; EPS at NTD 1.58, up NTD 0.66. The consolidated revenue for the first 4 months was NTD 890 million, up 13%. On the European market, the company said the virus isn't further expanding. There is no lockdown across the whole region, but there is the impact of Shanghai's lockdown that affects the supply chain and critical components, as well as the Russia-Ukraine war that affects export. Therefore, limited supply of components from China has rendered German factories unable to hit 100% production, resulting in an undesirable output rate. However, this provides an edge for SUMEEKO because its German plant can produce locally and offer support. The European market provides a great potential for this German plant. Besides going deeper into the automotive market in Europe, SUMEEKO is tapping into high-value fasteners for agricultural machines and wind power generation, hoping to gain a high market share.

Fastener World News Chun Yu to Keep Positive Growth in H2 2022 Tata Makes the Most of Frugal Innovation to Top Indian EV Market Fr ugal in novation is the prevalent culture in India. The Indian press reported a local man revamping his car into a helicopter and renting it for weddings. The Indian Tata Group follows suit. Turning away from pouring loads of money into EV development l i ke t he A mer ica n a n d E u r o p e a n c a r m a k e r s d o , Ta t a manufactures affordable Nexon EVs at the lowest cost and succeeds in becoming the king of Indian EVs.

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 prices. 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 will rebound, and EU's anti-dumping taxes on China's fasteners provide Taiwanese fastener companies with an edge in sales to Europe.

At first Tata didn't have the latest automated production line, and production had to rely mostly on human workforce, so Tata was only able to manufacture 8 EVs a day. But when Nexon swept the local market after its rollout, the spike in demand had Tata increase workforce at adjacent plants. Up to this May, Tata's daily capacity has breached 100 vehicles. Like turning a car into a helicopter in the most frugal ways possible, Tata did whatever it could to spend the least budget to morph its existing models into EVs and install them with cheaper battery units. That's how it succeeded in releasing an affordable EV for the Indians. It gave up on investing billions of US dollars in EV production lines— the way that American and European carmakers would do. The frugal and innovative Tata draws a clear line that differentiates itself from market counterparts. Tata is well aware that a cheaper EV is the clear path to take to ma ke a USD 19 thousand EV that is affordable for the local middle class. Tata's success is also attributed to the Indian gover n ment providi ng subsidies a nd imposing a high tax on imported EVs.

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Fastener World News

Zhejiang Ronnie Precision Machine Now on Beijing Stock Exchange Zhejiang 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. The 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. Embedded nuts for notebooks which are the company's main products take 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.

Goebel Fasteners, Inc. Announces Tower Fasteners As Official Authorized Distributor Goebel Fasteners, I n c. a n n o u n c e s a n ew a n d exc it i n g pa r tnership with Tower Fasteners as an official authorized dist r ibutor for a ll products & tooling. The two companies entered into an agreement that sees Tower Fasteners become an authorized distributor for Goebel Fasteners, Inc. product lines which consist of metric & American standard: Blind Rivets, Threaded Inserts, new G-Grip™ Stainless Lockbolt System, Self-Tapping/Drilling Screws, Sealing Washers, Drill Bits, Nut Drivers, Over-Center Toggle Latches, Hand & Power Tools, PPE Equipment, and many more innovative specialty products. “Goebel Fasteners, Inc. is pleased to partner with Tower Fasteners to distribute our blind fastening product lines, overcenter latches, new G-Grip™ Stainless Lockbolt System, and other product lines throughout the United States. Tower Fasteners is an industry leader with nine fastener distribution centers worldwide. They supply standard, specialty, and custom industrial fasteners to manufacturers in the Aerospace, Military, Electronics, Alternative Energy, and other markets. As an industry leader in fasteners, electronic hardware, and inventory management solutions, Tower’s ability to offer special or custom made fasteners is unsurpassed. Tower Fasteners is a great fit for our company’s vision and we are looking forward to working together for years to come.”, said Christian Reich, CEO North America of Goebel Fasteners, Inc.

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Fastener World News Vossloh to Supply Rail Fastening Systems for High-Speed Line in Egypt Vossloh, 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, state-owned 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.”

Acquisitions

Adept Fasteners Announces Acquisition of Innovative Tooling Services Ad e p t Fa s t e n e r s , a p r iva t ely ow n e d distributor of aerospace fasteners, announces the acquisition of Innovative Tooling Services to strengthen Adept’s position in the market as a leader in aerospace fastener solutions. Innovative Tooling Services, founded in 1986, provides the aerospace industry with tools and tool repair. “Together, we can transform the way we support our customers’ fasteners requirements by offering tooling solutions for fastener removal and installation across all fastener product types,” said Gary Young, President of Adept Fasteners. “We’re excited to be a part of the Adept Fasteners team,” said Mark Wylie, President of Innovative Tooling Services. “This new relationship represents an excellent strategic fit that enhances the value we deliver to our customers.” Innovative Tooling Services will continue to serve customers from their office and repair center in Grand Prairie, Texas. Fastener World no.195/2022

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Fastener World News Birmingham Fastener Announces Acquisition of Champion Sales and Manufacturing

SFS Completes Transaction with Hoffmann The transaction between the SFS Group and Hoffman n SE that was an nounced on December 22, 2021 was completed on May 11, 2022, meaning that Hoffmann has now been officially incorporated into the SFS organization. This joining of forces marks a milestone and the companies’ complement a r y p osit ion i ng op en s up attractive development opportunities for both. With all the formal conditions having been met, the transaction between SFS and Hoffmann was completed on May 11. One of the key legal requirements that had to be met in order to complete the transaction was the approval of the competition authorities in five different countries – this has now been granted.

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Birmingham Fastener is excited to announce the acquisition of Champion S a l e s a n d M a n u fa c t u r i n g, I n c., a leading rubber gasket company based in Magnolia, Texas. With over 100 years of combined experience in the rubber gasket industry, the acquisition strengthens Birmingham Fastener’s waterworks product offering and manufacturing diversity. Most importantly, it allows us to add teammates to our world-class staff. Champion manufactures mechanical joint, push-on, and other gaskets for the waterworks industry. With this acquisition, Birmingham Fastener and its sister companies can expand product and service offering to their customers. “Jerry Franey has always been someone I have looked up to in the waterworks industry,” says Birmingham Fastener CEO Brad Tinney, “I am deeply humbled that his family chose Birmingham Fastener to continue the legacy he started in 1983. We both share a deep belief in domestic manufacturing” Birmingham Fastener has been manufacturing and supplying waterworks fasteners for over forty years. We have grown our business around waterworks customers and have a diverse offering of any fastener required in the industry. “Champion Manufacturing is well known for their experience in creating the highest quality, custom made gaskets,” says Tinney, “Champion’s technology and expertise will allow us to better support our customers as they seek custom gaskets made from specialty rubbers and elastomers that are manufactured to the tightest tolerances right here in Magnolia, Texas.” Birmingham Fastener continues to invest in the future and make strategic moves and acquisitions that will yield long term benefits for our customers.

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Company Focus

KUO CHEN

for Better Drill-Point Screw Quality by Gang Hao Chang, Vice Editor-in-Chief of Fastener World

Close to Taiwan’s fastener manufacturing heartland and based in Luzhu (Kaohsiung, Taiwan), Kuo Chen Mold Co., Ltd. has been a longterm collaborative die supplier of several drill-point screw manufacturers and specializes in production of drill-point dies. As manufacturing drill point screws requires a higher technical level, the use of dies with better technology and stable quality is quite important. Kuo Chen is not only one of the suppliers in Taiwan capable of manufacturing such high-quality drill-point dies, but also is the critical support behind Taiwanese drill-point screw manufacturers for them to quickly tap into the global market. Kuo Chen insists on using high-speed steel and high-quality tungsten steel featuring high hardness and wear- and hightemperature resistance to manufacture drill-point dies, which are very suitable to be used to process carbon steel/stainless steel/bimetal screws. Mature technique and years of experience in serving customers allow Kuo Chen to have a better understanding and a wealth of knowledge of possible challenges and difficulties customers may face in processing drill-point screws and enable it to make the most suitable adjustments over the technical parameters of dies based on different product features and customers’ drawings or standard requirements. The excellent product quality and satisfying service life and stability of dies also allowed Kuo Chen in the past years to help many local and overseas customers (such as those from Japan or Turkey) successfully manufacture their own drill-point screws, most of which have been internationally certified and industry-wide recognized by users. “We once collaborated with a Japanese company to develop drill-point dies for them. We sent a few pieces of sample dies for them to do trial production first and received some data and feedback from them. During our collaboration, our technicians spent lots of time discussing with this customer and carried out times of die optimization and modification, and finally developed the dies that best suited their strict demand, making them marvel at our technology and quality. If customers have any questions about the use of our dies, we are very patient and have the ability to help them find the best solutions,” said President Ching-Hsi Ho of Kuo Chen. Kuo Chen currently takes a high market share in Taiwan and the mainland China. As there appears growing demand for drill-point screws in construction and roofing applications, the demand for drill-point dies will definitely grow further, too. President Ho added, “Kuo Chen will continue to play our own essential role in the field of drill-point dies in order to help local and overseas customers quickly enhance their product quality. We also expect that in the near future our market share in major application markets in the U.S., Europe, and Asia can be significantly increased, making more customers get quick access to and experience the high-quality drill-point dies from Taiwan.”

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Contact: President Ching-Hsi Ho

Email: KuoChenMold@gmail.com

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Industry Focus

Analysis of

Thai Fastener Industry by Arthur Hsu

Introduction In 2021 Thailand imported USD 6.49 billion worth of fasteners from Taiwan, up 25.3% over the same period in 2020, making Taiwan the 5th largest import source for Thailand. In 2021 Thailand exported USD 5.96 billion worth of fasteners to Taiwan, up 24.2%, making Taiwan the 18th largest export market for Thailand. The bilateral trading value between the two countries are around USD 12.45 billion, so Taiwan is the 10th largest trade partner for Thailand. Thailand seeks to take the leadership among the ASEAN countries, and therefore it is close with China. China has greatly increased its strength in economy and trade in recent years. Ever since the FTA between ASEAN and China took effect, the dependency between Thailand and China has been increasing and China has become the largest trade partner for Thailand. However, the U.S.-China trade war in the last few years has impacted the world’s economic and trade landscape, and some Chinese companies made an exit to Southeast Asia to seek a production base that is tariff-free. The global fastener market as we knew it has changed, and many overseas purchase orders are going into Southeast Asia. This article will analyze the essence of this economic and trade change, and propose some corresponding measures.

Fastener Trade of Main ASEAN Countries with the World Import Analysis

Table 1 shows respective values of fasteners imported by major ASEAN countries from the world. The top 3 fastener importers are Thailand (around NTD 33.99 billion), Vietnam (NTD 21.56 billion), and Indonesia (NTD 16.31 billion). Although import doesn’t represent demand and one has to take a country’s capacity into account, it more or less draws a rough picture of a country’s demand for fasteners. Among the main ASEAN countries, excluding Indonesia with a negative growth, Thailand and Vietnam have a positive CAGR.

Table 1. Fastener Import from the World by Main ASEAN Countries from 2017 to 2021 Unit: USD 100 million; % 2020

2021

CAGR

Export Analysis Table 2 shows fastener export to the world by main ASEAN countries from 2017 to 2021. The top 3 fastener-exporting countries in ASEAN are Thailand (around NTD 19.56 billion), Vietnam (14.12 billion), and Malaysia (NTD 12.3 billion). Thailand as the top ASEAN fastener-exporting country has a CAGR of around 4.2%, lower than the CAGR of Vietnam (the second largest ASEAN fastener-exporting country), supposedly due to Section 301 of the Trade Act that Trump imposed on China in 2018 leading to more than 600 Chinese companies purchasing land in Southeast Asia to build factories and circumvent tariffs from the U.S.-China trade war. Malaysia as the third largest ASEAN fastener-exporting country comes after Vietnam with a 6.2% CAGR. It is worth noting how this development pans out.

Table 2. Fastener Export to the World by Main ASEAN Countries from 2017 to 2021 Unit: USD 100 million; % 2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

CAGR

Thailand

5.91

6.81

6.16

5.10

6.98

4.2%

Vietnam

3.60

4.07

4.97

4.87

5.04

8.8%

Malaysia

3.45

4.01

3.61

3.16

4.39

6.2%

2017

2018

2019

Thailand

10.51

11.54

11.04

9.40

12.13

3.7%

Vietnam

6.24

6.43

7.22

7.14

7.70

5.4%

Singapore

3.42

3.91

3.60

3.35

3.77

2.5%

Indonesia

6.61

7.93

6.35

4.18

5.82

-3.1%

Malaysia

4.62

4.83

4.55

4.23

5.71

5.5%

Philippines

0.51

1.58

1.74

1.15

1.52

31.2%

2.6%

Indonesia

0.92

0.91

0.82

1.03

2.7%

17.82 21.29 20.90 18.45 22.73

6.3%

Singapore

4.42

4.74

4.55

4.00

4.90

Philippines

1.41

1.85

1.93

1.74

2.49 15.2%

Total

33.81

37.32

35.64

30.68

Source: ITC/MIRDC

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38.75

3.5%

Total

Source: ITC/MIRDC

Industry Focus

Status Quo of Thai Fastener Industry Thailand's Fastener Trade with the World Table 3 shows Thailand’s fastener trade with the world and Taiwan. In 2021, Thailand imported USD 1.23 billion (NTD 33.99 billion) worth of fasteners from the world with a 5-year CAGR of 3.65%, and exported USD 698 million worth of fasteners to the world with a 5-year CAGR of 4.22%. It was a decelerated growth for Thailand in both import and export in the last 5 years. Regarding Taiwan’s fastener trade with Thailand, from 2017 to 2021 Taiwan increased export value to Thailand from USD 88 million to USD 106 million (NTD 2.97 billion) with a 5-year CAGR of 4.27%. The growth was stable.

Table 3. Thailand's Fastener Trade with the World and Taiwan Unit: USD 100 million; % Product Category

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

CAGR

Value of Thailand's Fastener Import from the World

10.51

11.54

11.04

9.40

12.13

3.65%

Value of Thailand's Fastener Export to the World

5.91

6.81

6.16

5.10

6.98

4.22%

Value of Thailand's Fastener Import from Taiwan

0.88

0.99

0.90

0.81

1.06

4.72%

Value of Thailand's Fastener Export to Taiwan

0.01

0.02

4.04%

Source: ITC/MIRDC

Thailand’s Fastener Tarde Partners and Trade Value Proportions Table 4 shows the top trade partners for Thai fastener industry in 2021. The top 3 import origins for Thailand were Japan (USD 496 million, accounting for 40.9%), China (USD 253 million, 20.8%), and Taiwan (USD 106 million, 8.7%). Japan alone takes up 40% of import; the top 10 import origins take up over 90% of the total import. This is a highly concentrated market. Thailand’s top 3 export destinations were the U.S. (USD 177 million, 25.3%), India (USD 56 million, 8.1%) and Japan (USD 56 million, 8.0%). The U.S. as the top export destination accounts for 25%. The top 10 export destinations altogether account for over 70% of the total export. This is also a concentrated market. The U.S. is the top export destination for both Thailand and Taiwan, so there is competition between the latter two countries. Taiwanese companies should keep an eye on this development and opt for product and market differentiation.

Table 4. Top Trade Partners for Thai Fastener Industry in 2021 Unit: USD 100 million; % Import Source

Import Value

Japan

4.96

China

Import Proportion

Export Destination

Export Value

Export Proportion

40.9%

The U.S.

1.77

25.3%

2.53

20.8%

India

0.56

8.1%

Taiwan

1.06

8.7%

Japan

0.56

8.0%

Malaysia

0.82

6.8%

Indonesia

0.56

8.0%

Germany

0.48

4.0%

Germany

0.38

5.4%

The U.S.

0.48

3.9%

South Africa

0.28

4.1%

Singapore

0.29

2.4%

Argentina

0.27

3.9%

South Korea

0.24

2.0%

0.23

3.3%

0.21

1.7%

Vietnam

0.21

2.9%

Vietnam

0.19

1.6%

Malaysia

0.19

2.8%

Sub-total

11.26

92.8%

Sub-total

5.01

71.8%

Total

12.13

100.0%

Total

6.98

100.0%

Source: ITC/Taiwan Institute of Economic Research/MIRDC

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Industry Focus Fastener Types Imported from Thailand Table 5 shows Thailand’s fastener import from the world from 2017 to 2021. In 2021 the value and CAGR of the top 3 fastener products imported by Thailand from the world were: other screws and bolts (USD 492 million, 3.8%), iron and steel nuts (USD 180 million, 2.5%), iron and steel washers (USD 152 million, 4.5%). These products had a CAGR growth of 2% to 5% in the last 5 years, denoting a stable demand for fasteners in Thailand. The top 3 fastener products with the largest CAGR in the last 5 years were iron and steel screw hooks (36.6%), other copper threaded products (29.6%), copper threaded products, screws, bolts and nuts (18.3%). These products didn’t record a high import value, but could be in demand or have a growth potential in the future.

Table 5. Thailand's Fastener Import from the World from 2017 to 2021 Unit: USD 100 million; % Product Category

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

CAGR

Other screws and bolts

4.24

4.63

4.53

3.69

4.92

3.8%

Iron and steel nuts

1.63

1.79

1.69

1.36

1.80

2.5%

Iron and steel washers

1.28

1.43

1.40

1.24

1.52

4.5%

Other steel non-threaded products

0.84

0.90

0.89

0.79

0.91

2.1%

Iron or steel cotters and cotter pins

0.69

0.77

0.72

0.66

0.83

4.8%

Iron and steel threaded products

0.56

0.59

0.53

0.56

0.66

4.0%

Iron or steel rivets

0.27

0.25

0.24

0.18

0.28

0.7%

Aluminum bolts, nuts, nails, hooks, pins, washers, etc.

0.34

0.32

0.28

0.20

0.24

-8.6%

Iron and steel spring washers and other locking washers

0.18

0.27

0.19

0.14

0.18

-0.5%

Iron and steel self-tapping screws

0.10

0.11

0.10

0.12

0.17

14.2%

Copper threaded products, screws, bolts and nuts

0.06

0.11

18.3%

Iron and steel nails, tacks, corrugated nails, staples, pushpins

0.07

0.11

0.10

0.09

0.11

10.6%

Other copper threaded products

0.03

0.05

0.08

29.6%

Copper nuts, nails, hooks, pins, washers and the like

0.04

0.05

0.04

0.07

14.0%

Iron and steel automotive screws

0.06

0.07

0.05

0.06

2.4%

Base metal tubular rivets or bifurcated rivets

0.05

0.06

0.05

0.2%

Other iron and steel wood screws

0.03

0.02

0.05

8.4%

Iron and steel screw hooks and screw rings

0.01

0.02

0.03

0.04

36.6%

Copper washers (including spring washers)

0.02

0.04

0.03

0.04

16.0%

Iron or steel nuts

0.01

13.0%

Copper nails, tacks, pushpins, staples and the like

0.00

10.4%

10.51

11.54

11.04

9.40

12.13

3.7%

Total Source: ITC/MIRDC

Thailand’s Fastener Export to the World from 2017 to 2021 Table 6 shows Thailand’s fastener export to the world from 2017 to 2021. In 2021 the value and CAGR of the top 3 fastener products exported from Thailand to the world were: iron and steel screws and bolts (USD 344 million, 3.9%), iron and steel nails, tacks, corrugated nails, staples, pushpins (USD 88million, 28.4%), iron and steel nuts (USD 66 million, 4.3%). Iron and steel screws and bolts were the top exported products with an export value much higher than the one with iron and steel nails which were the second largest exported products. The top 3 fastener products with the highest CAGR were iron and steel nails, tacks, corrugated nails, staples, pushpins (28.4%), copper threaded products, screws/bolts/nuts (22.1%), other copper bolts, nuts, nails, hooks, pins, washers (18.4%). These products didn’t record a high export value, but their high CAGR could mean Thailand has improved product quality and efficiency and a stable client demand. This is worth keeping an eye on.

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Industry Focus Table 6. Thailand's Fastener Export to the World from 2017 to 2021 Unit: USD 100 million; % Product Category

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

CAGR

Iron and steel screws and bolts

2.96

3.61

3.27

2.50

3.44

3.9%

Iron and steel nails, tacks, corrugated nails, staples, pushpins

0.32

0.52

0.58

0.64

0.88

28.4%

Iron and steel nuts

0.56

0.67

0.58

0.45

0.66

4.3%

Other iron and steel threaded products

0.51

0.41

0.31

0.37

0.52

0.5%

Other iron and steel washers

0.45

0.43

0.38

0.28

0.40

-3.0%

Other iron and steel non-threaded products

0.31

0.29

0.25

0.30

-0.9%

Iron and steel self-tapping screws

0.29

0.31

0.24

0.19

0.25

-3.8%

Iron and steel pins and cotter pins

0.21

0.23

0.21

0.15

0.19

-1.3%

Iron and steel spring washers and other fastening springs

0.07

0.09

0.10

0.11

12.7%

Aluminum bolts, nuts, nails, hooks, pins, washers

0.08

0.07

0.06

-4.8%

Iron and steel rivets

0.04

0.03

0.04

0.03

0.04

3.8%

Other iron and steel wood screws

0.05

0.04

0.03

0.02

-16.4%

0.01

0.02

0.01

0.02

22.1%

0.01

0.02

18.4%

Other copper threaded products

0.01

15.9%

Iron and steel automotive screws

0.02

0.01

-15.6%

Copper washers (including spring washers)

0.01

0.00

0.01

-8.9%

Iron and steel screw hooks and screw rings

0.00

0.01

0.00

0.01

2.6%

Iron or steel nuts

0.01

0.00

-4.0%

Copper nails, tacks, pushpins, staples and the like

0.01

0.00

-18.9%

Base metal tubular rivets or bifurcated rivets

0.00

-16.8%

5.91

6.81

6.16

5.10

6.98

4.2%

Other copper threaded products, screws, bolts and nuts Other copper bolts, nuts, nails, hooks, pins, washers

Total Source: ITC/MIRDC

Development of Thai Fastener Industry Foreign Investment in Thai Fastener-Related Industries Foreign companies invest in the following fastener-related industries in Thailand: local infrastructure, automobile and components, metal processing, electronics, construction. Thailand’s primary source of foreign investment and the targeted fastener-related industries are Japan (motors and machinery), China (motors), and the U.S. (automobile-related metal machinery and electronics). The main target countries and related fastener industries for foreign investors in Thailand are Japan (automobile-related metal machinery and electronics), Singapore, and China (motors). Additionally, the major targeted industries for Taiwanese business owners in Thailand are electronics, rubber and steel. Other fastener-related non-metal materials industry, metal products industry and construction industry are mostly small and medium manufacturers.

Development of Fastener-Related Infrastructure in Thailand Thailand’s “2015-2022 traffic infrastructure development plan” includes railway transport expansion, dual railway construction, elevated mass rapid transit and subway extension in Bangkok, phase two Bangkok International Airport expansion, freeway expansion, deepwater port and container port expansion. Plus, on the Eastern Economic Corridor, the Thai government is working on 50 infrastructure plans including airport and airport MRO construction, phase three Map Ta Phut port construction, and transport system upgrade.

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Industry Focus Fastener-Related Industry Development in Thailand In 2021 the Thai government started to promote the “Bio, Circular, Green, BCG” national development tactic and establish “digital economy” and “smart city”. The Eastern Economic Corridor will have a physics center, bio-technology center and aerospace center which will focus on developing 6 industries including agriculture, bio-technology, electric vehicle, smart transport, aerospace, medical equipment, smart system, bioenergy and biofuel.

Final Notes There remain differences between the manufacturing development of Thailand and Taiwan. Taiwanese fastener industry has long been focusing export on the U.S. and Europe. Looking at the development prospect and industries with a potential, the economy, trade and technical collaboration between Thailand and Taiwan can target on motor vehicles, infrastructure, BCG (Bio-Circular-Green Economy), and medical equipment. The following is my advice to help Taiwanese owners develop business in the Thai market.

Create an Extension for the Domestic Market Taiwanese owners could consider regarding Thailand as a production base to support OEM and export, utilizing bilateral industry investment, trade, collaboration and exchange to extend Taiwan’s domestic market to Thailand. Thailand has signed an FTA with ASEAN countries, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, China, India, Chile, and Peru, which is good for expanding export.

Enhance Taiwanese Owners’ Industrial Deployment in Thailand Taiwan could establish an investment strategy partnership and an investment platform with Thailand, gather up Taiwanese owners and enhance supply routes, enhance the support system for Taiwanese owners in Thailand, set up Taiwanese contact to reach local sources in Thailand, and enhance connections with Taiwanese industries.

Integrate with Taiwanese owners’ Industry Chain in Thailand Taiwanese fastener owners both in Taiwan and Thailand could combine their industry chains. They could utilize technical collaboration or joint venture to produce lower-tech and labor-intensive products in Thailand, and then ship back to Taiwan before assembling for export, thereby leveraging advantages in international industry collaboration.

Improve the Brand Image of Taiwanese Fasteners in Thailand Taiwanese owners could utilize diverse methods and creative marketing on their selected fastener products that represent themselves, thereby improving the brand image of Taiwanese fasteners in Thailand.

Spread Taiwan’s Experience in Smart Fastener Factories Thailand is in the bottleneck of labor shortage and the need to upgrade and automate equipment. Taiwanese machinery and smart manufacturing companies could market their full line of equipment or set up smart fastener production lines in Thailand as long as this doesn’t undermine competitiveness.

Pre-investment Risk Assessment Taiwanese owners must assess and monitor the investment risks in Thailand. The industrial land, water and power costs in Thailand are still acceptable, but there is a shortage of high-end talents and a slightly higher logistics cost. Therefore, Taiwanese owners could utilize resources from both Taiwanese and Thai governments to decrease investment risks and increase efficacy.

Seek Help to Remove Non-Tariff Barriers They could seek help from the government to solve problems in delayed customs clearing, quarantine, and product certificate, and reduce regulations on reciprocating products, personnel and funds between Taiwan and Thailand, as well as market entry into the service industry.

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Exhibitions

Review of

Fastener Fair USA

by Gang Hao Chang, Vice Editor-in-Chief of Fastener World

(coating/packaging...), information and communication. In addition, several well-known specialists from within the industry were also invited to give thematic sessions on relevant fastener technology, logistics, electroplating, etc. and associations also gave their own activities for further interaction. This tradeshow provided the best opportunity and platform for all participants to meet each other, strengthen collaboration, and deepen multilateral interaction.

The annually held Fastener Fair USA has retur ned to Detroit with a physical event held on May 17-19 at Huntington Place. Being a professional tradeshow dedicated to the whole fastener supply chain (incl. manufacturers, distributors, equipment fabricators, mechanical & design engineers, processors, purchasers, distributors, OEM, packaging service providers, and end-users), the event this year attracted the attendance of professionals from automotive, aerospace, construction, furniture, electronic appliances, and many other industry sectors to look for the latest fasteners and learn about relevant industrial trends and market development intelligence. 123 exhibitors from various countries came to showcase their industrial fasteners and fixings, construction fixings, assembly and installation system, fastener manufacturing technology, storage, distribution, factory equipment services

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The worldly known marketing press dedicated to the fastener and hardware industries, Fastener World Inc., which booked a booth this year, also made the most of this opportunity to conduct deep communication with local buyers, simultaneously share with the world the latest industrial intelligence through our multiple publications (incl. Fastener World, China Fastener World, Hardware & Fastener Components, Emerging Fastener Markets, etc.), and introduce superior suppliers of products, equipment, and relevant service from the world to local potential purchasers. Other Taiwanese exhibitors this year also included BBI and Angelray. According to the observation of our staff onsite, although the number of visitors to Fastener Fair USA this year was not as many as observed in the last few editions due to reasons like pandemic control measures and travel restrictions, most buyers and visitors coming to Fastener World’s booth were from relevant industries and fields. As a result, we could ensure that all printed copies brought to the show were handed out to buyers with significant demand. The high demand for Fastener World publications at the show also revealed our long-term leading position in the global fastener industry and the fact that we were doing whatever we could to create opportunities for our advertisers to gain more exposure at every important international tradeshow. According to the organizer of Fastener Fair USA, the next edition will be relocated to Music City Center, Nashville, TN on May 16-17, 2023.

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Exhibitions

M-Tech Tokyo 2022 Opportunities Increased for Japan-Taiwan Collaboration

Like M-Tech Osaka and Nagoya, M-Tech Tok yo as a barometer of the Japanese fastener industry attracted twice the number of exhibitors at the time when the Japanese government had loosened up border control. People were flowing back to the venue and visitors as well as exhibitors were in their masks having business talks, following the show’s regulation. Our exhibitor found a potential trend and an opportunity in the talks with visitors. Most of the visitors to the Fastener World booth were key directors and managers, most of whom from the purchasing department. This reveals that Japan’s purchasing demand has been increasing in recent years regardless of the macroenvironment. It involves a cause as well as a concern. Our exhibitor asked the visitors why they came for the latest publications. Many of them spoke of a bottleneck they had in common — cost pressure. “Price is hiking so much in Japan that I have to reach out to price-competitive sources of supply. I know Taiwan has quality fasteners so I’m curious about the industry structure of Taiwanese fasteners, and whether there are any Taiwanese fastener suppliers able to collaborate ASAP,” said one Japanese visitor. The words hint at a large room for Taiwan’s fastener industry to develop the Japanese market. Taiwanese business owners need a full-range international sales expansion and marketing to get the Japanese owners to know Taiwan’s fasteners.

that directly affected cost. It spikes up cost of materials including steel and aluminum, as well as the invisible costs for what the Japanese refer to as “sub-materials”, including surface treatment and packaging, which they would rarely pass on to clients. According to the Japanese press, the last two years already saw some small and medium enterprises close up, and the Japanese government has introduced subsidies for them to rebuild business and pull through. To the Japanese visitors, Fastener World presented 5 series of publications containing companies intelligence. Some of them told us they actually came straight for our magazines. We met Japanese vendors with different specialties including const r uct ion, sh ip component t rad i ng, spe cial steel manufacturing, automotive fastener production, fastener distribution and manufacture, and they were all asking which companies in Taiwan can supply fasteners. We have updated this information with related suppliers. The next M-Tech Tokyo will be back on June 21 to 23, 2023.

Previously we reported on Fastener World homepage that the Russia-Ukraine war took a toll on the Japanese fastener industry

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by Dean Tseng, Fastener World

Exhibitions

Wire Düsseldorf

Free from Economic Constriction New Records Set

The show held across June 20 to 21 this year had 1,057 exhibitors from 51 countries (Italy, Turkey, Spain, Belgium, France, Austria, the Netherlands, Switzerland, UK, Sweden, Poland, Czech Republic, Germany, U.S., Canada, S. Korea, Taiwan, India, Japan) displaying machines for wire production and processing, wires, and fastening technology on a 53 thousand square meter venue.

Wire companies are both innovative and more inclined to energy and resource-saving production. For many years, the organizer has been actively supporting these energy-intensive industries to transition to sustainable industries. The organizer put up a series of seminars discussing the transition to green energy, recycle and reuse, sustainability, carbon emission, and steel trade in a time of crisis.

The visitors to Fastener World booth were mostly from India and Turkey, 75% of whom with a management role working in manufacturing companies. Our exhibitor probed and found that machines were the product they needed most, followed by fastener products. The number of visitors wasn’t as high as what it used to be because of border control policies and global economic status, but it is worth noting that valid visitors and successful deals significantly increased, our exhibitor analyzed. Provisitors with industry specialties increased as well.

Wire Düsseldorf will open again from April 15 to 19 in 2024 at Convention Center Düsseldorf.

Our exhibitor further discovered an increase in first-time visitors, a clear sign that the show’s products reflect the international market demand and meet industry expectation. Up to 70% of the visitors said they will come back to the show again in 2024. Our exhibitor noted the sight of a wire exhibitor of fastener manufacturing background displaying fastener products for the first time.

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by Dean Tseng, Fastener World

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Association

Hong Kong Screw & Fastener Council Held International Technical Forum June 23, 2022, Hong Kong Screw & Fastener Council held an international technical forum on "Promoting Intelligent Composite Processing Technology to Expand the High-Value-Added Fastener Market" at Hong Kong Productivity Council (HKPC), which invited fastener industry relevant people to participate and was broadcasted online at the same time. The event was supported by Hong Kong Auto Parts Industry Association, Hong Kong Aviation Industry Association, Hong Kong Federation of Innovative, Technologies and Manufacturing Industries, and Hong Kong Critical Components Manufacturers Association. Mr. Ng Hung Kiu, Executive Vice Chairman of Hong Kong Screw & Fastener Council, said in his speech, "The purpose of this forum is very clear. It is to share the world's most advanced technology and smart management system trend with the industry and help the industry to improve its competitiveness. We will keep investing more resources to create more opportunities for people in the industry to communicate with the outside world, expand business, learn and improve technology. Meanwhile, we also encourage each manufacturer to dive in the upgrade and transformation of Industry 4.0 according to their actual operation conditions. The future must be the smart manufacturing era." Chairman Mr. Tsui Ping Fai expressed, “Screw, hailed as ‘the root of the industry’, owns a special and critical role in manufacturing industry. The Hong Kong screw industry has strict and cautious implementation standards for production, quality control, and goods delivery, which depends on not only the accumulation of years of experiences and knowledge in the industry, but also the solidarity of peers in the industry to communicate with each other and adhere to self-learning and improvement. To this end, the Council organized this event to provide the fastener industry with the latest and most comprehensive overseas market information. Lecturers from Hong Kong, Mainland China, Taiwan, Germany, Japan, and South Korea were invited to share the market situation, development opportunities and innovative application manufacturing technology of high valueadded fasteners to comprehensively enhance the competitiveness

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of Hong Kong i ndust r y i n expandi ng the overseas high-end market business and the core capabilities of advanced manufacturing, which maintain Hong Kong's excellent global leading level in the screw and fastener industry, and to establish the advantage of sustainable development." The invited speakers from Hong Kong and abroad as well as their themes were: Chairman Tsui Ping Fai of Hong Kong Screw & Fastener Council (Hong Kong Screw Industry Development Trends and Successful Case Studies), Ms. Liu Fu-Mei of Eagle Metalware (Upgrade and Transformation of Intelligent Production for Hong Kong Screw Enterprises), Mr. Zhang Xian-Ming, senior engineer of Zhejiang Tianli Fastener (Application of Lightweight Materials/Technology in Customized Screws and Fasteners), Dr. Zhong Wei-De, manager of Industrial Technology Research Instit ute Mechanical and Mechat ronics Systems Research Laboratories (Intelligent Manufacturing Upgrading Model of Taiwan Fastener Industry – Smart Machine Box (SMB) to Break Through the Bottleneck of Machine Networking), Dr. Jan ChiaMing from Taiwan Metal Industries Research & Development Centre (Technology Upgrade Model of Taiwan Fastener Industry), Mr. Peter Li, senior sales engineer of Nifco (Latest Japanese Fastener Market Demand and Fastener Technical Development), Dr. Arfmann, CEO of CPM GbmH (Cold Heading Forming Technology and Dies Design), manager Tae Wan, Kim from R&D Department of Hyodong Machine (Advantages of Korean Connecting Rod Forming Technology and Case Sharing of Hot Forming Machine), and fastener expert Mr. Christoph Otto from Zmart (Market Demand of European Screw Industry and Integration of Industry 4.0 into Cold Forging Technology Application). There was a Q&A time for experts and industry iconic figures to share ideas at the end of the event. Many participants said they have learned a lot, which writes a new chapter for Hong Kong Screw & Fastener Council on its way to intelligent composite processing technology and expanding the high value-added fastener market. Compiled by Gang Hao Chang, Vice Editor-in-Chief of Fastener World Photos by Hong Kong Screw & Fastener Council

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Industry Focus

U.S. Fastener Trade with The United Kingdom During 2021

Data note: T he data for this ar ticle is derived from Descartes™ Datamyne's US Census trade statistics. US Import and Export Census trade statistics is based on all modes of transportation. That value is calculated in USD by CIF (imports). In this article fasteners are defined as any product under HS Code 7318 (screws, bolts, nuts, coach screws, rivets, cotters, cotter pins, washers and similar articles of iron or steel), as well as the subcategories of 7318.

by Sabrina Rodriguez

What percentage of U.S. fastener trade was sourced from The United Kingdom during 2021? Has fastener trade between the U.S. and U.K. stabilized in 2021 in comparison to 2020? Finally, what can be interpreted of the U.K fastener market since UK exited the EU in early 2020 based on trade flows? Since Brexit officially took place on January 31, 2020, many eyes have remained fixated on the economic outcome of the U.K. One of the implications of Brexit is that the U.K. will be able to negotiate their own trade policies and deals with other countries as opposed to adopting all policies of the EU. During 2020, the U.S. imported a little over 84.4 million USD worth of fasteners from the U.K. During the same year, the U.S. exported over 127 million USD worth of fasteners to the U.K. While fastener trade between the U.S. and U.K remained strong despite Brexit and the global pandemic, understanding trade trends throughout 2021 and the beginning of 2022 will provide a better understanding of the overall fastener market.

U.S. Fastener Imports During 2021

U.S. Fastener Imports from UK in 2018-2021 Country of Origin

United Kingdom

Year

General Total Value CIF (USD)

General Quantity

2018

81,459,330

4,099,660

2019

89,547,877

5,784,994

2020

84,450,915

6,415,441

2021

87,590,035

4,637,679

U.S. Major EU Fastener Import Sources in 2021 Country of Origin

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Total Share(%)

General Quantity

Total Share(%)

Germany

45,385,196

52.89

383,536,236

48.96

Italy

24,260,479

28.28

179,056,324

22.86

Spain

3,667,261

4.28

31,635,599

4.04

France

2,707,762

3.16

71,413,814

9.12

Denmark

1,987,415

2.32

12,072,297

1.55

Czech Republic

1,913,124

2.23

17,643,996

2.26

Sweden

1,814,290

2.12

26,719,424

3.42

Netherlands

1,112,503

1.30

15,875,514

2.03

Poland

626,345

0.73

5,786,815

0.74

Austria

625,601

0.73

11,021,966

1.41

Croatia

555,680

0.65

1,297,979

0.17

Slovakia

379,752

0.45

3,198,970

0.41

Belgium

306,438

0.36

5,948,660

0.76

Hungary

103,024

0.13

6,653,505

0.85

Finland

99,220

0.12

3,212,327

0.42

Ireland

92,054

0.11

4,204,678

0.54

Bulgaria

66,513

0.08

2,236,397

0.29

Romania

32,228

0.04

866,518

0.12

Portugal

19,377

0.03

95,507

0.02

Slovenia

19,095

0.03

316,892

0.05

Greece

15,936

0.02

193,096

0.03

Latvia

11,646

0.02

44,958

0.01

Lithuania

11,194

0.02

193,174

0.03

Estonia

4,675

0.01

87,526

0.02

212

0.01

42,721

0.01

Malta

0.01

14,490

0.01

Total

85,817,027

100

783,369,383

100

Luxembourg Year

General Total Value CIF (USD)

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Industry Focus U.S. Fastener Imports from UK in Q1 2021 and Q1 2022 Country of Origin

United Kingdom

General Quantity

Total Share(%)

General Total Value CIF (USD)

Total Share(%)

2021-Q1

893,543

100

17,990,733

100

2022-Q1

1,434,191

100

23,740,383

100

540,648

60.51

5,749,650

31.96

Volume Change

Major Fastener Categories U.S. Imported from UK in 2021 General Total Value CIF (USD)

Total Share(%)

731815 - Threaded screws and bolts others, with or without their nuts or washers, of iron or steel

36,663,041

41.86

3,107,658

67.01

731829 - Nonthreaded articles (fasteners) others, of iron or steel

23,144,574

26.43

573,525

12.37

731816 - Nuts, threaded, of iron or steel

8,438,617

9.64

417,425

9.01

731823 - Rivets of iron or steel

6,182,611

7.06

197,157

4.26

731822 - Washers, other than lock washers, of iron or steel

4,745,491

5.42

78,414

1.70

Product HS (6)

General Quantity

Total Share(%)

731819 - Threaded articles of iron or steel others

4,503,442

5.15

159,808

3.45

731821 - Spring washers and other lock washers, of iron or steel

1,847,540

2.11

36,834

0.80

731824 - Cotters and cotter pins, of iron or steel

1,559,801

1.79

31,060

0.67

381,047.

0.44

31,873

0.69

75,528

0.09

307

0.01

87,590,035

100

4,637,679

100

731814 - Self-tapping screws, threaded, of iron or steel 731813 - Screw hooks and screw rings, threaded, of iron or steel Total

During 2021, the U.S. imported a total of 87,590,035 USD of fasteners from the U.K. of which the vast majority was imported throughout the third and fourth quarter of the year. The first quarter of 2021 showed to be the lowest, resulting in a value just shy of 18 million USD. Within the subset of fasteners, 731815 accounted for 67% of the total, followed by 731829 (12.3%) and 731816 (9%). Subsets 731821, 731824, 731814 and 731813 each accounted for less than 1% of the total. The U.S. districts in which these fasteners were imported were primarily located on the eastern and southern (Gulf) region of the country. The Houston/Galveston, Texas region imported 22.6% of the total quantity in 2022, followed by the New York City, New York district (16%), Cleveland, Ohio (10%), and finally by Charleston, South Carolina (7.7%).

Considering 2021 was the second year the U.K. deemed itself independent of the EU, the total of fastener imports to the U.S from the EU combined was 783,369,383 USD compared to the imports from the U.K. which totaled 87,590,935 USD. Fastener imports into the U.S. from countries such as Germany and Italy remain higher than those from the U.K. Looking into the historical trends of U.S. fastener imports from the U.K dating back to 2018, quantity and value of fasteners have been consistent except for 2019 which shows the highest value of 89.5 million USD. The total quantity in 2020 was the highest totaling 6.4 million, although the overall value of 2020 was 84.4 million USD. By comparison, the U.S. imported 27.7% less fasteners during 2021 than in 2020, however, the overall value of the fasteners increased in 2021 by 3.72%. During the first quarter of 2022, the overall quantity of fasteners imported from the U.K. has increased by 60.5% and the value has increased by nearly 32% when compared to the same period in 2021. This increase of fastener imports proves that we can expect to see a positive and steady growth pattern during 2022.

U.S. Fastener Exports During 2021 The U.S. exported a total value of 110.5 million USD worth of fasteners to the U.K. in 2021 which is slightly more than it imported from the U.K. during the same period. The first quarter of 2021 totaled the highest value (29.4 million), while quarters two and three of the year totaled between 26.3 and 26.6 million each. Quarter four showed a slightly less total when compared to the first quarter even though the fourth quarter of the year is typically understood to be ‘peak season’ since trade is typically the highest at the end of the year. Country of Destination

U.S. Fastener Exports to UK in 2018-2021 Country of Destination

United Kingdom

FOB Value (USD)

Quantity

2018

168,552,437

9,778,718

2019

160,267,016

7,519,342

2020

127,209,982

5,587,940

2021

110,514,453

6,393,941 Year

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Industry Focus U.S. Major EU Fastener Export Destinations in 2021 Country of Destination

FOB Value (USD)

Total Share(%)

Quantity

U.S. Fastener Imports from UK in Q1 2021 and Q1 2022 Total Share(%)

Country of Destination

FOB Value (USD)

Total Share(%)

Quantity

Total Share(%)

Germany

90,907,745

27.16

5,909,277

30.69

2021-Q1

29,643,373

100

1,942,867

100

France

59,922,306

17.91

1,858,193

9.65

29,515,122

100

1,373,722

100

Netherlands

27,515,650

8.23

2,386,606

12.40

Italy

23,925,428

7.15

1,329,673

6.91

United 2022-Q1 Kingdom Volume Change

-128,251

-0.44

-569,145

-29.30

Poland

21,563,039

6.45

1,254,407

6.52

Spain

21,259,661

6.36

1,529,439

7.95

Czech Republic

17,923,428

5.36

1,705,082

8.86

Belgium

14,388,171

4.30

750,668

3.90

Ireland

10,208,796

3.05

323,238

1.68

Slovakia

9,003,818

2.69

342,453

1.78

Hungary

8,875,386

2.66

556,470

2.89

Romania

5,451,865

1.63

278,434

1.45

Sweden

4,515,875

1.35

227,288

1.19

Denmark

3,500,636

1.05

231,048

1.20

Luxembourg

3,197,493

0.96

83,035

0.44

Portugal

3,143,353

0.94

89,792

0.47

Greece

2,397,313

0.72

64,639

0.34

Finland

2,083,830

0.63

78,814

0.41

Lithuania

1,703,863

0.51

89,778

0.47

Austria

1,188,404

0.36

68,759

0.36

Slovenia

509,918

0.16

52,037

0.28

Bulgaria

457,367

0.14

18,172

0.10

Estonia

371,319

0.12

14,508

0.08

Cyprus

245,141

0.08

5,589

0.03

Latvia

223,571

0.07

5,429

0.03

Croatia

180,586

0.06

3,825

0.02

Malta

63,395

0.02

371

0.01

Total

334,727,357

100

19,257,024

100

Within the fastener subset, 731815 accounted for nearly 50% of all fastener exports, followed by 731822 (17%) and 731816 (10%). 731821, 731812 and 731823 each accounted for less than 1% or just slightly above 1% of the total. The U.S. districts exporting the most fasteners to the U.K. were Detroit, Michigan (25.3%), New York City, New York (17.5%) and Dallas Fort Worth, Texas (10.5%). Other districts within the eastern coast and gulf cost of the U.S. all accounted for smaller percentages of exports such as Savannah, Georgia, New Orleans, Louisiana and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Historically speaking, the total yearly value and quantities of fastener exports from the U.S. to the U.K has been declining year over year. During 2018, the total value reported was 168.5 million USD, in 2019 160.2 million USD, in 2020 127.2 million USD and in 2021 110 million USD. The total quantity in 2021 did increase by comparison to 2020, however it was still a lower total quantity than 2019 and 2018. U.S. exports to the EU in 2021 resulted in 334.7 million USD in value compared to the smaller but still significant total value that was exported to the U.K. Interestingly enough, the U.K. total was higher than any individual country in the EU. The U.S. exported over 90 million USD of fasteners to Germany and nearly 60 million USD to France, while export to the U.K. of fasteners was 110.5 million USD.

Major Fastener Categories U.S. Exported to UK in 2021 Product HS (6)

731815 - Threaded screws and bolts others, with or without their nuts or washers, of iron or steel

731829 - Nonthreaded articles (fasteners) others, of iron or steel 731816 - Nuts, threaded, of iron or steel 731823 - Rivets of iron or steel 731822 - Washers, other than lock washers, of iron or steel 731819 - Threaded articles of iron or steel others 731821 - Spring washers and other lock washers, of iron or steel 731824 - Cotters and cotter pins, of iron or steel 731814 - Self-tapping screws, threaded, of iron or steel 731813 - Screw hooks and screw rings, threaded, of iron or steel Total

FOB Value (USD)

Total Share(%)

General Quantity

Total Share(%)

41,272,110

37.35

3,185,559

49.83

28,269,380 11,803,791 10,625,777 8,986,739 3,252,054 2,388,719 1,666,254 1,301,044 710,768 110,514,453

25.58 10.69

645,820 447,479

10.11 7

9.62 8.14 2.95 2.17 1.51 1.18 0.65 100

1,087,175 276,069 304,719 94,442 187,863 43,247 103,850 6,393,941

17.01 4.32 4.77 1.48 2.94 0.68 1.63 100

U.S. fastener exports to the U.K. during 2020 totaled in 127.2 million USD compared to 110.5 million USD in 2021 accounting for a 13% decrease in value. On the other hand, the overall quantity between 2020 and 2021 increased by 14.4% in 2021. With this we can conclude a higher volume of fasteners are being traded at a lesser cost. During the first quarter of 2022, there has been a slight decrease in comparison to the first quarter of 2021. The decrease in value amounted to less than 1%, however, the decrease in overall quantity was more significant and accounted for a little more than 29%. While it is still early to determine how the rest of 2022 will look like in terms of U.S. export trade, it does look like trade values will be very comparable to 2021. All in all, fastener trade flows between the U.S. and U.K. decreased in either value or quantity when compared to 2020. This decrease could be due to the looming aftermath of the global pandemic and the impact it has left on global trade. Another explanation can be a result of the U.K. sourcing more fasteners from different countries. It is very possible that the U.K. is negotiating trade relationships with countries such as Australia and New Zealand, both of which do not have free trade deals with the EU. As the U.K. remains independent from the EU, it is likely that they will continue to build beneficial trade relationships not just with the U.S. but also other foreign trading partners.

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Industry Focus

EU Anti-Dumping

Tariffs Imposed on Steel Fasteners from China by Sabrina Rodriguez

Data note: The data for this article is derived from Descartes™ Datamyne’s EU Census trade statistics. EU (Eurostat) Import and Export data is based on all modes of transportation. That value is calculated in USD by CIF (imports). In this article fasteners are defined as any product under HS Code 7318 (screws, bolts, nuts, coach screws, rivets, cotters, cotter pins, washers and similar articles or iron or steel), as well as the subcategories of 7318.

The European Union has imposed anti-dumping tariffs on steel fastener imports that originated in China. According to the EU official journal and Reuters, the tariffs on steel fastener importers are due to Chinese fasteners being sold at extremely low prices. According to Reuters, the tariffs are between 22.1% and 86.5% and applied to fastener imports of steel products ranging from standard screws to high end fasteners used within the automotive, electrical and aviation industries. Several years ago, the U.S. also experienced a period when steel imports from China were being dumped into the country at lower-thanaverage market prices.

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The reality remains very clear: China is the world’s largest producer of steel and steel related commodities such as fasteners. Many of the largest Chinese steel manufacturers have faced challenges when it comes to overcapacity which leads them to resort to unfair trade such as dumping. Fortunately for countries like the U.S. and formed unions like the EU, anti-dumping duties were created to prevent damages caused by low priced commodities in the market. According to the World Trade Organization, dumping is defined by any commodity or product being exported into a foreign country at less than its normal value.

Industry Focus EU’s Fastener Trade with China EU’s Major Imported Fastener Categories from China in 2021 2021

Product HS (6)

CIF Value (USD)

Net Weight (Kg)

731815 - Threaded Screws And Bolts Others, With or Without Their Nuts

751,292,591.47

37.84

344,058,133

43.74

731816 - Nuts, Threaded, of Iron or Steel

398,551,883.42

20.07

156,855,996

19.94

731819 - Threaded Articles of Iron or Steel Others

225,033,991.51

11.34

71,033,319

9.03

731812 - Wood Screws Other Than Coach Screws, Threaded, of Iron or Steel

130,718,040.93

6.59

56,472,688

7.18

731822 - Washers, Other Than Lock Washers, of Iron or Steel

123,440,766.59

6.22

50,229,190

6.39

731814 - Self-Tapping Screws, Threaded, of Iron or Steel

111,795,844.41

5.63

43,708,078

5.56

731829 - Nonthreaded Articles (Fasteners) Others, of Iron or Steel

100,803,371.75

5.08

18,296,103

2.33

731813 - Screw Hooks And Screw Rings, Threaded, of Iron or Steel

41,790,412.92

2.11

13,555,184

1.73

731811 - Coach Screws, Threaded, of Iron or Steel

33,008,035.12

1.67

18,257,774

2.33

731824 - Cotters And Cotter Pins, of Iron or Steel

29,665,416.98

1.50

4,886,059

0.63

1,985,912,291.29

100

786,692,974

100

Total

EU’s Major Imported Fastener Categories from China in Q1 2022 Product HS (6) 731815 - Threaded Screws and Bolts Others, With or Without Their Nuts 731816 - Nuts, Threaded, of Iron or Steel 731819 - Threaded Articles of Iron or Steel Others 731822 - Washers, Other Than Lock Washers, of Iron or Steel 731812 - Wood Screws Other Than Coach Screws, Threaded, of Iron or Steel 731814 - SelfTapping Screws, Threaded, of Iron or Steel 731829 Nonthreaded Articles (Fasteners) Others, of Iron or Steel 731813 - Screw Hooks And Screw Rings, Threaded, of Iron or Steel 731811 - Coach Screws, Threaded, of Iron or Steel 731824 - Cotters And Cotter Pins, of Iron or Steel Total

CIF Value (USD)

2021 - Q1 Net Weight % (Kg)

CIF Value (USD)

2022 - Q1 Net Weight % (Kg)

155,175,255.33 36.83

83,542,408

44.81 263,638,746.67 38.50

102,567,894

75,537,381.26 17.93

32,177,048

17.26 131,701,265.60 19.23

52,526,134.23 12.47

16,239,955

8.72

28,647,825.68

6.80

12,577,630

28,013,582.05

6.65

25,939,921.41

CIF Value (USD)

Volume Change Net Weight % (Kg)

43.70 108,463,491.34 69.90

19,025,486

22.78

46,366,029

19.76

56,163,884.35 74.36

14,188,981

44.10

69,258,201.50 10.12

19,959,849

8.51

16,732,067.27 31.86

3,719,894

22.91

6.75

44,697,094.08

6.53

15,655,488

6.67

16,049,268.40 56.03

3,077,858

24.48

13,941,831

7.48

46,874,071.56

6.85

15,501,139

6.61

18,860,489.52 67.33

1,559,308

11.19

6.16

11,945,260

6.41

44,087,032.71

6.44

14,286,689

6.09

18,147,111.31 69.96

2,341,429

19.61

23,110,698.33

5.49

4,446,747

2.39

34,460,723.20

5.04

5,861,934

2.50

11,350,024.87 49.12

1,415,187

31.83

9,506,447.09

2.26

3,395,748

1.83

14,875,807.39

2.18

4,297,680

1.84

5,369,360.30 56.49

901,932

26.57

6,898,658.48

1.64

4,425,661

2.38

11,476,307.69

1.68

5,490,145

2.34

4,577,649.21 66.36

1,064,484

24.06

6,247,681.02

1.49

996,545

0.54

10,174,793.02

1.49

1,748,487

0.75

3,927,112 62.86

751,942

75.46

421,436,581.03

100

186,439,605

100 684,886,295.07

100

234,760,348

100 263,449,714.05 62.52

48,320,743

25.92

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Industry Focus EU fastener imports from China made up nearly 17% of the total market during the first quarter of 2022 compared to nearly 10% of the total market during the same period in 2021, resulting in a 62.5% increase. The volume of fastener imports from China increased by 26% during the first quarter of 2022 compared to the first quarter of 2021. China exported a total of 234,760,348 kilograms during the first quarter of 2022, compared to 186,439,605 kilograms during the first quarter of 2021. EU’s top supplying partner of fasteners during the first quarter of 2022 was Germany with a total of 19% of the entire market; however, China remains the top supplier based on total volume.

Amongst the countries within the EU that imported the highest volume of fasteners during the first quarter of 2022 from China were Germany, Italy, and Poland. Germany imported a total of 25.7% and Italy imported a total of 15.7% likely due to their auto manufacturing industry and the overwhelming demand for fasteners within that industry. On the other hand, Poland’s demand for fasteners is likely due to their manufacturing and energy industries. Of these 3 countries, Italy experienced the most staggering increase in both volume and value. During this first quarter of 2022, Italy imported 36,971,882 kilograms compared to 24,115,077 kilograms during the first quarter of 2021 which represents a 53% increase. The total value of fastener imports in Italy increased by 102% during the first quarter of 2022, and Germany’s increased by nearly 83%. Germany also increased the total volumes of fasteners imported from China by 40% during the first quarter of 2022, and Belgium increased their total volumes by nearly 70%. Much like Poland, Belgium’s demand for fasteners can be a result of their engineering and metal producing industries.

Amongst the fastener subsets that were imported from China in the largest volumes during the first quarter of 2022 were 73181588 (11%), 73181900 (8.5%), and 73181692 (7.7%). In terms of value, subsets 73182200, 73181595 and 73181699 were a few of the highest, but resulted in a smaller total volume. 73181290, 73181548 and 73181499 had the smallest total volume and value during this specific quarter of 2022. Subsets such as 731815 and 731816 increased by 70 – 75% during the first quarter of 2022 when compared to the first quarter of 2021. For the most part, these were the same subsets of fasteners that dominated in terms of volume throughout 2021 as well.

EU’s Global Suppliers of Fasteners EU’s Fastener Import Origins in 2018-2021 Country of Origin GERMANY

CIF Value (USD)

2019

Net Weight (Kg)

CIF Value (USD)

Net Weight (Kg)

4,127,986,275.69 23.38

786,394,669

18.28

3,913,097,857.60 23.43

821,747,238

18.57

TAIWAN

1,675,066,668.84

9.49

546,749,388

12.71

1,504,839,484.54

9.01

488,241,672

11.03

ITALY

1,560,052,163.10

8.84

370,934,212

8.63

1,488,148,886.61

8.91

374,809,354

8.47

CHINA

1,413,436,837.67

8.01

653,850,495

15.20

1,466,093,001.94

8.78

700,000,007

15.82

FRANCE

894,722,838.42

5.07

185,701,953

4.32

812,724,556.10

4.87

419,416,223

9.48

USA

855,302,186.80

4.85

32,668,350

0.76

874,363,589.81

5.24

28,248,442

0.64

NETHERLANDS

667,826,265.63

3.79

203,663,988

4.74

651,724,096.91

3.91

190,490,832

4.31

SWITZERLAND

547,706,022.61

3.11

32,720,506

0.77

471,132,118.28

2.83

31,190,816

0.71

U. K.

506,843,425.35

2.88

55,629,463

1.30

457,356,518.61

2.74

61,124,284

1.39

CZECH REP.

505,872,810.69

2.87

116,992,126

2.72

497,275,548.73

2.98

118,022,361

2.67

17,657,202,376.89

100

4,303,108,068

100

16,705,200,580.35

100

4,427,472,257

100

Total Country of Origin GERMANY

2020 CIF Value (USD)

2021

Net Weight (Kg)

CIF Value (USD)

3,492,887,522.44 24.88

691,147,990

17.22

TAIWAN

1,170,828,687.20

8.34

378,320,818

ITALY

1,223,248,058.74

8.72

305,071,835

CHINA

1,303,309,330.52

9.29

651,376,519

16.23

FRANCE

651,979,630.24

4.65

694,750,315

17.31

683,118,960.37

USA

552,766,404.77

3.94

15,132,114

0.38

572,770,694.10

NETHERLANDS

518,910,709.99

3.70

153,517,748

3.83

SWITZERLAND

415,072,561.41

2.96

25,403,874

U. K.

393,352,528.13

2.81

53,809,709

CZECH REP.

428,127,061.68

3.05

102,116,622

14,042,779,376.63

100

4,014,991,939

Total

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Net Weight (Kg)

4,267,681,336.22 24.20

783,624,812

18.39

9.43

1,539,807,009.24

8.73

432,541,396

10.15

7.60

1,577,128,294.26

8.94

373,496,770

8.77

1,985,912,291.29 11.26

786,692,974

18.46

3.88

357,960,793

8.40

3.25

17,357,579

0.41

670,560,224.55

3.81

217,251,496

5.10

0.64

490,883,679.46

2.79

29,822,196

0.70

1.35

357,736,128.92

2.03

36,003,672

0.85

2.55

521,801,051.11

2.96

109,451,987

2.57

100 17,642,137,273.36

100

4,262,321,752

100

Industry Focus EU’s Fastener Import Origins in Q1 2021 and Q1 2022 2021 - Q1

Country of Origin

CIF Value (USD)

GERMANY

2022 - Q1

Net Weight (Kg)

CIF Value (USD)

Net Weight (Kg)

1,122,786,737.36

25.95

208,005,722

20.27

773,672,091.84

18.95

201,390,594

17.86

CHINA

421,436,581.03

9.74

186,439,605

18.17

684,886,295.07

16.77

234,760,348

20.82

ITALY

407,427,396.19

9.42

104,793,880

10.21

269,055,545.22

6.59

65,205,654

5.79

TAIWAN

332,692,104.81

7.69

99,217,266

9.67

471,127,816.86

11.54

118,218,642

10.49

FRANCE

182,872,615.78

4.23

52,721,873

5.14

134,443,541.51

3.30

121,257,411

10.76

NETHERLANDS

178,306,178.26

4.12

51,780,279

5.05

127,403,337.28

3.12

83,386,277

7.40

USA

136,204,456.36

3.15

4,723,470

0.47

156,893,950.05

3.85

3,780,298

0.34

CZECH REP.

134,665,486.12

3.12

30,278,779

2.95

95,357,946.86

2.34

18,089,001

1.61

SWITZERLAND

127,558,458.43

2.95

7,767,090

0.76

127,168,151.73

3.12

8,257,706

0.74

POLAND

121,599,161.28

2.81

25,866,834

2.52

97,253,379.36

2.39

19,403,750

1.73

4,327,979,275.82

100

1,026,550,366

100

4,084,300,077.37

100

1,127,942,316

100

Total

Country of

Volume Change

During the first three months of 2022, EU Origin CIF Value (USD) % Net Weight (Kg) % fastener imports from around the globe were GERMANY -349,114,645.52 -31.10 -6,615,128 -3.19 valued over 4 billion USD resulting in a total volume of over 1.1 billion kilograms. In terms CHINA 263,449,714.05 62.52 48,320,743 25.92 of volume during the first quarter of 2022, there ITALY -138,371,850.98 -33.97 -39,588,226 -37.78 was an increase of nearly 10% and a decrease in TAIWAN 138,435,712.06 41.62 19,001,376 19.16 value of 5.6% when compared to the first quarter of 2021. Throughout the entirety of 2021, the EU FRANCE -48,429,074.28 -26.49 68,535,538 130 import market of fasteners had a total value of 17.6 NETHERLANDS -50,902,840.98 -28.55 31,605,998 61.04 billion USD, compared to 14 billion USD in 2020. USA 20,689,493.69 15.20 -943,172 -19.97 While the total value of fastener imports increased by 25.6% in 2021, the total volume increased by a CZECH REP. -39,307,539.27 -29.19 -12,189,778 -40.26 mere 6%. Overall trends throughout the recent years SWITZERLAND -390,306.71 -0.31 490,616 6.32 have shown a steady growth of fastener imports, POLAND -24,345,781.92 -20.03 -6,463,084 -24.99 specifically between 2018 and 2019. In 2020 there was a slight decrease which is likely a result of the Total -243,679,198.46 -5.64 101,391,950 9.88 global supply chain disruptions due to the pandemic. Historical trends prove Germany has always been the EU’s primary fastener supplier with a yearly share between 18 – 19% of the total market. In terms of volume, Taiwan, Italy, and France are also considered a few of the EU’s largest trading partners each accounting for upwards of 8-12% of the yearly market of imported fasteners. Because the EU has such a wide range of global trading partners from which they can source fasteners, companies in the EU can find alternative sourcing partners that are practicing and following ethical trade laws. Countries within the EU such as Germany, France and Italy are all potential sourcing partners and are within the Union, potentially saving extensive freight and shipping costs. Outside the EU and China, major suppliers of fasteners like Taiwan, USA and Switzerland can be seen as other viable partners to fill fastener demands.

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Technology

Selecting the Correct

Assembly Tool

for Fasteners by Guy Avellon

Using the wrong power tool by the assembler can cause many fasteners to fail. There are several new types of nut runners and socket drivers on the market that have a wide range of power and torque output options. Having too much torque can cause unwanted failures. Modern assembly plants use the more sophisticated power tools than those used in maintenance. Most of these tools are digital and will indicate the sequence and pattern to tighten the bolts as well as the torque applied. For example, if #2 bolt is missed in a programmed sequence, the tool will not allow the #3 fastener to be tightened until the #2 fastener is tightened first. This is a well-designed program of sequence tightening for multiple fasteners in a connection. Automotive assembly lines use these types of tools as well as gang nuts or socket runners. This is where several sockets are attached to multiple bolts in the assembly at the same time, such as head bolts on an engine or wheel nuts, then slowly torque all down at the same time. This reduces elastic rebound on critical part assemblies. Nut runners and powered screw drivers are power assisted tools driven either by pneumatic or electrical energy. The nut runners produce low torque that can be very accurate. These are used to tighten nuts, flanged head screws and small socket head fasteners below ½” or 12 mm on sheet metal parts.

///// DC Electric Tools ///// Many earlier nut runners were corded but the DC powered battery tools are more portable and ergonomically easy to use in tight areas. The more sophisticated DC electric tools are programmable, stores multiple torque values, has a data base used for errorproofing and some models will have linear translators for x-y positioning. The more common and less expensive DC power tools are powered by 20 volt rechargeable Lithium batteries. These tools

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are mostly used by contractors and maintenance and the majority of which are not adjustable for output speed. If the user is not careful, the heads of small screws can easily become twisted off, such as deck screws and wood screws. If the user is tightening deck screws, etc. with a ½” 20v drill body, there could be many failures. Comparing the specifications of different well known manufacturers; one ½” drive 20v power tool has an RPM range of 400-1200-1900 and delivers initial impacts of 7001200 lb-ft of torque, another will deliver 600 lb-ft of torque but only 330 lb-ft initial torque adjustable in pre-set ranges from 0-900-2,000 RPM. Other models will provide their torque output in inchpounds, such as 1825 lb-in (152 lb-ft.) or 1400 lb-in (116 lb-ft). There are even ¼” drive 12v models which produce 1300 lb-in (108 lb-ft) that are very adequate to do the job quickly and efficiently for smaller fasteners.

Technology ///// Pneumatic Power Tools ///// Most pneumatic power tools are commonly known as impact wrenches. These are air driven power tools which produce repeated output blows on an output anvil. The ½” drive models are commonly used in automotive repair shops, truck shops for glider kit (frame) building and tire mounting shops. Some larger models are used to tighten large bolts up to 1 ½” (38 mm). The advantages of pneumatic power tools are their high torque and high speed. A ½” drive medium duty air driver will produce 600 lb-ft of torque at 7,300 RPM with 1,000 beats per minute (BPM). This is enough torque to destroy any Grade 8 bolt up to 7/8”. The ½” Heavy Duty model will produce 650 lbft of torque at 7,500 RPM with 1,100 BPM. There are some older models which produce 450 lb-ft of torque. A ¾” drive air impact wrench will produce 1,000 lb-ft of torque at 6,200 RPM with 750 BPM. On the smaller side, the 3/8” air ratchet will produce 65 lb-ft of torque. The disadvantage of pneumatic power wrenches is that there are no torque controls on the more common and less expensive models. The output is inaccurate and can change while using. There are more expensive models that can adjust the output torque. The advantage is power and speed for larger fasteners and for removing rusty, old bolts. The air supply for these power tools comes from a generator which compresses air into a storage tank. The air is held at a certain pressure, usually around 115-120 pounds-per-squareinch (psi). When the air tool demands power, the compressor tank delivers the air at the stored pressure. The pressure will naturally drop while being used to a pre-determined amount, usually around 90 psi, at which point the compressor starts up again to regenerate the pressure to 120 psi. It should be noted that tightening several fasteners at this time will result in unequal assembly torques. If another air tool or vehicle lift is operated at the same time, the pressure drops more rapidly and the torque disparity is even greater. Larger shops will probably employ the industrial heavy duty two-stage compressor that will keep more of a constant pressure than the common single stage shop compressor.

///// Torque Wrenches ///// Torque wrenches are available in two categories: manual and torque angle. The manual wrench is the most common and is available in many styles: the basic style has a moveable arm against a scale, some have an adjustable spring that is calibrated to dial in a torque value to where the wrench produces a ‘click’ when the value has been reached, some have a dial gauge that measures and marks on and off-torque which can be read after torquing and another type that is electronic which translates data into a control module for error-proofing. Most are low in cost, portable and can get into tight areas. The accuracy will range from ± 2-20% depending on model and cost. Calibration on the click-type will be lost if dropped, others may be damaged beyond normal repair.

A ll ma nua l wrenches depend upon t he operator a nd installation variables. The wrench will always ‘see’ 100% of the torque. It does not detect variations of friction. The operator can go fast or slow or vary the speed between bolts. The operator may switch from torquing the nut to torquing the bolt head. All of these have a direct response to accuracy and clamp load. All torque values are to be used as a guide only. Most are determined of clean and dry threads or ‘as received’. The only accurate use of any manual torque wrench is when the bolt threads are lubricated with a known lubricant. Torque is a function of friction. Friction can come from debris, burrs, etc. A lubricant will overcome most types of assembly friction encountered and produce consistent clamp loads. All engine torque values cited in repair manuals a re considered ‘wet’ torques, yet the head bolts, connecting rod bolts, etc. do not loosen because the clamp loads are all equal and consistent using the oil as a lubricant. Products like C5A, MolyLube, etc. will accomplish the same type of consistency and are very accurate. Just be sure the proper lower torque values are used for the type of lubricant used.

///// Torque Angle Wrenches ///// This type of wrench is connected to a data processor which measures the torque applied to the rotational angle that the nut or bolt has turned. This is a most accurate tool used for solid and stiff joints. In most cases the turn will negate friction variables, which is why a pre-torque is first applied to establish a hard base without any further joint compression. However, in some cases it will not always mean that the preload has been achieved. This depends upon how the data is monitored. If the torque and angle have been achieved within a certain percent window, then the joint is good. However, if the angle goes significantly beyond the expected tolerance to achieve the proper torque, this means the joint was not solid and there was interference between the joint, such as a burr or even non-conforming part that produced compression or resistance. If the torque becomes high and the angle was not reached, then this could mean debris in the threads, cross threading or something else that needs to be investigated. If none of these anomalies are noticed and the operator just inputs on torque alone, then there are problems later.

///// Conclusion ///// Naturally, if there are complaints of fasteners failing or an assembly failing, check the type of tool used and compressor if it is a pneumatic tool. The bottom line is, when there becomes a rash of failures on a certain product line, without any other complaints, always ask how it was installed and what tools were used. The majority of times it is operator and equipment error.

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Technology

Lightweighting Using Fasteners

by Laurence Claus

Regardless of whether a car is propelled with an internal combustion engine, a battery, or some combination of the two, the last ten years has seen increasing pressure on the automotive industry to dramatically improve the range a car can drive on a single tank of fuel or charge of the battery. Although many competing technologies have emerged to address this issue, one of the favorites has and continues to be making automobiles lighter in weight. One of the reasons lightweighting is a favorite amongst the automotive OEMs is that it has one of the best returns in fuel savings and increased distance on a single battery charge for the money invested. Over the last ten years several car makers have touted with great fanfare the number of kilograms they have been able to remove from their vehicles. One prominent example was Ford Motor Company’s 2015 gamble to convert its bestselling F150 pick-up truck to an all-aluminum body and frame. In fact, they were successfully able to remove about 350 kilograms. Since then other OEMs have diligently worked on ways to launch their new and revised vehicle platforms on “diets” as well. For the most part they have been successful. To accomplish these feats they have had to embrace new technologies and change to using lighter weight materials. As with many technology advancements this can often only happen when other new or improved technologies emerge to help enable the prime new technology succeed. With respect to fasteners, this means three different potential strategies:

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Direct Lightweighting

Improved Fastening Technology

Enabling Technology

Fastener World no.195/2022

Direct Lightweighting: Direct lightweighting is the easiest concept to grasp. This is where the fastener itself is made lighter than a traditional fastener might be. There are several ways to accomplish this, although the most prevalent is to replace a traditional steel fastener with a lighter weight material.

Aluminum: Aluminum is nearly two-thirds lighter than steel. This, of course, makes it a prime candidate when choosing a lighter weight material for the fastener. Unfortunately, although aluminum provides such excellent weight savings gains, in term of going head-to-head in strength against steel, even mild steel, there is little comparison. For example, the highest strength, aerospace grade aluminum used in fasteners is 7075-T6. This has a minimum Tensile Strength of 83 ksi. By comparison a medium strength Grade 5 steel fastener has a minimum Tensile Strength of 120ksi, nearly 30% stronger. Of course, a brute head-to-head strength comparison doesn’t tell the entire story. Many designers and engineers who are designing for lightweighting are concerned about Specific Strength or the strength relative to the material’s density. When viewed under this lens, aluminum begins to look much more attractive, even though it will never be a viable solution where very high fastener strength is required. Designers are increasingly reviewing applications that are not critical or require significant strength and considering using aluminum for these. Examples of these solutions include both aluminum machine screws for already tapped holes and aluminum tapping screws for forming treads in plastics. Naturally, one or two small screws converted to aluminum are not going to make a “big splash”, but in applications where many similar or identical screws are being used, such an approach may truly bear some fruit.

Technology A good example of this approach involves several different European automotive OEMs. They have worked with local fastener suppliers to develop proprietary, high-strength, aluminum fasteners to replace all the steel fastening on several engineering models. These engines may have several hundred such fasteners on them and this weight savings action reduces engine weight by several kilograms. Aluminum has also been successfully utilized in thread forming fasteners for plastics. Although strength limitations may prevent them from being used in every case, especially when a highly filled or reinforced engineered plastic is being used, for lower strength plastics they make excellent substitution targets. Again, when used in applications that utilize many fasteners, the weight savings is noticeable.

Titanium: Titanium is about sixty percent the weight of steel and much stronger than aluminum. Thus, its specific strength tops the chart. For this reason, Titanium has long been utilized in aircraft and defense vehicles. In addition to being lightweight and strong, Titanium also has excellent corrosion resistance. One significant downside to Titanium is that it is very hard to form and raw Titanium ore must undergo extensive processing before it is commercially useful, so that Titanium fasteners can be quite expensive. However, if lightweight and performance are desired, Titanium fasteners are perhaps one of the best options available. The most common variety of Titanium for fasteners is ti-6Al-4V or “6-4 Titanium”. This is an alpha/beta alloy of Titanium and provides a good combination of strength and corrosion resistance. It is commonly used for aerospace and biomedical fasteners.

Plastic: Plastic fasteners have been around for many years. Historically, however, these have been relatively simple designs such as “Christmas Tree” fasteners and plastic rivets that are not expected to do much more than hold the fastened component in-place. Several years ago, however, a German supplier of proprietary thread forming screws began offering their hallmark thread forming screw in plastic. In the same vein that aluminum fasteners do not work with every plastic material, the application range of plastic thread forming fasteners is relatively limited to soft plastics such as Polypropylene and TPO.

Another direct weight savings approach is to develop weight savings designs. Take for example many aerospace fasteners, which contained inwardly dimpled or drilled out heads. These are referred to as “lightening holes” and remove a little mass without compromising strength or fastener integrity. Once again, fasteners with these types of lightening features must be used in high quantities to achieve a noticeable weight savings.

Improved Technology: Another way to achieve some weight savings is to utilize fasteners that possess improved technology that provides equal or better performance than a traditional fastener. Consider the example of a lobulated thread rolling screw. The non-fully round fastener is intended to make thread forming during installation easier. However the non-fully round thread also has less engagement than its fully-round counterparts. To help compensate for the reduction in thread stripping security they often are made longer. Today there are several fully-round, proprietary thread forming screws which outperform these lobulated screws. Since they utilize new technology they often can achieve equal or better performance with smaller or shorter screws. This results in lighter weight screws. In summary, using new or proprietary technologies will of ten provide per for ma nce i mprovements that allow the user to achieve the same or better performance than when using older, more traditional fastening technology.

Enabling Technology: Fi n a l ly, i m ple m e n t a t io n of n ew t e c h n olog y of t e n r e q u i r e s complementing new technology to make it work. Currently, two popular lightweighting trends in automotive body design are to use either a combination of materials (such as steel, aluminum, and magnesium) or to incorporate high and ultra-high strength steel. The latter is quite popular because the ultra-high strength steel provides lightweighting in the form of thinner sheets while actually obtaining better strength performance because of its high strength qualities. A common problem experienced by both of these trends, however, is that traditional fastening methods such as welding, crimping, or riveting no longer work. Thus, to successfully implement them, they must be accompanied by new fastening technology. The introduction of new fastening technologies that enable another technology to be feasible is an excellent way for fasteners to play a critical role in the weight savings achieved by these new technologies. There are a number of newer proprietary fastening technologies that enable these technologies, such as self-piercing rivets, flow drill screwing, and friction element welding.

Summary: I n su m ma r y fa st eners ca n a nd do play a n i mpor t a nt role i n lightweighting. Often the fastener itself is lightweighted by utilizing a lightweight material such as aluminum or titanium or by incorporating weight savings design features. Sometimes a new fastener technology performs better than traditional technology allowing the joining to be accomplished with a lighter fastener. Finally, engineers and designers are always developing new ideas and technologies, some of which cannot be realized until a new fastening technology is developed to complement it. Therefore, fasteners are playing a pivotal role in lightweighting efforts.

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Technology

Phenomenon Called Thread from the Snail to IT Revolution

Alias

by Jozef Dominik

Fig. 1 “Those who are enamored of practice without theory are like a pilot who goes into a ship without rudder or compass and never has any certainty where he is going.” ............Leonardo da Vinci “Screw connection is not a soulless monster but a living organism with its own life”. ....................Screw`s axiom

(by the mid - 18 century) Creativity of brain

Creativity

Fig. 2

How It All Started? In particular, it should be emphasized that the characteristic screw element - thread (spiral)-is an autochthonous geometry pattern; it means it was not invented, but was, similar to a circle for example, observed by nature and exists ab origine. These spirals are everywhere in nature, right from human DNA to the galaxies, from simple to complex substances. It is therefore not surprising that a person noticed this and began to use it to his advantage (Fig. 1). At first, it was Archimedes’ timid attempts at a transport screw. As if a long period of darkness had come until the ingenious inventor Leonardo da Vinci and inventor of book printing Johannes Gutenberg (15th - 16th century). The book “Museum Würth, Schrauben und Gewinde” (printed Thorbecke, 1992) states that Archimedes also knew a wooden screw (Fig. 2) for pressing olive oil, which can also be included in the category of transport screws. But the greatest boom was recorded during the industrial revolution by the 18th century which requested the so-called fixing screws (Fig. 3). It can be said that the threaded fastening joint was born of the industrial revolution. Since then, it has undergone a respectable development in the field of geometry, materials, heat and surface treatment.

Fig. 3

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Reflection on the Current Situation It should be noted that even at the beginning of the 21st century, no one came up with any better solutions. And that is the most surprising statement. We return for a moment to the graph in Fig 1. This graph shows that the development took place in certain, consecutive stages. If we omit the first stage ab origine, which does not fall within the scope of this article, then the sensitive receptors of human imagery are most irritated by the disproportionately long stage of development, here called “brain passivity”. The question is why, when as known, at the beginning of the 1st millennium according to Christian doctrine existed nails. This historical important time period seems to be little explored. If Leonardo da Vinci compares practice without theory to cruising without a rudder and compass, then it applies twice to the industrial revolution. Screw connections are no exception. This is also confirmed by the screw theorem, according to which a bolted joint is governed by its own complicated life. Only those who know and respect this life can count on a reward in the form of security and reliability. Thanks to the enormous progress in science and research, it has been possible to create highly sophisticated and highquality connecting elements. It was also the merit of the work by Gerhard H. Junker, published in 1969, “The New Criteria for SelfLoosening of Fasteners Under Vibration,” which was of great importance to the safety of bolted joints. This article presented for the first time a test apparatus for testing the vibration resistance of screw joints. This system is based on the principle of variable radial stress of a certain frequency and amplitude (a). The principle is shown in Fig. 4. Of the many, at least the new locking system for fastening of car wheels is mentioned here (Fig. 5). The advantage is the easy replacement of the locking ring (blue in the picture), while the nut itself can be used almost infinitely long.

Fig. 4

And we could continue with advances in the development of materials and their heat treatment (Fig. 6) and anti-corrosion protection. With the advent of a new wave of industrial revolution, characterized by the use of computer technology and developing a Finite Element Method (FEM) it was possible to study the stress distribution after tightening (Fig. 7). Carriage

The FEM method made it possible to understand where the critical points for the occurrence of fatigue fracture are located. This was important information for the designer to be able to take the necessary measures.

What to Say in Conclusion?

Fig. 5

Symbolically, there is a snail in the title of this article. Indeed, the development of bolted joints began timidly, at a snail’s tempo. At first the industrial revolution came and with it the soft development of the technology of joining with threaded fasteners. And the current IT revolution has entered it very significantly. It is difficult to predict which direction future developments will take. One thing is certain, however. Threaded joints were, are and will remain, an irreplaceable structural element. The following aphorism goes well with the meaning and mission of the threads: Thread = The Bread for Industry Revolution!

Fig. 6

Fig. 7

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Technology

How To Determine the Strength of a Joint The modulus of elasticity will determine the relative stiffness of the joint members and the bolts used to produce the clamp load. The stiffness of each will determine how much clamp force is necessary, what size of bolts to use and how the clamp loads will change when the service loads act upon the joint. All metal components behave like spr ings. T he relative response to stress under loading is governed by the comparative stiffness of each component. If the spring rate of the bolt is equal to the combined spring rate of the joint, then half the deformation will occur in the bolt and the rest will be absorbed by the joint. Clamping force exerted by the bolt on the joint is produced by an equal and opposite force by the joint onto the bolt. All things being elastic, the bolt wants to return to its original length while the joint also wants to return to its original thickness. To illustrate this, a Force Diagram (Fig. 1) is used which is a stress-strain diagram with elastic curves for both the bolt and joint member. As the bolt is tightened, the bolt elongates (ΔB). Due to the natural internal forces resisting the elongation, a tension force or preload is produced (Fp). The applied force and elongation are linear. Since any action requires a reaction, the deformation of the joint is linear and is represented by ΔJ, the amount of joint compression.

Regardless of how soft the joint or bolt are, the bolt becomes longer and the joint becomes compressed under load when the bolt is tightened. Typically, the spring rate, or stiffness of the bolt is only 1/3-1/5 that of the joint. The following diagrams illustrate the importance of the stiffness ratio between the bolt and the joint in determining how much of the applied external load is absorbed by the fastener and how much is absorbed by the joint. Figure 2 illustrates a bolt and joint with approximately the same stiffness, as they are both absorbing an equal amount of the applied load F. Figure 3 illustrates a softer or more springy fastener in a stiffer joint. The bolt has an increased strain and the joint is absorbing the greater amount of the load F.

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by Guy Avellon

Figure 1. Force Diagram

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Technology Figure 2. Stiffness Ratio Between the Bolt and the Joint

Figure 3. Softer or More Springy Fastener in a Stiffer Joint

Figure 4. Static Service Load

If the bolt is less stiff, with respect to the joint, the bolt will experience a smaller percentage of the external load, which depends upon the stiffness ratio of the bolt and joint. This helps in

determining what type and size of bolt to use in the joint. The stiffness ratio can also help determine preloads, loss due to embedment and bolt failure. Other critical factors to consider are the hole size, surface finish of the contacting joint faces, flatness and the use of a washer. In simple terms, the bolt does not experience the entire force of the external load. The vast majority of any additional load is absorbed by the clamped joint members because the joint is much softer than the bolt. In fact, it is five (5) times softer than the bolt. This is the reason why bolts tensioned at or near their yield point can often resist significant external loads. A good example are the head bolts on an engine. At some point, the external load can be great enough to cause the clamp load to become completely unloaded. Any further additional load from this point will become entirely added to the tension of the existing bolt. The following (Fig. 4) is a joint diagram for a static service load. Further completing the joint diagram under static load conditions, the initial bolt preload Fp is represented by the elastic load curve from O to A. The strain, or bolt deformation is ΔB, represented by O to B. The deformation of the joint is ΔJ, from J to B. The total joint load is S. Any force cha nge in t he bolt, ΔF b, is represented by X-Y, which increases the strain from B to C. A construction line is drawn parallel to the slope of the strain of the bolt and is moved downwards to intersect the line Y-C at point Z. This is the load change in the joint, ΔFj, where ΔJ is the compression of the joint members and F is the service load. Therefore, X-Y is the change in bolt load, ΔFb, and Y-Z represents the change in the joint load, ΔFj, which equals the service load.

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Technology As mentioned before, the bolt only experiences a portion of any external tension load on the joint. The amount of tension it sees depends upon the stiffness ratio between the bolt and the joint. It is the magnitude of the external load on the bolt that depends on the preload (Fp) of the bolt. If the ser vice load is cyclic and becomes greater than the preload, then conditions are set for vibrational loosening and / or metal fatigue. The softest member of the joint will dominate the behavior of the joint. This is especially true if the softer member yields, which will limit the amount of force it will be able to support. Most joints will be solid but be aware of the effects of dissimilar materials and gasket joints. For a given preload, a joint with more compliant fasteners will experience less variation in preload when the clamping members are compressed. The joint will have more of an equal distribution of axial loads in the fasteners when dynamically and cyclically loaded. The fasteners with a shorter grip length and larger diameter will be able to absorb more axial loading when the clamped members are compressed. This means that the varying stiffness of multiple fasteners in a joint will have the fasteners that are more stiff than the others be more susceptible to overload in certain conditions. Therefore, stiffness is a function of the shape of the body of the fastener as much as the material used. A longer bolt can experience greater strain than the shorter bolt and a smaller diameter bolt can have a longer fatigue life if the bolt is long. The external tension load (Lx) required to produce a change of force and strain in the bolt and joint members is equal to the increase in force on the bolt (ΔFb) plus the reduction of force in the joint (ΔFj): Lx=ΔFb+ΔFj Bolt stiffness: Kb=Fp/ΔL Fp = tension in the bolt ΔL = change in overall length of the bolt Joint stiffness: Kj=Fp/ΔT ΔT = total joint thickness Remember, all materials act as springs and the joint acts in parallel to the bolt. The amount of load each spring generates for a given displacement is proportional to the individual stiffness in each spring. Hooke’s Law may also be applied to determine the amount of load lost or gained by joint displacement or relaxation. Figure 5 Cyclic Service Loads

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Industry Focus

2021 Revenues & Production of Major Steel Companies Monetary unit: billion Volume unit:：million tons

compiled by Fastener World

The U.S. Companies

Revenue Growth (%)

Revenue

Net Profit After Tax (Loss)

Profit Margin (%)

Production

Production Growth (%)

2021

2020

2021

2020

2021

2020

2021

364.83

201.39

+81.1

68.27

7.21

+30.0

25.65

22.69

+13.0

202.75

97.41

+108.1

41.74

(11.65)

16.30

11.55

+41.1

184.08

96.01

+91.7

32.14

5.50

9.84

8.40

+17.1

(USD)

U.S. Steel (USD)

Steel Dynamics (USD)

Europe Companies

Revenue Growth (%)

Revenue

Net Profit After Tax (Loss)

Production Growth (%)

Production

2021

2020

2021

2020

2021

2020

2021

765.71

532.70

+43.7

(7.33)

(24.54)

79.26

78.46

+1.0

340.15

288.99

+17.7

(1.15)

95.85

12.00

10.73

+11.8

97.67

70.90

+37.7

5.81

(2.77)

6.74

6.03

+11.7

(USD)

(EUR)

Salzgitter AG (EUR)

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Industry Focus Asia Regions

Companies

India (INR)

2021

13,047.33

S. Korea (KRW)

Revenue Growth (%)

Revenue 2020

8,488.80

2021

+57.5

763,320.00 577,930.00 +32.0

Net Profit After Tax (Loss) 2021

3,301.11

Profit Margin (%)

2020

1,707.79

66,170.00 16,020.00

Production

Production Growth (%)

2021

2020

2021

30.59

28.07

+8.9

-9.4

42.96

40.58

+5.8

68,088.90

48,292.72

+41.0

6,373.21

(324.32)

+20.5

44.46

37.65

+18.0

43,651.45

32,272.85 +35.3

2,880.58

(218.68)

+15.7

27.26

23.96

+13.7

20,825.82

17,055.66

+22.1

600.83

232.34

+7.9

0.659

0.581

+13.4

2,137.90

1,980.41

+8.0

139.48

68.93

+9.6

4,683.28

3,147.83

+48.7

620.53

8.85

+13.2

3,653.42

2,822.81

+29.4

236.31

126.95

1,496.26

1,076.57

+38.9

26.88

16.97

41.64

43.76

-4.8

184.87

144.27

+28.1

11.12

6.49

44.23

41.59

+6.3

Japan (JPY)

Kobe Steel

Japan Steel Works

Taiwan (NTD)

15.95

11.41

+39.7

119.95 115.29

+4.0

Taiwan CSC

China (RMB)

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Special Feature

Q&A with Dr. Fastener

Reviewing the Torque Control Method by Toshimichi Fukuoka

Tell me how to determine the value of Q1: tightening torque.

The value of tightening torque changes with the target axial bolt force and the nominal diameter of the threads. Specifically, we can calculate the tightening torque required for fastening by multiplying the product of axial force and nominal diameter by a coefficient called “nut factor”. This expression is the simplified form of an exact equation derived from the balances of the forces and torques on the thread surface and nut bearing surface. The most commonly-used numeric value for the nut factor is 0.2. This value corresponds to a standard value of coefficient of friction, i.e., 0.15, but note that the nut factor greatly changes according to coefficient of friction.

I don’t understand what a nut factor means. How Q2: does it affect fastening operation? The mechanically exact expression, which shows the relationship between axial bolt force and tightening torque, contains the term pertaining to the friction on the thread surface and nut bearing surface, in addition to the term pertaining to the axial force generated when the male thread climbs up the inclined surface. This is a complex expression i nvolvi ng t r igonomet r ic f u nctions, a nd t herefore we usually use t he simplified expression (Tightening torque = nut factor x axial force x thread nominal diameter). Consequently, nut factor can be regarded as a coefficient for calculating tightening torque for a given axial bolt force and the size of threads to be used. The value of nut factor K changes because of several reasons, but practically speaking, we can calculate it as the functions of thread surface's COF, μ th , and nut bearing surface's COF, μ nu. This expression is derived by applying a statistical method called least squares method to the exact expression showing the relationship between axial force and torque. The constants in the expression represent the components by which the torque is converted to axial force. It suggests, therefore, that most of the tightening torque is consumed as friction work.

the purpose of inspection, I fastened the Q3: For loosened threads again using the same amount of torque in the initial tightening operation, but it turned out the obtained axial force is insufficient. Why is that?

A 258

This is because “even if you apply the same tightening torque, the value of axial force changes with coefficient of friction”. As shown Fastener World no.195/2022

in the above expression, the nut factor is expressed as the function of coefficient of friction. Using the expression and supposing that the coefficients of friction of the thread surface and nut bearing surface are both 0.15 and 0.3, the amounts of nut factor are found to be 0.2 and 0.381. Consequently, when a bolted joint's coefficient of friction changes from 0.15 to 0.3 because of the increase of the surface roughness due to tightening and loosening, only 52% of the target axial force is generated even if you apply the same torque. We can also say that “even if we apply the same torque, the axial force to be generated is almost inversely proportional to coefficient of friction.” This is a noteworthy phenomenon in a bolted joint which is repeatedly fastened and loosened. Contrary to the above case, the coefficient of friction could become smaller than the initial value. In that case, we must pay attention to the plastic deformation due to the excessive axial force.

feel the loosening Q4: Itorque is smaller than the tightening torque. Is that so?

That is right. When fastening threads, the male threads move up the thread su r face along t he heli x, t hereby generating axial force. The lead angle, which is the spiral angle of thread surface, is usually from 2 to 3 degrees. On the other hand, the male threads move down along the thread surface when being loosened; therefore, the loosen i ng torque is usually smaller t ha n the tightening torque. The ratio of the two torques can be calculated using an expression derived mechanically. For instance, when the coefficient of friction ranges from 0.1 to around 0.2, we can loosen the threads with a torque which is from 70% to 80% of the tightening torque. The ratio of the two torques decreases with smaller coefficient of friction and smaller nominal diameter. In contrast, the ratio gets quite large in fine threads. If you feel the loosening torque is too large, you should suspect the occurrence of “seizure of threaded fasteners”.

Reference 1. Toshimichi Fukuoka, “Threaded Fasteners for Engineers and Design – Solid Mechanics and Numerical Analysis –”, pp.76-100, Corona Publishing Co., Ltd. (2015)

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Technology

Non-Electroplated Fastener Finishes by Laurence Claus

This is the final segment of a three part series. In segment one, we investigated what corrosion is and some of the more common corrosion mechanisms. In the second segment we investigated how fastener s are electroplated; focusing primarily on the world’s most common fastener finish, zinc electroplating. This final segment will explore other categories and types of finishes that are commonly deployed on fasteners.

By way of review, the majority of all fasteners receive some form of surface finish. These systems are primarily intended to protect the fastener from corrosion or oxidation during storage and handling or from their service environment. However, surface finishes may serve other functions as well. Several of the more common reasons for surface finishing include improving or customizing the part appearance, providing easy part identification or classification, improving the torque- tension behavior, and improving wear resistance. Worldwide, electroplating is the most commonly applied fastener surface finish, but in the last twenty to thirty years many other options have become available, which often addresses deficiencies in electroplating.

Zinc and Aluminum Rich Finishes These finishes are often referred to as “Dip Spin” finishes, describing the method by which the surface finish is applied. These finishes are essentially a combination of fine sintered metal particles usually zinc or aluminum, suspended in a paint like matrix. The percentage of zinc or aluminum is high so that the finish takes on the protective characteristics of that particular metal. The surface finish is deposited in layers with at least a base coat and top coat layer. The combination of multiple layering and formulation of the layers often results in finishes that far exceed the performance of a zinc electroplated finish. For this reason in recent years they have gained significantly in favor in both automotive and industrial fastener applications. The application of the coating is conceptually pretty straight forward. The coating material has properties very similar to paint and is, thus, contained in a large barrel or pot. The barrel is loaded into the application equipment. Parts are loaded into a separate mesh or perforated basket. This also is loaded into the application equipment. The basket is then lowered into the barrel or the barrel is raised to the basket fully immersing the parts in the coating material. Enough time is provided to allow the coating liquid to get all around and into any crevices or hollows in the parts. The barrel and basket are then moved apart and the basket is spun at high revolutions to remove any excess material. Following the spinning cycle, the parts are emptied from the basket and shuttled into a low temperature oven where the coating material dries and cures. Larger scale commercial operations will have the parts moving slowly through this furnace on a continuous belt or other equivalent form of conveyance. After completing the base coat, the parts are normally recycled again one or more times through the process to apply the finishing top coats. These types of finishes started to make a notable entry into the fastener marketplace about thirty-five to forty years ago. Like most technologies that are new or in the early phases of their development cycle there were challenges that needed to be worked out. Primary among these was the tendency for this slightly viscous material to resist evacuation from recesses and crevices during the spinning part of the process cycle. This would lead to a percentage of the finished parts having recesses that were partially or almost entirely filled with the coating material, which hindered or outright prevented full bit engagement during installation. This either barred installation entirely or significantly raised the risk of recess cam-out. To address this issue the manufacturers of the application equipment have made many improvements to the spinning cycles over the years. Today, instead of just spinning in a single axis, the equipment can tilt in multiple axes and directions. Additionally, much of the newer equipment today has arms which hold multiple baskets and spin in one direction while each basket spins in a counter direction. Although coating fill still exists, it no longer is the problem that it was in former times. Like all surface finishing systems, the success or failure of the coating is often a function of part cleanliness prior to coating. Most dip spin finishes have been developed to provide additional safety against hydrogen embrittlement risk. For this reason they do not incorporate electrocleaning, but rather incorporate mechanical blasting or zinc phosphating to clean and activate the surface for the base coat layer. These finishes provide medium to high salt spray resistance making them excellent choices for moderate to severe service environments. Salt spray resistance starts at about 400 hours and often goes beyond 1,500 hours in these systems. Coloring is limited. Most of these finishes are a dull silver-gray color, although black is not uncommon. There are several other color options but they are rare. Another significant advantage of these systems is the ease of incorporating lubricants into the top coat. Top coats with integrated lubrication are favored by many manufacturing customers to reduce installation variability and improve torque-tension characteristics.

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Technology Mechanical Coatings Mechanically applied coatings have been around for some time. One of their primar y advantages is to provide a reduced hydrogen embrittlement risk alternative to electroplating with the same metal. This is accomplished by cleaning and activating the parts without electrocleaning and then applying the metal coating by “pounding” it onto the surface of the fastener. This application process is accomplished by placing parts, finely sintered metal, glass beads, and some activators into a rotating drum and allowing part-on-part interaction and the glass beads to adhere the powdered metal onto the part surface. The resulting finish, however, is one very different from their electroplated counterparts. Since the finish is developed by pounding small metal particles onto the surface, the resulting surface is not smooth like electroplating but has texture and irregularity. As a result the mechanical finish exhibits greater porosity and is much more matte in appearance. For these reasons it is important to “educate” a prospective customer in what to expect, especially if that customer is accustomed to the appearance of zinc electroplating.

Phosphate Coatings Phosphates, unlike any of the other types of surface finishes, are crystals. The crystal size and density is a function of the application process. The phosphate crystals are similar in appearance to a pine bough with many branching tendrillike fingers. This configuration makes phosphate finishes ideal as base coatings for other finishes because those tendrils are able to grab and hold what is applied on top of them. Phosphate finishes are, therefore, commonly utilized on fasteners that will be receiving a paint or paint-like coating on top. Although phosphates are a common fastener finish choice they must be used carefully. As plain, “dry”, finishes they possess no real corrosion protection. To achieve some level of corrosion protection they must be subsequently immersed in oil, wax, or receive a more highly engineered top coat. Occasionally individuals are tricked into choosing a phosphate thinking that they will get corrosion protection from it. However, even with a post treatment, phosphate parts rarely exhibit more than a couple of days or weeks of shelf life, depending on the storage environment and conditions. For these reasons, prior to fulfilling an order, it may be prudent to discuss expectations with a customer prior to fulfilling an order whether a phosphate finish is a good choice or not. There are three phosphate varieties, zinc, manganese, and iron. Each is developed using a different phosphate salt in the application process. Each different variety possesses slightly different characteristics but the most commonly used variant on fasteners is zinc phosphate with manganese phosphate finishing a very distant second. Phosphate finishes are inexpensive and exhibit none of the build-up problems associated with many of the other surface finishes. At first glance a phosphating line looks very similar to an electroplating line. The line is laid out as a series of tanks in a row with fasteners being shuttled sequentially from one tank to the next in large perforated plastic barrels. Closer inspection, however, would show that the similarities end here. Phosphating does not incorporate electricity into the process. Instead the phosphating occurs in heated tanks of liquid phosphate salts. Like an electroplating line, a phosphating line will also incorporate cleaning, although the cleaning and actuating process may not include electrocleaning.

Oxides A number of surface finishes are oxides. Perhaps the most common for fasteners is Black Oxide. This is a conversion coating created when certain metals are immersed in chemical solutions of Sodium Hydroxide, Nitrates, and Nitrites. The resulting oxide is Fe3O4 commonly referred to as Magnetite. Black Oxide results in an extremely rich, black colored oxide layer providing a very rich and consistent black color. Unfortunately, Black Oxide does not provide very good corrosion protection in anything but mild service environments.

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Technology Another helpful oxide finish is enhanced when stainless steel parts are passivated. There are several different passivation methods. The ones most commonly used for fasteners involve the immersion in a mild, heated solution of either nitric or citric acid. The primary outcome is to make the surface more passive or inert to corrosion and to remove stray iron particles from the surface which may oxidize giving the false appearance of stainless steel rusting. Aluminum also depends on an oxide for protection. Aluminum naturally forms a surface oxide layer that is hard and nonreactive. However, by anodizing that natural protective layer is enhanced and gives additional corrosion and wear resistance. Anodizing is a process that is the reverse of electroplating, meaning that the fastener acts as the anode during the resulting electrochemical reaction causing oxygen release at the surface which builds up the alreadypresent oxide layer.

Paints The final coatings we are going to talk about for fasteners are paints. There are essentially two different painting processes that routinely are used on fasteners. The first is E-coating. E-Coat is electrically deposited paint. In Cathodic E-Coating the paint bath is negatively charged and the parts positively charged. In Anodic E-Coating the Paint bath is positively charged and the parts negatively charged. The polarity difference in electrical charge results in the paint being attracted and deposited onto the surface of the parts. Cathodic E-Coating generally is more cost efficient and provides better color control while Anodic E-Coating generally provides better corrosion resistance. E-Coating is a method often used for large objects immersed in oversize tanks, but for fasteners, parts are bulk loaded into barrels similar to those used for electroplating and immersed in relatively small tanks. E-Coating provides a nice appearance and good corrosion protection. A second painting method routinely used for fasteners is Powder Coating. In Powder Coating the fasteners are directed past an applicator that is spraying out very fine dry paint powder. This paint powder is attracted electrostatically to the fastener parts. This powder deposits itself evenly on the parts or selected portions of the part. The parts with powder adhering to them are then introduced to an oven. The heat melts the powder into one homogenous paint layer. Often times just the head of a part is powder coated to match the fastener to a specific color treatment. Powder Coating provides excellent corrosion protection and is very attractive.

Summary In this three part series we have explored how and why fasteners corrode and the importance of providing some form of protection against this. There are many different options available so that designers should be aware of their options and choose a suitable solution dependent on the severity of the service environment. In Part 2 we explored electroplating. Zinc electroplating is, by far, the most popular and common surface finish for fasteners and is used extensively around the world. Zinc electroplating is an excellent choice for mild and moderate service environments. In this last segment we explored other surface finish types. These other options span a wide spectrum of cost and performance. Some of these other types of finishes provide exceptional corrosion protection, appearance, or other performance criteria. No single surface finish choice, however, stands out as the clear “best of show”. In fact, when it comes to surface finishes there is no one size fits all. Each choice has its advantages and disadvantages. It is the job of the designer to assess how the parts will be used in service and what performance requirements are really important and then sort through all of these options to find the one that best meets all the criteria. Fastener World no.195/2022

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Special Feature

Taiwan Fastener Industry Chronicle 2009-2010

DEC. 2009

DEC. 11 The 15th TIFI Member Meeting was Held in Taipei Taiwan Industrial Fasteners Institute held its annual members meeting at Cosmos Hotel in Taipei. As the event was given right after the risk of U.S. antidumping investigation and amid the market recovery, lots of association members were present. The AD issue also became a major concern discussed by all attendees during the annual event.

DEC. 17-18 2009 TFTA Members Conference & Chairman Handing-Over Ceremony TFTA held its annual members assembly at Tainan Tayih Landis Hotel, with the number of attendees breaking 350. During the event, TFTA also celebrated its 20th anniversary and gave a new TFTA Chairman handing-over ceremony. Ms. Tammy Huang was the newly elected TFTA Chairman and was the first female Chairman to lead TFTA.

FEB. 2010 FEB. 24 Spring Celebration Party of TFTA On the third day after the end of the 2010 Lunar New Year holidays, TFTA members gathered at Grand Hi-Lai Hotel in Kaohsiung to participate in the annual Spring Celebration Party of TFTA. During the event, many leading characters from related industries were also invited to share their views on ECFA, overseas industrial tours, and U.S. fastener market and had some discussions with members in attendance.

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Special Feature

MAR. 2010 MAR. TG Successfully Achieved Substantial Advancement of Anti-Corrosion for Hot-Dip Galvanized Fasteners The hot-dip galvanized technology developed by TG Co., Ltd. successfully overcomes the obstacle of insufficient mechanical properties in hot-dip galvanized fasteners, even the steel plates with 12mm thickness can be drilled through easily, making TG become one of the few hot-dip galvanizing plants capable of mass production.

MAR. The New Base of Chan Hsiung Fastener was Officially Launched Chan Hsiung Fastener (CHF) new office was officially put into operation, showing a completion of the 5-year factory expansion plan started from 2004 and its determination to go toward the development of automotive fasteners.

MAR. 25 Ching Chan Machinery Inaugurated Its New Kunshan-Based Plant Ching Chan Machinery gave the inauguration of its new plant in Kunshan, China and also held a new machine release event to demonstrate its new machine models. The new plant was positioned as its operating headquarters in China with the same operation, use of mechanical parts, and assembly quality as those of its Taiwan plant.

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Special Feature

APR. 2010 APR. 14-16 NFDA Held Annual Assembly National Fastener Distributors Association (NFDA) held its annual members assembly in San Antonio, Texas. Representatives from European Fastener Distributors Association ( E F DA) a n d Ta iwa n Fa s t e n e r Tr a d i n g Association (TFTA) also participated in the grand event. During the event, the Global Platform for Fasteners (GPF) made up of EFDA, NFDA, and TFTA was also given.

Exhibitions OCT. 2009 OCT. 7-8 Fastener Fair Stuttgart Record-breaking 625 exhibitors from 33 countries and nearly 6,000 buyers, visitors, and professionals visited the grand event. This Fair was the most professional fastener fair in Europe at that time. Many managers or decision makers were also present from far away.

OCT. 27-31 Korea Metal Week Around 251 exhibitors from 20 countries came to exhibit. Fastener World as the sales agent of the show also brought 5 Taiwanese companies incl. San Shing, Fang Sheng, and Best View to exhibit. In the 5-day event, exhibitors showcase d releva nt i ndust r ia l products, machinery and equipment. More than 80% of the visitors were Korean traders.

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NOV. 2009 NOV. 17-18 National Industrial Fastener Show/West, Las Vegas This Show and National Industrial Fastener Show/East, Columbus were both considered the most important and largest fastener events in North America. In addition to the Show, the organizer also arranged for the welcome recept ion n ight a nd factor y tou rs du r ing the event, attracting nearly 4,000 visitors in attendance. The Show’s sales agent in Taiwan, Fastener World, also brought nearly 60 Taiwanese exhibitors to exhibit.

FEB. 2010 FEB. 28-MAR. 03 International Hardware Fair Cologne The biennially held International Hardware Fair Cologne was given again at Koelnmesse Fair Grounds, attracting the attendance of 2,686 exhibitors from 52 countries and 56,500 visitors from 124 countries. 6 halls spanned the total floor area of 142,000 sq m. Taiwanese exhibitors were the second largest overseas exhibiting group.

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Industry Focus

e h t g n i z Analy A S U n i y ndustr

I e v i t o Autom Statistics of U.S. Automotive Industry

The car industry is the 5th biggest industry in the U.S. In 2020, the automotive industry in the United States employed 4.1 million people and contributed US$562.2 billion to the country’s gross domestic product. That’s 2.5% of the GDP. In 2020. U.S. car manufacturers produced 8.8 million cars, 19% lower than the number of cars manufactured in 2019. However, it increased to 9.6 million units in 2021. The revenue of U.S. vehicles and parts dealers was US$1.25 trillion in 2020. It was around US$1.4 trillion in 2021. U.S. car dealers sold 14.5 million cars and trucks in 2020. It was 16.3 million units in 2021.

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by Behroo

z Lotf ian

Detailed Statistics of 2022 U.S. new vehicle sales of 1,256,224 units for the month of April represented an 18.0% decrease from April 2021. There were 27 sales days in April 2022, one day more than the 26 sales days in April 2021. April’s passenger car sales fell 23.3% to 278,827 units, resulting in a 22.2% market share, while SUV and truck sales decreased 16.3% to 977,397 units, resulting in a 77.8% market share. Total cars sold between January to April 2022 reached 4,593,287 units, 15.9% lower than the same period in 2021.

Industry Focus Brands in U.S. Market General Motors has the biggest market in the U.S. It sold 710,103 cars in Jan.-Apr. 2022, representing 15.5% of U.S market share. It sold 878,225 cars in Jan.-Apr. 2021. In 2022 it sold 19.1% lower than in 2021, and its market share dropped 0.6%. General Motors’ monthly sales dropped 15.8% in April. Toyota is the second biggest car seller in the U.S. It sold 701,102 cars in Jan.-Apr. 2022, representing 15.3% of U.S market share. It sold 841,155 cars in Jan.-Apr. 2021. In 2022 it sold 16.7% lower than in 2021, and its market share dropped 0.1%. Toyota’s monthly sales dropped 21.7% in April. Ford is the 3rd biggest player in the U.S. market. It sold 605,116 cars in Jan.-Apr. 2022, representing 13.2% of U.S market share. Its sales were 714,774 cars in Jan.-Apr. 2021. In 2022 it sold 15.3% lower than in 2021, but its market share increased 0.1%. Ford’s monthly sales dropped 10.7% in April.

U.S. Automotive Industry Trend The automotive industry is undergoing a radical transformation. New social, technological, environmental a nd geopolitica l cha llenges a re redef i n i ng t he characteristics of a saturated market, opening new scenarios while offering opportunities for the entry of new players. These challenges are bound to trigger reorganization of the global value chain between old and new suppliers and car makers and their suppliers, affecting the distribution of employment, the regionalization of production and the dynamic evolution of the comparative advantage of nations. Overall, car sales in the United States will continue to grow, but the annual growth rate is expected to decline by 2030. Such as car sharing and e-hailing; on the other hand, EV production will be increased.

Stellantis Group is the 4th biggest player in U.S. market. It sold 550,734 cars in Jan.-Apr. 2022, representing 12.0% of U.S market share. Its sales were 637,924 cars in Jan.-Apr. 2021. In 2022 it sold 13.7% lower than in 2021, but its market share increased 0.3%. Stellantis Group’s monthly sales dropped 13.8% in April.

Overall, car sales in the United States will continue to grow, but the annual growth rate is expected to decline by 2030.

Honda is the 5th biggest player in U.S. market. It sold 359,668 cars in Jan.-Apr. 2022, representing 7.8% of U.S market share. Its sales were 503,573 cars in Jan.-Apr. 2021. In 2022 it sold 28.6% lower than in 2021, and its market share dropped 1.4%. Honda’s monthly sales dropped 40.4% in April. Nissan is the 6th biggest player in U.S. market. It sold 275,749 cars in Jan.-Apr. 2022, representing 6.0% of U.S market share. Its sales were 384,685 cars in Jan.-Apr. 2021. In 2022 it sold 28.3% lower than in 2021, and its market share dropped 1.0%. Nissan’s monthly sales dropped 24.7% in April. Hyundai is the 7th biggest player in U.S. market. It sold 238,106 cars in Jan.-Apr. 2022, representing 5.2% of U.S market share. Its sales were 256,169 cars in Jan.-Apr. 2021. In 2022 it sold 7.1% lower than in 2021, but its market share increased 0.5%. Hyundai’s monthly sales dropped 17.5% in April. Kia is the 8th biggest player in U.S. market. It sold 210,257 cars in Jan.-Apr. 2022, representing 4.6% of U.S market share. Its sales were 229,727 cars in Jan.-Apr. 2021. In 2022 it sold 8.5% lower than in 2021, but its market share increased 0.4%. Kia’s monthly sales dropped 15.8% in April. Tesla is the 9th biggest player in U.S. market. It sold 178,175 cars in Jan.-Apr. 2022, representing 3.9% of U.S market share. Its sales were 95,218 cars in Jan.-Apr. 2021. In 2022 it sold 87.1% higher than in 2021, and its market share increased 2.1 %. Tesla’s monthly sales increased 86.9% in April.

Automa kers conti nue to i nteg rate more digit a l technology into their vehicles. Plus, tech companies like Google and Tesla are working on electric and self-driving vehicles. As a result, it’s clear that vehicles produced in 2022 and beyond will be full of technology to address digital touchpoints. There’s fierce competition to develop software and digital and electronic operating systems to power and control the new, innovative zero-emission electric vehicles. These new vehicles will be filled with digital technology. Therefore, demand looks positive across the industry, EVs are by far the best performing drivetrain type in terms of relative growth. In 2021, about 1.2 million plugin electric vehicles were sold – an increase of over 100%. This represents a rise from 4.5% of all vehicles sold in 2020 to 9% in 2021. It is expected to be 18.7 million units by 2030.

Reference: https://www.zippia.com/advice/automotive-industry-statistics/ https://brandfinance.com/insights/2022-auto-trends https://linchpinseo.com/automotive-industry-trends/ USA - Flash report, Automotive sales volume, 2022 - MarkLines Automotive Industry Portal

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Industry Focus

Analyzing the Automotive Industry in EU Region by Sharareh Shahidi Hamedani

Why is the Automotive Industry Important?1 T he automot ive i ndust r y is crucial for Europe’s prosperity. The automotive sector provides direct and indirect jobs to 13.8 million Europeans, representing 6.1% of the total employment in the European Union (EU). 2.6 million people work in direct manufacturing of motor vehicles, representing 8.5% of EU employment in manufacturing. The EU is among the world's biggest producers of motor vehicles and the sector represents the largest private investor in research and development. To strengthen the competitiveness of the EU automotive industry and preserve its global technological leadership, the European Commission (EC) supports global technological harmonisation and provides funding for R&D.

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European Car Market2 In April 2022, new passenger car registrations in the EU saw a significant drop (-20.6%), as supply chain issues continued to weigh heavily on car production. With the exception of the pandemic year in 2020, this was the weakest April result in terms of volumes sold since records began (684,506 units sold). All major markets contributed to the region’s negative performance: Italy (-33.0%), France (-22.6%), Germany (-21.5%) and Spain (-12.1%). From January to April of 2022, new car registrations declined by 14.4% across the EU, totalling 2,930,366 units. The substantial decrease in car sales in March and April further dragged down the cumulative performance. Among the key markets in the EU, Italy saw the steepest fall (-26.5%), followed by France (-18.6%), Spain (-11.8%) and Germany (-9.0%).

Sources: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

https://ec.europa.eu/growth/sectors/automotive-industry_ en https://www.acea.auto/files/20220518_ PRPC_ 2204_ FINAL.pdf https://www.acea.auto/files/20220518_ PRPC_ 2204_ FINAL.pdf https://eauto.org.ua/en/news/79-sales-of-new-cars-in-the-eu-are-falling-for-the-fifth-month-in-a-row https://www.mordorintelligence.com/industry-reports/europe-market-for-lightweight-cars-industry

Industry Focus Main Players in the EU Market3

Hyundai with Kia and Hyundai brands as the 4th biggest car provider in the EU region had a 7.2% market share in January to April 2021. Its market share increased to 9.6% in the same period of 2022. The total registered cars of Hyundai were 247,682 units in Jan.-Apr. 2021 and it increased 13.6% to 281,456 units.

Volkswagen Group (including Volkswagen, Audi, Skoda, Sear, Porsche) had 25.7 % of the EU market share during January to April 2021, but it declined to 24.6% in the same period of 2022. Total registered VW cars were 878,781 units in January-April 2021 and it declined 18.0% to 720,385 units in the same period of 2022.

Toyota Group with Toyota and Lexus brands as the 5th biggest car provider in the EU region had a 6.2% market share in January to April 2021. Its market share increased to 7.2% in the same period of 2022; however, its registered cars were 213,821 units in Jan.Apr. 2021 and it decreased 1.1% to 211,532 units.

Stellantis (Including Peugeot, Fiat, Citroën, Opel, Jeep, DS, Chrysler and Alfa Romeo) is the second biggest player in the EU with a 23.6% market share between January-April 2021, but this share dropped to 20.4% in the same period of 2022. The registered cars of this Group were 806,603 units (in Jan.-Apr. 2021) and it declined 26.0% to 596,968 units (in Jan.-Apr. 2022).

BMW Group with BMW and Mini brands as the 6th biggest car provider in the EU region had a 6.9% market share in January to April 2021. Its market share increased to 7.0% in the same period of 2022; however, the total registered cars were 236,173 units in Jan.-Apr. 2021 and it decreased 13.7% to 203,847 units.

Renault Group as the third biggest car provider in the EU has Renault, Decia and Alpine brands, representing 9.5% of EU market share in January-April 2021. The market share of this Group in the EU increased to 9.9% in the same period of 2022. The total registered cars of this Group were 323,805 units, but the number declined 10.5% to 289,695 units.

Mercedes-Benz Group with Mercedes and Smart brands as the 7th biggest car provider in the EU region had a 5.8% market share in January to April 2021. The market share increased to 5.9% in the same period of 2022; however, the registered cars were 236,173 units in Jan.-Apr. 2021 and it decreased 13.7% to 203,847 units.

The remaining car brands in the EU are shown in the following table. Table 1. JANUARY - APRIL Group

Brands

Share in 2022 (%) Share in 2021 (%)

Units in 2022

Units in 2021

% Change 2022/2021

Ford

4.5%

130,586

155,408

-16.0%

Volvo

2.2%

2.5%

65,218

86,187

-24.3%

Nissan

1.8%

2.0%

53,079

68,337

-22.3%

Mazda

1.2%

1.1%

36,094

37,691

-4.2%

Mitsubishi

0.6%

0.5%

18,952

18,470

+2.5%

Jaguar-Land Rover

Land Rover / Jaguar

0.6%

0.8%

18,502

28,263

-34.5%

Honda

0.5%

0.3%

14,799

11,660

+26.9%

Why are Sales of New Cars in the EU Falling4? Sales of new cars in the EU have been declining for the consecutive fifth month. The reason is not because Europeans do not want to buy new cars, but is the global industrial crisis and the shortages of new cars due to the lack of components, chips and semiconductors. The shortage of components has led to greater losses in the market of new EU cars than a full lockdown in the spring of 2020. Given that automakers are still forced to reduce production and even shut down plants for a while, the world will feel the effects of the crisis for another two years, experts say.

The Trend of Lightweight Cars with Opportunities is the Future of Europe5 The European lightweight car market is expected to register a CAGR of about 9.7% during the forecast period (2021 – 2025). •

Currently, the market for lightweight vehicles is primarily driven by regulatory authorities pushing for fuel-efficiency and increased demand from the developed economies of Europe for higher focus on reducing the cost of materials through consistent research.

•

The ideal materials for lightweight cars in this market include aluminium, high strength steel, and magnesium. With the enactment of stringent emission norms and fuel economy standards in the European region, the region's automobile manufacturers have started using carbon fiber composites in the manufacturing of their vehicles.

•

With the emergence of electric vehicles and an increasing ban on diesel vehicles' production of gasoline and diesel engines, the fossil fuel-run automotive industry may face negative growth. However, lightweight car materials will remain a driving factor due to its application in an alternative fuel vehicle market. Fastener World no.195/2022

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Industry Focus

Top Taiwanese Companies in 2021

Unit: 0.1 bn NTD Source: Commonwealth Magazine Issue no. 698 Compiled by Fastener World

(Fastener/Wire Rod/Hardware/Hand Tool)

Fastener Companies (Manufacturing Industry) Companies

276

Revenue

Revenue Growth (%)

Earnings After Tax

Net Profit Margin (%)

Ranking Among Top 2,000 Taiwanese Manufacturers 2021

2020

2019

Ta Chen International

968.86

63.56

96.73

9.98

54 ▲

Tong Ming Enterprise

132.36

44.32

14.43

10.90

274 ▲

316

326

Chun Yu Works

118.10

46.62

7.45

6.31

293 ▲

359

311

Tycoons

107.00

34.93

4.26

3.98

316 ▲

363

264

QST International

101.93

15.51

3.76

3.69

330

327

296

Tycoons Worldwide Group (Thailand)

75.20

30.83

3.13

4.16

436 ▲

461

304

Boltun

71.72

48.34

3.49

4.87

450 ▲

527

469

San Shing Fastech

71.07

40.09

9.83

13.83

452 ▲

514

418

Lu Chu Shin Yee

43.74

45.17

3.96

9.05

635 ▲

738

635

10 OFCO

37.61

105.97

1.30

3.46

709 ▲

1021

1289

Jinn Her Enterprise

36.33

23.78

---

724 ▲

754

660

Tong Hwei Enterprise

35.41

29.23

---

744 ▲

779

691

Jau Yeou Industry

33.38

20.51

---

768 ▲

776

755

Sheh Fung Screws

28.59

26.84

2.76

9.65

848 ▲

901

1029

Rodex Fasteners

24.28

14.15

2.49

10.26

944

929

846

16 Sumeeko

22.85

14.77

1.43

6.26

975

967

842

21.23

40.04

1.03

4.85

1132

---

18 Intai Technology

19.73

0.61

2.28

11.56

977

869

19 King Point (PATTA) 19

18.75

24.75

0.85

4.53

1077 ▲

1139

1015

20 Thread Industrial 20

15.33

45.17

---

1188 ▲

1318

1342

21 Sheh Kai Precision 21

14.42

35.78

1.49

10.33

1235 ▲

1311

1310

22 NAFCO 22

14.26

-16.31

-0.97

-6.80

1241

1069

778

Spec Products

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Industry Focus

Fastener Companies (Service Industry) Companies

1 1

Brighton-Best International

Ray Fu Enterprise

Revenue

Revenue Growth (%)

Earnings After Tax

Net Profit Margin (%)

215.32

41.63

35.91

16.68

13.02

-9.21

0.24

1.84

Earnings After Tax

2021

90 ▲ 625

Fastener-related Material & Equipment Companies Revenue Growth (%)

Ranking Among Top 2,000 Taiwanese Manufacturers

Net Profit Margin (%)

2020

2019

109

573

583

Ranking Among Top 2,000 Taiwanese Manufacturers

Companies

Revenue

China Steel Corporation

4,683.28

48.78

620.53

13.25

Dragon Steel Corporation

1,244.85

62.04

172.83

13.88

39 ▲

Chung Hung Steel Corporation

537.44

46.08

63.50

11.82

88 ▲

102

New Best Wire

86.42

49.88

5.88

6.80

392 ▲

459

432

Kuang Tai Metal Industrial

54.68

32.11

1.79

3.27

533 ▲

589

570

Quintain Steel

40.36

15.55

6.48

16.06

675

661

609

Yuang Hsian Metal

30.04

51.41

---

820 ▲

971

875

Chen Nan Iron Wire

18.15

-0.55

1.31

7.22

1096

1022

1107

Chun Zu Machinery

14.61

19.66

0.84

5.75

1226 ▲

1234

1110

Hand Tool Companies Companies

Revenue

Revenue Growth (%)

Earnings After Tax

Net Profit Margin (%)

2021

2020

2019

Ranking Among Top 2,000 Taiwanese Manufacturers 2021

2020

2019

1 1

Stanley Chiro International

60.39

27.43

1.54

2.55

502 ▲

539

580

Mobiletron

29.33

2.34

0.87

2.97

839

761

784

Editor’s Note 1.

In the survey of Taiwanese fastener industry this time, there are still many excellently performing companies (such as traders, machine suppliers, hardware/fastener factories) which are unfortunately not included. 35 Taiwanese companies and those not included all achieved significant performance on the global stage in 2021.

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Industry Focus

Chinese Automotive Industry Outlook Market Overview

by Shervin Shahidi Hamedani

China’s automotive industry has been growing rapidly and the country is playing an increasingly important role in the global automotive market. This country is the world’s largest vehicle market by both annual sales and production, with domestic manufacturing output expected to reach 35 million vehicles by 2025. Based on data from before over 25 million vehicles were sold in 2020, including 19.99 million passenger vehicles, down 6.5% from 2019 while the number of commercial vehicle sales increased by 20% from 2019 with 5.23 million units. In 2021 the Chinese passenger car market again showed a small improvement compared with the figures in 2020, went up by 5.7% and registered approximately 21.41 million passenger cars and 4.67 million commercial vehicles. Last year, crossovers and SUVs achieved a market share of 46.4% as sales grew by 14.7%. Again, with a production volume of about 21 million passenger cars, China ranked first among countries with the largest production of passenger cars followed by Japan, Germany, the United States and South Korea. Those countries are very well-known as home to valuable car brands worldwide. On average, every fourth passenger vehicle produced in the world was produced in China. That figure shows the importance of the car industry in China in the global market. China’s automotive market has attracted many well-established foreign brands to invest in the production in China. However, most foreign brands were only allowed to manufacture their vehicles in China by establishing joint ventures with domestic automobile manufacturers, to which the government has recently announced plans to release those restrictions gradually. Because of technical development and lower cost of production, numerous local brands of China’s leading manufacturers have also gained progressively more popularity in the automotive market. In 2020, about 96% of vehicles produced in China were sold within the country and those manufactured for exports only contributed about 4% to the overall production volume in China. This number increased, in 2021, to 1.6 million passenger cars, which represented 7.54% of passenger car market share. Interestingly, in that year, Chinese car brands were able to manage the supply issues due to dramatic shortage of microchips globally much better than the import brands. Therefore, they’ve made great progress, while foreign brands are heading in the opposite direction.

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Industry Focus In 2021 the year started tremendously positively for the Chinese market because of awfully low sales levels in Q1 2020. In the first quarter of last year, 6.03 million units were sold, reporting a 61.7% increase in sales, while in Q2 sales continued almost at the same level, reporting a 1.3% decrease in sales with 6.12 million units. In the third quarter sales fell rapidly, losing 14.2% sales with 5.82 million units, and lost 5.5% in the last quarter with 7.69 million sales. In the first quarter of this year sales increased by 7.1% and 6.35 million units were sold.

Trade Statistics China is one of the largest markets for car imports. On the other hand, as stated earlier, the majority of cars manufactured in China are used within the country and only as small as 4% of the total production volume are exported to other markets. Although the exports of Chinese cars are growing but still China is not considered as one of the major car exporters in the world.

14.00

In 2021, China imported a total of about 930,000 passenger cars and commercial vehicles, the same volume as in 2020. In that year, China's auto exports more than doubled from the previous year, reaching 2.1 million units. The local manufacturers exported around 402,000 commercial vehicles and 1.6 million passenger vehicles. This represented a 111 percent increase in exports of passenger cars and a 71 percent increase in exports of commercial vehicles compared to 2020.

2.00

By looking at the statistics for motor cars and other motor vehicles mainly designed for the transport of people (including station wagons and racing cars) the figures show the significant growth in 2021 in terms of the imports compared with 2020, however it’s still lower than the value of imports in 2017 and 2018. Germany, the U.S. and Japan are main exporters of cars to China. The UK used to be one of the top exporters, but the country has lost a majority of its market share to countries like Slovakia and Thailand. Apparently, in the last few yea rs, some of the ca r manufacturers have moved their production to these two countries (see Chart 1).

Chart 1. Main Exporters of Cars to China

16.00

12.00 10.00 8.00 6.00 4.00

Unit: Billion USD -

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

Germany

12.70

13.93

13.86

13.50

14.88

U.S.A.

12.79

10.16

8.75

8.47

10.66

Japan

9.14

10.07

10.99

10.15

8.30

Slovakia

1.61

4.10

4.86

5.34

5.12

United Kingdom

7.10

6.27

3.84

3.59

4.54

Austria

0.37

0.38

0.90

0.72

1.32

Thailand

0.61

0.39

0.71

1.12

1.25

Sweden

0.65

0.97

0.99

0.87

1.02

Italy

2.08

0.67

0.68

0.45

0.80

Chart 2. Cars Exported from China to the World

Egypt Mexico Chile Australia Germany Russia Saudi Arabia US UK Belgium

Saudi Russia Germany Australia Chile Mexico Arabia 2021 2,895,535 1,919,653 1,609,599 1,462,822 1,337,007 1,193,073 1,157,302 1,075,109 750,653 Belgium

Egypt

540,559 The Chart 1 illustrates the value of 2020 433,488 511,478 1,223,899 1,084,351 511,590 437,501 401,390 323,236 306,780 347,056 imports to China from its major car exporters in last five years. The value of imports is Unit : Thousand US Dollar in billion U.S. dollars. As it can be easily derived from the chart, the recent US policies against China have given a better chance to other exporters to increase their market shares in this country. In 2017, the U.S. was the top car exporter to China, but gave its position to Germany to become the key exporter to China market with a significant distance from other exporters.

When it comes to the value of exports from China to the global market, the figures look more interesting as 2021 recorded a big jump compared with previous years. As mentioned, one of the main reasons could be how well China managed the shortage of semiconductors compared with other countries. The growth of exports in 2021 was more than two times compared with 2020. The total car export from China to the global market was about USD22.4 billion in 2021, while Chinese exporters only registered less than USD10 billion in 2020. The chart above explains the car exports from China to the global market in last two years (See Chart 2)

Sources: • Trading Economics, China Vehicle Sales • Statistica Research, Car Production in China • ITC, TradeMap, China Cars Imports and Exports

The development of autonomous cars is growing at a fast pace and it’s projected to capture almost 40% of total new car sales by 2040. Although Chinese car brands still do not play a crucial role in the global market, the local brands are embracing new technologies rapidly as autonomous vehicles from China would potentially make China the world's largest market for them. Fastener World no.195/2022

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