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Advertisers Index 207
A
192
C
310EXPRESS COMPANY (Japan) Security, Tamper Proof, Anti-theft Screws...
90 17 84 294 67 122 35 179 56
B
80 197
ABC FASTENERS CO., LTD. Drop-in Anchors, Expansion Anchors, Wire Anchors...
聯欣
AEH FASTEN INDUSTRIES CO., LTD. Clevis Pins, Dowel Pins, Hollow Rivets...
鉞昌
177
CHAO JING PRECISE MACHINES ENTERPRISE 朝璟 Cold Forging Bolt Formers, Thread Rolling Machines...
244
CHEN TAI FASTENER MACHINE CO., LTD. 成太 Parts Orientation & Feeder Machine Series, Feeding Machine...
65 232
ALEX SCREW INDUSTRIAL CO., LTD. 禾億 Button Head Cap Screws, Button Head Socket Cap Screws...
96
長益
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...
AMBROVIT S.P.A. (Italy) Chipboard Screws, Combined Screws, Machine Screws...
251
CHING CHAN OPTICAL TECHNOLOGY Eddy Current Sorting Machines, Fastener Makers...
精湛
ANCHOR FASTENERS INDUSTRIAL CO., LTD. 安拓 ETA Series, Anchor Bolts, Anchor Nuts, Automotive Parts...
121
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
APEX FASTENER INTERNATIONAL CO., LTD. Nuts, Wing Nuts & Bolts, Turning Parts, Stamping Parts
嵿峰
ARK FASTECH CORP. Multi-Station Cold Forging Bolts / Nuts...
方舟
ARUN CO., LTD. Bi-metal Screws, Chipboard Screws, Drywall Screws...
鉅耕
42 257
CHUN KAI MACHINERY CO., LTD. 駿凱 Straightening Machines, Straightness Measuring Instruments...
108
ASIA TECHNICAL SERVICES 亞東公證 Automotive Parts, Fastener Testing And Inspection Laboratory...
CHUN YU WORKS & CO., LTD. Wheel Bolts, Chipboard Screws, Drywall Screws...
228
AUTOLINK INTERNATIONAL CO., LTD. Automotive Screws, Machine Bolts, Flange Nuts...
浤爵
CHUN ZU MACHINERY INDUSTRY CO., LTD. 春日 Cold Headers, Header Toolings, Heading Machines...
157
COPA FLANGE FASTENERS CORP. Hex Nuts, Hex Flange Nuts, Combi Nuts, Weld Nuts...
國鵬
BCR INC. Automotive Screws, Piston Pins, Weld Bolts (Studs)...
必鋮
38
CPC FASTENERS INTERNATIONAL CO., LTD. Stainless Steel, Bi-metal Self-drilling Screws...
冠誠
13
DA YANG ENTERPRISE CO., LTD. Special Automotive Nuts, Special Weld Nuts...
大楊
BENERI SPA. (Italy) new Retaining Rings, Washers...
D
BESTWELL INTERNATIONAL CORP. Eye Bolts, Flanged Head Bolts, Hanger Bolts...
256
234
BIING FENG ENTERPRISE CO., LTD. 秉鋒 Blind Nut Formers, Multi-station Cold Forming Machines...
DAH-LIAN MACHINE CO., LTD. 大連 Fastener Maker, Thread Rolling Machines, Heading Machines...
165
BI-MIRTH CORP. 吉瞬 Carbon Steel Screws, Chipboard Screws, Concrete Screws...
DAISHIN CO., LTD. (Japan) Thread Rolling Dies
110
DAR YU ENTERPRISE CO., LTD. Chipboard Screws, Drywall Screws, Screw Nails...
6
97
BOLTUN CORPORATION Automotive Screws, Bushes, Conical Washer Nuts...
CANATEX INDUSTRIAL CO., LTD. Nuts, Turning Parts, Bolts, Plastic Injection Parts...
凱壹
春雨
107
30
C
CHANG YI BOLT CO., LTD. 6 Cuts/ 8 Cuts Self Drilling Screws, A2 Cap Screws...
A-PLUS SCREWS INC. Chipboard Screws, Customized Special Screws / Bolts...
284
104
恒耀工業 88 保力德
116
達宇
DE HUI SCREW INDUSTRY CO., LTD. 德慧 Drywall Screws, Decking Screws, Self-drilling Screws, Roofing Screws... DELTEKS INDUSTRIES INC.
見承
Wheel Bolts, Bushes, Thread Forming Screws, All Kinds of Screws...
236
CHAN CHANGE MACHINERY CO., LTD. Screw Head Making Machines...
長薔
191
189
CHANG BING ENTERPRISE CO., LTD. Hook Bolts, Holders / Hooks / Rings, Dowel Screws...
彰濱
34
DICHA FASTENERS MFG 集財 Expansion Anchors, Sleeve Anchors, Nylon Nail Anchors... DIN LING CORP. Chipboard Screws, Drywall Screws, Furniture Screws...
登琳
D
E
F
48
DRA-GOON FASTENERS INC. Chipboard Screws, Phillips Head Screws, TEK Screws...
丞曜
86
DUNFA INTERNATIONAL CO., LTD. 敦發 Bushes, Spacers, Automotive Parts, Tubes, Turning Parts...
F
247 78
FRATOM FASTECH CO., LTD. 福敦 Hot Forming Tools, Punches & Sleeves, Dies, Machinery Accssories... FU HUI SCREW INDUSTRY CO., LTD. Automotive & Motorcycle Special Screws / Bolts...
福輝
147
FU KAI FASTENER ENTERPRISE CO., LTD. 福凱 Precision Electronic Screws, Special Screws, Weld Screws...
112
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...
204 FAITHFUL ENGINEERING PRODUCTS CO., LTD. 誠毅 Anchors, Box Nails, Door/Window Accessories...
GINFA WORLD CO., LTD. 濟音發 Chipboard Screws, Countersunk Screws, Drywall Screws...
225
FALCON FASTENER CO., LTD. Automotive & Motorcycle Special Screws / Bolts...
鉮達
GREENSLADE & COMPANY, INC. (U.S.A.) Concentricity, Ring Gage, Plug Gage Calibration, Gages...
149
FANG SHENG SCREW CO., LTD. Shoulder Bolts, Button Head Socket Cap Screws..
芳生
GROWERMETAL S.P.A (Italy) Security Washers
238
FASTENER JAMHER TAIWAN INC. Automotive Nuts, Blind Nuts / Rivet Nuts, Bushings...
占賀
GWO LIAN MACHINERY INDUSTRY CO., LTD. 國聯 Handstand Type Wire Drawing Machines, Non-Stop Coilers...
249
國菱
FASTNET CORP. Dowel Pins, Flange Nuts, Weld Nuts, 4 Pronged T Nuts...
俊鉞
GWO LING MACHINERY CO., LTD. Thread Rolling Machines, Slotting Machines...
124
FILROX INDUSTRIAL CO., LTD. Blind Nuts / Rivet Nuts, Tee or T Nuts, Blind Rivets...
惠錄
111
HAO CHENG PLASTIC CO., LTD. PP Boxes, PET Jars, ABS Boxes, PC Boxes..
皓正
187
FIXI SRL. (Italy) Threaded Inserts
173
E.U.R.O.TEC GMBH (Germany) All Kinds of Screws, Bi-metal Self-drilling Screws...
128
EVEN LONG INTERNATIONAL CO., LTD. Collated Screw Guns, Collated Nails, Collated Screws...
連長
263
EXCEL COMPONENTS MFG CO., LTD. Turning Parts, CNC Parts, Forged and Stamped Parts...
鑫廣
51 63 2 58 54
66 118 39
G
H
健業
93
HARVILLE FASTENERS LTD. 豪威爾 Special Screws and Bolts, Sems Screws, Stainless Steel Fasteners...
FONG PREAN INDUSTRIAL CO., LTD. 豐鵬 Automotive Screws, Bi-metal Screws, Brass & Bronze Screws...
140
HAUR FUNG ENTERPRISE CO., LTD. 豪舫 External Tooth Washers, Long Carriage Bolts, Roofing Bolts...
FONG WUNS CO., LTD. Flange Nuts, Stainless Steel Nuts, Special Parts...
鋒汶
194
HEADER PLAN CO. INC. Chipboard Screws, Collated Screws, Deck Screws...
FORTUNE BRIGHT INDUSTRIAL CO., LTD. Cap Nuts, Dome Nuts, Nylon Cap Insert Lock Nuts...
鋒沐
138
HOMEYU FASTENERS CO., LTD. new 宏宇 Cold Forging Stage, Machine Molds, Lathe, CNC Machining...
Advertisers Index H
162
HOPLITE INDUSTRY CO., LTD. 合利 Bushings, Prevailing Torque Nuts, PT Screws, Roofing Screws...
46
HSIN JUI HARDWARE ENTERPRISE CO., LTD. 欣瑞 Bushes, Construction Bolts, Special Cold / Hot Forming Parts...
213
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
153
HUANG JING INDUSTRIAL CO., LTD. Custom Washers, Chipboard Screws, Drywall Screws...
皇晉
131
HWEI NEN CO., LTD. Automotive & Motorcycle Special Screws / Bolts...
輝能
45
I J
235
10 64
J.C. GRAND CORPORATION All Kinds of Screws, Chipboard Screws...
171
KLIMAS (Poland) Timber Construction Screws
205
KUO CHEN MOLD CO., LTD. Self-Drilling Dies
國鎮
KWANTEX RESEARCH INC. Chipboard Screws, Drywall Screws, Furniture Screws...
寬仕
76
L
英飛凌
126
L & W FASTENERS COMPANY Construction Fasteners, Flat Washers, Heavy Nuts...
206
LIAN CHUAN SHING INTERNATIONAL 連全興 Weld Nuts, Special Parts, Special Washers, Flat Washers...
287
LIAN SHYANG INDUSTRIES CO., LTD. Nut Formers, Nut Tapping Machines
255
LIAN TENG MACHINERY INDUSTRY CO., LTD. 聯騰 Cold Headers, Self-drilling Screw Forming Machines...
135
LIN YU ENTERPRISE CO., LTD. Custom Thru-hole Parts, Coupling Nuts, Bushings...
296
LINKWELL INDUSTRY CO., LTD. 順承 All Kinds of Screws, Automotive & Motorcycle Special Screws...
俊良
JAU YEOU INDUSTRY CO., LTD. 朝友 Chipboard Screws, Drywall Screws, High Low Thread Screws...
金大鼎
連翔
林裕
12
LOCKSURE INC. Custom Washers, Flat Washers, Automotive Screws...
今湛
89
MAC PRECISION HARDWARE CO. Turning Parts, Precision Metal Parts, Cold Forged Nuts...
鑫瑞
134
MACRO FASTENERS CORP. Multi-Station Screws, Nuts, Washers, Furniture Screws...
宏觀
金達
55
MASTER UNITED CORP. Chipboard Screws, Drywall Screws, Furniture Screws...
永傑
132
JINGFONG INDUSTRY CO., LTD. 璟鋒 Hex Nylon Insert Lock Nuts, Wing Nuts with Nylon Insert...
260
211
JIN-YINGS ENTERPRISE CO., LTD. 晉營 Special Custom Fasteners, Auto/Motorcycle Fasteners, Special Screws…
20
167
JOINTECH FASTENERS INDUSTRIAL CO., LTD. 群創 Customized Parts, Bolts, Screws, Nuts, Automotive Parts...
230
MING TANG MACHINERY CO., LTD. (WEN YANG) 玟暘 Screw Head Making Machines, Bolt Parts Former...
JOKER INDUSTRIAL CO., LTD. Hollow Wall Anchors, Concrete Screws, Jack Nuts...
127
MOUNTFASCO INC. 崎鈺 All Kinds of Screws, Alloy Steel Screws, Automotive Screws...
102
NCG TOOLS INDUSTRY CO., LTD. Tools for Fastening Anchors, Blind Nuts / Rivet Nuts...
292
JERN YAO ENTERPRISES CO., LTD. Multi-station Cold Forming, Parts Forming Machines...
正曜
27
JET FAST COMPANY LIMITED Blind Nuts / Rivet Nuts, Aircraft & Aerospace Washers...
捷禾
101 41
19
K
INFINIX PRECISION CORP. Customized Punches and Dies
K
M
JIEN KUEN ENTERPRISE CO., LTD. 健坤 Hexagon Nuts, Nylon Cap Insert Lock Nuts, Square Nuts... JIN TA TRADING CO., LTD. Special Nuts
久可
N
MAUDLE INDUSTRIAL CO., LTD. 茂異 Button Head Socket Cap Screws, Flange Washer Head Screws... MIN HWEI ENTERPRISE CO., LTD. Button Head Socket Cap Screws, Chipboard Screws...
明徽
155
KAN GOOD ENTERPRISE CO., LTD. 鋼固 Fastener, Hardware, Plastic, Instruction Booklet Package in Bags...
114
KATSUHANA FASTENERS CORP. Collated Screws, Drywall Screws, Roofing Screws...
濱井
50
259
KEIUI INTERNATIONAL CO., LTD. Self-drilling Screw Forming Machines
鎧渝
199
NISSEI CO., LTD. (Japan) Powerful Lock Bolt, Anti-Loosing Double-Nut Bolts
KING CENTURY GROUP CO., LTD. Drop-in Anchors, Self-drilling Anchors, Sleeve Anchors...
慶宇
117
NOVA. FASTENER CO., LTD. 鑫星 Hexagon Nuts, Square Nuts, Wood Screws, Chipboard Screws...
92
昶彰
ND INDUSTRIES ASIA INC. 穩得 ND Pre-Applied Processes, Advanced Sealing Technologies...
P
185
PAKWELL GROUP Bi-metal Screws, Stainless Steel Screws
開懋
PENGTEH INDUSTRIAL CO., LTD. SEMs Screws, Special Screws, Binder Screws, PT Screws...
241
POINTMASTER MACHINERY CO., LTD. Self-drilling Screw Forming Machines...
280
SHANGHAI FAST-FIX RIVET CORP. Blind Rivets, High Shear Rivets, Closed End Rivets...
彭特
158
SHEH FUNG SCREWS CO., LTD. Chipboard Screws, Countersunk Screws, Wood Screws...
世豐
昶詠
160
SHEH KAI PRECISION CO., LTD. Bi-metal Concrete Screw Anchors, Bi-metal Screws...
世鎧
129
PPG INDUSTRIES INTERNATIONAL INC. 美商必丕志 Chromium-free Coating, ED Coating...
120
SHEN CHOU FASTENERS INDUSTRIAL CO., LTD.神洲 Button Head Cap Screws, Chipboard Screws...
261
PRO POWER CO., LTD. All Kinds of Screws & Bolts...
40
91 125
Q R
S
49
14 115
鉑川
32
PRO-VISA (LIN) INT'L CORP. 佾鼎 Self-drilling Screws, Stainless Steel Screws, Furniture Screws...
168
SHIN CHUN ENTERPRISE CO., LTD. 昕群 Automotive Screws, Chipboard Screws, Customized Screws...
PS FASTENERS PTE LTD. (Singapore) Washers, Socket Set Screws, U Bolts, Alloy Steel Screws...
139
SHIN JAAN WORKS CO., LTD. 新展 Flanged Head Bolts, Long Carriage Bolts, Round Head Bolts...
123
SHUENN CHANG FA ENTERPRISE CO., LTD. 舜倡發 Long Screws, Concrete Screws, Machine Screws...
130
SIN HONG HARDWARE PTE. LTD. (Singapore) 新豐 Hexagon Nuts, Hexagon Head Bolts, Blind Rivets...
141
SOURCING SOLUTIONS FASTENERS new 優德 Concrete Screws, Wood Construction Screws, Decking Screws...
汎昇
QST INTERNATIONAL CORP. 恒耀國際 Hexagon Head Bolts, Square Head Bolts, Weld Bolts (Studs)...
REXLEN CORP. Clinch Nuts, Clinch Studs, CNC Parts, Stamped Parts...
連宜
24
RMZ AUSTRIA Bolts, Nuts, Nails, Screws, Collated Nails...
8
S
4 59 289
SAN SHING FASTECH CORP. Automotive Nuts, Automotive Parts, Carbide Dies...
三星
SCREWTECH INDUSTRY CO., LTD. Machined Parts, Thumb Screws, Micro Screws...
銳禾
SEN CHANG INDUSTRIAL CO., LTD. 昇錩 Customized Special Screws / Bolts, Socket Head Cap Screws...
SHIH HSANG YWA INDUSTRIAL CO., LTD. Flange Nuts, Flange Nylon Nuts With Washers...
飛可斯
新倡發
SPEC PRODUCTS CORP. Lincensee Fasteners, Turned/Machined Parts...
友鋮
SPECIAL RIVETS CORP. Blind Nuts / Rivet Nuts, Blind Rivets, Air Riveters...
恆昭
214
STRONG JOHNNY INTERNATIONAL CO., LTD. 駿愷 Automotive & Special Parts, Cold-Forged Fasteners...
18
SUN CHEN FASTENERS INC. 展鴻鑫 Cup Washers, Flanged Head Bolts, T-head or T-slot Bolts...
253
SUN FAME MANUFACTURING CO., LTD. 商匯 Shank Slotting Machines, Screw Point Cutting Machine...
Advertisers Index S
175 44 105
T
136 203 119 98 183 16
T
SUNCO INDUSTRIES CO., LTD. (Japan) Distributors Specializing in Fasteners
143
TONG HO SHING INTERNATIONAL CO.,LTD. 桐和興 Hex Washer Head Screws, Indent Hex Head Screws...
SUPER DPD CO., LTD. 三御 All Kinds of Screws, Bi-metal Screws, Carbon Steel Screws...
22
TONG HWEI ENTERPRISE CO., LTD. A2 Cap Screws, Button Head Socket Cap Screws...
東徽
SUPERIOR QUALITY FASTENER CO., LTD. Weld Nuts, Turning Parts, Long Screws, Spring Nuts...
53
TONG MING ENTERPRISE CO., LTD. Stainless Steel Fasteners, Wire Rods…
東明
258
東鈁
TAIWAN FASTENERS INTEGRATED SERVICE 全聯鑫 Bolts, Screws, Nuts, Precise Mechanical Parts, Stampings...
TUNG FANG ACCURACY CO., LTD. Carbide Pins, Carbide Dies, Polygon R-type Punches...
106
采凡
TAIWAN NYLON WASHER CO., LTD. 東佑典 Rubber Washers, Silicone Washers, Plasterboard Nails...
TSAE FARN SCREWS HARDWARE CO., LTD. 2 Cap Screws, Aircraft Nails, All Kinds of Screws...
144
TSIN YING METAL INDUSTRY CO., LTD. 晉英 Stainless Steel Cold Heading Wire, Oxalate Coating Wire...
243
UNITAPPING CO., LTD. Dual-Spindle Automatic Tapping Machine
223
UNIVERSAL PRECISION SCREWS (India) Dowel Pin and Shoulder Bolts...
鑫程椿
TAIWAN PRECISION FASTENER CO., LTD. Drywall Screws, Wood Construction Screws, Roofing Screws... TAIWAN SELF-LOCKING FASTENERS IND. 台灣耐落 Nylok®, Precote®, Nycote®, Nyplas®, Loctite®... TANG AN ENTERPRISE CO., LTD. Customized Automotive Parts and Special Fasteners
鏜安
THREAD INDUSTRIAL CO., LTD. Chipboard Screws, Flange Nuts, Heavy Nuts...
英德
254
TICHO INDUSTRIES CO., LTD. 帝潮 Nail Making Machine, Self-drilling Screw Forming Machine...
142
TINA FASTENER CO., LTD. 金榮達 Sems Screws, Weld Screws, Automotive Screws, Nuts...
U
欣曜
V
47
VERTEX PRECISION INDUSTRIAL CORP. 緯紘 6 Cuts/ 8 Cuts Self Drilling Screws, Barrel Nuts, Cap Screws...
W
188
WAN IUAN ENTERPRISE CO., LTD. 萬淵 Punches/Dies of Various Nuts, Screws, Sleeves and Socket Boxes
52
TONG HEER FASTENERS (THAILAND) CO., LTD. Hex Bolts, Stud Bolts, Socket Cap Screws, Hex Nuts...
60
WE POWER INDUSTRY CO., LTD. Chipboard Screws, Concrete Screws, Drywall Screws...
52
TONG HEER FASTENERS CO., SDN. BHD (Malaysia) Stainless Steel Metric Screws, Stainless Steel Screws…
81
WINLINK FASTENERS CO., LTD. 岡山東穎 Stainless Steel Screws, Flange Bolts, Security Bolts, SEMS Screws...
威力寶
Machines & Equipment 機械暨周邊設備區
W Y
28
286 36 100 94 290 62
Z
151
WYSER INTERNATIONAL CORP. Open-Die Parts, Automotive Parts... YESWIN MACHINERY CO., LTD. Bolt Formers, Multi-station Cold Forming Machines...
緯聯
友信
234
BIING FENG ENTERPRISE CO., LTD.
秉鋒
236
CHAN CHANGE MACHINERY CO., LTD.
長薔
177
CHAO JING PRECISE MACHINES ENTERPRISE
朝璟
244
CHEN TAI FASTENER MACHINE CO., LTD.
成太
232
CHIEN TSAI MACHINERY ENTERPRISE CO., LTD. 鍵財
251
CHING CHAN OPTICAL TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD. 精湛
YI CHUN ENTERPRISE CO., LTD. 誼峻 Cap Screws, Socket Set Screws, Cage Nuts, Automotive Parts...
257
CHUN KAI MACHINERY CO., LTD.
駿凱
228
CHUN ZU MACHINERY INDUSTRY CO., LTD.
春日
YI HUNG WASHER CO., LTD. Rubber Washers, Plastic Screws, Custom Washers...
256
DAH-LIAN MACHINE CO., LTD.
大連
225
GREENSLADE & COMPANY, INC.
238
GWO LIAN MACHINERY INDUSTRY CO., LTD.
國聯
249
GWO LING MACHINERY CO., LTD.
國菱
292
JERN YAO ENTERPRISES CO., LTD.
正曜
259
KEIUI INTERNATIONAL CO., LTD.
鎧渝
287
LIAN SHYANG INDUSTRIES CO., LTD.
連翔
255
LIAN TENG MACHINERY INDUSTRY CO., LTD.
聯騰
230
MING TANG MACHINERY CO., LTD. (WEN YANG) 玟暘
199
NISSEI CO., LTD.
YING MING INDUSTRY CO., LTD. Automotive & Motorcycle Special Screws / Bolts...
益弘 穎明
YOW CHERN CO., LTD. 侑城 Flanged Head Bolts, Chipboard Screws, Floorboard Screws... YUH CHYANG HARDWARE INDUSTRIAL Automotive & Motorcycle Special Screws / Bolts...
鈺強
Z & D PLATING CO., LTD. 瑞達信 Precision Barrel Plating Finishes, Zinc & Zinc-Nickel Alloy...
Exhibitions
241
POINTMASTER MACHINERY CO., LTD.
昶詠
253
SUN FAME MANUFACTURING CO., LTD.
商匯
254
TICHO INDUSTRIES CO., LTD.
帝潮
243
UNITAPPING CO., LTD.
欣曜
286
YESWIN MACHINERY CO., LTD.
151
Z & D PLATING CO., LTD.
Tooling / Dies
展覽
友信 瑞達信
工 / 模具區
166
PROJECT QATAR 2022
247
FRATOM FASTECH CO., LTD.
福敦
184
MTA VIETNAM 2022
233
GIAN-YEH INDUSTRIAL CO., LTD.
健業
279
MANUFACTURING EXPO 2022 (Thailand)
235
INFINIX PRECISION CORP.
282
VIETNAM WOOD 2022
205
KUO CHEN MOLD CO., LTD.
國鎮
283
FASTENER EXPO SHANGHAI 2022
258
TUNG FANG ACCURACY CO., LTD.
東鈁
288
MACHINE TOOLS & HARDWARE ASIA
188
WAN IUAN ENTERPRISE CO., LTD.
萬淵
英飛凌
078 Fastener World no.194/2022
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080 Fastener World no.194/2022
081 Fastener World no.194/2022
Cover Story
ALWAYS WITH A CONSTANT SERIES OF INNOVATIONS With more than 25 years of experience in the field of fastening systems, Ambrovit is now one of the most important Italian and European distributors, in a market that presents a series of future challenges in front of which the company based in Garlasco is ready with a constant series of innovations. The company philosophy is based on continuous research, quality and change of different commercial and communication logics. To be more efficient for its customers, Ambrovit has invested in growth, constantly renewing its structures.
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Ambrovit’s strong point is the logistics and storage facility that is able to store over 44,000 pallets and to manage 6,000 picking lines per day. These numbers allow us to have every product requested by customers constantly available, allowing a rapid preparation of orders and an equally rapid delivery with prompt satisfaction of the order. Our attention is constantly focused on order preparation processes so that they are faster, more accurate and delivered quicker. Ambrovit boasts a renewed and enlarged paper and electronic catalogue, with more than 12,000 articles ready for delivery.
Cover Story Among the most significant recent additions we recorded the expansion of the family of concrete screws, rivets, and there are other coming news. In addition to this important availability of products in the catalogue, there is, as a strong point, an accurate quality control of the marketed products that, where possible, are equipped with CE marking, DoP and UNI, DIN and ISO certifications. Finally, from 2016 Ambrovit has obtained the ETA certification for all the carpentry screws. The ETA (European Technical Assessment) is a certification that contains all the main characteristics and performance of a construction product. Also, the always renewed interactive catalogue
www.catalog.ambrovit.it/ is now an important working tool for Ambrovit customers, who can find all the technical information and product types. Realized in a
clear and easy-to-consult way, it is a fundamental tool for work and sales. The company, always focused on the customer’s needs, now has a greater number of packages in order to satisfy the widest possible range of orders, with attention to those who are looking for smaller packaging. Despite the terrible drama of recent years, new or forgotten synergies, especially in interpersonal relationships, have come back to have a value in the whole market chain of our sector, and among them, an even closer human and professional collaboration with our customers. Values that have contributed to continue our activities in the best possible way.
As a positive fact, we can say that we have been able to continue our already planned development programs such as the increase of automation lines aimed at an even greater speed in processing orders and consequently a faster delivery of products. Our goal is to continue with all the activities already in place for our customers trying if ever to improve where possible. Ambrovit hopes to be able to resume soon its participation in the major world fairs of screws, bolts and fastening systems as these events, in addition to representing an important showcase of prestige, allow the participants an intense exchange of ideas and the best point of observation for future developments.
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by Dean Tseng, Fastener World
Association
TFTA Holds Seminar on Impact of Russia-Ukraine War Members call for the government to help resolve shipment and finance obstacles
The Russia-Ukraine War shakes the world with the U.S., Europe and Japan sanctioning Russian state-run banks and restricting Russian payment flow. Taiwan exported USD 5.32 billion worth of fasteners to the world in 2021. The export to Russia was USD 38.24 million (taking up 0.72%), and the export to Ukraine was USD 4.065 million (0.07%). Although Russia and Ukraine totaled 0.79% in shares, the sanction ramping up thus far has first impacted Taiwanese fastener companies trading with the two nations. Taiwan sells fasteners to the whole world. The impact from the Russia-Ukraine War is global and all-inclusive, so the future is filled with an unknown ripple effect. In light of the impact, Taiwan Fastener Trading Association (TFTA) held a seminar on the impact of Russia-Ukraine War on March 16, inviting specialist Ms. Wu from Small and Medium Enterprise Administration and Grace Chou from TAITRA Tainan Office to discuss with TFTA members their top obstacles in “shipment”, “payment collection” and “financing”. TFTA chairman Josh Chen said he received reports from many members lately who claimed they were not able to collect the money, ship out the products, or that the cargo can’t reach the destination. He said they were left with China as the only viable route to ship products, and therefore he is very concerned with the serious impact from the Russia-Ukraine War. TFTA Vice chairman Mr. Chen Chi-Hung suggested that TAITRA should sync up information with its local offices in Russia and Ukraine to provide fastener companies with case-by-case consultation. Former chairman Jimmy Chang said he observed that container companies are no longer handling ships headed for Russia and Ukraine. He suggested to ship products into Russia through Dalian City of China or Lithuania. Additionally, he said he has a Russian client who made payments via China’s “Crossborder RMB Payment System” Former chairman David Horng said the government’s solutions are often far from reflecting the reality. He said the government should reflect the obstacles faced by the companies and lower the bars. Furthermore, to cope with unexpected risks from the war, the government's solutions should include “risk funds” covered by the government.
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(Left to right) Former chairman Jimmy Chang, incumbent chairman Josh Chen, and incumbent vice chairman Chen Chi-Hung
Former chairman Bill Chen sha red his trade experience to remind that Russia and Ukraine are free f rom A D t a xes be cause they are not in the EU but China’s products in the EU region are cheaper and more competitive than Taiwan’s. It is di f f icult to collect deposits a nd Taiwa nese companies have to set the payment deadline to at least 90 days later to be able to strike a business deal and compete with China. Moreover, there is an obstacle in shipment as well. Ports of Odessa and Petersburg are sealed off due to the war. Trying to go through Port of Vladivostok will probably be met with congestion. Regarding the obstacle in payment collection, he suggested to ask Russian clients if they could pay in RMB. On market, he suggested to tap into Polish furniture market and Turkish market to cope with the war. Unistrong Industrial president Mr. Chen Chun-Ding pointed out that the top obstacle for the companies now is that their cargoes are stuck and they can’t ship out products. He suggested that the government should first think about how to help them ship out the products. In addition, we should look further after the war. President Chen is optimistic about the post-war re-construction market and the business opportunities with the Polish market.
Unistrong Industrial Bufab (Taiwan) President Managing Director Chen Chun-Ding Jannus Lin
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Advanced Global Sourcing G.M. Andes Wang
Managing Director Jannus Lin of the Taiwan branch of Bufab said she has many Russian clients. She called for the government which joins the sanction on Russia out of justice to not forget that the fastener companies are the ones bearing the brunt of obstacles and not forget how they feel. General manager Andes Wang and Ms. Vicky Lee from Advanced Global Sourcing that said in the meeting they also met obstacles in collecting payments. They suggested that the government and companies should be farsighted and keep a close watch on if the war will affect the fluctuations of Euro. Grace Chou of TAITRA responded that TAITRA forecast that Euro is supposed to keep depreciating and TAITRA will continue to observe and study recent Euro fluctuations. TAITRA Specialist Ms. Wu said she had invited TAITRA, The Export-Import Bank of the ROC, and the authorities for credit guarantee fund to convene on March 1 for a solution. Currently they have come up with a “Speedy Service Center” mainly providing SMEs with consultation on finance and payment. Furthermore, Wu added that if companies need help with working funds and purchase orders, they can use the credit guarantee fund and collaborate with banks. The funds provide a quota of NTD 150 million. If a company’s revenue drops by over 15%, it can skip being taken the guarantee fee. In regard with obstacles the companies met with in shipment, the Maritime Port Bureau arranged a discussion about shipment issues during the war on March 18. From the current situation (up to the date of the seminar), Russia has yet to put a sanction on any Taiwanese fastener products. Besides the credit guarantee fund, MOEA planned another solution with a lower threshold specifically for shipments to Russia and Ukraine which came out in April. The latest update was notified to TFTA and its members.
TAITRA Tainan Office Director Grace Chou
SME Administration specialist Ms. Wu
Feng Yi Titanium Mr. Zhang Xiang-Lun Fasteners G.M. of Vertex Precision Kern Hsiung Huang Industrial
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Industry Focus
Taiwan’s 2021 Fastener Export Shows a YoY Growth
18.03%
by Gang Hao Chang, Vice Editor-in-Chief of Fastener World
4 Major Categories Show 2-Digit Growth in Volume and Price Taiwanese fastener industry saw an explosive growth in orders in 2021 and its export performance appeared a significant growth from the same period in the previous year. The export volumes of its major categories including wood screws, self-tapping screws, bolts, and nuts all revealed 2-digit growths. Nuts, in particular, showed the highest growth of 31.52%; both wood screws and self-tapping screws showed a growth of nearly 20%; bolts also went up by over 10%. In terms of average prices, the growth of bolts was up to 15.10%; other self-tapping screws, wood screws, and nuts showed growths of 14.17%, 10.08%, and 9.11%, respectively, with the growth of the avg. unit price being 13.66%. According to the statistics, in the full year of 2021 Taiwanese fastener companies exported around 1.677 million tons to the world, with a YoY increase of 18.03%.
Taiwan Had Nearly 50% of Fasteners Exported to the U.S. While European Fastener Demand Increased Sharply The U.S., Germany, the Netherlands, Japan, and UK remained the top five destined countries of Taiwan’s fastener export, with nearly 45% being exported to the U.S. (around 0.75 million tons at the avg. price of USD 3.18 per KG). On the other hand, Germany and the Netherlands were the main gates for Taiwan’s fastener entry into European market. Germany and the Netherlands represented 13.91% of Taiwan’s total fastener export (around 0.23 million tons). Compared to the same period of last year, in addition to U.S. growth of 14.76%, Germany and the Netherlands revealed growths of 20.30% and 36.82% respectively. The growth of UK, which has withdrawn from the EU, showed the most significant growth margin at 45.39%.
Continuous Growth in Export Volumes and Reaching a New High in Q4 2021 Over the past 3 years, Taiwan exported around 0.3-0.4 million tons of fasteners to the world every quarter. In 2019, Taiwan’s export started to decline quarter after quarter, but after declining to the level below 0.3 million tons it started to rebound. After Q1 2021 it started to appear continuous growth and reached a 3-year new high in Q4 2021, which was an increase from 0.376 million tons in Q1 2021 to 0.398 million tons in Q4 2021 (a quarterly increase of 1.24% and an annual increase of 15.12%).
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Wire Rod Import Showed an Annual Growth of 59%; Low Carbon/Alloy Steel Took the Lion’s Share In addition to wire rod supply from Taiwan CSC, Taiwanese manufacturers also imported wire rod from overseas. In Q1 2021, Taiwan’s wire rod import showed a sudden and sharp increase, but it dropped to the normal level after Q2. According to the statistics, Taiwan’s total wire rod import in 2021 reached 0.815 million tons. Major import items and shares were: low carbon steel (56%), alloy steel (28%), cold forged materials (7%), high carbon steel (5%), medium carbon steel (2%), and quick cutting steel (2%). Compared to the same period of 2020, the import volume of alloy steel surged by nearly 100% while the import volume of low carbon steel also increased by over 50%. Major import origins and shares were: India (23%), S. Korea (17%), Vietnam (15%), Japan (10%), Russia (8%), and UK (7%). In the currently imbalanced situation between the supply and the demand, the import of wire rod will be favorable to make up for the insufficient capacity of Taiwan CSC.
Recovery of Global Industries Remains Strong; Fastener Demand is Expectable In Jan. 2022, Taiwan’s total export value reached US$ 58.87 bn, an annual growth of 11.7%. The annual growth rate of basic metallic products even rose to 36.1%. Many domestic and overseas authoritative units (e.g., DGBAS, CIER, TIER, IMF, ADB, HIS Markit) have also forecast that Taiwan’s GDP in 2022 will remain at least above 3%, showing their optimistic attitude toward the development of Taiwanese industries. The International Economic Development Index for Jan. 2022 Taiwan’s National Development Council published also revealed that Taiwan’s economy was in the phase of “stable and healthy growth (yellow to red light)”. In addition, U.S. DoC’s released documents also showed that the number of housing starts in the U.S. in Jan. 2022 was better than those in the same periods of the previous 3 years. U.S. housing starts in Jan. 2022 reached more than 1.6 million units. For Taiwanese fastener suppliers exporting nearly 50% of their products to the U.S., it is expected that they will be significantly benefited. In light of related indices and global industrial development trends, fastener demand may keep a growing trend for a really long time. (Data sources: Taiwan CSC, NDC, U.S. DoC, Taiwan Customs, TIFI)
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Industry Focus
Surging Int’l Steel Price Gives Fastener Suppliers a Difficult Time Sustaining Normal Operation
by Gang Hao Chang, Vice Editor-in-Chief of Fastener World
Due to a drastic increase in industrial demands, the influence on suppliers’ capacities amid Russia-Ukraine War, price fluctuations of int’l iron ore, and hiking price of hard coking coal, the int’l steel prices have been increasing for several months, which has also made the material prices for downstream steel users continue to go up.
Chinese Steel Market
European Steel Market
According to the statistics of China’s National Bureau of Statistics, the annual crude steel production of China in 2021 reached 1.03 bn tons, down 2.9% from the same period of last year. After May 2021, the crude steel production of China continued to decline month after month, while the same period ratios, compared to the previous year, also started to drop after July 2021 (with the decline margin becoming larger and larger). Then, after Dec. 2021, the production started to rise back. The current avg. market price of hot-rolled steel products in China lands at around US$ 723 per ton.
The curve pattern of European steel prices is similar to that of U.S. steel prices. It went down to a low point roughly in mid-2020 and suddenly hiked to US$1,191 per ton within one year. Then, it again dropped to the level of around US$800 per ton within 6 months and started to rebound. The main reason is: Since 01/01/2022, the agreement on steel and aluminum taxes between the U.S. and Europe has officially come into force. On the other hand, increasing global energy prices, carbon neutrality, Russian-Ukraine War greatly impacting semi-finished products supply, and stable growth of European end-users’ demand, have continuously pushed the steel prices upward. The current avg. market price of hot-rolled steel products in Europe is in the range of US$1,000-1,100 per ton.
U.S. Steel Market The avg. price of hot-rolled steel products in the U.S. reached a new low at US$493 in Aug. 2020. Within just one year, it quickly rose to US$2,163 and dropped back again to the level of around US$1,000 within just 6 months. However, as the U.S. has successively reached agreements on the issues about steel and aluminum taxes with Europe, Japan, and many other countries, domestic U.S. steel plants have also gradually increased their production, plus inflation, Russia-Ukraine War, the upcoming high season (April) for U.S. construction industry, the 1.3 trillion US Infrastructure Bill officially approved by the Senate and the House of Representatives, and many other favorable factors, U.S. steel market has appeared a rebound from the lowest bottom. The current avg. market price of hot-rolled steel products in the U.S. is US$1,120 per ton.
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Southeast Asian (Vietnamese) Steel Market The curve pattern of steel prices of Vietnam (one of the main hot-rolled steel products manufacturing heartlands in Southeast Asia) is similar to those of Europe and the U.S. as well. In around mid-2020 it appeared a great and sharp growing curve and grew from US$400 per ton to the highest US$1,050 within just one year (almost close to the quote of Europe), and then dropped again to US$770. Benefited by the gradually loosened pandemic control measures in many Southeast Asian countries for boosting economic development, the production resumption of downstream steel using industries, and the increasing quotes for exported items due to the policy of limited production in China, the steel prices of Vietnam are also expected to continuously increase. The current avg. market price of hot-rolled steel products in Vietnam is US$855 per ton.
Summary To generalize various factors that may impact steel prices and the current strongly supported steel prices in different regional markets, it is expected that the steel prices in China, Europe, the U.S., and Southeast Asia will continue to grow. In mid-March this year, Taiwan’s China Steel Corp. (CSC) also announced that its price adjustment for fastener-related wire (low carbon/medium-to-high carbon/cold forged/low alloy) was +2,200 NTD per ton and the avg. price adjustment margin was +5.83%. If the trend of “the demand greater than the supply” remains unchanged, Russia-Ukraine War continues to force materials-related producers to reduce or halt production, and the situations like blocked int’l shipment routes and port congestion continue to exist, in the short term the high wire rod cost will still be a tough issue that downstream fastener companies have to deal with.
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ld or W r ne 22 ste , 20 a F 21 by pril d ile n A m p ed o o C at d Up
Financial Reports
of Fastener Companies U.S.A. (USD)
Europe
(EUR)
(EUR)
(CHF)
(EUR)
S. Korea (KRW)
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Monetary unit in millions Financial Year
Net Sales
Gross Profit
Operating Income
Pre-tax Income (Loss)
Net Income (Loss)
2021
33,974,558
6,465,902
---
1,414,472
1,113,472
2020
27,590,653
4,915,202
---
65,450
50,450
Change (%)
+23.1
+31.5
---
+20.6
+ 2,100
2021
1,425.967
---
10.314
(50.116)
(38.332)
2020
1,368.295
---
65.766
(33.938)
(24.499)
Change (%)
+4.2
---
-84.3
---
---
Financial Year
Sales
Operating Profit (Loss)
Net Profit (Loss)
2021
1,163.897
55.862
44.048
2020
1,229.958
(28.109)
(37.321)
Change (%)
-5.3
---
---
Financial Year
Revenue
Net Profit
Net Income
2021
1,091.9
56.1
---
2020
952.2
5.5
---
Change (%)
+14.6
+920
---
2021
1,897.3
298.6
248.0
2020
1,707.1
225.3
184.8
Change (%)
+11.1
+32.5
+34.1
2021
942.8
---
35.9
2020
869.7
---
20.8
Change (%)
+8.4
---
+72.5
Financial Year
Sales
Operating Profit (Loss)
Net Profit (Loss)
2021
297,669
1,761
(13,965)
2020
271,507
(2,437)
(15,677)
Change (%)
+9.6
---
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2021 vs. 2020 Total Assets 31,766,258 vs. 31,238,071 2,562.922 vs. 2,468.618
2021 vs. 2020 Total Assets 1,924.401 vs. 1,859.324 2021 vs. 2020 Total Assets 1,498.2 vs. 1,414.7
1,839.1 vs. 1,684.1
1,289.4 vs. 1,214.4
2021 vs. 2020 Total Assets 355,940 vs. 364,552
45
23
23
25
45 25
8-
00
5 45
8-
00
48
48
5 45
48
8-
00
4
8-
00
8-
48
00
8-
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4
4
63
4
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64
7-
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64
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Industry Focus
Taiwan (NTD)
China (RMB)
156
Financial Year
Revenue
Gross Profit
Operating Profit (Loss)
Pre-tax Profit (Loss)
Net Profit (Loss)
2021
7,107.713
1,746.843
1,229.756
1,262.269
982.947
2020
5,072.643
1,020.442
657.363
759.817
601.536
Change (%)
+40.1
+71.1
+87.0
+66.1
+63.4
2021
1,426.205
166.088
(117.173)
(105.369)
(96.729)
2020
1,704.031
325.967
33.645
51.066
59.832
Change (%)
-16.3
-49.0
---
---
---
Financial Year
Revenue
Operating Profit
Pre-tax Profit
Net Profit
2021
393.970
86.099
86.261
75.864
2020
344.654
94.460
93.717
91.274
Change (%)
+14.3
-8.8
-7.9
-16.8
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2021 vs. 2020 Total Assets 8,385.910 vs. 7,720.904
4,305.727 vs. 4,390.290
2021 vs. 2020 Total Assets 355,940 vs. 364,552
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Editorial
Editorial by Gang Hao Chang, Vice Editor-in-Chief of Fastener World
Lockdowns in Shanghai Choke the Global Supply Chain / Manufacturing Faces Difficulties in Getting Materials All those chaos caused by the lockdowns in Shanghai this time have actually given many international leading companies an awakening blow. As Shanghai is one of the major shipment hubs for the global industrial supply chains, its satellite cities are where many manufacturers are located and it is deeply connected with various supply chains around the world. This wave of pandemic made many China-based foreign companies mandated by local authorities to stop manufacturing, and several overseas manufacturers relying heavily on the supply of raw materials and industrial components from China gradually faced the dilemmas of supply shortages in production (for example, some car manufacturers have to halt their production for at least a few weeks due to the lack of critical parts supply), which also fully
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Since the beginning of this April, the number of Covid-19 cases of the whole world seems to have risen again. Be it regional lockdowns in Shanghai or Beijing, the outburst of more than 10,0 0 0 Covid cases per day in Taiwanese community, or the current pandemic situation in the West, which is “sometimes good and sometimes bad,” all posed very big challenges to the global supply chain. As of April 29, the cumulative cases of Covid-19 around the world have broken the mark of 0.5 billion. The pandemic control measuresincurred manufacturing line stoppages, the terrible mess in international major transportation ports, surge in raw material pr ic e s c ause d by Rus sia - Uk r aine War w hic h has b e en launched for months, and shortages of material supply have all put the global industrial supply chain into a chaos. Although the fastener manufacturing hear tland in Southern Taiwan currently does not report a significant number of Covid cases yet and their capacities still maintain rather smooth operation, experts estimate that unless the viruses suddenly disappear one day, otherwise fastener suppliers and the global industries all have to gradually get used to live their lives in a world where the viruses are all around.
reveals the private worries that the industrial supply chain is currently relying too heavily on one single supply. To consider some external factors such as high shipment costs, long lead times, etc., “Purchasing locally” may be an alternative for buyers. For example, Ambrovit, Eurotec, Fixi, Sunco, Nissei, Beneri, and Klimas featured in this issue all have excellent technology and service to meet the instant demands of the fastener industry locally in the shortest time. To view from the perspectives of labor or the competitive edge of manufacturing costs, in addition to China, in the Far East there are also several other professional suppliers having excellent technology and the ability to provide products with stable performance/price ratios. Many Asian fastener manufacturing heartlands including Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam in Southeast Asia, India in South Asia, and even Japan and S. Korea in Northeast Asia all play their own critical roles in risk dispersion. In this issue,
Editorial Ye Fong offering high alloy wire, Cheng I Wire Machinery, Chen Tai Fastener Machine, Pointmaster Machinery, Ching Chan Optical Technology, Chao Jing Precise Machine and Asia Technical Services that can help manufacturing run smoother are all excellent examples of companies which can help customers keep good quality control and enhance their brand value. In addition to these companies, Fastener World Global Sourcing Web (www.fastener-world.com) provides tens of thousands of superior suppliers database anytime anywhere and can analyze buyers’ inquiries instantly to complete business matchmaking and help deal with the urgent demand of the manufacturing and supply chain in a quicker way.
Taiwanese Fastener Industry Faces a Smaller Impact from the Pandemic and Continues to Provide Support to Major Industrialized Countries
Taiwanese fastener industry is expected to continue to perform well. As Taiwan’s fasteners are mainly exported to the U.S. showing great domestic demand and European countries with booming high-end manufacturing, In addition to standard parts for basic industrial demands, higher value-added fasteners applied to the automotive and high-end industries and those more compliant with environmental regulations, customized and of high precision will gradually become the purchasing focus of European and U.S. buyers in the future and will be a direction to which Taiwanese fastener manufacturers should dedicate themselves when they plan to add product categories, establish new factories or extend their service range. As a result, they can leave their following competitors further behind as quickly as possible and continue to strive for more power of discourse in critical European and U.S. fastener demanding markets.
According to a newly released market report about the latest Taiwanese fastener export, in Jan. 2022 Taiwan exported over 150 thousand tons of fasteners to the whole world in a single month, up 16.35% from the same period of last year. If compared with the 4th quarter of 2021, it even grew 21.11%. The total export value reached around US$ 0.57 bn, up 41.09% from the same period of last year. If compared with the 4th quarter of 2021, it also grew 19.16%. The average unit price landed at US$ 3.69 per KG, which appeared a slight drop of 1.61% from the 4th quarter of 2021, but still showed a significant increase of 21.25% from the same period of last year. Taiwan’s fasteners were mainly shipped to the U.S., Germany, the Netherlands, Japan, UK, and many other major industrialized countries. The top 10 exported categories included: Other Screws and Bolts (7318159000), Self-tapping Screws (7318140000), Nuts (7318160000), Wood Screws (7318120000), Steel Nails (7317009010), Other Non-threaded Products (7318290000), Other Washers (7318220000), Other Threaded Products (7318190000), Rivets (7318230000), Pins and Cotter Pins (7318240000). In terms of volume or value, Taiwan’s fastener export maintained a significant growing trend and the unit price also grew 15-30% from the same period of last year. The situation of Fastener World no.194/2022
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Annual Special Column:
The Great European Market by Dean Tseng, Fastener World
I
n a time to coexist with the virus, the European economy is recovering with a burst of potential business opportunities. This is added with the war accelerating military and construction demand and a strong purchase demand for EV in Europe which are expected to increase fastener demand. This is the right time for Fastener World to put up a column dedicated to and interviewing select companies that are looking to sell to Europe, as well as local European companies with a reputation. Through their eyes, we will unveil the hidden gems in Europe’s business opportunity. Fastener World no.194/2022
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Europe Highlights
The “Proud to be Polish” Quality Fasteners Sweep Global Construction Market
Klimas Sp. z o.o. Starting off producing plastic elements in 1990 in Poland, Klimas evolved quickly into a manufacturer and designer of fasteners for the global construction industry, investing in unmatched product quality and top-class European equipment which meet the most demanding market expectations. Now a member of European Association for ETICS (External Thermal Insulation Composite System), the company is developing professional fastening systems for wall insulation in accordance with the requirements of ETICS. Its participation is particularly important in the age of ecological awareness and sustainable development. Klimas focused on developing the southern and eastern and then western European markets. It has operations in India, the Czech Republic and France, and its distribution network is expanding to Srilanka, Bangladesh, Oman, Qatar among others. “Today we can confidently say we are a global supplier of fastening techniques, and we are further expanding production facilities.”
Innovative 40%-time-saving Carpentry Screws in the Making Currently the company’s R&D is locked on a group of wood products that play a big role in the development of sustainable wooden construction. “We have a vast portfolio of wood fasteners including construction screws and distance screws which have excellent durability, aesthetics, ergonomics, safety, and save your time. We have developed a new milling tip which, thanks to the additional thread turns, significantly reduces the resistance to screwing and easily cuts through wood fibers. Our ETA certified wood screws with this specially shaped milling tip allow you to work without pre-drilling, even with larger diameter screws. The additional cutting notches responsible for cutting the fibers in combination with the new milling tip reduce the resistance and speed up the screwing process by up to 40%.”
Minimized Dependence on a Single Supply Chain, a Must Amid Global Uncertainty Producing in its own factories in Poland and not depending on external suppliers, Klimas is hardly affected by the AD tax on China’s fasteners and can maintain its price level. When Russia attacks Ukraine, the fact that both countries are large producers and exporters of raw materials has disrupted many industry activities. “Our strategy of minimizing dependence on a single supply chain allows us to be highly flexible and adaptable to changing conditions. This is also facilitated by the global nature of our business and logistics based on digital tools, and thus results in our successively opening offices.” The company predicts that transformation to saving energy and low-carbonemission materials dictates the future. “We are seeing enormous progress in technologies for thermal renovation of buildings such as ETICS insulation systems, as well as wood construction technology meeting the criteria of sustainable construction. In our products we implement new anti-corrosion SQ Ceramic Coatings instead of zinc coating. We use electro-economical injection molding machines and hardening furnaces from which we recover heat, as well as electrostatic and cartridge filters that meet emission standards, and we also recycle raw materials. We even started to implement sustainable development activities even before the ESG concept was formed.”
Construction Company of the Year Award Winner The Chapter of the Builder Awards awarded the company as the Construction Company of the Year. “It gives our product the hallmarks of durability, quality and versatility. To meet this challenge, we must constantly work on perfection. It is a mission that provides the basis and courage to take important steps and decisions that have driven and continue to drive our development into a family business that has stood STRONG FOR GENERATIONS.”
» Contact: Maciej Strychalski, Marketing Director Email: m.strychalski@wkret-met.com
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EUROTEC GMBH
3.5 Million Monthly Capacity, Self-sustaining Production & Unparallel Know-how An expert in complex timber constructions and deck projects as well as a 23-year reputable manufacturer of construction screws, anchors, tools and related products, EUROTEC (Hagen, Germany) produces over 3.5 million screws (diameter 6-13mm; length 160-3,000mm) a month and is still looking to expand capacity. Its injection molding machines offer complex, small and multidimensional plastic parts especially for deck and garden construction, aside from adjustable pedestals and various adapters in its product line. The company offers solutions for highly stressed wood connections. From simple wood construction fasteners to innovative high-performance connectors, it has the unparallel know-how and quality assurance to ensure DIN EN ISO 9001 compatible high quality fasteners. Batches produced daily are strictly checked for conformity to drawings, functionality, appearance and customer specifications and European Technical Approval.
Deck Software + EiSYS-2 Software With an input of a few key parameters, the free user-friendly Deck Software by EUROTEC offers a selection of items for substructure, the support for the substructure, the materials for fastening the decking boards, as well as preliminary dimensioning service provided by EUROTEC construction experts. EiSYS-2 gives an overview of the quantities of facade/adjusting screws required for corresponding construction projects, helping customers in efficient material planning.
EUROTEC’s Take on the Latest Trend in Europe As noted by EFDA, the AD tax on fasteners originating in China will have a ripple effect on European fastener supply. EUROTEC’s decision to expand production in response is expected to bring benefits and cover the demand from in-house production. Also, the pandemic plagues Europe with delayed/unfulfilled delivery, shortage of materials and finished goods, and procurement challenges, so doubling EUROTEC’s production area to 6,000 sqm and adding modern machines should cover market demand and create new jobs. The company requires 60 tons of wire a week to keep production up
and running. Adding machines that will go operational in Q2 2022 will supply its increased material demand. As a manufacturer instead of a distributor, EUROTEC has an edge in not being subject to unpredictable shipping times, freight costs, lockdowns and AD tax on China. It has full control of supply chain, product development and quality to adapt on the fly, guaranteeing high product availability. The pandemic has taught it about social responsibility and made it an even more employee-friendly company by allowing flexible work time and working from home.
Next Goal: Self-sustaining Production EUROTEC’s primary target for the coming years is clearly to further increase production by several times and be selfsustaining in supplying and producing the whole range of fasteners. Also, it wants to integrate more and more production processes and technologies in-house. It noted that wood structures with an advantage in CO² reduction over cement and concrete remains an important topic in Europe in the midst of climate debate. Solid wood construction will become more present and important; therefore EUROTEC will make itself as independent as possible from third parties and be the reliable specialist for future fastening technology.
» Contact: Joern Rueschenschmidt, Global Sales Manager
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Europe Highlights
1.4 Million Types of Japan High Quality Fasteners for Speedy Delivery to Europe Sunco Industries Co., Ltd. If you are looking for JIS quality-guaranteed fasteners for any types of assembly and applications, you will definitely go for a source with a huge collection and lightning-fast delivery to your country outside of Japan. If you haven’t guessed it, I’m referring to the top fastener distributor in eastern Osaka (heartland of Japan’s fastener manufacture) named Sunco Industries which literally lives on its catch phrase: “There’s no fasteners that we don’t have in stock”. Already known in many parts of the world, this fastener warehouse giant partners with local distributors in many countries, and helps companies in and outside Japan to procure JIS fasteners. Collaborating with over 1,200 Japanese fastener suppliers, Sunco Industries has an IT-driven mega distributing center and an automated pallet flow warehouse and provides inventory service to help clients expand market shares.
Turning One of the Focuses to Europe; Apt Strengths for Japanese Tailored Service Sunco Industries tells Fastener World that a large amount of Japanese machines are used in Europe, typically machine tools and electric appliances. Maintaining these machines requires using JIS fasteners, but many local distributors have given up profiting from this business because they don’t know where to purchase and it is hard to purchase a small amount of fasteners they need, much less the long distance between Europe and Japan. “We’d like to help support them in expanding this business.” To that end, the company carries its strengths to Europe, including: (1) 1.4 million types of JIS fasteners and 200 thousand instant-delivery items in stock; (2) Next day shipment arrangement available; (3) Support for all delivery methods; (4) Access to “3Q Net Service” available for customers to check items in stock and inventory status; (5) Offering quality products; (6) Having RoHS and other certificates; (7) Support for various materials, sizes and heat treatments. To the European market, the compa ny re com mends its JIS standard fasteners, noting that its bestsellers are slim head fasteners (saving space), washerassembled screws, products assembled with spring washers, and hex socket screws.
Vigorous Investment in IT and Cutting-edge Aerospace Industry T h is awa r d-r e cog n i z e d Ja pa n ese f a s t e n e r d i s t r i b u t o r n ow c o m bi n e s mathematical model and IT to improve business and customer support. Particularly to tack le COVI D-19 a nd t he ensui ng supply chain disruption. President of Sunco Industries wrote an app by himself and uses it in the company to swiftly and successfully monitor infections and contain the spread of the virus, thereby making preventions to stabilize product supply to customers. Another step forward for the company is to support an aerospace rocket project run by Interstellar Technologies. “We supply fasteners to this project. Each rocket uses about 2,500 fasteners, and it is our mission statement to invest in this emerging industry and inspire people to widen the use of fasteners.”
The Next Step Into This Year The company enabled “3Q Net Service” interface with English support at the end of April and next it will put its English corporate website online in 2023. It is planning to introduce an advanced graphic processing system into the mega distribution center and “rotary rack technology” into the automated warehouse for more inventory space and faster delivery. With a Guinness world record in having the most long-lived female employee (aged 90) still contributing herself, Sunco Industries proves itself as one of the happiest workplace and a sustainable business supporting customers in need of fasteners.
» Contact: Mr. Tomokazu Takada
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New Product Ready for Europe!
High Productivity/Efficiency/Speed Screw Forming Machine Chao Jing Precise Machines Enterprise Co., Ltd. Serving Customers Right from the Fastener Kingdom in Taiwan Chao Jing, a Taiwanese fastener machine manufacturer with a reputation for quality, provides products including screw forming machines, heading machines, thread rolling machines, and special parts forming machines. Headquartered in Yunlin County in northern Taiwan, Chao Jing has most of its customers from Gangshan (Kaohsiung City) in the south which takes 1 to 1.5 hours to arrive. Therefore, the company decided to set up a southern branch office to offer better and immediate service. The company said the headquarters in Yunlin focuses on assembling and R&D to continuously provide customers with better products and more precise machines at reasonable prices.
High-Speed Screw Forming Machine New Product Launched Expands Sales in Europe The global economy has suffered setbacks in the past two years, but it never puts a stop to Chao Jing. The company used the time to invest in the development of new products and successfully rolled out "2-die 2-stroke screw forming machine". The machine improves production efficiency, in every minute producing 360 pieces of 50mm screws or 300 pieces of 100mm screws, or 20 pieces of 150m screws. In addition, it provides a strong competitive edge by saving more than 50% space for European and global customers. Chao Jing is also planning to roll out multi-stroke high-speed screw forming machines this year with undoubtedly excellent performance in efficiency and stability. Besides the new product, customization is another advantage of Chao Jing that no other companies can compete with. "Many customers have done studies on machines and they provide us with feedback. We hold meetings discussing all positive and negative suggestions. Through conversations, we keep improving our machine structure and bring the benefits from these experiences and maximized production efficiency back to consumers so they can use better machines to manufacture higher quality products." Taiwan's fastener industry has been transitioning to high-end products in recent years. To be the strongest support for customers, machinery factories must improve themselves. Chao Jing doesn’t take quality control lightly. It requires that processing partners improve the precision of manufactured parts, and that assembly should comply to drawings and process requirements provided by the design department.
Optimistic About the Turkish Market; En Route to Product Expansion in Europe and the World Chao Jing analyzed that Turkey locates in a strategic position at the crossroads between Europe, Asia, and the Middle East, and it has experienced stable economic development in the past decade. Metal fasteners, hand tools and lock industries are among the primary industries for Turkey, and there are many automotive and components companies in this country. Most of the neighboring countries are major auto countries, giving Turkey with an annually escalating market scale an important role in the global automotive manufacturing chain. Besides Turkey, Chao Jing is looking forward to the business opportunities in neighboring European countries and planning to expand product sales in Europe and even the global market. The company believes that Taiwanese fastener machine companies should actively acquire international certificates because CE and other EU certificates are regarded as the tickets for manufacturers to enter the European market. Products with international certificates can give customers a boost of confidence and recognition for small enterprises, and motivate them to purchase. "We will continue to improve ourselves. We will spread our machines to every corner of the world when the whole world market is open!"
» Contact: Ms. Avi Chen Email: cj _ avichen@yahoo.com
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Highly Evaluated Inspection Service Company from Asia for Global Suppliers
Asia Technical Services Asia Technical Services (Asiatec) mainly provides inspection and calibration service as well as represents European product brands. It was founded in 1976, providing service where it does a final pre-shipment inspection on samples onsite for overseas clients purchasing fasteners, hardware, and hand tools. With the market demand for traceability, it established an ISO 17025 certified torque & length (ring gage, plug gage, wire gage) calibration lab, and a hardness test lab. Besides, Asiatec began to represent KISTLER (SCHATZ) torque / clamping force analyzing system, microGLEIT water-based lubricant, Doerken Coatings, n-gineric Intelligent sensor, and IAC measuring system. In recent years it optimized the equipment to expand length calibration range for ring gage (up to 150mm), plug gage (up to 145mm), and conical ring gage (up to M85). Last year it purchased a new system for the torque calibration lab to enhance the calibration quality and services. It also simplifies and digitalizes procedures to reduce paper and printing use as well as carbon emission, gradually transitioning to ESG fulfillment within the company.
Bridging Product Inspection for Europe and Asia “Europe resembles Taiwan in terms of the industry structure which consists of many family businesses. We can tell this from several overseas brands we represent. These European brands are at their best with their specialties providing flexible solutions for customers. This propels us to continue going further into the European market.” With a knowledge of the industry and experience in inspection, Asia Technical Services supports customers to maximize the competitiveness for their brands, while bringing the latest focus and know-how from Europe to the Asian market.
The significance of QA department is often overlooked because QA carries the highest maintenance cost, and its value hardly appears on financial records. “We entered the European market relatively early, and that brings us an advantage of knowing what clients think and getting close with related industries. On the other hand, we are familiar with Taiwan’s industry structure, and it helps us to act as a QA department in Asia for clients. Our experience allows us to utilize abundant resources to quickly respond to the problems and provide on-site and real-time support for customers who are looking for suited products in Taiwan. These are the values that we have to sustain till this day.”
Taiwan can Support Post-pandemic and Post-war Global Fastener Inspection Demand The company observed that after the world market reopens progressively, business activities and demand are headed in a positive direction. “An example is KISTLER (SCHATZ) analyse system and microGLEIT lubricant products which we represent have increased sales in Europe after a recent expansion in automotive manufacturing plants and production lines of the electronics industry.” However, these benefits still come with huge uncertainty and variable factors now with the influence of Russia-Ukraine war and the rising interest rate by Fed. “Europe is in for many challenges amid the aftermath of inflation and war. Energy and food shortages could slow down economic recovery, but there is always an opportunity in reconstruction. We hope the strengths of Taiwan’s fastener items would be an important momentum to support the region.”
Further into Europe and out into the Americas The company believes the characteristics of Taiwanese fasteners will attract more overseas buyers. Asiatec will enhance connection with the European market, introduce its inspection service and strengths to more clients overseas, and renew to the up-to-date information from the product brands it represents. Apart from Europe, its focus market, Asiatec plans to expand market shares in North America.
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“Any changes with the environment, op erati ng process, mat er ia ls, a nd supplie r s cou ld lea d to r e c eivi ng products that don’t align with the ones previously discussed, especially now when more and more discussions are done via online meetings. Through our on-site service and instant assistance, we hope to increase customers’ confidence in purchasing from Taiwan or Asia, c r ea t i ng mu lt i-fa c et e d va lues for businesses.”
» Contact: Michael Wu, Manager Email: michael@asiatec.com
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Nissei’s PLB (Perfect Lock Bolt) Has a Version 2 Upgrade! Now Targeting Users & Licensees in Europe & the U.S. ★Ad page 199★
The one and only PLB anti-loosening bolt had its debut introduction on Fastener World Magazine several years ago and made a great hit on the market for its high performance. In a nutshell, this is a dual-thread and dual-nut anti-loosening structure exclusive to Nissei Co., Ltd., a special bolt developer and manufacturer with high reputation and customers’ trust in Japan. Now called “PLB v2”, this Perfect Lock Bolt has taken a step further to cater to even better performance and higher usability, targeting not just Japan but also Europe and the world market.
Industry Breakthrough from Nissei’s Thread Rolling Technology
Single-step Tightening for Best Anti-loosening PLB v2 is an anti-loosening bolt consisting of a dual-thread bolt shaft and two nuts with different thread lead angles. The first nut with a larger lead angle on the bolt is a multi-thread nut; the outer or secondary nut on the bolt is a single-thread nut. When PLB v2 is subjected to vibration or a loosening force of any form, the force initiates rewinding on the inner nut. The slowmoving outer nut will block the inner nut's progression, which forms a mechanical lock which is the secret to PLB v2’s antiloosening design that no other fastening system has achieved. This mechanical lock mechanism is a stark contrast to other systems using “friction” to defy loosening, creating best benefits for users including unrivaled high-anti loosening force, ease in maintenance and extensive usability. Traditional double nut type bolt demonstrates moderate anti-loosening performance, while the usability is challenging because two or three tightening procedure is needed. In contrast, PLB v2 can achieve outstanding anti-loosening performance by demonstrating the highest rank with the Junker vibration test according to ISO 16130 and usability performance by tightening in a single action, which are great upgrade features from the first generation.
Around 20 years ago, the industry conceived of a design where two different screw shapes form the coaxial portion. The manufacturing was challenging, because cutting was the only method available and it is more timeconsuming than rolling, and it also raises price since it doesn’t allow for mass production. One time a professor asked if Nissei could manufacture the design using thread rolling. It gave the company an idea to develop the first generation of PLB. With trials and customers’ feedback, the company eventually created the thread rolling dies for manufacturing “PLB v2”, a next-generation and globallypatented breakthrough from its predecessor.
Expand PLB v2 Application to Europe and USA With its predecessor PLB sold in North America and used on belt conveyors and vibrating sifters, PLB v2 is used mainly where severe vibration occurs such as mines in Japan. Nissei is looking to expand on PLB v2 and seeks licensees in Europe and USA that manufacture and sell it under the license agreement worldwide. There are great benefits with licensees since they aren’t bound by one manufacturing method such as cutting, rolling, and die casting. Nissei believes PLB v2 will solve all issues with bolt loosening and encourages users by offering samples for them to try to use PLB v2 wherever bolt loosening occurs.
» Contact: Yuki Okimoto, Engineer Email: plb _ bolt@nisseiweb.co.jp ▲PLB v2 thread rolling dies
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Italian Fastener Brand Doubles Sales Overseas FIXI s.r.l. ★Ad page 187★ FIXI stands for Italian high quality with a focus on fasteners for sheet metals, plastics and solid components, supplying threaded inserts, blind rivets, clinching fasteners, welding studs, self-tapping threaded inserts, wire inserts, brass and stainless steel inserts and studs. The company’s domestic branches in Italy (VPL, 3V, ETS, UA and CSI) have their own warehouses and sales forces, dedicated to serving particularly the end customers who use FIXI fastener systems. The company also serves customers from America to Australia, working from its export headquarters in Turin, mostly through long-time collaborative distributors or directly with a few key customers.
Double Sales Growth & New Lineup The company offers customers solutions for any fastener needs. Since 2017, it doubled its international sales derived from many improvements in logistics, product offering and customer service. It also increased warehouses space to make for bigger volumes of fasteners available for fast delivery to customers. It introduced its own quality lab and the sales teams have grown with the specialty and skills to serve customers worldwide covering more than 5 spoken languages. The product line has increased by introducing a new series of inserts used on round and square tubes as well as a full line of self-tapping inserts.
Staying Price Competitive in an Era of Global Challenges The virus hasn't taken down FIXI, as the company was only affected in around mid-2020 and has bounced back to normal since the end of that year, even outgrowing the years before the virus outbreak. Despite an increase in operation cost as a result of EU’s antidumping measure effective this February, the company keeps its prices as much competitive as possible to continue to grow with partners. FIXI puts in many efforts and resources in building a stock level able to last through a critical time like this. As a distributor it relies on strong and trustworthy collaboration with multiple sources to guarantee continuous supply for the future. Following its quality and environmental policy, FIXI is only working with companies able to meet international standards for sustainability and ESG. Flexible and quick in responding to opportunities and challenges, FIXI has even anticipated the market changes over the last years.
The FIXI Way: Quality, Delivery and Price Growth is good but growing too fast isn’t. That’s why the company will focus on escalating domestic and international sales, while keeping high quality service at competitive prices for all customers and introducing new products according to the new market needs. It will follow the strategy that grows itself into one of the most important players of the fastener industry in Italy and Europe. In simple words: high quality products certified for all demanding sectors, fast delivery, and competitive prices!
» Contact: Federico Sarti, International Business Developer
Email: export@fixi.it
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Europe Highlights
Award-proven Leading Retaining Rings/ Washers from Italy to Support Global Demand Beneri S.p.a. ★Ad page 197★
BENERI SpA is a leading manufacturer of standard metric and inch retaining rings and washers with over 60 years of experience. In the past 5 years it has been focused on further improving quality standards and delivery service. It has introduced a new range of DIN 471 / DIN 472 “Higher-Performance Retaining Rings” with standard sizes but extremely tight dimensional tolerances that are far below DIN standards requirements, dedicated to companies/OEMs using automatic feeding systems and mainly involved in the automotive and electronic device industries. Implementing a huge stock and on-time delivery has been its key point with customers.
Distributors Deployed Worldwide for Global Demand For decades, BENERI has been selling worldwide solely through distributors instead of directly to customers, given that the company mass-produces huge volumes and that distributors can handle contracts while BENERI focuses on products. It selects one distributor from each country, some of whom under exclusivity agreement. In USA it works with several distributors and has a Chicago-based logistics platform where it stocks goods for 2-3 months to offer efficient and quick service to American customers. Still welcoming new collaborative distributors, the company said they should be well introduced in the market, have technical and commercial knowledge of retaining rings and washers as well as be an important turnover.
Purchase Orders Increased for BENERI in Difficult Times Since the end of 2020, BENERI has experienced a great and sudden increase in demand particularly for standard washers. This is attributed to transport issues (delayed parts import from the Far East) during the pandemic, a drastic increase in transport costs, and the antidumping duties on some Chinese iron parts including washers. The most attractive feature which is the low price of parts from the Far East no longer remains. When the COVID hit, things went out of hand but after the Italian government lifted the lockdown, BENERI came back to work with great enthusiasm, despite new rules, new working shifts and new protective equipment. “We had to search for raw materials and deal with lack of transport and price increase of every kind of item. The Russia-Ukraine war spikes up the challenges but we are glad we’re receiving a great quantity of orders from all over the world!”
"Champions for Export 2022" Award Receiver With a turnover which is 50% from domestic supply and 50% from export, BENERI was awarded to "Champions for Export 2022" by the most recognized Italian economic magazine and is ranked among the top 200 Italian companies with the best performance in export in 2020. This award reflects BENERI’s resilience as it refers to a very complicated year with a total lockdown period of 40 days for the company. It is planning to invest in digitalization and is expanding the distribution network with collaborations that are now on the way to be developed.
» Contact: Ronny Limonta, Management Assistant
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American News
American News
compiled by Fastener World
White House Unveils Freight Data Platform for Supply Chain
by global events like the pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The U.S. Department of Transportation launched a new data sharing initiative to speed up delivery times in the supply chain, reduce delays and lower costs for consumers, GCaptain reports.
Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka said the nationwide supply chain data visibility effort “will support system resiliency, improve our trade competitiveness and empower American businesses to get products to market with greater consistency and reduced cost.”
“Called Freight Logistics Optimization Works (FLOW), the information sharing initiative will pilot a key freight information exchange—a sort of national freight data platform—between various participants in the ‘ship to shelf’ supply chain,” writes GCaptain’s Mike Schuler. “The initiative is being launched with eighteen initial participants including public entities, like the ports of Los Angeles, Long Beach and Georpia Ports Authority, and leading private businesses in trucking, warehousing, logistics, and ocean shipping.” Participants will work with the Biden Administration to develop an information exchange that eases supply chain congestion and speeds up the movement of goods, according to the Transportation Department. “Participants acknowledged the current system is underperforming and needs greater investment and more collaboration in creating ship to shelf visibility into the primarily private-sector owned supply chain,” the White House said in a statement. “A more reliable, predictable, and accurate information exchange about goods movement is the hallmark of a globally competitive 21st century goods movement chain and is especially important for small- and medium-sized businesses who lack visibility into the current system.
MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company, the world’s top container shipping line, is one of two ocean carriers represented in the initial set of participants, along with CMA CGM. The initiative is expected to propose recommendations for common data standards used by international shipping companies, as well as access policies and protocols that would streamline information sharing across the ocean supply chain. Initial findings from the initiative are expected to be presented at a Maritime Data Summit in June 2022.
Participants highlighted that this type of digital infrastructure was more important than ever in the face of supply chain disruptions caused
Pac-West Panelists: KPI Can Lead to Answers Humberto Avilo of ND Industries described KPI to the Pacific-West Fastener Association as “a metric which measures process performance,” and most importantly, can “trigger changes and improvements.” KPI – Key Performance Indicators – using SMAART can provide answers to questions such as machine downtime or employee absenteeism, Avilo explained. It can provide answers to customers.
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American News SMAART stands for S (specific), M (measurable), A (actionable), A (aligned with goals), R (relevant) and T (timebound). Pac-West panelist Dustin Card of Industrial Threaded Products said KPI provides measurements without which “you are not going to know how to pivot.” Card recalled the March 13, 2020, official start of the Covid-19 pandemic as “the perfect time to pivot.” The pandemic changed the supply chain. KPI told users where to start making changes made necessary by the pandemic. KPIs already in use gave companies a starting point. A KPI system can show “where we started,” Card said. It also can lead to “excitement in the team.” At Hayes Bolt & Supply, Kelly Cole monitors figures everyday and at least once a year are reviewed by management. “Set objectives, monitor every month,” Cole said. Find the problems: Did employees not know which product? Knowing the problem can lead to a solution such as scanners and bar coding. That has led to Hayes Bolt reducing pickers from five to two. It is important for employees to have the goals, Cole added. It tells them when they are “meeting expectations” and “it keeps them engaged,” Cole said. It can lead to confirming Hayes got the P.O. and show if “this is on time.” From a work culture standpoint, KPI encourages employees to “rally around the mission” and “makes them proud of work,” Cole finds. Avilo emphasized that KPI measuring needs to be adequate, but can’t get “too easy.” Card noted that goals may need to be changed. “If you need to pivot, then pivot,” he said, noting Industrial Threaded found they could reduce 40 KPI to 15. Cole said that goals must be “realistic” to help employees “get on board.” In handling results, “let the numbers be the numbers,” Cole advised. When something is short, it creates “something to strive for.” “Share the scorecard. The scorecard is important.” In the case of numbers showing a problem, “go back into why,” Cole said. When KPI shows a problem to those involved, take any “friction back down to the human level,” Cole advise. “We’re human” and want the entire company working together. Card said take charge of problems. Card suggested an example know the fasteners a customer has ordered are on a vessel in the harbor, but there are 118 vessels in the port each with eight to 10 thousand containers. Call the customer and tell them, Card advised. “We pass along that information,” Card said in reference to the recent Covid surge in China slowing ports there. “Bad news is bad news, but surprise is worse,” Cole added. Fastener World no.194/2022
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American News Donnell Tells Pac-West: July Longshoreman Strike Could Cripple Los Angeles Port A July 1st labor strike at the Los Angeles shipping port “could cripple Los Angeles,” Chris Donnell of Scanwell Logistics told the Pacific-West Fastener Association. A oneweek strike by the International Longshore & Warehouse Union could take three months to catchup, Donnell warned. It would lead to a “stalemate.” Jun Xu of Brighton-Best International, Tim Roberto of Star Stainless Screw and Donnell were panelists at the 2022 Pac-West spring conference. Even without a potential longshoremen strike the Los Angeles port “is not getting better” after congestion for months. Donnell said 100+ vessels with thousands of containers are awaiting while there is a worker shortage. Fastener distributors with warehouse space have “a luxury,” Donnell said.
“Transportation has been bad for several years,” Donnell predicted there will be a “slight dip” in container costs about mid-2022, but companies with contracts expiring will find rates shoot up. “Talk with them on options” such as using alternative ports, Donnell advised. It isn’t just the Los Angeles port with problems. Covid-19 “is really hitting China, including the Shanghai port,” Donnell noted. More than 18 million containers go through the Shanghai port monthly. Beyond offloading containers from ships, it can be three-to-five day wait for a container to reach rail, Donnell pointed out. It is estimated the U.S. is short 80,000 over-the-road truckers. But to get licensed, a trucker must be 21 years old and take eight weeks of training. And the cost of diesel has skyrocketed 35% to 47%, Donnell added. With shipping, rail and trucking backlog, there has been a “tremendous volume increase the past two years in air freight. Cargo has been loaded on seats in otherwise passenger planes.” Expect air freight to increase another 5% in the next three-to-five years, Donnell stated. There are no quick fixes, Donnell noted. Florida is welcoming shipping, “but establishing freight ports is not that easy,” Donnell pointed out. Xu finds prices are volatile and changing “literally every day,” creating “almost whiplash.” “Don’t react to panic,” Xu advised. “Try not to oscillate with the daily news.” Xu expects 2022 will be a “challenging year mentally and emotionally,” “Just because the world has some crazies doesn’t mean we need to go crazy,” he observed. Some factors such as carbon steel prices have remained “relatively stable,” Xu pointed out. Xu attributed inflation to Section 301 tariffs, stimulus checks and the “supply chain bottleneck.” The #1 factor in the supply chain is ocean freight, Xu said. “It is easier to give out money than build a ship.” However, he finds ocean freight has “stabilized.”
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American News “Inflation is not going away,” Xu declared. “The only cure for inflation is recession.” Xu also said the “Russian invasion doesn’t affect us that much,” but the world’s reaction over Ukraine has given “China pause” over exerting control over Taiwan – the world’s third largest exporter of fasteners. Xu expressed confidence in the fastener industry’s future: “Believe in the future. In every challenge there’s an opportunity.” Roberto of Star Stainless Screw pointed to the 41.5% increase in the price of nickel leading up to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, following a 17.9% drop after the lunar New Year. Nickel is the key factor in the price of stainless steel and Russia is the third largest producer of nickel, Roberto noted. Within 24 hours of the invasion, nickel prices leaped 250%. Roberto expects continued “short term price bursts with long term increases.” And it will be difficult to quote stainless steel prices, he said. “There will be continued tightening of supply until we see new supply sources,” Roberto warned. His advice: “Watch your inventory” and use “inventory hedging.” The price increases reflect a “tightening of supply with strong demand,” Roberto said.
supplies such as medicine, feminine products, socks/underwear and granola bars” to create “Backpacks for Ukraine,” said Sandi Andreski of Mid-States. The backpacks were sent to Old St. Mary's Church in Detroit to coordinate transport to Poland and then on to the people in need in Ukraine. “So many people want to help but don't knowhow,” Compton noted. “This gave everybody the opportunity in the company to be able to get on board with it." Founded by Herb Somers in 1972, Mid-States is now headed by his three sons – Scott, Matt and Marc. Mid-States Bolt has nine locations in three states.
Ramco Expanding To Increase Domestic Production Ramco Specialties Inc. is constructing a 50,000 sq ft addition to its Ohiobased headquarters. The expansion is slated for completion in June 2022 and increases manufacturing, engineering and office space to 210,000 sq ft.
Mid-States’ Employees Pack Backpacks for Ukraine “Together with our amazing employees we supplied Ukrainians with over 300 backpacks filled with emergency supplies such as medicine, feminine products, socks/underwear and granola bars.” When a major supplier for Mid-States Bolt & Screw Co. asked if the fastener distributor would help the Ukrainian people, employees “jumped at the chance.” Glen Glaskill of Glenco asked Mid-States president Scott Somers if he would be interested in funding backpacks filled with emergency supplies for the people of Ukraine. “When you look at the situation over in Ukraine, a lot of people want to help out but they don't have an avenue to be able to do that,” MidState’s HR manager Tami Compton said. So when Scott Somers and Compton asked employees they “enthusiastically agreed to help.” “We got our employees together, and they were all on board.” “The outpouring of our employees was tremendous and heartwarming,” Compton said. “Together with our amazing employees we supplied Ukrainians with over 300 backpacks filled with emergency
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American News Ramco described the expansion as “an investment in domestic manufacturing space and new equipment, which will expand the company’s manufacturing capabilities and speed. Recent issues with international transportation delays and raw material shortages have created problems in US-based manufacturing and supply chain needs.” Ramco will add three new part formers and one nut former. The part forming machine additions will allow for the production of nine-inch long parts with diameters up to three inches. The nut formers will be able to produce 32 mm nuts. Ramco also purchased a building in South Lyon, MI, with 10,000 sq ft for machining production for precision parts. Founded in 1977 by Richard Malson Sr., Ramco provides cold forming machining and assemblies for the automotive, defense, aerospace, agriculture and industrial markets. Ramco has facilities in Ohio, Michigan and Italy.
MacLean-Fogg Launches Wheel Fastener Brand MacLean-Fogg Component Solutions launched the Threadstrong brand and website to market wheel fasteners to the aftermarket. “We are well known as the leading OEM supplier in North America for high performance, decorative wheel fasteners,” sales VP Brad Southwood said. “It’s always been frustrating to us to see the aftermarket flooded with inferior, low quality and potentially dangerous replacement wheel fasteners of unknown origin. So we decided to do something about it.” “We want the aftermarket consumers to know that when they buy a Threadstrong wheel fastener, they can trust it was made in the U.S.A. to all of the needed safety specifications,” MFCS fastener division president Rob Whitey said. Director of wheel fastener engineering Mark Raves explained “a lot goes into steel fasteners that the general consumer probably doesn’t think about.” Material strength, corrosion resistance and durability require engineering and quality control for the friction of the fastener’s load bearing surface against the wheel, Raves said. Founded in 1925 by John MacLean Sr and Jack Fogg in Illinois to manufacture lock nuts for railroads, the company today has 3,000 employees and $1 billion in annual sales. MacLean-Fogg has 28 manufacturing plants in Europe, Asia and both North and South America.
Volt Expanding Arkansas Plant Volt Industrial Plastics broke ground on a 36,000 sq ft expansion of its Arkansas plastic fastener manufacturing plant. The expansion will bring the plant to 100,000 sq ft for production and inventory of 100 million parts. Volt ships domestically and internationally and builds tooling and parts in house. “I want to say thank you to each and every one of you that work here every day and work so hard,” COO and marketing president Heidi Volltrauer told 100 employees at the groundbreaking ceremony. “I hope you’re all as excited as I am of where we’re going this next year and the years to come.” Joe Volltrauer used tool & die experience to start JV Tool in 1973 and then Volt in 1992. Volt now manufactures plastic screws and nuts, license plate screws, Christmas tree clips, rivets, wire & cable routing clips, printed circuit board hardware, dowels, washers and other hardware.
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Agrisolutions Acquires Chicago Fastener Manufacturing Agrisolutions, the global leader in wear parts, components and accessories, has acquired Chicago Fastener Manufacturing (CFM), University Park, IL, USA. The acquisition closed on February 3, 2022. Chicago Fastener Manufacturing is a USA manufacturer of cold headed metal fasteners for on and off-highway applications. Product families include structural bolts, hex heads, carriage bolts, square head machine bolts, wheel bolts and plow bolts as well as various per-print specials. CFM products are a part of applications in agriculture planting, harvesting and soil management as well as construction, mining and railroad equipment. Materials include medium carbon, boron and alloy steels. “We are excited to welcome Chicago Fastener Manufacturing into the Agrisolutions family. CFM’s capabilities and talented group of employees will add manufacturing capacity to help us better serve our customers in the USA,” said Agrisolutions Global President, Blair Cook.
American News
Threadline Acquires Atlantic Bolt
Semblex® “Solutions At Work” Videos Elmhurst, IL, USA-based Semblex® Corporation is pleased to present a new mini-video series, titled, “Semblex Solutions at Work”. This series will focus on the latest fastening technologies available from Semblex, many of which are less than two years old. Each video will showcase a solution to an existing fastening problem that the company’s customers have faced and how a Semblex product corrected the problem. The videos for 2022 will focus on fastening in high-strength materials, improvements to flow drilling fastener designs and new self-extruding fastener designs that increase usable thread engagement without capital intensive installation equipment. The first video in the series is focused on difficulties using traditional thread rolling fastener in high-strength steel applications (980XG3 steel), and how the use of Rolok® HS® could eliminate these problems.
Threadline Products, a fastener fabrication company serving the industrial and construction industries as well as OEMs, has announced the acquisition of fastener fabricator, Atlantic Bolt, Inc. The merger of the two Charlotte, NC, USA-based companies join teams with a combined 74 years of experience in serving contractors, departments of transportation, and OEMs. Threadline strives to help meet customers’ expectations and offers one day shipping to over 10 states along with exceptional turn-around.
John Wolz, Editor of FIN (globalfastenernews.com) Mike McNulty, FTI VP & Editor (www. fastenertech.com)
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European News
European News compiled by Fastener World
Würth Group Set Historic Records in 2021 According to the preliminary annual financial statements, Würth Group generated sales of €17.1 billion (2020: €14.4 billion) corresponding to an increase of 18.5%. In Germany, Würth Group’s sales grew by 14.1% to €6.9 billion (2020: €6.1 billion). With €10.2 billion (2020: €8.3 billion), the Würth companies abroad achieved even more successful results. In southern and western Europe, the Group companies reported aboveaverage growth rates, which were partly due to the very high sales slumps in 2020 in countries like Spain, Italy and France caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. Würth Elektronik eiSos Group (+ 36.8%) and the Electrical Wholesale unit (+ 28.8%) were particularly successful. Adolf Würth GmbH & Co. KG, the parent company and the largest individual company in the Würth Group, generated external sales of €2.1 billion (+ 11.3%). According to preliminary annual financial statements, the operating result of the Würth Group is clearly up on the previous year with €1.2 billion (2020: €775 million). Strong sales growth and higher productivity contributed significantly to the positive result. In addition, due to the pandemic, costs for travel, trade fairs and conferences did not incur in 2021. Robert Friedmann, chairman of the central managing board of the Würth Group, commented: “We are in the middle of the 4th wave of the pandemic, and the development of supply chains is challenging us all. Achieving results like this under such conditions shows that we have tailor-made products and services for our customers. It is also important to convey calmness and security in a crisis. In a family business like ours, Prof. Reinhold Würth and Bettina Würth play a decisive role in such a situation.”
Outlook on 2022 Würth Group believes that the situation on the procurement market will remain tense in 2022. The decision of the German government to make vaccination compulsory will have a significant impact on the development of the pandemic and thus on the economic activity. “Despite these uncertainties, we assume that we will achieve new record sales in the coming business year and achieve adequate operating result growth, as our multi-channel strategy, far-reaching digitalisation and large number of own production facilities mean that we are in an independent position now and will continue to be so in the future,” explained Robert Friedmann.
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Bufab Group Reports Continued Growth in Q4 Bufab has delivered its highest ever sales, operating profit and earnings per share for 2021. The Group completed three strategic acquisitions with combined annual sales of more than SEK 500 million and continued to invest in its own operations to ensure future sustainable and profitable growth. As expected, the strong demand continued in the fourth quarter. Bufab delivered a strong organic growth of 19% explained by solid underlying demand in all segments, price increases and increased market shares. “We also reported a strong gross margin, driven by higher volumes and efforts to pass on increased raw materials and freight prices to customers. The high level of demand, together with the continued challenging situation in the supply chain, places high pressure on our organisation, but our assessment is that the situation improved somewhat during the fourth quarter,” comments Johan Lindqvist, president and CEO at Bufab Group. The share of operating expenses increased during the quarter, but adjusted for acquisitions and remeasured additional purchase considerations. The share of operating expenses is at a stable and continued low level, which contributed to the strong result. This was primarily due to effective cost control, but also due to continued low level of activity in terms of travel, customer events, training, and trade fairs as a result of the pandemic. The challenge going forward will be to meet the normalisation of the cost level by further increasing productivity.
European News Overall, operating profit increased by 40% and the margin by 0.8 percentage points. Adjusted for acquisitions and remeasured additional purchase considerations the operating profit increased by 44% and the margin by 2.2 percentage points. “Our strong results in the last quarters are partly due to the investments in processes and digital tools that we made in recent years. This has increased Bufab’s productivity. Moving forward, we will continue our investments in these areas, but also in areas such as sustainability. We also see the need to strengthen the organisation, particularly in sales, to continue creating profitable growth and increase our market share,” explains Johan Lindqvist. “If we look ahead, we see that the strong demand we noted during the fourth quarter continued into January. Together with stable order intake, this indicates a continued positive trend in demand during the first quarter of 2022. The challenges continue to be the handling of the strained supply chain and to offset the increased inflationary pressure through higher productivity.”
Fabory Solidifies Position in Portuguese Fastener Market Fabory has announced that it has reached an agreement to acquire the fastener division of Importinox. The acquisition further strengthens Fabory’s position as a fastener specialist in Portugal and the broader Iberia region. The strong strategic fit between both companies enables a stronger and more relevant proposition, building further on the deep and relevant range of specialist fasteners, quality and engineering and differentiating supply chain solutions. Francisco Terol, CEO at Fabory, comments: “We are proud to welcome the Importinox fastener specialists to Fabory. We are highly impressed by Importinox’s longstanding client relationships and solid value adding services. Finalizing this deal will make Fabory the market leader in the Portuguese fasteners market and we are looking to further build our positioning across Iberia.” “Fabory is well positioned to further grow the fasteners division starting from our solid base of over 1,000 accounts in amongst others the mechanical engineering and construction market. Our market focus is highly accretive and we are convinced that joining forces will open up many new opportunities,” adds Joaquim Polónia, general manager at Importinox. Importinox was founded by Antonio Cerejeira in Maia, in the North of Portugal, in 1988. Current co-owner and general manager Joaquim Polónia has developed the business which has a dual specialty in fasteners and perforated plating. Importinox offers a wide and broad assortment of specialised fasteners and perforated plates in combination with value added services, including product customization capabilities, and digital and logistics solutions.
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European News just-in-time supply of standard and custom fasteners, and, more recently, for the design and implementation of integrated logistics programs using a Kanban system.
Hilti Group Achieves Double-digit Sales Growth Hilti Group has achieved total sales of nearly CHF 6 billion in 2021, 12.1% above the previous year’s level. In local currencies the increase in sales amounted to 12.2%. CEO Christoph Loos explained: “The recovery trend in the construction industry continued during the last four months of 2021. We were able to maintain double-digit growth in a relatively stable currency environment and fully compensate for the coronavirus-related decline in sales of the previous year. This has allowed us to close the year well above the pre-crisis level in local currencies.” In Europe, sales increased by 13.8% in local currencies. The Mediterranean countries, in particular, experienced a strongly improved environment. The Americas also generated double-digit growth of 10.5%, with Latin America posting disproportionately high gains. In Asia/Pacific, sales increased by 8.9%. Southeast Asia, in particular, still had to contend with severe Covid-19 related restrictions. The eastern European countries primarily contributed to the significant increase of 12.3% in the eastern Europe/Middle East/Africa region. Due to ongoing challenges, the Gulf States unsurprisingly fell short of expectations, while Turkey’s currency devaluation had a negative impact. Despite Covid-19, ongoing challenges in the global supply chain and current political tensions, the Hilti Group expects a positive development in the construction industry in 2022 and is once again targeting double-digit sales growth.
Berardi benefits from a broad geographical presence, with 14 warehouses located throughout the country and commercial offices in Italy, Croatia and Morocco. In the last decade, the company has successfully embarked on an ambitious path to expand its product range in adjacent segments, in the C-Parts sector, and has been a pioneer in Italy in the introduction of advanced integrated logistics solutions through its own Kanban platform, becoming the reference point in the market in terms of quality, service levels and breadth of offering. Giovanni Berardi, CEO and current shareholder of Berardi who will re-invest, along with other family members, alongside H.I.G., commented: "The entry of an international alternative investment fund such as H.I.G. in Berardi represents a recognition of the work carried out over the years and of the great growth potential of our company, which has a leading position in the sector and a growing share of high value-added services. With the support of H.I.G., Berardi will be able to develop faster, thanks to a combination of organic growth and targeted acquisitions". Raffaele Legnani, Managing Director, head of the H.I.G.’s office in Italy, added: "Berardi has a position of undisputed leadership in Italy, proven by a growth rate in the last ten years well above the market and by an impressive track-record as a partner of choice for topnotch industrial companies, thanks to its value-added service offering and a best-in-class management team. We are excited to support the management in the next phase of the Company’s development and we believe that we can provide an important boost to the growth, primarily by supporting an aggressive acquisition strategy, taking advantage of the high fragmentation of the market".
Brugola Aims to Become Carbon Neutral With an ambitious multi-year project, Brugola OEB has joined the Forever Zero CO2 project, to eliminate the environmental impact of its 11 plants in Italy by reducing its CO2 emissions and becoming carbon neutral.
H.I.G. Capital Acquires Majority Stake of Berardi Bullonerie Srl H.I.G. Capital, a leading global alternative investment firm with over US$47 billion of equity capital under management, has announced that one of its affiliates has acquired a majority stake in Berardi Bullonerie Srl, a leading operator in the Italian market for the distribution of fasteners and the supply of integrated logistics services. Since it was founded in 1919, Berardi has become a reference partner for Italian industrial companies for the
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Forever Zero CO2 is a project by Forever Bambù that allows companies and professionals to reduce or eliminate their impact environmental and become carbon neutral – thanks to the absorption of CO2 from Forever Bambù’s seven bamboo forests in Italy (covering a total of 200 hectares). Over the next three years, Brugola will acquire the compensation rights of six hectares of Forever Bambù forests, for a total CO2 sequestration of 1,566 tons per year. “The desire to join the Forever Zero CO2 project is a step consistent with our green commitment, both in small gestures and in the great efficiency actions of a mechanical company,” explains Jody Brugola, president and CEO of Brugola OEB. “Joining the
European News Forever Zero CO2 project will allow us, by 2023, to offset the CO2 emissions from our plants in Italy and underlines our commitment that we also undertake as a role model for other companies in our sector.”
How Forever Zero CO2 Works As certified by independent studies, giant bamboo – which lives on average for 100 years – is able to sequester up to 229kg of CO2 per year, 36 times more than any other plant over one hectare. This means that one hectre of giant bamboo is the equivalent to 36 hectares of mixed forest in terms of carbon uptake. With Forever Zero CO2 project the aim is to transfer the CO2 absorption capacity of the Forever Bambù bamboo groves to the production companies that instead emit it. "We are happy that a world-renowned company such as Brugola OEB has chosen the Forever Zero CO2 project to offset its emissions,” comments Emanuele Rissone, president and founder of Forever Bambù. “Like Brugola OEB, we at Forever Bambù also place importance on safeguarding and protecting the environment. We are sure that the collaboration with Brugola will be extremely positive and profitable on both sides, as well as for the environment.”
helped reduce the use of oils by 15%. It also introduced at its OEB1 plant new inverter compressors, which ensures the efficient use of compressed air – leading to a 40% reduction in the consumption of compressed air. Alongside the interventions related to the production activity, Brugola OEB has also undertaken important actions for environmental sustainability. This includes the reduction of the use of plastic, from a consumption of 207 tonnes a day to about 50 tonnes – two thirds of which are made of recycled plastic. The company also renewed the lighting with LED bulbs to lower electricity consumption and reduce CO2 emissions.
Aware of Environmental Impact Brugola OEB has been aware of the environmental impact of its production for several years and has been improving the efficiency of its plants and looking to reduce the environmental impact of production processes. For instance, the company has replaced 25 tonnes of paper reels with eco-sustainable and reusable technical cloths – reducing the use of paper by 80%.
News provided by: Fastener + Fixing Magazine www.fastenerandfixing.com
Other examples include the business recovering litres of emulsion composed of oil and water, necessary and derived from the screw production process, which
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巴西新聞
Brazilian News compiled by Fastener World
Flávio Silva: 10 Years as Böllhoff Brazil CEO
A professional in the Brazilian fastener market, Flávio Silva took over as CEO in 2012 for the local unit of Böllhoff Group.
Hassmann Starts Nuts Production With more than 65 years of history, the Tier 1 Brazilian fastener manufacturer Metalúrgica Hassmann S/A with high performance products such as bolts for the automotive industry started 2022 year with its new operation to produce nuts. "Since the 1960s, we already had nuts in our portfolio, but we gave up producing it for some strategic decisions adopted at those times. However, this new product line will be complementary to be used with our own bolt’s lines," said Augusto Hassmann, the company’s CCO. " Fi r st ly, we a r e p r o du ci ng st a n d a r d nut s: hexagonal, flanged hex, self-locking. Later, when the process is in full swing, we will make new investments to start special nuts production. We are planning to have a complete line of nuts," concluded Augusto.
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"Even before my career here, I already had great respect and admiration for the Böllhoff Group, especially for the Group’s sobriety, organization and efficiency," said the CEO, "During my term here, the implementation of lean manufacturing in our industrial plant was one of the most successful achievement. It resulted in considerably improved competitiveness,” said Silva.
TTC Fey Completes Two Years The technical training center seeks to improve employees’ technical capability.
Brazilian News Metalúrgica Fey, SC, is celebrating the second year for implementing its own Technical Training Center (TTC). One of the most important fastener companies of Brazil, Fey established TTC aimed to benefit its employees, which offers courses and training, passing on technical knowledge in mechanical training.
Rolando Arnold Passed Away
“Here we teach in a practical and safe way. We prepare our employees to deliver the best fastener products in the segment to the market”, said Fey in a statement.
Nilza Sohwinden and Sebastian Richts beside Rolando Arnold (seated), with Heinz Gruber (3) in National Machinery booth, at Wire Düsseldorf, Germany, 2018
Carlo Salvi Names New Business Agent in Brazil
Born in Trombudo Central town, SC, Brazil, Rolando Arnold (1954 - 2022) passed away last February.
Marco Pizzi, C.C.O of Carlo Salvi, an Italian company owned by Switzerland Hatebur, is pleased to announce Camargo Machinery as a commercial agent in Brazil, a company managed by Carlos Camargo. Carlo Salvi is internationally renowned for production of cold and hot for ming presses machines models with 2 stages, 2 dies and 4 punches with high technology for manufacturing of bolts, screws, rivets, special parts, and the like.
News provided by: Sergio Milatias, Editor Revista do Parafuso (The Fastener Brazil Magazine) milatias@revistadoparafuso.com.br www.revistadoparafuso.com
He was a partner and director for Industrial Rex, a company founded by his parents, Rita and Edgard Arnold, also now deceased. Arnold started working at 14, washing cars and cleaning at his family's gas station. A prodigy entrepreneur, he soon took over Rex, where he was, alongside his brothers and partners, one of those drivers for an expansion process that increased the company's share in the fastener market, making Rex one of the largest manufacturers of fasteners in South America.
Brazilian Fastener Exports and Imports in Q1 2022 During the first three months in 2022, Q1, the Brazilian export hit US$ 41.88 million, more than 9.5 thousand tons in volume, up 34.8% and 22.2% over 2021 respectively, and the FOB price was US$ 4.38/kg. With a 32% share, Argentina has been the principal export destination for fasteners "Made in Brazil", followed by 15% export to USA, 13% to Paraguay, 5.9% to France and 4% to Germany. On the other hand, the import value was US$ 253.23 million, with more than 55.5 thousand tons in volume, up 11.7% and 9.8% over 2021 respectively, and the FOB price was US$ 4.56/kg. China is the leader with 32% share out of the total fasteners imported by Brazil, followed by 15% by USA, 8.7% by Japan, 8.6% by Germany, and 7.1% by Italy.
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Fastener World News compiled by Fastener World
Industry Update Thailand Terminates Anti-Dumping Tax on Low Carbon Wire Rods Originated in China Thailand launched an investigation on January 9 of 2015 on low carbon wire rods originated in China, and imposed an anti-dumping tax of 12.81%-31.15% starting on March 10, 2016. On March 9, 2021, Thailand launched the first sunset review investigation on China's low carbon wire rods with a diameter greater than or equal to 16 mm and less than 0.29% of carbon content. The involved product codes are: 7213.9120.000, 7213.9190.010, 7213.9190.011, 7213.9190.012, 7213.9190.013, 7213.9190.033, 7213.9190.034, 7213.9190.035, 7213.9190.090, 7213.9920.000, 7213.9990.000, 7227.9000.021, 7 2 2 7. 9 0 0 0 . 0 2 2 , 7 2 2 7. 9 0 0 0 . 0 2 3 , 7 2 2 7. 9 0 0 0 . 0 2 4 , 7 2 2 7. 9 0 0 0 . 0 3 0 , 7 2 2 7. 9 0 0 0 . 0 31 , 7 2 2 7. 9 0 0 0 . 0 3 2 , 7227.9000.033, 7227.9000.034, 7227.9000.035, 7227.9000.039, 7227.9000.090. M a r c h 11, 2022, Thailand announced the termination of a nti- du mpi ng tax on low carbon wire rods originated in China.
India Forgoes Chinese Wire Rod Anti-dumping Duty Extension T he I ndia n gover n ment has de cide d to reje ct t he recommendation to impose a definitive anti-dumping duty on imports of wire rod of alloy or non-alloy steel originating in or exported from China. The Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) previously recommended extending the anti-dumping measures for five further years, Kallanish notes.
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“In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-sections (1) and (5) of section 9A of the Customs Tariff Act, read with rules 18 and 23 of the Customs Tariff (Identification, Assessment and Collection of Antidumping Duty on Dumped Articles and for Determination of Injury) Rules, 1995, the Central Government, after considering the aforesaid final findings of the designated authority, has decided not to accept the aforesaid recommendations,” says India’s finance ministry. The products under consideration were bars and rods, hot-rolled, in irregularly wound coils of iron or non-alloy steel or alloy steel, commonly known as wire rod. The products are used in automotive components, welding electrodes, springs, wire mesh, fasteners, nails, railway sleepers, and binding wires. DGTR had recommended an anti-dumping rate equal to the difference between the landed value of the imports and $546/ton. If the landed value of imports was more than $546/t, then no duties would be applicable.
Indian Local Fastener Associations Advise Members Not to Export to Russia and Ukraine A m id t he Ru ssia-U k r a i ne conf lict, Indian fastener associations have advised their members in early March, who are exporters of various goods to both these countries, to halt the
Fastener World News shipment of goods until the situation normalizes. Businessmen say there are chances of their payments being held up and there is high risk of their shipments not reaching the destinations. Rajkumar Singla, president of Fasteners’ Suppliers’ Association of Ludhiana, said, “We held a meeting of our association and discussed the problems being faced by our industry. We have also decided that our members exporting to Russia and Ukraine must halt the trade till the conflict ends. The decision was taken after analyzing the current situation, which may also hit cargo movement.” Narinder Bhamra, president of Fasteners’ Manufacturers’ Association of India, said “The war will cost the exporters doing business with Russia and Ukraine and their neighbouring countries. Already there are reports of payments of several exporters getting stuck with the buyers, as they have sought more time due to the war. Now with tension escalating, we must refrain from doing business with them. Our association too has advised our members against dispatching new orders till the situation normalizes.” According to Atul Sethi, a fastener manufacturer, “Russia and Ukraine are big markets for us and several factories from Ludhiana expor t their goods to these countries. But due to the war, it is not safe to do business with them and even with their neighboring countries for which Russia and Ukraine are the transit points. We are following a wait-and-watch approach.”
Russia-Ukraine Conflict Could Bring Down Global Automotive Sales by 2% Wall Street Journal reports, according to S&P Global, the Russian-Ukraine war worsens the disruption of global supply chain and could make the global sales of light vehicles drop 2%. S&P Global previously predicted the automotive sales of 2022 would grow 4% to 6%. It says the war may affect the European market because Europe relies on the supply of materials, natural gas and petroleum. S&P Global states the price rise will not affect the transition to electric vehicles, and points out the possible shortage of palladium as well as a possible price increase in steel, copper, aluminum and nickel, which bring critical risks to the automotive industry this year.
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Fastener World News Japan's Iron and Steel Bolt Export to Russia and Ukraine Could be Affected by Halted Production of Local Japanese Carmakers On the Russia-Ukraine war, KINSAN Fastener News (Japan) wrote, the pandemic had the world come to a halt and then the war outbreak put the world in a state of uncertainty. KINSAN continued, carmakers decided to raise the price of supplied materials in February and therefore the steel price will continue to rise as it did last year. Additionally, Japan is highly dependent on overseas resources and its industry policies and production is highly subject to external factors, making itself inevitably prone to the political shockwave from the Ukraine crisis. KINSAN analyzed, Japan's total fastener import from Ukraine and Russia in 2021 was almost none according to Ministry of Finance (Japan), but the total export to Russia exceeded 4,000 tons and the export to Ukraine was under 1 ton. It means Japan's fastener export to Ukraine and Russia accounts for 1% of Japanese fasteners going to the world. Among that 1% are iron and steel bolts taking the largest portion of 3,000 tons. These exported fasteners generally go to the automotive industry, but could be affected by the halted production of local Japanese carmakers due to the war.
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Taiwan in comparison exported 15,934 tons of fasteners to Russia in 2021, and that accounted for 0.99% of those going to the world, and that is also 4 times more than Japan's export to Russia. Taiwan exported 1,780 tons (0.11%) of fasteners to Ukraine, far more than Japan did. In export values, Taiwan exported USD 38.24 million (0.72%) worth of fasteners to Russia and a worth of USD 4.06 million (0.07%) to Ukraine. Although Taiwan and Japan both have 1% in fastener export to Ukraine and Russia, Taiwan has far more volume than Japan does and faces a greater risk. So far many Taiwanese fastener companies have reported to TFTA that their businesses are impacted. TFTA is closely monitoring the impact of the war and has held a seminar in quick response on March 16 this year. Refer to our article “TFTA Holds Seminar on Impact of Russia-Ukraine War” in this magazine.
(China) Jiaxing-Shaoxing Sea Bridge Adopts Digital Bolt Monitoring Technology Jiaxing-Shaoxing Sea Bridge is the first one in China to use a digital monitoring technology on high-strength hinge bolts.
Fastener World News Sixteen bolts on the bridge were selected for realtime monitoring to analyze the load bearing of 1,300 bolts for the safety of the bridge. The managing director of the bridge said, "It's very crucial for the safety of the bridge to know if these 1,300 bolts are in the safe range. We used to rely on the torque and angle method conducted by experienced people to inspect and determine the bolts' preload. They knocked on the structure, using sound, tone, state of appearance and other factors to determine if they have to adjust the fastening of the bolts. However, this is a high-cost and lowefficiency manual check that is way below the requirements for building a bridge that will last 100 years."
By m a g n i f y i n g t h e grooves, engineers confirmed the "backed off" or unfastened nut had n't been tightened enoug h, wh ich le d to other parts misaligning, then a loss of lubricating oil. Hot gases spewed into the engine room and exploded. Fer r y of f icia ls h ave a dde d eng i ne room cameras, and will require secondary inspections of critical engine work including bolts. The Wenatchee returned to service in late January and serves the Bainbridge Island-Seattle route.
"A bridge in service is subject to the influence of passing vehicles and wind that causes deviation in the bolts' fastening, and could affect the safety of the bridge in worst-case scenarios." JiaxingShaoxing Sea Bridge was monitored once a year in the past, and now by utilizing digital monitoring, real-time checks can be performed on the bridge to improve data accuracy. Every move of the monitored 16 bolts are visualized digitally to provide clear and scientific data on bolt fastening and reference to the load bearing of other bolts.
Companies Development Ferry Company Loses USD 3.8 Million for an Insufficiently Torqued Bolt An engine fire inside the Washington state ferry Wenatchee was caused by an insufficiently torqued bolt, which set off a chain reaction of broken parts and overheating, said a National Transportation Safety Board report released on March 15, 2022. There were no injuries during the incident, which happened on a test sailing after a series of repairs. The 13-member ferry crew stopped the fire within two to three minutes. However, the fire caused $3.8 million in damage and kept the Wenatchee out of service for nine months. The summary report says an oiler discovered white smoke in an engine room while the ferry was cruising at full power. Another crew member near the control panels saw fire, smoke and debris flying everywhere. Afterward, engineers found a large rod and piston strewn on the steel engine-room floor. Investigations found two broken bolts and another that unfastened while the engine was running. They were supposed to be torqued to 75 foot-pounds. Fastener World no.194/2022
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Fastener World News Bulten Has Decided to Exit Its Operations in Russia Due to the Current Situation The exit process starts immediately. The ambition is for the process to occur in a controlled way to secure obligations towards employees, customers and other business partners. Bulten has 125 employees in Russia, and is since 2012 running its business through a Joint Venture with the automotive manufacturer GAZ. Earlier this week, Bulten made the decision to move all production made in Russia for external markets to Europe. Bulten’s decision to terminate its business in Russia will not have a significant impact on the company’s income since the domestic sales in Russia is equal to 1.6% of the total annual sales. However, the exit might involve write-downs. More detailed information will be communicated later in the process.
Japanese Yamahiro Adopts Co-developed IoT System Ya m a h i r o i s a c o n s t r u c t i o n f a s t e n e r manufacturer and developer headquartered in Osaka. The company decided to introduce an IoT system to improve productivity. The practical experience they shared can shed a light on the efficacy from upgrading to smart factory and the tasks to heed. At first they purchased an IoT system worth a million Japanese dollars and tried connecting it to 3 machines, but they were not able to get the specific data they wanted. Then they thought of their own technical people, so they headed on to co-develop their own IoT system. They had the technical personnel collect data from machines, and had another person use the Amazon Web Services platform (a cloud-computing platform established by Amazon). Using IoT, the first change they observed is the ability to measure productivity. By "visualizing data", they discovered they had less than 50% of total machine utilization. Knowing why and for how long the machines had stopped, they were able to improve to 85% and increase productivity by 170%. They used to have 2 shifts till 9 pm. Now they can achieve the same level of productivity on just the 1st shift till 5 pm. Besides shortening work time, they saved electricity bills, shortened 30 minutes from taking inventory, and discovered other unforeseen problems. T he s e c ond ch a nge i s "d a t a sh a r i ng". Everyone including the employees and owner with a computer can see the data and give suggestions on the spot. If the owner sees a machine not operating, he will give orders to onsite personnel right away. Therefore, they solved the bottleneck in the fastener heading process. The third change is "prolonging dies life". They started with dies requiring frequent change, and were able to go from one hour a time to ten hours a time for changing the dies, saving work time.
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Right now their most critical task is to cultivate a nalytic talents. It is ver y timeconsu mi ng to a nalyze dat a a nd t herefore requires experienced people to take charge. The other task is to reduce errors by onsite personnel who collect and input machine data which also requires management by a dedicated person. Their next step is to apply IoT to threading, forming and packaging to save labor and freights, through which they can form a distribution unit in the company to maintain profit margin and tackle the challenges from the pandemic. The workforce saved from the production line can be assigned to the work with higher added values. Fastener World no.194/2022
Fastener World News Acquisitions
Birmingham Fastener Announces K-T Bolt Acquisition Birmingham Fastener is excited to announce the acquisition of K-T Bolt Manufacturing, Inc. based in Katy, Texas. With over 100 years of combined fastener production, this acquisition strengthens Birmingham Fastener’s product offering and manufacturing diversity. Most importantly, it allows the company to add teammates to its world-class staff and will yield long-term benefits for its customers. In doing so, the level of service it can offer to its customers will be increased. K-T Bolt Manufacturing provides custom fabrication, cl o s e d - d i e fo r g i n g, i n - h o u s e h e a t t r e a t i n g, a n d electropolishing. With this partnership, Birmingham Fastener and its sister companies can expand product and service offerings to its customers. Randy Peck will stay on as President of K-T Bolt and join the leadership team at Birmingham fastener, offering his expertise in the field. “The future of our company is now and always will be about growth and productive changes. At the same time, we must hold fast to our core values like world-class service, accountability, and a commitment to excellence that we’ve had since my father founded this company in 1980” says Brad Tinney, President and CEO of Birmingham Fastener. “This partnership allows us to further expand our footprint and strengthen our commitment to American fastener manufacturing.”
Japanese Nitto Seiko Acquires All Shares in KM Seiko
A professional public manufacturer of auto screw driving machines, Nitto Seiko signed an agreement with KM Seiko to acquire all shares in KM Seiko on April 1. With a revenue of JPY 3.2 billion, KM Seiko designs, manufactures and sells bolts, nuts, cold headed and cold formed parts to the automotive and construction industries in Japan and overseas. After the share transfer, KM Seiko will be a subsidiary under Nitto Seiko. Nitto Seiko signed a share transfer agreement with KM Seiko as part of the "NITTOSEIKO Mission G" tactic, expecting to utilize respective distribution routes, product development and production to create a synergy and provide automotive and construction customers with solutions. Fastener World no.194/2022
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Technology
Handicapped People in Fasteners Production, Logistic and Assembly by Jozef Dominik
Preface Disability is a large population problem and is growing year to year. According to Building Accessibility Handbook 2020, in 2017 more than 926,000 British Columbians aged 15 and older, nearly 25 percent of population, were identified as having a disability. In other countries, these statistics may be different. One fifth of the EU population for example is expected to have some form of disability. It is not only a moral but also a legal obligation of an advanced society to remove the physical and mental barriers for these unfortunate people and to provide them with opportunities for employment in normal social life. This follows the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD). Physically handicapped people have an immense appetite for life. Perhaps the most famous representative of the immense willpower was the English physicist Stephen William Hawking (*1942 - †2018). Although severely disabled and strapped to a wheelchair using special software Equalizer and EZKeys, he was able to be active. His statement is famous:
“No matter how bad life is, there is always something you can do and succeed. As long as there is life, there is hope." What people with disabilities need from society the least, is sympathy. They need to integrate normally into social events as an equal partner. As said by Rochus Wellenbrock, CEO of the Wewole FOUNDATION: “People with disabilities have a legal right to live and work independently”. The fastener industry and businesses also provide a good opportunity to do so.
Fig. 1
So What are the Options in This Branch? A characteristic feature of the fastener industry is serial to mass production in automatic production lines. This system requires a geometrically oriented transport of parts to the assembly point. However, the automatic vibrating feeder does not always fulfill such this function or it would be very complicated and expensive. Fig. 1 shows an example of a possible application for the physically handicapped mounting a rubberized washers on a self-drilling screw. This operation can also be performed by the blind. The 30-year old blind man did not make a single mistake out of the 1000 monitored assembly operations, so he did not put any washer in the opposite side. It is similar for example with the correctly oriented mounting of a plastic ring on the IstLock® locking nuts (Fig. 2). Unlike the case above, a blind 30-year-old man made frequent mistakes. This only confirms that automatic orientation would be very difficult, even with the current state of the art nearly impossible.
Fig. 2
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These examples are just a small choice of the possible application of the disabled in the production process. It is much more common for these people to be employed in the domain of mental activity, e.g. as designers (Fig.3).
Fig. 4
Another activity that can be equally performed by a physically challenged is working in a laboratory (Fig. 4). He can sit in his wheelchair or move to a classic work chair. The advantage of a wheelchair is the possibility of free movement, e.g. from hardness tester to metallographic microscope and the like. Communication routes without obstacles are important.
Of course, these people also require specific working conditions. They must have access to all services and facilities as others. It is not just barrier-free access. In 1993 the United Nations adopted the important document: “Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities” (UNSR). This Standard Rules represent a strong moral and political commitment of governments to take action to achieve equalization of opportunities for persons with disabilities.
Conclusion The physically challenged live among us and need our help. All they need from society is to create the conditions and opportunities for them to live a normal life. Then they can feed themselves and then they are happy. Jozef Metelka, the world-famous Paralympic multiple winner in cycling, said it for everyone: “How lucky the doctors were not to save my leg”. It is gratifying that the fasteners industry is also able to create conditions for the employment of the physically handicapped. The article lists only a fraction of the options where they could apply. On behalf of my friend J. L., who has been confined to a wheelchair for a long time, I would like to thank you very much.
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Industry Focus
D AI
for 2021
YU N
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Major Automaker Sales Analysis
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by Dean Tseng, Fastener World
Global Top 15 Automaker Sales Automakers
Toyota
Volkswagen
Hyundai General Motors Stellantis
Honda
Nissan
210
Year
Sales in Vehicles
Change
2021 2020 2019 2021 2020 2019 2021 2020 2019 2021 2020 2019 2021 2020 2019 2021 2020 2019 2021 2020 2019
9,562,483 9,528,753 10,741,556 8,882,346 9,305,427 10,975,352 6,668,037 6,353,514 7,189,893 6,294,385 6,833,592 7,724,163 6,142,200 6,205,996 8,091,825 4,456,728 4,790,438 5,323,319 4,064,999 4,029,174 5,176,211
↑ 1% ↓ 11% ↑ 2% ↓ 5% ↓ 15% ↑ 1% ↑ 5% ↓ 12% ↓ 3% ↓ 8% ↓ 11% ↓ 12% ↓ 1% ↓ 23% ↓ 10% ↓ 7% ↓ 10% ↑ 1% ↑ 1% ↓ 22% ↓ 8%
Fastener World no.194/2022
Global Ranking
1 1 2 2 2 1 3 4 5 4 3 4 5 5 3 6 6 7 7 8 8
2021 drew a critical dividing line between every country's automotive market status before and after recovery. The sales figures from global automakers reveal the demand for automotive fasteners. F&I Tools disclosed the top 15 automaker sales during 2019 and 2022. This numeric data comparing the past three years happen to unveil the sales transition of global automakers going from the COVID outbreak to coexisting with the virus.
Sales Yet to Recover to Pre-Pandemic Level The top 5 best-selling automakers last year were Toyota, Volkswagen, Hyundai, General Motors and Stellantis. The world sold 82,684,788 vehicles last year, among which the top 15 automakers’ sales totaled 63,688,675 vehicles, sharing 77%. Looking at the 3-year sales numbers of the 15 automakers comes to a conclusion that up to last year most of them on the chart haven’ t had their sales recovered nor surpassing the pre-pandemic level back in 2019. They haven’t recovered their full strength. Only three automakers were the exception. BMW from Germany bounced back from the pre-pandemic 2.52 million vehicles to last year’s 2.52 million, up 0.05%. Changan Automobile from China sold 1.75 million vehicles before the pandemic and grew 32% (2.31 million vehicles) last year. Maruti Suzuki grew 5.7% from 1.56 million to 1.65 million vehicles. Although Geely Auto from China in 2021 didn’t sell as many as it did in 2019, it remained on a gradual growth track. There is a stronger growth momentum and larger growth margin for sales in the Chinese automotive market. In 2020 when the pandemic peaked, the 15 automakers mostly shared a two-digit sales drop and the average drop margin was 13.4%. The COVID outbreak brought the annual sales of the two automotive giants Toyota and Volkswagen down from the 10 million vehicles mark. The top 3 automakers with the largest sales drop in 2020 were Stellantis (down 23%), Nissan and Ford (both down 22%), and Renault (down 21%).
Industry Focus
Weak Foundation Amid Less Desirable Prospect Moving on to the year 2021 of market recovery, the ones with the largest sales regain were Changan Automobile (up 15%), Maruti Suzuki (up 13%) and BMW (up 8%). In that year, only 7 out of the 15 automakers were back to positive growth, accounting for about half. We can roughly estimate that about half the automakers will increase sales and others otherwise this year. The foundation for the automotive industry is still weak and could anytime be subject to sudden impacts from the macro-environment. In fact, there are still many hidden concerns with the automotive industry going forward: there is still the ongoing semiconductor shortage that constricts a part of the automakers’ capacity; steel price remains on the rise and cost pressure encroaches on automakers. After the Russia-Ukraine war broke out, Ukraine has been unable to supply automotive wires to automakers. A research institute forecast that it led to Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen and BMW announcing to reduce production this March. The war has resulted in a loss of 70 thousand new vehicles for Europe and this is not a small number. On the other hand, EVs have a better prospect. Given that EV sales were supported by a large number of purchase in the last two years, if most of the automakers succeed in transitioning from gasolinepowered vehicles to EVs, it is believed that EV sales will no doubt have an explosive growth after the supply of semiconductors and special materials stabilizes.
Global Top 15 Automaker Sales Automakers
Ford
Renault
BMW
Changan
Mercedes
Maruti Suzuki
Geely
Mazda
Year
Sales in Vehicles
Change
Global Ranking
2021 2020 2019 2021 2020 2019 2021 2020 2019 2021 2020 2019 2021 2020 2019 2021 2020 2019 2021 2020 2019 2021 2020
3,942,755 4,231,549 5,385,972 2,689,454 2,949,871 3,749,815 2,521,596 2,324,778 2,520,146 2,314,547 2,003,663 1,759,971 2,093,476 2,164,275 2,339,024 1,652,653 1,457,861 1,563,297 1,328,029 1,320,471 1,361,556 1,074,987 1,243,039
↓ 7% ↓ 22% ↓ 10% ↓ 5% ↓ 21% ↓ 3% ↑ 8% ↓ 8% ↑ 1% ↑ 15% ↑ 14% ↓ 15% ↓ 3% ↓ 8% ↑ 1% ↑ 13% ↓ 7% ↓ 16% ↑ 1% ↓ 1% ↓ 9% ↓ 11% ↓ 17%
8 7 6 9 9 9 10 10 10 11 12 12 12 11 11 13 13 13 14 14 15 15 15
2019
1,454,112
↓ 9%
14
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Industry Focus
An Analysis of
ASEAN Electric Vehicles Market by Behrooz Lotfian
Why is EV Necessary for ASEAN?1 The energy demand in the transportation sector is increasing and the transportation sector currently emits a high amount of greenhouse gases. Electric vehicles (EVs) were introduced to mitigate these emissions of greenhouse gases. EVs are welldeployed in leading countries/regions such as China, Europe, and the United States due to EV-friendly policies and Association of Southeast well-planned EV charging Asian Nations (ASEAN) infrastructure. Association follows these leading of Sout heast Asia n Nations (ASEAN) follows countries and aims to these leading countries become the next EV hub. and aims to become the next EV hub. Effective deployment of EVs requires involvement from governments and willing consumers that push EVs into communities. A survey was carried out among policymakers, manufacturers, and academia to determine suitable policies and financial incentives to increase the deployment of EVs in the market. The survey also included the hurdles and issues faced by the community to adopt EVs and identified that high purchase cost and charging issues are hampering EV deployment in ASEAN. EV-friendly policies and financial incentives were suggested in the survey and will be a good reference material for EV manufacturers and policymakers in ASEAN.
ASEAN Countries and the EV Market Thailand Thai auto market remained in a state of contraction in 2021, with the FTI forecasting its total annual car sales at 750,000
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units, a drop from 792,000 units in 2020, largely due to a weak economic outlook caused by the ongoing pandemic. Thai auto market was refreshed in late 2021, with December vehicle sales likely to see a boost after Chinese automaker Great Wall Motor launched a 100% electric vehicle at a competitive price (Ora Good Cat, priced from $29,300 to $35,200). The pressure on Japanese manufacturers in the markets that have so far dominated the entire vehicle market is likely to intensify, and hence Japanese reacted by:2 • Toyota launched its Cross Hybrid model, priced at $35.600, • while Mitsubishi debuted a plug-in hybrid, the Outlander PHEV, at $51,800.
Thailand plans to attract 400 billion baht (US$12.08 billion) in investments over the coming years and support the production of 1.2 million EVs and 690 charging stations by 2036.3
1
https://aseanenergy.org/electric-vehicle-adoption-in-asean-prospect-and-challenges/
2
https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Automobiles/Thai-EV-market-heats-up-as-Chineseplayer-enters-with-low-prices
3
https://www.aseanbriefing.com/news/thailand-issues-new-incentive-package-forelectric-vehicle-industry/
Industry Focus Singapore Si n g a p o r e a n el e c t r i c ve h i cl e ( E V ) population more than doubled last yea r, growing from 1,397 vehicles at the end of 2020 to 3,713 vehicles at the end of 2021.4 Tesla EV sales boom in Singapore, pushing rivals' models off the streets. Tesla's most basic Model 3 costs nearly $148,300 in Singapore, largely due to an ownership levy, compared with less than $40,000 in the United States.5
It will set aside $30 million over the next five years for EV-related initiatives, such as measures to improve charging provision at private premises. EV sales are expected to continue to grow at an average annual rate of 40% YoY from 2022-2030.
in Indonesia totalled 1,900 units. This total includes 1,378 (72.5%) hybrid models, 34 (1.8%) PHEV units, and 488 (25.7%) BEV units. When viewed from the total sales of cars in Indonesia in the first semester of 2021, the interest in the electric vehicle market is at 0.5% of total cars sold. These figures show that the Indonesian EV sector is still in its infancy. However, it also shows that the market interest has grown significantly. Considering the country’s rapid pace of urbanization and the significant share of youths in the country’s demographic, there is no question that the interest in EV will only rise as the Indonesian society moves towards a more sustainable lifestyle.7 The Indonesian electric vehicle market is highly concentrated at its early growth stage. The main reasons include limited selectivity, high price barriers, and the dependence on internal combustion engines. Major market contributors include GESITS (a local electric two-wheeler motorcycle start-up), Mitsubishi (a leader in the electric passenger vehicle market), and BYD (a leader in both electric public buses and electric public taxis).8
Singapore made a great push for electric vehicle ( EV) adoption i n 2021 wit h t he Government unveiling several schemes to encourage consumers to make the switch. It will set aside $30 million over the next five years for EV-related initiatives, such as measures to improve charging provision at private premises. EV sales are expected to continue to grow at an average annual rate of 40% YoY from 20222030, to reach an annual sales volume high of just under 7,000 units and an EV-penetration rate of around 9.6% of total vehicle sales.6
Indonesia has an ambitious plan to become a major player in the global EV market, and it has developed a US$17 billion roadmap for this specific sector. This roadmap aims to reach an adoption of 2.1 million electric motorcycle and 400,000 electric cars – of which 20% are locally manufactured by 2025.
Indonesia According to Gaikindo's report on EV sales in Indonesia in 2019-2021, only 705 total sales were recorded in 2019, with hybrid sales recorded at 685 units and PHEV (Plugin Hybrid Electric Vehicle) sales at 20. As of June 2021, the number of electric vehicle sales Fastener World no.194/2022
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Industry Focus Indonesia has an ambitious plan to become a major player in the global EV market, and it has developed a US$17 billion roadmap for this specific sector. This roadmap aims to reach an adoption of 2.1 million electric motorcycle and 400,000 electric cars – of which 20% are locally manufactured by 2025.? Indonesia EV projects require much foreign investments support9, and therefore, global electric vehicle companies should invest in Indonesia’s EV sector for huge opportunities.
Malaysia The size of Malaysian electric vehicle market was valued at USD 13.82 million. In 2020 and the total revenue is expected to grow at 12.46 % through 2021 to 2027, Malaysian electric vehicle market is reaching nearly USD 31.44 million. Malaysia's new vehicle sales or total industry volume (TIV) eased 3.9 percent (or 20,603 units) to 508,911 units in 2021 from 529,514 units registered in 2020. Of this, passenger vehicles (PV) accounted for 452,663 units and commercial vehicles (CV) comprised 56,248 units, according to the latest data by the Malaysian Automotive Association (MAA).10
The government had planned to fully exempt import and excise duties as well as sales tax for EVs with a road tax exemption of up to 100 percent, individual income tax relief of up to RM2,500 on the cost of purchase, installation, rent, hire purchase as well as subscription fees for EV charging facilities.
Overlook to ASEAN EV Market The ASEAN electric vehicle market was valued at USD 498.93 million in 2021 and is expected to reach USD 2,665.3 million by 2027, registering a CAGR of 32.73% during the forecast period (2022 - 2027).11 4
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/growing-interest-in-electric-vehicles-whats-next-for-singapore
5
https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/tesla-ev-sales-boom-singapore-pushing-rivals-models-off-streets-2021-10-28/
6
https://sbr.com.sg/transport-logistics/news/electric-vehicle-sales-boom-imminent-in-singapore-fitch
7
https://indonesien.ahk.de/infothek/news/news-details/indonesian-electric-vehicles-industry-development-gains-momentum
8
https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2020/09/18/2095767/28124/en/Indonesian-Electric-Vehicle-EV-Market-Analysis-Growth-Opportunities-Fuel-the-Growth-Pipeline-Engine.html
9
https://www.cekindo.com/blog/investing-indonesia-battery-electric-vehicle
10
https://www.nst.com.my/business/2022/01/764463/malaysias-2021-new-vehicle-sales-slip-39pct-508911-units-maa
11
https://www.mordorintelligence.com/industry-reports/asean-electric-vehicle-market#:~:text=Market%20Overview,period%20(2022%20%2D%202027).
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Industry Focus
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2021 was a year full of various challenges to the global automotive industry. Production line stoppages, material supply shortages, and many other problems caused by the Covid pandemic have led to the insufficient capacities of many car manufacturers, which have been also worsened by the short supply of chips. In addition, the price hike of int’ l crude oil and the regulations formulated by the EU, UK, USA, Japan and many other advanced countries aiming at gradually making fuel vehicles withdraw from the market within a few years have both boosted the development of the EV industry. Several external factors all deeply influence the development and transformation of the supply chain of the automotive industry and are also closely tied with the future trends of the global automotive industry.
According to the detailed 2021 statistics of car production and sales in countries and regions OICA recently released, the originally expected pandemic-incurred declining car purchasing demand and slump in global car production did not happen and even appeared a slight growth, which is beyond everyone’ s expectations. The reasons are worth further observation and discussion in the future. Now let’ s review together the global car production and sales statistics for 2021 below and compare them with those in 2019 and 2020 to observe if there is any changes and possible trends in the global automotive industry.
In 2021, 80,145,988 units of vehicles were produced in the world, slightly up 3% from 2020; in terms of global sales, 82,684,788 units of vehicles were sold, slightly up 5% from 2020 but still below the production and sales recorded in 2019. Below are the global car production and sales in 2019-2021:
Total Production World Motor Vehicle Production By Country/Region And Type Q1-Q4 2019
Q1-Q4 2020
Q1-Q4 2021
EUROPE
21,575,118
16,942,248
16,330,509
-4%
4,947,316
3,742,570
3,308,692
-12%
Germany, cars and LCV only
216
2021/2020
Regions/Countries
Spain
2,822,632
2,268,185
2,098,133
-8%
France, cars and LCV only
2,175,350
1,316,371
1,351,308
3%
Czech Republic
1,433,961
1,159,151
1,111,432
-4%
Slovakia
1,107,902
990,598
1,000,000
1%
United Kingdom
1,381,405
987,044
932,488
-6%
Italy
915,291
777,057
795,856
2%
Poland
649,864
451,382
439,421
-3%
Romania
490,412
438,107
420,755
-4%
Hungary
498,158
406,497
394,302
-3%
Portugal
345,688
264,236
289,954
10%
Fastener World no.194/2022
Production in Europe (Incl. UK) Europe (incl. UK) is the world’s 2nd largest car manufacturing area with the annual production in 2021 reaching 16,330,509 units, only second to China. Compared with 2020, car production in Europe contracted by 4%. Top 5 manufacturers in Europe were Germany, Spain, France, Czech Rep., and Slovakia (representing 54% of Europe’s total). The country showing the most significant drop was Slovenia, while the country showing the most significant increase was Portugal. The total production in Europe was in a slight decline, making it the only region in the world appearing a drop.
Industry Focus World Motor Vehicle Production By Country/Region And Type Regions/Countries
Q1-Q4 2019
Q1-Q4 2020
Q1-Q4 2021
2021/2020
Belgium
285,797
267,293
261,038
-2%
Sweden, yearly only
279,000
249,000
258,000
4%
Austria
179,400
125,000
136,700
9%
Netherlands, yearly only
176,113
127,058
105,458
-17%
Slovenia
199,114
141,714
95,797
-32%
Finland, cars only
114,785
86,270
93,172
8%
Serbia
35,120
23,375
21,263
-9%
CIS + Turkey
2,527,810
3,121,340
3,216,740
3%
Russia
1,719,146
1,435,551
1,566,317
9%
Turkey
1,461,244
1,297,878
1,276,140
-2%
Uzbekistan
277,967
284,885
241,649
-15%
Kazakhstan
49,400
74,831
92,417
24%
Belarus, cars only
20,427
21,295
29,891
40%
Ukraine
7,266
4,951
8,153
65%
Azerbaijan, cars only
2,360
1,949
2,173
12%
AMERICA
20,160,401
15,692,927
16,151,639
3%
NAFTA
16,822,606
13,374,404
13,427,869
0%
USA
10,892,884
8,821,026
9,167,214
4%
Mexico
4,013,137
3,177,251
3,145,653
-1%
Canada
1,916,585
1,376,127
1,115,002
-19%
South America
3,337,795
2,318,523
2,723,770
18%
Brazil
2,944,988
2,014,055
2,248,253
12%
Argentina, cars and LCV only
314,787
257,187
434,753
69%
Colombia
78,020
47,281
40,764
-14%
ASIA-OCEANIA
49,333,841
44,276,549
46,732,785
6%
China
25,750,650
25,225,242
26,082,220
3%
Japan
9,684,507
8,067,943
7,846,955
-3% 30%
India
4,524,366
3,381,819
4,399,112
South Korea
3,950,614
3,506,774
3,462,404
-1%
Thailand
2,013,710
1,427,074
1,685,705
18%
Indonesia
63%
1,286,848
690,176
1,121,967
Iran, yearly only
821,060
880,997
894,298
2%
Malaysia
571,632
485,186
481,651
-1%
Taiwan
251,304
245,615
265,320
8%
Pakistan
186,751
117,375
238,702
103%
Vietnam, yearly only
176,203
165,568
163,250
-1%
Philippines, yearly only
95,094
67,297
83,852
25%
Australia, yearly only
5,606
4,730
5,391
14%
Myanmar, yearly only
15,496
10,753
1,957
-82% 16%
1,113,651
800,001
931,056
South Africa
AFRICA
631,921
447,213
499,087
12%
Morocco
403,218
328,280
403,007
23%
Egypt, yearly only
18,500
23,754
23,754
0%
Algeria
60,012
754
5,208
591%
TOTAL
92,183,011
77,711,725
80,145,988
3%
Production in Africa Africa’s share in the global car production is quite low. Although in 2019 its production exceeded a million units, its production scale has dropped to below a million units since 2020. However, its production of around 930 thousand units in 2021 was still 16% higher than the record in 2020. Major car manufacturing countries in this region were South Africa and Morocco and both countries appeared two-digit YoY growths. Other countries such as Egypt and Algeria also produced certain units of vehicles, but the volumes were quite low.
Production in Russia/Central Asia/E. Europe Production in Russia/Central Asia/E. Europe in 2021 reached over 3.2 million units, up 3% from 2020, not to mention that the production in this region appeared 3 consecutive years of growth since 2019. Nearly 50% of the region’s car manufacturing capacity was in Russia (around 1.57 million units and up 9% from 2020). Turkey, following after Russia, showed the record of nearly 1.3 million units, a slight 2% YoY drop. However, with the war between Russia and Ukraine which has been launched for months, sanctions from the West against Russia that made car manufacturers stop operation in Russia, plummeting depreciation of Ruble that weakened Russian people’s purchasing power and demand for new cars, it is estimated that Russia’s car production in 2022 may appear a significant drop and Turkey may take advantage of this opportunity to become the largest car manufacturing country in the region.
Production in America A mer ica was t he world’s 3rd la rgest ca r manufacturing continent. Being very close to its European counterpart, car production in America in 2021 reached 16,151,639 units, a slight 3% growth from 2020. Different from Europe’s 3 consecutive years of decline in car production, America appeared a significant drop in production in 2020, however, it rose again in 2021, but was still below 2019’s record. The U.S., Mexico, and Canada in N. America, as well as Brazil in S. America are the 4 largest car manufacturing countries in the region. Among these 4 countries, the U.S. showed the highest production record at more than 9 million units (around 56% of America’s total). On the other hand, Argentina appeared the highest growth at 69%, though its production was comparatively low.
Production in Asia/the Oceania In 2021, nearly 47 million units of vehicles were produced in Asia/the Oceania, up 6% from 2020, making this region the world’s largest car manufacturing heartland. China, in particular, represented over 55% of the region’ s total and showed the annual production of over 26 million units. Following after China, Japan, India, S. Korea, Thailand, and Indonesia were also the top car manufacturing countries in the region. Compared to the respective 3% and 1% YoY drop in Japan and S. Korea, Indonesia, India, and Thailand all appeared the YoY growths of 63%, 30%, and 18%, respectively. In the entire Asia/the Oceania, Pakistan appeared the highest YoY growth of 103%, while Myanmar appeared the lowest one at -82% (probably due to the political chaos last year). What’s worth mentioning is that, although Vietnam has been one of the investment focuses of many foreign investors, its conditions and scale of car production seem to be not quite mature yet. Fastener World no.194/2022
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Industry Focus
Total Sales REGISTRATIONS OR SALES OF NEW VEHICLES - ALL TYPES Regions/Countries
218
Q1-Q4 2019
Q1-Q4 2020
Q1-Q4 2021
2021/2020
EUROPE
20,930,716
16,712,898
16,874,893
1%
Germany
4,017,059
3,266,759
2,973,319
-9%
France
2,755,728
2,100,030
2,142,284
2%
United Kingdom
2,736,559
1,964,660
2,044,091
4%
Italy
2,132,630
1,564,756
1,664,483
6%
Spain
1,501,244
1,030,746
1,034,063
0%
Poland
656,258
510,153
554,613
9%
Belgium
642,000
509,994
462,536
-9%
Netherlands
538,739
427,162
405,061
-5%
Sweden
418,478
330,215
343,880
4%
Austria
371,934
301,617
306,176
2%
Switzerland
352,968
269,391
272,249
1%
Other Countries
285,560
215,910
237,203
10%
Czech Republic
281,423
228,834
236,221
3%
Denmark
264,073
233,271
221,937
-5%
Norway
189,824
180,592
217,572
20%
Portugal
265,827
173,989
183,390
5%
Hungary
190,090
153,978
150,387
-2%
Romania
189,504
145,507
144,222
-1%
Ireland
145,104
112,122
136,126
21%
Finland
133,505
112,988
115,291
2%
Greece
122,990
88,710
112,364
27%
Slovakia
113,863
84,909
87,349
3%
Croatia
73,862
43,800
54,330
24%
Bulgaria
44,977
29,663
34,472
16%
RUSSIA, TURKEY & OTHER EUROPE
2,506,517
2,633,142
2,741,274
4%
Russia
1,778,841
1,631,163
1,741,965
7%
Turkey
491,947
796,150
772,722
-3%
Ukraine
102,542
98,986
121,772
23%
Other Countries/Regions
133,187
106,843
96,819
-9%
AMERICA
25,384,924
20,814,832
22,001,152
6%
NAFTA
20,824,602
17,445,480
18,160,120
4%
United States Of America
17,488,154
14,881,356
15,408,565
4%
Canada
1,976,440
1,586,474
1,704,850
7%
Mexico
1,360,008
977,650
1,046,705
7%
CENTRAL & SOUTH AMERICA
4,560,322
3,369,352
3,841,032
14%
Brazil
2,787,850
2,058,437
2,119,851
3%
Chile
348,575
258,835
415,582
61%
Argentina
452,200
334,316
370,283
11%
Other Countries/Regions
346,376
253,970
337,911
33%
Colombia
248,689
173,121
229,493
33%
Peru
155,507
108,999
152,856
40%
Ecuador
119,197
78,187
109,707
40%
Puerto Rico
101,928
103,487
105,349
2%
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Sales in Europe (Incl. UK) I n t h e p r ev io u s p a r a g r a p h s , we mentioned that Europe was the world’s 2nd largest car manufacturing region. However, in terms of Europe’ s sales , its performance was still behind America and was in the 3rd place. Its sales in 2021 reached around 16.9 million units, a slight 1% growth from 2020. Top 5 car sales markets in Europe were Germany, France, UK, Italy, and Spain (Germany, France and UK shared over 42% of the Europe’s total car sales). Among these 5 countries, except for Germany with the top sales record appeared a 9% YoY drop from 2020, the other countries all appeared a growth in the range of 0-6%.
Sales in Russia/E. Europe/Turkey Car sales in Russia/E. Europe/Turkey reached 2.74 million units in 2021, up 4% from 2020. Sales in this region were mainly concentrated in Russia and reached 1.74 million units. So far, Russia has been the world’s 9th largest car sales market. Turkey was the 2nd largest car sales market in the region, but sales in Turkey dropped by 3% from 2020. The 3rd car sales market in the region, Ukraine, appeared a significant 23% YoY growth in 2021. However, with Russian invasion of Ukraine in the beginning of this year, economic activities in Ukraine almost stagnated. As a result, car sales in Ukraine may appear a significant decline and it may take a long period of time for full recovery.
Sales in America In 2021,more than 22 million units of vehicles were sold in America, up 6% from 2020. Over 70% of America’ s sales were in the U.S. Brazil was in the 2nd place with the sales of around 2.12 million units, better than Canada’s 1.7 million units and Mexico’s 1.05 million units. Other countries such as Chile, Argentina, Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, Puerto Rico, though with a smaller market scale, were still major car sales markets in the region. Compared with 2020, car sales in all S. American countries appeared growth.
Industry Focus REGISTRATIONS OR SALES OF NEW VEHICLES - ALL TYPES Regions/Countries
Q1-Q4 2019
Q1-Q4 2020
Q1-Q4 2021
2021/2020
ASIA/OCEANIA/MIDDLE EAST
43,713,696
40,322,544
42,663,736
6%
China
25,796,931
25,311,069
26,274,820
4%
Japan
5,195,216
4,598,615
4,448,340
-3%
India
3,816,858
2,938,575
3,759,398
28%
South Korea
1,795,134
1,905,972
1,734,581
-9%
Australia
1,062,867
916,968
1,049,831
14%
Indonesia
1,030,486
532,077
887,205
67%
Thailand
1,007,552
792,146
748,580
-5%
Saudi Arabia
533,904
452,544
556,559
23% -4%
Malaysia
604,287
529,434
508,911
Other Countries/Regions
534,707
399,580
435,754
9%
Taiwan
425,000
444,161
422,000
-5%
Israel
268,220
226,338
306,012
35%
Philippines
410,406
244,178
286,734
17%
Vietnam
281,262
262,823
260,850
-1%
Pakistan
187,714
124,429
237,424
91%
United Arab Emirates
232,305
158,711
188,844
19%
Uzbekistan
197,103
195,000
184,500
-5%
New Zealand
149,293
115,435
159,636
38%
Kazakhstan*
71,818
89,202
113,600
27%
Kuwait
112,633
85,287
100,157
17%
AFRICA
1,197,846
924,046
1,145,007
24%
South Africa
532,898
372,633
464,493
25% 26%
Egypt
170,568
219,732
277,805
Other Countries/Regions
328,464
198,373
227,274
15%
Morocco
165,916
133,308
175,435
32%
91,227,182
78,774,320
82,684,788
5%
ALL COUNTRIES/REGIONS
Sales in Asia/the Oceania The same as production, ca r sales in Asia /the Oceania have been in the unbeatable 1st place in the world for years. Its sales in 2021 were around 42.66 million units (up 6% from 2020) and this figure was even much higher than the total sales in Europe and America. Top 5 car sales markets in this region were China (26.27 million units), Japan (4.45 million units), India (3.76 million units), S. Korea (1.73 million units) and Australia (1.05 million units). During 2019-2021, China being the world’s largest car sales market even appea red consecutive yea rs of growth and its YoY growth in 2021 was 4%. India among the top 5 sales markets appeared the most significant YoY growth at 28%. If such a growing trend continues, India is very likely to outpace Japan within a few years to become the 2nd largest car sales market in Asia/the Oceania.
Sales in Africa Car sales in Africa in 2021 reached around 1.15 million units, up 24% from 2020. Major car sales markets were South Africa, Egypt, and Morocco. The production of South Africa was similar to its sales. As for Egypt, its ca r product ion was comparatively low (only 23,000 units), but its car sales reached nearly 0.3 million units, higher than the scale of Morocco.
Conclusions Observing the global car production and sales, we found that the global automotive industry faced the severe pandemic in 2020 and the pandemic-incurred side effects also made the production and sales to drop slightly. However, starting from 2021, the industry appeared gradual recovery again and both production and sales returned to the level of 80 million units (although still below the record in 2019, the growing trend continues). Germany, France, Spain, and Italy of W. Europe, UK, Czech Rep. and Slovakia of E. Europe, China, Japan, India, S. Korea, and Thailand of Asia, the U.S., Mexico, Canada, and Brazil of America, Russia, and Turkey are all the world’s major car production and sales markets. The author thinks that if the global pandemic could be gradually under control after 2023 and more countries open their borders, many problems the industry is facing will be fixed in the end. In addition, if the technology and construction of infrastructure of EV can make a significant breakthrough, people will be more willing to replace their old cars with new ones, which will boost the market demand and purchasing power, then the global car production and sales are very likely to reach the mark of 0.1 bn units within 2-3 years.
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Industry Focus
U.S. Electric Vehicles Market An Analysis of
by Shervin Shahidi Hamedani
Introduction The global Electric Vehicle (EV) market share has taken a terrific leap forward in the past decade, and the trend is expected the to grow faster. Shifting to allelectric options in hopes of creating a cleaner and more environmentally sustainable world. In terms of sales, the global electric vehicles market has experienced a tremendous increase, but still the trends show that, we have only seen a fraction of vast potential of this market. Studies estimate that global EV market will hit 10% of global passenger vehicle sales by 2025, 28% by 2030 and 58% by 2040. The key players of this market are China, Europe, and the US. China is anticipated to hold 49% of the global EV market while Europe is likely to account for 27%. The US will hold 14% by 2030. Chart 1 below exhibits the monthly sales of electric cars in major car markets (China, Europe and the US) in 2021 and in comparison to 2020 in thousand vehicles*.
Chart 1. Monthly Sales of Electric Cars in Major Car Markets in 2021 and in Comparison to 2020
1000 900 800 700 600 China
500
Europe
400
US
300 200 100
Dec-21
Oct-21
Nov-21
Sep-21
Aug-21
Jul-21
Jun-21
Apr-21
May-21
Feb-21
Mar-21
Jan-21
Dec-20
Oct-20
Nov-20
Sep-20
Aug-20
Jul-20
Jun-20
Apr-20
May-20
Feb-20
Mar-20
Jan-20
0
As derived from the chart, the highest sales in the US was in Dec last year, with 84,000 electric cars and the lowest sales registered in Jan 2021. Altogether this implies an upward trend in electric cars sales in the US. Overall, in terms of EV’s market size, the growth has been particularly remarkable over the last three years, even as the global pandemic contracted the market for conventional vehicles and as manufacturers started dealing with supply chain holdups. In 2019, 2.2 million electric cars were sold, representing just 2.5% of global car sales. In 2020, the overall car market contracted but electric car sales experienced a growth, climbing to 3 million and representing 4.1% of total car sales. In 2021, electric car sales more than doubled to 6.6 million, representing close to 9% of the global car market and more than tripling their market share from two years earlier. All the net growth in global car sales in 2021 came from electric cars.
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Industry Focus The US Market While the US lags behind China and the European Union in its transition to EVs, the US is implementing procedures that would benefit the adoption in the near future. The U.S. electric vehicle market size was USD 24.03 billion in 2020 and it’ s expected to grow to USD 137.43 billion in 2028 at a CAGR of 25.4% in the 2021-2028 period.
Hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and electric vehicle sales in the United States have increased in recent months as sales of non-hybrid internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles fuelled by gasoline or diesel decreased. In the fourth quarter of 2021, hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and electric vehicles collectively accounted for 11% of light-duty vehicle sales in the United States, according to data from Wards Intelligence.
Plans to construct a nationwide network of charging stations and improving EV batteries are currently being implemented. The US government has promised to set up 50,000 individual chargers, which is five times more than the current number, in 28,000 new charging stations by 2030, and this is expected to meet half the country’s charging demands. This is in line with the government’s plan addressing climate change and addressing the needs of environmental justice communities in the United States as their two important priorities. The Biden administration has concurrently taken substantial steps to build new regulatory programs not only to restore the environmental protections cancelled during Trump’s presidency, but to substitute them with even more determined requirements. Therefore, the US would focus further on sustainable development matters over the coming years, which will be favourable for EV adoption.
Sales of several existing hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and electric models increased in 2021, but a large portion of the sales increase came from new manufacturer offerings across different market segments. Manufacturers increased the number of non-hybrid ICE vehicle models by 49 in 2021, versus an increase of 126 for hybrid and electric vehicle models. These additional hybrid or electric models were mostly either crossover vehicles, which combine attributes of passenger cars and sport utility vehicles, or vehicles such as vans and pickups, which previously didn’t have many hybrid or electric vehicle options.
Last year, the country made an impressive return to the electric car market as sales more than doubled to surpass half a million. The overall US car market recovered as well, but electric cars doubled their share to 4.5%. Chart 2 below illustrates electric cars sales in the country within the last two years.
Manufacturers of hybrid vehicles and plug-in vehicles have expanded into market segments such as crossovers, vans, and pickups following consumer preference for larger vehicles. Within each electric or hybrid powertrain type, crossover vehicles now account for most sales.
Based on the report from United States Department of Energy, sales of new light-duty plug-in electric vehicles, including allelectric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), almost doubled from 308,000 in 2020 to 608,000 in 2021. EV sales accounted for 73% of all plug-in electric vehicle sales in 2021. EV sales raised by 85% from 2020 to 2021, while sales of PHEVs more than doubled, with an increase of 138% over the previous year. The fast increase in plugin electric vehicle sales from 2020 to 2021 is outstanding in the context of overall light-duty vehicle sales, which increased by only 3% during the same period.
In summary, the evolution to EVs has kept its momentum as the country progressively develops and implements policies to speed up growth in EV. Promotion activities and government policies are assisting to overcome major consumer barriers related to vehicle range, higher upfront costs, inadequate model availability, and lack of awareness. These factors will influence the U.S. electric vehicle market forecast. 84
Thousand Electric Cars
66
36
35 36
29
69 55 57
54 55
Chart 2. U.S. Electric Cars Sales in 2020-2021
42
25
Dec-21
Oct-21
Nov-21
Sep-21
Jul-21
Aug-21
Jun-21
May-21
Apr-21
Feb-21
Mar-21
Jan-21
Dec-20
Nov-20
Oct-20
Sep-20
Aug-20
Jul-20
Jun-20
16 May-20
Apr-20
10 Mar-20
Jan-20
16 Feb-20
15
28 27
55
48
42 28
74
US
Sources: •
Electric vehicles, driving towards the future, by The Edge Markets.
•
Electric cars fend of f supply challenges to more than double global sales, by iea.org
•
New Plug-in Electric Vehicle Sales in the United States Nearly Doubled from 2020 to 2021, by energy.gov
•
IEA, Monthly sales of electric cars in major car markets, 2021 compared with 2020, IEA, Paris https://www.iea.org/data-and-statistics/charts/monthly-sales-ofelectric-cars-in-major-car-markets-2021-compared-with-2020*
•
Electric vehicles and hybrids surpass 10% of U.S. light-duty vehicle sales, US Energy Information Administration
•
U.S. Electric Vehicle Market Size, Share & COVID-19 Impact Analysis, By Vehicle Type and Regional Forecast, 2021-2028, Fortune Business Insights
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Industry Feature
An Analysis of Chinese
Electric Vehicles Market by Sharareh Shahidi Hamedani
Chinese electric vehicles market was valued at USD 124.2 billion in 2021, and it is expected to reach USD 799 billion by 2027 by registering a CAGR of over 30.1% during the forecast period (2022 - 2027).
According to CPCA (China Passenger Car Association), China sold a total of 3.31 million new energy passenger vehicles in 2021, accounting for a 53% share of the global market, taking back the position it lost to Europe which finished 2021 with only 33%, while the United States accounted for 11% of new energy vehicle sales. Again, CPCA’ s figures align closely with those of the IEA, which reported China as finishing 2021 with 3.4 million electric vehicle registrations, which would account for a 51.5% share of the global market. According to Chinese electric vehicle media outlet (CnEVPost), which reported on the CPCA’ s new report, China returned to the global leader after a slump in 2020 which saw the country’ s share of new energy vehicle sales fall to 41%, allowing Europe to jump a spot with 44%. EV deliveries are expected to hit 5 million and climb to as high as 20 million by 2030, according to think tank China EV 100.
Authorities in China are paying increasing attention to any possible weak links that could undermine the EV sector after weathering this year's chip shortage, which still disrupts production to this day. Automakers in the country rely on imports for raw materials like cobalt and lithium but also refrigerants that are used in a car's heatmanagement system and the high-wear resistance bearing steel that's needed for electric motors. The list goes on. With expectations for around 300 million NEVs on China's roads by 2040, people could expect more policy initiatives to shore up supply lines.
EV Players in China According a Ries& Ries report, in China, the EV market is mostly in the hands of the following companies: • BYD (24.9%) • SGMW (8.5%) • Chery (5.3%)
The Story of 2019-2020 Once subsidies reduced for EV cars in mid of 2019, the market of EV cars declined 50% in July 2019 in China. Based on this reason, most EV manufacturers didn't reach to their specified goals. For example, WEY had a sales goal for 100K EV but they could only reach the sales of 17K in that year. On the other hand, small-size EV manufacturers could cope with the issue in the 3rd quarter of 2019, because they could upgrade their EVs charge to over 250 kilometres, hence, their EV sales increased by 20% in November and 70% in December month on month. Small-size EVs share 20% of the total EV market and are mostly used in small cities of China. Because of the Covid pandemic, the subsidies of EVs returned back for two years and Chinese government announced that the subsidies would be allocated to improve infrastructures.
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• Tesla (5.2%) • SAIC (4.5%) BYD is the largest EV manufacturer in China. It has stopped its pure engine car production line and focused on EVs and Plug-in hybrid vehicles. Based on this decision its hybrid cars use small engines. Toyota has partnered with Chinese BYD since December 2021 for producing a new type of affordable electric cars scheduled to be launched in the end of 2022. The price range will be around $30,000. The total revenue of BYD at the end of the third quarter of 2021 was USD 24.1 billion and in the previous year its revenue was USD 25.7 billion.
Industry Feature Key Points of the EV Market in China 1. The Price and Driving Range of EVs are Improving Chinese consumers have three main concerns about EVs: their high price, their limited driving range and the dearth of charging points. Price sensitivity remains high, as shown by the abrupt fall in EV sales in mid-2019 when the government cut price support levels.
2. New Models Have been a Game-Changer New EV models are being launched, including those from traditional car manufacturers, increasing the competition among brands and also giving consumers more choices. The entrance of Tesla's Model 3, one of the best-selling electric vehicles in China, has been a game-changer for the industry. Tesla's success bolstered the business case for domestic EV start-ups such as NIO, Xpeng and Li Auto, while sending traditional auto manufacturers back to the drawing board to design EVs from scratch.
3. Vehicle Smartisation Ch i nese consu mers view EVs ver y di fferently f rom Europeans, whose focus is on their environmentally friendly credentials. By contrast, Chinese consumers are more heavily influenced by the smart technology, or‘vehicle smartisation’, that EVs offer. And, this trend could tilt the market decisively in favour of EVs, particularly once price parity with conventional cars is reached, which is expected within the next five years.
EV Market Trend 2021-2022 •
Xiaomi is the other player in this industry that it has entered the EV market in March 2021, and its plan for investing is 10 billion USD that is injected to the company within 10 years.
•
Tesla has invested $200 million USD in order to expand its Giga-Factory China in November 2021 and it will hire 4,000 people.
•
Geely auto and Inchcape signed a global partnership in July 2021 in order to jointly explore business in Chile. Since February 2021 Geely has partnered with Volvo Groups in order to maximize the strengths of the Swedish and Chinese Automotive Groups, autonomous drive technologies, and sharing of EV architecture.
•
NIO day 2020 was held in Chengdu. NIO has launched its first autonomous driving model, NIO ET7, a smart electric flagship sedan. The ET7 will range from USD 70,000 or from USD 59,000 with BaaS (Battery as a Service). NIO is set to expand for the first time out of its home country, starting with a launch of electric vehicles in May 2021 in Norway.
•
Ford has sig ned a joi nt vent u re wit h Ch i na's Z ot ye Automobile. They will invest $756 million in a 50-50 venture and they will produce small electric cars. Fastener World no.194/2022
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Exhibitions
M-Tech Nagoya 2022
Fastener World Builds Connection Between Japanese and Taiwanese Companies Amid Increased Purchase Demand by Dean Tseng, Fastener World
Japanese Fastener Business Owners in a Rush to Find Taiwanese Quality Suppliers The Nagoya fair is the largest manufacturing show in central Japan. On a positive outlook for a continuing recovery into this year, Fastener World had its onsite exhibiting representative and online Japanese market specialist ready to work together to grab Japanese purchase orders this spring for Taiwanese fastener companies and help Japanese customers find their ideal targets.
The show opened at Portmesse Nagoya on April 13-15, 2022. The first day saw an incoming crowd of thousands of people — clearly a sign that the past two years’ contraction in sales and purchase spikes the rebound of Japanese fastener transaction. Actually, in the online talks between our Japanese market specialist and onsite visitors, we found the visitors had to adjust purchase and shipment messed up by supply chain disruption. Right now they are in need of finding new Taiwanese suppliers and specifically want a high quality source of products priced lower than Japan's. Despite the pandemic, as well as supply chain disruption and Russia/Ukraine war that altogether cause a global price hike, if your product price remains competitive over Japan’s, now is the best chance for you to expand in Japan through Fastener World. During the show, a Japanese visitor asked Fastener World about the impact of the Russian/Ukraine war on Taiwanese fastener industry and the corresponding business opportunities. Another one asked if there is anyone in Taiwan to supply SKD11 (alloy tool steel) as well as fasteners made of special materials. Another one was in urgent need of Taiwan-made fastener forming machines and threading machines. Still another one wanted to find licensed manufacturers through Fastener World’s media platform. Fastener World has a great team processing their demand to match them with suitable Taiwanese companies. Manufacturing World Nagoya (including M-Tech Nagoya) gathered a total of 430 exhibitors this year. According to Tokyo Shoko Research, Nagoya has as many as 17 thousand factories, higher than Osaka at 16 thousand and Tokyo at 14 thousand. Nagoya is a manufacturing hub at the center of Japan. The next edition of the show will start on April 1214, 2023.
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Feature: Machine Suppliers
Pointmaster Machinery Co., Ltd.
Self-Drilling Screw Forming Machine – Your Trust-Worthy Partner by Gang Hao Chang, Vice Editor-in-Chief of Fastener World
Since the launch of its first PM-210A Self-Drilling Screw Forming Machine in 1999, Pointmaster has continued to open up new pages in the development of this field, creating one after another products that are appreciated by global industrial customers. Excellent performance and original patented design keep up the pace with the ever-changing fastener production process, not only win the unanimous affirmation of customers, but also make Pointmaster the leading brand in the advanced industry and the first choice of Self-Drilling Screw Forming Machine with the most complete series products.
Single and Double Stroke Models to Meet Different Production Needs of Customers Pointmaster's R&D team has been adhering to the concept of innovation for more than 23 years, continuously improving product design, saving the essence and successfully developed many popular models. The single stroke models PM-100 & PM-200 for carbon steel screws. The single/double stroke models PM-100S & PM-210S for carbon & stainless steel screws. Moreover, in response to the processing needs of customers with large wire diameter, long screw and Bi-metal screw, PM-W model is the best choice. At present, all models of Pointmaster have passed the EU CE certification and use different cast iron materials, so the body structure is stable and strong, and obtained several patents and certificates (incl. invention patent No.150939 and utility model patent No. 184540, 192893, 176338, 184718)
Contact: President Chi Wei Liao Email: tforever@ms29.hinet.net
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Exclusive Dual Clutch Design to Extend Service Life of Molds A mong a l l Poi nt master's mach i nes, t he most astonishing design must be the “dual clutch system”, which is highly praised by the industry. When the traditional selfdrilling screw forming machine is in operation, the quality of screw products is often poor due to stuck feeding or impact of the empty mold. The dual clutch system developed by Pointmaster allows the machine to quickly disengage from the inertia of the front flywheel under fast operation, makes the brake more sensitive, and will not reduce the service life of molds due to the hollow damage. Furthermore, in order to serve customers nearby Taiwan's major screw industrial center, Pointmaster also has a repair station in Gangshan, which provides customers with immediate maintenance and new machine installation and positioning services.
Overseas Sales Agents Making Customer Service More Convenient President Chi Wei Liao of Pointmaster said, “Our sales performance last year was still up to standard. Even though the epidemic makes us temporarily impossible to do annual after-sales service tours to overseas customers as before, we can only solve problems through video chat currently except for China. However, I expect that the world would be able to return to normal life next year, thereby promoting economic growth, and the trend of increasing orders will appear again. Through the domestic Gangshan repair station and overseas sales agents as support, our service is bound to be more rapid, convenient, comprehensive, and all-rounded in the future.”
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Feature: Machine Suppliers
Cheng I Wire Machinery-
The Best Support for High ValueAdded Products Manufacturing Among the global wire processing equipment suppliers, Cheng I Wire Machinery Co., Ltd. has been always in the lead in terms of technology and customer service and has been also a strong power that cannot be ignored in the wire processing field of the global fastener industry. Cheng I specializes in the R&D and manufacturing of equipment for rust removing, wire drawing/coiling/feeding, and high-speed straightening and cutting, comprehensively used by customers worldwide to process various types of wire such as screw wire, low carbon steel wire (galvanized wire, nail wire, groundwork mesh), high carbon steel wire (steel wire, spring wire, wire rope, wheel steel wire), alloy wire (alloy screw wire, alloy copper wire), etc., which can help achieve the dimensions and quality demanded by customers more efficiently.
“A Magician” for Wire Processing Equipment All Customers Can Find Equipment That Best Suits Their Needs With their excellent equipment R&D ability and technical research team behind, Cheng I can always find the most suitable solutions according to customers’ different actual application demands. On the one hand, they’ll listen to every customer’s demand for equipment first and after times of discussions and confirmations, they’ll offer customers professional advice and solutions for better product design and function improvement, make them realize the advantages and disadvantages of their required solutions, and eventually satisfy their demands. On the other hand, for knowing more about future customers’ equipment demand, The strength of Cheng I in the R&D of equipment has been the team of Cheng I oftentimes conducts market surveys continuously testified by collaborations with global customers. It and interviews with customers to gather relevant data for successfully improved the design of a Japanese customer’s IVD wire developing more new equipment based on original design that drawing machine and used relevant equipment and mechanisms to relieve is more compliant with customers’ demands. operators’ workload, enhance the control over manufacturing procedures, and ensure the full compliance of the final wire quality with customers’ “Getting a full understanding of the R&D of equipment requirements. and technology has been always our most powerful and competitive strength in the market. As a result, we are able “Japanese customers had strict requirements for customization, so to provide customers with well-rounded suggestions based on we even flied to Japan for times during our collaboration for full-day their requirements and this is also why our customers around discussions, reviews, and detailed confirmations. However, everything the world count on our equipment and technology so much,” was worth it when customers showed satisfaction on their faces and gave said General Manager Marco Wang of Cheng I. their recognition after we delivered products to them ,” added General Manager Marco Wang.
Customization & Whole-Plant Integrated Equipment Setup Service
In addition to the R&D of equipment, Cheng I also offers customers whole-plant integrated equipment setup service. Through understanding customers’ actual demands, it can introduce superior equipment suppliers to them and offer professional suggestions about equipment and manufacturing procedures to help them achieve smooth production lines. Cheng I’s CE-certified products have been quite popular in Europe, USA, Southeast Asia, India, the Middle East, Turkey, Japan, China, Taiwan, and many other major markets. With more countries loosening their border control measures, customers’ demand will increase. The operating income of Cheng I last year showed a continuous positive growth.
Cheng I contact: General Manager Marco Wang Email: marco@cheng-i.com
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General Manager Wang said, “We’d like to aggressively expand our sales to the Middle East and E. European markets while simultaneously maintaining existing customers to create more advantages and profit for them.”
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Feature: Machine Suppliers
Chen Tai Fastener Machine Co., Ltd.
Dedicated to Vibratory Bowl Feeder Equipment for High Efficiency Automatic Production Line In the production of fastener and hand tool, the goal is to make the high quality and zero defect product. Thus, the feeder machine is an important role during the production. With fluently feeding to next procedure machine, a professional vibratory bowl feeder is to be reckoned with. With 37 years’ experience in feeder’s field, CHEN TAI is known as the leading of feature and performance in vibratory bowl feeder in Taiwan.
Customized Vibratory Bowl Feeders – The Fastest Feeding Speed and the Most Accurate Orientation Chen Tai has cooperated with fastener and hand tool manufacturers for years. The vibratory bowl feeders made by Chen Tai are accompany with most of the fastener machines exported from Taiwan. They have extensive experience in assisting customers in developing and customized vibratory bowl feeders according to the differences of customers’ product design and material. Customers will get their best made-to-order vibratory bowl feeder. The important factors of the design of vibratory bowl feeder is to achieve the correct orientation of the components, feed them one by one with the same direction, and with the fastest feeding speed. Therefore, the research and development team of Chen Tai makes the vibratory bowls based on the exactly needs of customers, leading to 100% correct orientation with the direction specified by customers, and using the fastest speed to connecting with the next manufacturing process. Achieving an automatic production line to make the earliest lead time for products, also save the time, labor, and cost. With the knowhow and the experience on feeder machine, Chen Tai invents varies feeder, orientation, sorting and assembly machine for the secondary processing which improves a lot on the fastener process also impresses the industry. Chen Tai noted, “The advent of the headless/ double ended stud orientation machines and the vibratory bowl feeder for long screw are a few technical breakthroughs achieved by our team. In the past, customers often encountered bottlenecks when they needed to align headless fasteners. We developed the headless fastener orientation machine which can be matched with different sizes of vibratory bowls and the minimum orientation can also orientate the two sides of headless fasteners with an O.D. tolerance of 0.8mm and array them in the same direction. As for another type of long fastener vibratory bowl feeder which is able to orientate long screws up to length 400mm, can be regarded as unique in the industry!”
Automatic Feeders to Improve the Safety of Usage In addition to vibratory bowl feeders, Chen Tai has also developed an automatic elevator conveyor which can load about 700 kg of fasteners. With the hopper at side instead of on the top of the machine, it solves the problem that traditional hopper feeders usually need the bridge crane to carry the screw storage hopper overhead and supply the screws into the hopper feeder. This improvement enhances the safety of operators. The special design of feeding help release the large bunch of threads of long screws. Chen Tai Fastener emphasized, “We can help customize automatic equipment related to vibratory bowl feeder, feeder machine, lettering and knurling. Our products are suitable for the fields of fasteners, food, medical supplies, and daily necessities. We sell products all around the world and also set up branch offices in China for China domestic sales and maintenance. Even in the difficult time of the coronavirus influenza pandemic, we still have a great growth for global revenue and keep continuing to provide a variety of products to meet customers’ need for feeding and orientation.”
Contact: Edith Chen / Vicky Chen
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Email: chentai@jenntai.com.tw
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Special Feature
Dr. Fastener:
Avoiding Fastener Failures
Fastener Selection and Use by Guy Avellon
Many times fastener failures begin when the product is ordered. Sometimes the incorrect fastener product is ordered for the job through miscommunication from the requesting party to the purchasing personnel and even to the distributor. Then, once the fastener products are ordered, there are many ways fasteners can be misused. The following are suggestions of what to look for and what to avoid when selecting a fastener product and their installation.
Fastener Selection: 1. Always be sure the order is correct. If there is a question, ask. •
This seems basic but maintenance personnel and engineers use jargon and descriptions not easily recognizable on a Purchasing Order to non-technical personnel.
2. If the order includes one Grade or Class of fastener and a different Grade or Class of nut that is the same size, ask and reconfirm. 3. Always use a nut whose strength matches the grade of its mating fastener. •
Inaccuracies may happen at the procurement level where an incorrect product was bought, due to lack of specification or price differences.
•
Problems may occur at the maintenance level where many types of products are stored and may be mixed when excess product is returned.
4. Make sure that all of the fasteners and nuts in a multiple connection are the same grade or Property Class.
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5. Bolt lengths should be long enough to accommodate a flat washer under the head and under the nut when applicable. •
There only need to be at least two bolt threads sticking out of a tightened nut. Any more threads than two are useless and increase the stresses on the threads in the joint.
•
The end of the bolt should never be flush with the nut opening as the first thread of the nut is incomplete.
6. Always use a hardened SAE or ASTM F436 flat washer under the nut and bolt head with any fastener whose strength is an SAE Grade 5 or ISO Class 8.8, A325 or stronger. 7. USS flat washers should only be used on sheet metal, plastics or any compressible materials. •
The USS flat washer does not increase the load bearing surface any more than an SAE washer does on a steel joint.
•
The only fastener products that will increase the load bearing surface area is a flanged head bolt and nut because it is an integral part of the fastener.
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Special Feature 8. Fine threads (UNF) will produce 10% more clamp load than a coarse threaded fastener. •
This is due to the differences in stress area; there is more metal with the UNF.
•
The shallow helix angle ma kes f ine th reads less susceptible to loosening from vibration.
9. Never mix nut and bolt finishes in a multiple bolt connection. •
That is, non-plated with plated or with different types of coatings.
•
Especially do not mix plated fasteners/nuts with hot dipped galvanized products where the nuts may be overtapped.
10. A lock washer will not prevent loss of preload. •
If the clamp load is not significantly higher than the external service load, nothing will prevent loosening and loss of preload.
11. If the assembly did not come with a lock washer as OEM, Never put one on the fastener. •
Reread above.
12. No locking device will ever prevent loss of preload. •
Nothing will guarantee against loss if the joint materials, fastener components and installation torque are not compatible.
13. Metal prevailing torque lock nuts are reusable, nylon insert nuts are not. Choose the metal nuts if you expect frequent maintenance. • • •
Prevailing torque lock nuts have a lubricant applied which reduces thread friction. A nylon nut is like a standard nut, it has dry threads which promote an increase in friction and an increase in torque. The nylon will also provide less drag with each reuse due to wear.
14. Any locking device will not always adequately perform in every application. •
Lock washers are good for sheet metal and small screws, not 1-1/2” (38 mm) bolts.
•
Thread locking chemicals do not act alike, read the labels.
15. Thread locking chemicals are good for low impact and low vibration loads.
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Never rely on any locking device to stop loosening or loss of preload.
•
Preload must be sufficient to overcome predictive service loads.
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Fastener Installation: 1. Any fastener made can and will fail if not properly installed. •
There are hundreds of variables to consider that will cause loss of clamp load.
2. Each joint is unique. •
What you do for one joint may not be good for another.
3. Impact wrenches are NOT for installing fasteners. EVER. •
They have too much uncontrolled initial impact torque.
•
If they must be used, perform a controlled test on a noncritical joint.
4. Uniform tightening is more important than torque. •
If one side is tighter than the other, loosening occurs.
5. Tightening technique affects the connection more than torque. •
How compressible is the joint?
•
Were incremental torques used along with a torque pattern?
6. Never apply full torque to a fastener during initial tightening, especially with multiple fasteners in a single joint connection. •
The first fastener will become tighter, and then it loosens as the rest are tightened.
7. Tighten in torque increments. If it is a critical connection, retighten the fastener after two minutes and again after a load has been applied. •
This is due to the normal compression set of the materials, joint and fastener.
•
There is no such thing as a non-compressible gasket. Every material relaxes, every material is compressible.
8. Torquing the head of the fastener takes more torque than tightening the nut. •
A torsional twist is applied to the body of the fastener instead of stretching the threaded section which dissipated the torsion more. When turning the head stops, the fastener ‘unwinds’ itself and therefore loses both stretch and clamp load.
•
This effect is reduced if the fastener is lubricated.
9. Use incremental loading when tightening multiple fasteners in the same joint as well as using a criss-cross pattern. •
This produces an evenly loaded joint connection.
Special Feature 10. Clamp load must always exceed the service load. •
If not, the joint will either loosen or fail from metal fatigue.
11. Torque is a function of friction and only evaluates torsional friction; keep all surfaces consistent. •
Lubricants reduce friction, so it takes less torque (friction) to tighten.
14. All metal prevailing torque lock nuts take less torque to tighten than a standard hex nut. •
•
All of these products are coated with a wax finish to reduce the prevailing torque drag friction caused by the locking feature.
•
The increase in speed causes more joint compression, hence the relaxation. It is an elastic rebound effect.
21. Torque is not affected by socket extensions. 22. Torque is affected by handle length extensions. 23. Tapped holes, such as engine blocks, are considered ‘wet’ torques by OEM. 24. Never reuse a bolt in a critical application. •
There may be stress cracks that are not visible.
These products are reusable at least five (5) times.
15. Never tighten a lubricated fastener without using the proper torque value for that lubricant. •
Some lubricants are more ‘slippery’ than others. All types are different.
•
Too high a torque with a very efficient lubricant will cause the fastener to be stretched into yield (UNC) or to strip threads (UNF).
16. A lubricated fastener will not vibrate loose any more than a dry fastener if the proper torque has been applied. •
Loosening a nut will create extra friction between the threads affecting torque, which will be less than desired and can never be regained.
20. The faster the nut and/or bolt are tightened, the greater the joint relaxation.
This is because friction is kept at a constant, not a variable.
13. A lubricated fastener will take less torque than dry to achieve the same clamp load. •
•
Torquing a ‘dry’ fastener and a ‘lubricated’ fastener with the same torque will result in the dry fastener having a much lower clamp load than the other.
12. The only time a torque wrench is accurate is when the fastener is lubricated. •
19. If the tightening motion has stopped below the desired torque value, tightening may continue safely forwards, never backwards.
A lubricated fastener can produce greater and more consistent clamp loads than non-lubricated fasteners. Naturally, if the clamp load is higher, it is more resistant to vibrational loosening.
25. Never reuse a nut. •
Nuts have a finite life.
•
Damaged internal threads are common but not always visible.
26. If one fastener fails in a multiple fastener assembly, replace the adjacent fasteners. •
The loads have shifted and are forcing the adjacent fasteners to absorb greater loads which will lead to their failure as well.
27. If more than one fastener fails in a multiple fastener assembly, replace all of the fasteners. 28. Keep it clean.
17. Keep procedures consistent.
29. Keep it tight.
18. Never use torque as an ‘audit’ to check for joint preload: there are too many variables and it is inaccurate.
30. Keep an eye on it.
•
Variables include overcoming rust, paint or embedment. It is not a true indicator.
31. Fasteners are the least expensive commodity product holding everything together.
When in Doubt, Throw it Out!
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TAIWAN FASTENER INDUSTRY
CHRONICLE
2009 APR.
22-25 NFDA Annual Spring Conference Apr. 22-25 NFDA held its annual spring conference with the participation of 40-50 companies. 6 speeches were lectured during the 4-day event, including one by a famous economist, Mr. Brown.
MAY
14-15 EFDA Distributors Conference in Italy 22-25 Fastener Jamher Established a New Factory Fastener Jamher spent NT$ 160 million establishing its new factory in Rende (Tainan) in order to increase its capacity and step further into the R&D of high value-added fasteners.
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The third EFDA distributors conference was held at Grand Hotel in Stresa (Italy). More than 100 European members and notable figures from Taiwan, USA, and Europe were present to share their opinions and solutions to the fast-changing fastener market.
Review of 2009 Taiwan Industry
JUL.
July Yow Chern New Wedge Anchor
July Go Best Screw Inaugurated New Plant Go Best Screw Industrial Co., Ltd. launched its new 3,800 sqm plant including rooms for molds & dies, quality control, and an office, and introduced advanced manufacturing equipment, created a soot-free environment, and introduced automated systems to produce high quality drilling screws.
Yow Chern successfully developed a new wedge anchor that could solve common failure of expansion resulting in slip spinning and a new wedge bolt featuring both excellent tensile strength and axial force.
AUG.
Aug. 14 TFTA Autumn Members Meeting TFTA held the autumn members meeting and the election of the 4th term of directors and supervisors on Aug. 14. Nearly 150 members attended to elect the new directors and supervisors. Ms. Tammy Huang of Rexlen was elected the new TFTA Chairman.
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Review of 2009 Taiwan Industry
SEP. Sep. 23 U.S. AD Investigation Against Steel Fasteners from China and Taiwan U.S. Nucor Fasteners filed its application to U.S. ITC and DoC for AD investigation against certain standard steel fasteners originating in China and Taiwan, and was later nullified by ITC on Nov. 06 due to no findings of material injury.
Sep. 28 The Five Regions Fastener Association Conference Taiwan Industrial Fasteners Institute hosted the Five Regions Fastener Association Conference. Notable figures from fastener associations in Taiwan, Hong Kong, S. Korea, Japan, and China gathered in Kaohisung to share the development of their regional fastener industries and were invited to visit the plants of Taiwan CSC.
APR.
27-30 Interwire and IFE Interwire and IFE focusing on fastener machines and equipment held every two years were both held at I-X Center. 395 manufacturers went to the Expo. Taiwanese companies led by Fastener World also came to exhibit.
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09-10 Fastener Tech’09 Fastener Tech’09 took place at Donald E. Stephens Convention Center, Chicago, Illinois. 126 exhibitors from the U.S., China, Japan, India, and Taiwan participated to introduced their products and service to the local market. Fastener World as the sales agent also brought 4 Taiwanese companies to exhibit.
Review of 2009 Taiwan Industry
JUN. 23-26 China (Guangzhou) Int’l Fastener, Spring & Equipment Exhibition The 10th China (Guangzhou) Int’l Fastener, Spring & Equipment Exhibition was one of the affiliated thematic shows of China International Metals Industry Trade Fair. Held at China Import & Export Fair Pazhou Complex, the exhibition attracted around 450 exhibitors to showcase steel plates, forged parts, and related tools and machines, as well as buyers from 10 countries.
25-28 Automotive Manufacturing Thailand Automotive Manufacturing Thailand attracted the participation of 373 exhibitors from 25 countries (including 23 from Taiwan) showing high interest in entering Thai automotive components market. The 4-day event welcomed more than 34,000 visitors to discover business opportunities of production and distribution of automotive components.
AUG.
02-04 Hardex Hardex was held at MTN Nasrec. 108 exhibitors from 8 countries participated to showcase their latest hardware and hand tools. Most visiting buyers were traders and importers.
SEP.
03-05 Expo Nacional Ferretera Expo Nacional Ferretera was held by Industrial & Commercial Department and Industrial Manufacture Development Commercial Association in Mexico. It was an annual big event to the hardware industry in the region. A variety of hardware and related products were displayed, attracting more than 900 exhibitors from 35 countries. Fastener World no.194/2022
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Review of 2009 Taiwan Industry
SEP.
03-06 Expo Ferretera
16-18 China International Hardware Show
The biennially held Expo Ferretera took place at Costa Salguero Exhibition Center. This Expo was the 2nd largest hardware tradeshow in Latin America, only second to Expo Nacional Ferretera in Guadalajara (Mexico). During the event, the organizer also arranged several seminars in industrial development.
On Sep. 16-18 the world’s 2nd largest China International Hardware Show was held at Shanghai New International Expo Center (SNIEC). Exhibits included hand tools, hardware, construction hardware & DIY products, locks, safety products, as well as kitchen & sanitary ware.
OCT. 07-09 M-Tech Kansai M-Tech Kansai was given at Intex Osaka. This show was a gateway to relevant industrial markets in Japan. 590 companies registered for participation and there was also a special zone for Taiwanese exhibitors.
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Review of 2009 Taiwan Industry
OCT.
Oct. 08 Fastener Fair Stuttgart
15-18 Teknik Hirdavat
The 3rd Fastener Fair Stuttgart was held in Germany. Both the numbers of exhibitors and visitors reached a new high. 625 exhibitors came to participate. The number of Taiwanese exhibitors represented by Fastener World even reached the recordhigh 141, making Taiwan the largest overseas exhibiting group of the year. The “Night of Fastener World” event after the Fair hosted by Fastener World even invited EFDA President and several leading European companies to enjoy cuisine and have some fun together.
Teknik Hirdavat dedicated to the fasteners, building materials, and hardware industries took place in Istanbul. Although it was a small show, it offered several opportunities to exhibitors to establish collaboration with local traders and importers.
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Industry Focus
U.S. Fastener Trade with Eastern Europe During 2021 W h a t p e r c e n t a g e o f U. S . f as tener tr ade do e s E as ter n Europe account for? Has fastener t r a d e b e t w e e n t h e U. S . a n d Eastern Europe stabilized in 2021 in comparison to 2020? Finally, are fastener imports decreasing during the first months of 2022 due to the rising geopolitical conflicts between Russia and Ukraine?
by Sabrina Rodriguez
Data note: The data for this article 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). Ukraine trade statistics is based on all modes of transportation and sourced from UN Comtrade. 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. For the sake of this article, Eastern Europe is defined to include the following 9 countries: Belarus, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and Ukraine. Eastern Europe has traditionally been known for its export market of vehicles, vehicle parts and general raw materials. It serves as a region supplying its nearby trading partners such as Germany, Russia, and parts of western Europe. When it comes to fasteners, Eastern Europe has seen significant amounts of imports and exports throughout the region. The value of fastener imports in 2019 totaled over 35.3 million USD; however during the height of the pandemic (2020), the total value of fastener imports decreased to 29.8 million USD. Fastener exports from Eastern Europe during 2019 totaled 51.8 million USD and only slightly decreased in 2020 to 48.4 million USD. During the beginning of 2022 trade was set to normalize in Eastern Europe and around the world, tensions between Russia and Ukraine caused potential disruptions of overall trade flows and manufacturing in Ukraine. During this unfortunate turn of events in Ukraine and Eastern Europe impacts to fastener trade between the U.S. and Eastern Europe can expect residue impacts due to the continuous Russian invasions.
U.S. Fastener Trade with Eastern Europe: Did Trade During 2021 Normalize? U.S. Imports of fasteners from Eastern Europe totaled 36.4 million USD during 2021 which was nearly 25% higher than the total value of 2020 (21.2 million USD). The imports during 2021 were a total of 5.4% higher than the total value of imports during 2019. The countries within Eastern Europe that export most fasteners are Czech Republic and Poland, while Czech Republic accounts for 48% to 51% of total value and Poland accounts for 15% of total value. Countries such as Romania, Ukraine, and Belarus each exported 2% or less to the U.S. in 2021. While trade flows might have slightly plummeted in 2020 due to the pandemic, the total volume in 2021 was higher than in 2019 and 2020.
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Fig. 1. U.S. Imports of fasteners from Eastern Europe (by percentage)
Industry Focus Table 1. U.S. Imports of Fasteners from Eastern Europe (2019-2021; by Country of Origin) Product HS : 7318 - Screws, bolts, nuts, coach screws, screw hooks, rivets, cotters, cotter pins, washers and similar articles, of iron or steel 2019 Country of Origin
Czech Republic
General Quantity
%
2020
General Total Value CIF (USD)
%
1,831,772.00 66.75 17,009,804.00 48.07
General Quantity
%
2021
General Total Value CIF (USD)
General Quantity
%
General Total Value CIF (USD)
%
%
1,746,788.00 65.19 15,483,351.00 51.88 1,913,124.00 61.24 17,643,996.00 48.47
Poland
395,962.00 14.43
5,601,050.00 15.83
466,467.00 17.41
4,655,199.00 15.60
626,345.00 20.05
5,786,815.00 15.90
Slovakia
345,747.00 12.60
3,550,614.00 10.04
326,865.00 12.20
2,759,681.00
379,752.00 12.16
3,198,970.00
Hungary
130,167.00
4.75
7,637,519.00 21.59
111,610.00
4.17
6,032,867.00 20.22
Bulgaria
15,972.00
0.59
777,717.00
2.20
4,008.00
0.15
201,829.00
Romania
21,961.00
0.81
649,652.00
1.84
16,835.00
0.63
Ukraine
2,726.00
0.10
163,410.00
0.47
6,503.00
Belarus
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
767.00
Total
2,744,307.00 100.00 35,389,766.00 100.00
9.25
8.79
103,024.00
3.30
6,653,505.00 18.28
0.68
66,513.00
2.13
2,236,397.00
6.15
668,843.00
2.25
32,228.00
1.04
866,518.00
2.39
0.25
26,728.00
0.09
2,596.00
0.09
15,651.00
0.05
0.03
20,676.00
0.07
722.00
0.03
3,680.00
0.02
2,679,843.00 100.00 29,849,174.00 100.00 3,124,304.00 100.00 36,405,532.00 100.00
Table 2. U.S. Imports of Fasteners from Eastern Europe (2022 Jan. & Feb. ; by Country of Origin) 2022 - JAN Country of Origin
2022 - FEB
General Total Value CIF (USD)
General Quantity
%
Czech Republic
159,926.00
70.11 1,256,540.00
Poland
16,859.00
7.40
Slovakia
34,571.00
Bulgaria
%
General Quantity
%
48.56
141,925.00
354,874.00
13.72
15.16
338,161.00
4,831.00
2.12
Hungary
5,248.00
Romania Ukraine Total
Volume Change
General Total Value CIF (USD)
General Total Value CIF (USD)
%
General Quantity
60.32 1,136,198.00
34.83
-18,001.00 -11.26
43,232.00
18.38
907,479.00
27.82
26,373.00 156.44
552,605.00 155.72
13.07
27,697.00
11.78
250,415.00
7.68
-6,874.00 -19.89
-87,746.00 -25.95
176,528.00
6.83
12,782.00
5.44
392,542.00
12.04
7,951.00 164.59
216,014.00 122.37
2.31
408,901.00
15.80
7,040.00
3.00
483,530.00
14.83
1,792.00
6,678.00
2.93
52,980.00
2.05
1,775.00
0.76
86,885.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
855.00
0.37
5,232.00
228,113.00 100.00 2,587,984.00 100.00
%
-120,342.00
% -9.58
34.15
74,629.00
18.26
2.67
-4,903.00 -73.43
33,905.00
64.00
0.17
855.00 100.00
235,306.00 100.00 3,262,281.00 100.00
7,193.00
3.16
5,232.00 100.00 674,297.00
26.06
Table 3. U.S. Imports of Fasteners from Eastern Europe (by HS Code) 2021 Product HS
General Quantity
%
General Total Value CIF (USD)
%
7318158069 - Screws of iron or steel, with hexagonal heads, having shanks or threads with a diameter of 6 mm or more, others
489,206.00 15.66
2,627,649.00
7318290000 - Other non-threaded articles (fasteners) of iron or steel, others
456,215.00 14.61
6,352,018.00 17.45
7318152055 - Bolts of iron or steel with round heads, having shanks or threads with a diameter of 6mm or more, others
339,863.00 10.88
1,867,548.00
5.13
7318152065 - Bolts of iron or steel with hexagonal heads, having shanks or threadswith a diameter of 6mm or more, others
241,347.00
7.73
1,264,507.00
3.48
7318158085 - Other screws of iron or steel, having shanks or threads with a diameter of 6mm or more, others
232,027.00
7.43
1,969,004.00
5.41
7.22
7318240000 - Cotters and cotter pins, of iron or steel
209,609.00
6.71
2,885,550.00
7.93
7318155090 - Studs of iron or steel, threaded, excluding stainless steel, others
170,902.00
5.48
2,209,238.00
6.07
7318190000 - Threaded articles of iron or steel others (not bolts, nuts or screws)
158,712.00
5.08
6,346,537.00 17.44
7318158045 - Other socket screws of iron or steel, having shanks or threads with adiameter of 6 mm or more, others
150,809.00
4.83
925,415.00
2.55
94,405.00
3.03
628,078.00
1.73
7318158066 - Cap screws of iron or steel, with hexagonal heads, having shanks or threads with a diameter of 6 mm or more
Total 3,124,304.00 100.00 36,405,532.00 100.00
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Industry Focus Fig. 2. U.S. Imports of fasteners from Eastern Europe (by year trend)
U.S Exports of fasteners to Eastern Europe in 2021 totaled 63.9 million USD w hich w as a signific ant increase from the reported total in 2019 of 51.8 million USD. As expected, the total value in 2020 was 48.4 million USD which was lower than both 2021 and 2019. Fastener exported to Ukraine in 2021 were a reported total of 653,623 USD which was higher than in both 2019 and 2020. A relatively high value was reported in January 2022, but unfortunately in February 2022 the value dropped to 27,757 USD which was a 95% decrease from January 2022. While the reported values in 2021 appeared to have overall increased in comparison to 2020 and 2019, fastener trade did appear to have normalized in 2021 for all countries in Eastern Europe. Fig. 3. U.S. Exports of fasteners from Eastern Europe (by percentage) Table 4. U.S. Exports of Fasteners from Eastern Europe (2019-2021; by Country of Origin) Product HS : 7318 - Screws, bolts, nuts, coach screws, screw hooks, rivets, cotters, cotter pins, washers and similar articles, of iron or steel Country of Destination
2019 FOB Value (USD)
%
2020 Quantity
%
FOB Value (USD)
2021
%
Quantity
%
FOB Value (USD)
%
Quantity
%
850,749.00 28.19 21,563,039.00 33.72 1,254,407.00 29.88
Poland
16,008,810.00 30.89 1,183,284.00 28.93
14,623,845.00 30.18
Czech Republic
17,704,747.00 34.16 1,701,402.00 41.60
13,782,580.00 28.44 1,225,119.00 40.59 17,923,428.00 28.03 1,705,082.00 40.61
Slovakia
3,442,365.00
6.65
220,229.00
5.39
7,325,929.00 15.12
239,993.00
7.96
9,003,818.00 14.08
342,453.00
8.16
Hungary
8,245,757.00 15.91
603,280.00 14.75
6,583,310.00 13.59
419,651.00 13.91
8,875,386.00 13.88
556,470.00 13.26
Romania
4,472,973.00
288,006.00
5,192,679.00 10.72
254,722.00
5,451,865.00
278,434.00
8.63
7.05
8.44
8.53
6.64
Ukraine
283,735.00
0.55
19,840.00
0.49
469,615.00
0.97
17,338.00
0.58
653,623.00
1.03
43,533.00
1.04
Bulgaria
495,486.00
0.96
21,672.00
0.53
458,398.00
0.95
11,039.00
0.37
457,367.00
0.72
18,172.00
0.44
Belarus
1,184,851.00
2.29
52,760.00
1.29
28,421.00
0.06
100.00
0.01
26,764.00
0.05
201.00
0.01
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
2,927.00
0.01
7.00
0.01
3,923.00
0.01
17.00
0.01
Moldova Total
51,838,724.00 100.00 4,090,473.00 100.00
48,467,704.00 100.00 3,018,718.00 100.00 63,959,213.00 100.00 4,198,769.00 100.00
Table 5. U.S. Exports of Fasteners from Eastern Europe (2022 Jan. and Feb. ; by Country of Origin) Country of Destination
Quantity
%
2022 - FEB
FOB Value (USD)
%
Poland
77,251.00 29.97 1,504,921.00 37.37
Ukraine
61,361.00 23.80
Czech Republic
601,278.00 14.93
55,881.00 21.68 1,062,448.00 26.38
Quantity
%
FOB Value (USD)
Volume Change %
100,833.00 24.41 2,261,655.00 36.27
Quantity
%
FOB Value (USD)
%
23,582.00
30.53
756,734.00
50.29
0.45 -60,185.00
-98.09
-573,521.00
-95.39
204,224.00 49.44 1,990,032.00 31.91 148,343.00
1,176.00
0.29
27,757.00
265.47
927,584.00
87.31
Hungary
40,533.00 15.73
568,530.00 14.12
33,380.00
8.08
525,045.00
8.42
-7,153.00
-17.65
-43,485.00
-7.65
Romania
21,719.00
8.43
199,710.00
4.96
12,768.00
3.10
262,530.00
4.21
-8,951.00
-41.22
62,820.00
31.46
Slovakia
1,051.00
0.41
81,403.00
2.03
54,769.00 13.26 1,146,505.00 18.39
53,718.00
Bulgaria
27.00
0.02
9,736.00
0.25
Total
272
2022 - JAN
257,823.00 100.00 4,028,026.00 100.00
Fastener World no.194/2022
6,006.00
1.46
23,189.00
0.38
5,111.14 1,065,102.00 1,308.44
5,979.00 22,144.45
413,156.00 100.00 6,236,713.00 100.00 155,333.00
13,453.00
138.18
60.25 2,208,687.00
54.84
Industry Focus Table 6. U.S. Exports of Fasteners from Eastern Europe (by HS Code) 2021 Product HS
FOB Value (USD)
%
Quantity
%
7318152000 - Bolts and their nuts or washers exported in the same shipment
15,487,369.00
24.22
660,782.00
15.74
7318160000 - Nuts of iron or steel
11,116,193.00
17.39
358,883.00
8.55
7318240000 - Cotters and cotter pins, of iron or steel
10,493,996.00
16.41
1,202,732.00
28.65
7318159000 - Threaded fasteners others of iron or steel
7,189,294.00
11.25
830,755.00
19.79
7318290000 - Other non-threaded articles (fasteners) of iron or steel, others
6,811,778.00
10.66
226,412.00
5.40
7318190000 - Threaded articles of iron or steel others (not bolts, nuts or screws)
4,251,567.00
6.65
276,617.00
6.59
7318220000 - Washers other than lock washers, iron or steel
3,993,143.00
6.25
403,410.00
9.61
7318155000 - Studs of iron or steel, threaded
1,683,605.00
2.64
35,103.00
0.84
7318140000 - Self-tapping screws of iron or steel
855,073.00
1.34
108,847.00
2.60
7318230000 - Rivets of iron or steel
656,624.00
1.03
27,277.00
0.65
Total
63,959,213.00 100.00
4,198,769.00 100.00
Fig. 4. U.S. Exports of fasteners from Eastern Europe (by year trend)
Quarterly trends show that the U.S. imported the highest value of fasteners from Eastern Europe during the 3rd quarter of the year totaling over 10.6 million USD, whereas the 1st quarter of the year reflected the lowest total value (8.1 million USD). The two fasteners categories that accounted for the highest value in 2021 was 7318190000 (17.4%) and 7318290000 (17.4%). During the 4th quarter of 2021, the U.S. exported a total value of 18.3 million USD to countries within Eastern Europe which represented the quarter with the highest value. In turn, the 2nd quarter of 2021 resulted in nearly 13 million USD and was the quarter with the lowest value. The U.S. did not export to countries such as Belarus and Moldova during the 1st and 3rd quarter of 2021 as there appeared to have been little to no demand for fasteners.
Ukraine: Largest Trading Partners Ukraine had been importing much of their supply of fasteners from China over the last three years, followed by Poland and Germany. In 2021, Ukraine imported 42.5% of their total value from China, 11.5% from Poland and 8.2% from Germany. Countries such as the U.S. only accounted for about 3% of Ukraine’s imports of fasteners and has remained around 3% over the last 3 years. India, Russia, and Belarus can be seen as Ukraine’s smallest trading partners. On the other hand, Ukraine exports most of their fasteners to Poland, Russia, and India. In 2021, Poland accounted for 45% of the total value of Ukraine’s fastener exports, Russia accounted for 9.4% and India accounted for 2.7%. Ukraine’s market for fastener exports in 2021 was 16 million USD which was about an increase of 2 million USD from 2019 and 2020. Ukraine’s smaller trading partners include Moldova, Slovakia, and Kazakhstan.
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Industry Focus Table 7. Fastener Import Origins for Ukraine Partner Country
2019 Value (USD)
%
2020
Weight (Kg.)
%
Value (USD)
%
2021
Weight (Kg.)
%
Value (USD)
%
Weight (Kg.)
%
China
54,464,925.00 46.49 38,643,436.00 73.51
48,772,800.00 42.93 34,920,589.00 66.55
50,788,060.00 42.57 28,768,301.00 60.56
Poland
11,313,477.00
9.66
3,893,680.00
7.41
14,595,841.00 12.85
5,231,537.00
9.97
13,733,846.00 11.52
Germany
10,290,121.00
8.79
1,454,530.00
2.77
10,489,796.00
9.24
2,136,264.01
4.08
9,812,574.00
Other Asia
8,064,564.00
6.89
2,679,948.00
5.10
9,869,355.00
8.69
3,254,754.00
6.21
Turkey
5,861,940.00
5.01
1,696,091.00
3.23
4,106,969.01
3.62
1,492,045.00
U.S.A
3,996,863.00
3.42
102,987.00
0.20
3,481,932.01
3.07
Italy
3,530,198.00
3.02
499,525.00
0.96
3,919,399.00
India
2,351,444.00
2.01
639,216.00
1.22
Russian Federation
2,178,561.00
1.86
541,802.00
Belarus
1,540,901.00
1.32
704,737.00
4,030,412.00
8.49
8.23
1,893,744.00
3.99
9,774,772.00
8.20
2,837,040.00
5.98
2.85
4,253,534.00
3.57
1,353,960.00
2.85
86,396.00
0.17
3,655,628.00
3.07
88,511.00
0.19
3.45
538,945.00
1.03
4,054,656.00
3.40
551,932.00
1.17
1,896,456.00
1.67
710,453.01
1.36
3,925,249.00
3.29
1,851,308.00
3.90
1.04
48,737.00
0.05
19,991.01
0.04
18,371.00
0.02
3,392.00
0.01
1.35
2,606,334.00
2.30
1,319,790.00
2.52
2,583,932.00
2.17
1,354,008.00
2.85
117,165,000.00 100.00 52,574,797.00 100.00 113,612,003.00 100.00 52,479,294.01 100.00 119,309,666.00 100.00 47,509,334.00 100.00
Total
Table 8. Fastener Export Destinations for Ukraine Partner Country
2019 Value (USD)
%
2020
Weight (Kg.)
%
Value (USD)
%
Poland
3,722,663.00 25.62 3,145,253.00 48.84
5,379,571.00 38.27
Russian Federation
2,437,990.00 16.78 1,297,384.00 20.15
1,687,475.00 12.01
India
1,988,469.00 13.69
2021
Weight (Kg.)
%
5,696,278.00 64.11
Value (USD)
%
%
7,274,117.00 45.19 5,998,937.00 65.07
528,596.01
5.95
1,516,328.00
9.42
683,320.00
7.42
3,943.00
0.07
113,558.00
0.81
319.00
0.01
440,353.00
2.74
1,476.00
0.02
Belarus
999,772.00
6.89
379,066.00
5.89
1,361,251.00
9.69
767,714.01
8.64
1,149,447.00
7.14
541,977.00
5.88
Germany
834,551.00
5.75
477,604.00
7.42
964,521.01
6.87
534,873.00
6.02
573,757.00
3.57
264,624.00
2.88
Hungary
585,167.00
4.03
295,912.00
4.60
490,054.01
3.49
241,121.00
2.72
455,812.00
2.84
233,947.00
2.54
Hong Kong
506,283.00
3.49
307.00
0.01
308,081.00
2.20
2,482.01
0.03
207,252.00
1.29
166.00
0.01
Kazakhstan
329,730.00
2.27
28,787.00
0.45
399,902.00
2.85
197,471.01
2.23
370,192.00
2.30
136,468.00
1.49
Slovakia
309,255.00
2.13
216,605.00
3.37
80,827.00
0.58
64,239.00
0.73
197,887.00
1.23
119,220.00
1.30
Moldova
294,152.00
2.03
96,705.00
1.51
437,491.01
3.12
128,828.01
1.45
406,166.00
2.53
129,353.00
1.41
Total
14,530,926.00 100.00 6,440,844.00 100.00
14,058,631.01 100.00
8,886,074.00 100.00
16,099,814.00 100.00 9,220,144.00 100.00
Looking Ahead into 2022: What Should We Expect to Happen in the Future? The first two months of 2022 appear to represent disruptions to Ukraine imports of fasteners from the U.S. which is likely due to the Russian invasion in Ukraine. In January 2022, the U.S. did not appear to export fasteners to Ukraine; however in February 2022 the value totaled 5,232 USD. Other countries in Eastern Europe appear to have received a smaller supply of fasteners in February 2022 in comparison to January 2022 such as Czech Republic which decreased in value by nearly 10% and Slovakia that decreased in value by nearly 26%. Countries like Poland increased by 155%, Bulgaria by 122% and Romania by 64%. While tensions between Russia and Ukraine continue, trade into the Eastern European region can continue to become impacted significantly. Supply chain shortages as well as disruptions to the overall supply chain continue to be a global challenge which could possibly impact fastener trade not only between the U.S. and Eastern Europe but also globally.
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Weight (Kg.)
Fastener World no.194/2022
Technology
“What are Ultra High Strength Bolts?” Advantages, Disadvantages and Shared Experiences by Ralph White
Introduction Ultr a High Strength (UHS) bolts are al so known as austemper heat treatment bolts that have a higher hardness and subsequent tensile strength than bolt property classes specified within ISO 898-1 1 . In August 2011, the VDA published a Material Data Sheet VDA 235-205 2 that defines the requirements of property classes 14.8, 15.8 and 16.8 by bainitic heat treatment for the automotive industry. As these bolts increased in acceptance and released on automotive applications there became a need to document some precautions, effects on joint design and to establish a special property class designation.
Because of this increase in strength and performance, SAE/USCAR and IFI (Industrial Fastener Institute) established a “USCAR – IFI Guide for Ultra-High Strength Externally Threaded Fasteners” 3 which is based on the VDA 235-205. This technical guide provides uniformity in materials, austemper heat treatment processing, inspection, and property class identification. These UHS bolts are suitable for high volume production with predictable physical properties (fatigue, tensile and yield strengths) that are different from industry standard oil quench and temper bolts. Unique head markings display a capital U after the property class designation to denote an Ultra high strength bolt (14.8U, 15.8U and 16.8 U). The guide also provides some precautions regarding the processing of UHS bolts and effects on joint design. UHS bolts are commonly used on critical applications to optimize the clamp load potential by using smaller nominal diameter bolts and achieving the tensile strength of a larger diameter bolt. These bolts support weight reduction on vehicles especially on critical engine and chassis applications requiring high clamp loads. They also support special torque to yield power tool assembly strategies to optimize clamp load because the ductility in the elastic region. The same nominal diameter UHS bolt property class 14.8U is about 25% stronger than a property class 10.9 with the ductility of a property class 8.8. Some applications consider UHS bolts as a “Problem Solver” for marginal designs and process sensitive applications.
There is an increase cost because of the longer austemper heat treatment process time with fewer bolts than standard oil quench and temper. The process takes about 16 minutes for the bolts to pass through the furnace followed by a salt bath for about 40 minutes. The time in the furnace is based on the size and weight of the parts. Most furnace belt processes recommendations are for a single layer thick of bolts. Other austempered fasteners are hexagon flange nuts, multi-threaded U-nuts and loose washers.
Austempering Heat Treatment Overview The austempering process uses a salt bath not an oil to quench cools the parts after being subjected to high furnace temperatures. The result is a lower Bainitic Structure compared to Martensitic Structure from a conventional oil quench. An excellent article titled “Basics of Austempering” by Laurence Claus, President NNI Training and Consulting Inc. 4 describes the metallurgical and austempering process in detail. Fastener Manufacturers state that the preferred material is SAE 8640 steel for austempering bolts to achieve uniform results. There are a few manufacturers Fastener World no.194/2022
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Technology that have a slightly modified chemistry to the basic SAE 8640 to aid cold heading and provide focused physical properties after austempering. Other steels investigated have been SAE 6150, 5140, 4340, 4140 and SAE 4130 but 8640 performed better. Changes in material trace elements other than specified as SAE 8640, like Ti (Titanium) and S (Sulfur) may require furnace adjustments. Also, an increase in part core hardness could be a result of the wire draw change in microstructure. The type of wire annealing for cold forming the bolts has shown to be important for consistency of heat treatment results (i.e., spheroidized, subcritical spheroidized, stress relief, etc.). To aid the austempering process, the parts received from the fastener manufacturers should be clean (no phosphate) with a light water base rust inhibitor.
Also, an MJ16 x 2.5 property class 14.8U bolt was Charpy Impact evaluated per ISO 148-1 8 and the results are shown in (Figure 1.). The absorbed energy level for Charpy Impact test improved significantly with austempered 14.8U bolts with bainitic condition versus property class 14.9 martensitic condition.
UHS bolt sensitivity to hydrogen embrittlement (hydrogen induced stress corrosion cracking) is the same or slightly less susceptible than industry standard oil quench and temper bolts. But not eliminated. See test procedures ISO 15330 “Fasteners — Preloading test for the detection of hydrogen embrittlement — Parallel bearing surface method.” 5 Therefore, the corrosion protection recommendation is to avoid electro plating and consider dip spin coatings. Many automotive OEM’s require baking after heat treatment. Because of this concern, some automotive OEM’s have developed a 12.8U that has a core hardness 34-39 HRC.
Figure 1. MJ16 x 2.50 property class 14.8U (bainite) vs 14.9 (martensite) Charpy V-Notch test results.
Typically, t he austemper process is evaluated a nd documented per AIAG CQI-9 “Special Processes: Heat Treatment Systems Assessment” 6 Section 4 - Job Audit prior to production quantity business activities. Inspection procedures include industry standard hardness checks, tensile pulls and bainitic microstructure testing. The Microstructure inspection uses Sodium Metabisulfite (SMB) Etchant analysis method on epoxy-based mounting compound specimen for detecting bainite and martensite. Some fastener manufacturers conduct torque vs. tension testing after corrosion coating prior to shipping to their customers.
There are critical Internal engine, driveline, powertrain, and chassis applications that use 12.8U and 14.8U bolts because of the “torque to yield” or “torque and angle” power tool tightening strategy. Some connecting rod bolts have a multiple tightening strategy where the UHS bolt has an increase of clamp load at yield point during second tightening. The long yield curve optimizes the power tool shut-off accuracy. Also, internal engine UHS fasteners can be smaller (i.e., M7 replaces an M8). Chassis joints tend to use 14.8U because the joints can have longer thread engagement to optimize the bolt high tensile strength.
Because of the increased hardness, UHS bolts can become magnetized if subjected to magnetic feeding equipment. The concern is that if the bolts become magnetized, they tend to attract small metallic particles that can interfere with assembly. While the exact industry standard is unknown, there is an acceptable level of magnetism from 0 to 3 gauss on parts to prevent picking up chips and will not interfere with vehicle electronics. A recommendation is to have demagnetizers installed when using magnetic feeding equipment. Austempering is a proven heat treatment process applied for many years on parts such as springs, clips, U-nuts, long rods, long small diameter bolts, washers, small assemblies, etc. This process has provided volume production of property grade 14.8U bolts for the automotive industry for over 10 years. Properties of Austemper Bolts: Property class 14.8U bolts can have an increase of fatigue strength up to +20% versus 10.9 bolts when threads are rolled after heat treatment. Advantages of lower bainitic structure vs. martensitic structure are lower internal stresses within crystal microstructure, better ductility at comparable strength, higher fatigue properties per ISO – 3800 7 , less distortion by austemper heat treatment due to lower residual stresses, and less probability for quench cracks.
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Fastener World no.194/2022
Automotive Applications
Also, UHS bolts are on applications where an increase in nominal diameter size cannot be packaged in the assembly. They support weight reduction initiatives and used where the joint requires increased strength. As mentioned above, some applications consider UHS bolts as a “Problem Solver” for marginal designs and process sensitive applications.
Important Design and Application Factors Design The bolt under head fillet design is important because of the change in the mass area and heat retention between the cylindrical body and the larger head. For fatigue applications consider specific requirements for fillet radius size and/or shape, such as special designed fillet (double radii or elliptical) using FEM simulations. Also of importance is the location of thread run out (distance of the first thread to under head bearing surface) based on the joint geometry and imposed load forces. Increase bearing surface pressure under the bolt head from the higher clamp load could exceed the compressive strength of the joint.
Technology It is preferred that the UHS bolts have a MJ thread form per ISO – 5855 “Aerospace – MJ threads” 9,10 (MJ12-1.25) and thread rolling after treatment. The tensile stress area of a MJ thread will be slightly larger than a standard ISO M threads (M12-1.25) of the same size and pitch. Because of the MJ thread profile there is higher cost in die wear and slower thread rolling tool piece rate. Thread rolling after heat treatment dramatically decreases roll die life. There are special thread rolling dies made of M42 tool steel has shown improves thread rolling life when thread rolling fasteners after hardening. Rolled threads after heat treatment show improved fatigue life and optimize the purpose of the UHS bolt properties. Commonly dip spin surface corrosion protective coatings are specified on most UHS fasteners provide consistent friction properties for predictable torque and clamp load performance. The coatings have uniform thickness to provide improved corrosion resistance plus the coating application process does not introduce the potential for hydrogen embrittlement.
Application If the UHS bolt is replacing an existing ISO grade (say a 10.9) the tightening specification may need adjustment to optimize the UHS bolt special properties. A key design rule is that the bolt breaks into two pieces without the nut threads stripping (Figure 2.). Stripping of the nut is not acceptable. The mating component material and internal thread engagement are important considerations when using UHS bolts. Often the thread engagement is increased to optimize the UHS bolt high tensile strength. Aluminum tapped holes can be problematic because of the many types of material physical properties. It is recommended to conduct power tool torque to failure testing to establish a safety factor for a failure mode. An example is the internal thread engagement of an aluminum knuckle using a power tool torque to failure on a M10 x 1.5 property class 14.8U bolt. The internal threads had strippage at 2 x dia., 2.5 x dia., 2.75 x dia. (Figure 3.). At 3.5 x dia. The bolt broke in two. Also, higher clamp loads of UHS bolts increase bearing surface pressure that may result in bolt embedment into mating surface.
Summary The increase clamp load and ductility of UHS austemper heat treatment bolts are an essential contribution to weight reduction supporting the trend for downsizing engines, drivetrain, and chassis components. There is extra cost for UHS bolts compared to martensitic quench and temper property classes, i.e.,10.9. Because UHS bolts use SAE 8640 steel wire, have a slower volume austemper heat treatment process, forming MJ thread profile and threading after heat treatment. The outlook has a slowly expanding market demand on automotive critical applications. UHS bolts are used to support weight reduction initiatives and considered a “Problem Solver” for marginal designs and process sensitive applications. There is evidence that UHS bolts are steadily moving mainstream and used by automotive engineers by expanding the VDA classifications to include an additional property class 12.8U.
Figure 2. Desired bolt 2-piece failure at 3.5 x diameter of thread engagement.
Figure 3. Aluminum internal thread strippage at 2 x dia., 2.5 x dia., 2.75 x dia.
References 1. ISO 898-1: Fifth edition 2013-01-15, “Mechanical properties of fasteners made of carbon steel and alloy steel” Part 1: Bolts, screws, and studs with specified property classes – Coarse thread and fine pitch thread 2. VDA 235-205, August 2011, “ Ultra strength fasteners with bainitic heat treatment for automotive industry – property classes 14.8 to 16.8” 3. “USCAR – IFI Guide, November 23, 2015, for Ultra-High Strength Externally Threaded Fasteners GUIDE Number: UHSFG-1416U-2014” 4. “Basics of Austempering” by Laurence Claus, President NNI Training and Consulting Inc., Fastener Technology International, February 2014. 5. ISO – 15330: First edition 1999-09-01, Fasteners – Preloading test for the detection of hydrogen embrittlement – Parallel bearing surface method. 6. AIAG CQI-9: Version 3, Special Processes: Heat Treatment Systems Assessment. 7. ISO – 3800: 1993, Confirmed in 2021, Threaded fasteners – Axial load fatigue testing – Test methods and evaluation of results 8. ISO – 148-1: Third edition 2016-10-15, Metallic materials – Charpy pendulum impact test. 9. ISO – 5855-1: 1999, Confirmed in 2021, Aerospace – MJ threads - Part 1: General requirements 10. ISO – 5855-2: 1999, Confirmed in 2021, Aerospace – MJ threads - Part 2: Limit dimensions for bolts and nuts.
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