Driving forward the future of fasteners GZPS

Driving forwArD tHe future of fAsteners

GZPS is a market leader in the manufacture of high-tech screw fasteners for wood, metals and plastics. The company’s ongoing commitment to innovation and investment in the latest manufacturing processes has resulted in many important advances. These include its patented ‘Alfatech’ thread for use with plastics, as Philip Yorke reports.

GZPS was founded in 1983 in Poland by Weislaw Gawel and remains a highly successful and independent family business. The company’s headquarters are located in Palikowa, Poland and today its key areas of expertise involve the design and manufacture of screw fasteners for wood, metals and plastics.

Constant product development from the outset saw the company move from processing metals for the construction industry to the production of high-tech fixing elements. In order to extend its manufacturing capabilities and expand its product portfolio, a special line of galvanic coatings was installed in 1993. In addition, a heat and galvanic treatment division was also created around the same time. Since then the company has seen exponential growth making it the market leader in the manufacture of self-drilling screws for the assembly of window fittings etc. with PVC profiles.

In 1997, stainless steel screws were added to the company’s portfolio, with wire coated screws being added in 2003. In 2004 GZPS became one of the first European companies to produce screws covered with specialised paint for UV protection. Following on from this success the GZPS constructed a new, state-of-theart warehouse with a storage capacity of more than 2,500 pallet bays. This was in addition to an air-conditioned fully equipped modern office complex.

Today the company employs over 250 people and each month produces over 300 tonnes of fastener products, equal to over 140 million items a month. In 2018 GZPS recorded sales of more than PLN 85 million, (around 21 million euros), of which over 50 percent went to global export markets.

Pioneering high-tech fasteners

Over the years GZPS has evolved to become a pioneer in the development of high-tech fasteners for specific applications. Mr Gawel, the company’s founder and CEO said, “In the early days we focused solely on producing threaded screws for wood applications. However, today our products are far more complex in terms of shape and function as well as in the many types of threads developed by our R&D department. Our total production is either custom manufactured to meet the specific needs of our customers, or individually designed to achieve specific solutions.

Carlo Salvi S.p.A. was founded in 1939 and has developed over its 80 years of operation from a mechanical engineering company with a technical focus into a modern forming company with a focus on customers and solutions. Nowadays with more than 100 employees worldwide, the company is able to support its customers with machines, services and solutions.

When Mr. Carlo Salvi founded his company in Italy in 1939 he probably had no idea that it would one day become one of the market leaders in the field of headers for the production of fastening elements and complex special parts. The company founder started by developing systems for mechanical descaling. Only a few years later, he started to develop and build a machine for the thread rolling and manufacturing screw heads and bolts.

After the Second World War, Carlo Salvi developed its first forming machine, a one-die two-blow header to manufacture screw blanks that offered users a high level of productivity for the time.

At the start of 1970s he started developing and manufacturing forming machines to produce screws, bolts and rivets not only solid, but also semi tubular and tubular.

Another milestone in the history of the company includes the development of machines for processing materials such as stainless steel and titanium. The requirements of the aerospace sector in particular involve processing the particular materials.

Today, 90 per cent of the machines manufactured by the company are delivered to customers outside Italy and approximately 40 per cent of them to customers outside Europe. For this reason, Carlo Salvi has over the years established branches in China, in the USA and in the United Kingdom.

While technical solutions may have been at the forefront of business in the previous century, additional services are now equally important in determining the success of a company. With this aim, the production area was expanded and modernised from 2002 to 2005. In 2014 Carlo Salvi acquired a partner company to handle the electrical and electronic systems and in 2015 development was concluded with the addition of 1300 m2 building.

In 2016 the company came to an agreement with Hatebur and in April the Swiss company took over Carlo Salvi. This union enabled the two companies to further build upon their strong position and their markets complement each other perfectly.

Today Carlo Salvi has supplied thousands of machines worldwide and offers a wide selection of cold and semi hot headers for wire diameters from 0.6 to 22mm.

2019 marks the 80th anniversary of Carlo Salvi company: we have come a long way, but there still so much to do. With the consciousness of our past, we can only look at the future.

“Our unique and patented AlfaTech threaded fasteners have been a big success thanks to our company’s own diligent research and development work on metal processing techniques, the changing of metal structures and improvements in our various manufacturing processes. These relate to cold metalworking, the development of new tool designs and the development of new production techniques for threaded fasteners. It is worth noting that GZPS was one of the first companies in Europe to hold the coveted ‘DORKEN’ licence. This allows us to use lamellar zinc, which is a great alternative to galvanic corrosion protection and does not interfere with the natural environment, whist at the same time offering optimal corrosion resistance”.

unmatched quality control

Consistent quality is the hallmark of all GZPW products and the company works tirelessly to maintain its reputation as the leader in its field. Thus in order to maintain full control of its quality assured products’ reputation it has another attribute that is unmatched by any of its competitors. Most companies in the business of producing modern fasteners rely on many outside sources for their diverse production processes. However, GZPS keeps all the key production processes in-house.

This enables the company to fully control the entire production process, right from the checking of raw materials coming in, to product development, production and distribution. However the company does work in partnership with other leaders, for example on long-term contracts with its raw material suppliers.

One of GZPS’s long-term partners is Valbruna Polska, which is part of the Valpruna Stainless Steel Group of Poland. This industrial conglomerate is a leader in the steel industry and produces a broad variety of stainless steel grades and special metal alloys.

New solutions for growing niche markets

GZPS’s plans for future growth include the development of more complex products, in order to provide special solutions for the fast changing construction industry. This goal has been made achievable by its recent certification to ISO 17025 international quality standard. The company’s new research and development centre also continues to work on the use of new, innovative materials and the search for new global niche markets.

In addition to its growing list of high-tech fastener products, GZPS is also offering an entirely new service for its customers throughout Europe. For the very first time the company is offering specialist heat-treatment services for customers running with continuous furnaces. These services are tailor-made and include hardening, carburising, carbon-nitriding, annealing and tempering.

GZPS owns hardening furnaces with protective atmospheres in which the mean temperature reaches over 900°C, and here the coolant used is hardening oil. The company is also able to perform advanced furnace services on products with a diameter to M16 and 160mm max length. Computer process controls guarantee the highest quality and repeatability of furnace parameters. In addition, the use of endothermic atmosphere and special cooling baths allows for easy cleaning, access and maintenance. Thanks to the fully automated process involved and the high performance it guarantees, the company can offer very competitive prices for these latest specialised services. n

For further details of GZPS’s innovative products and services visit: www.gzps.pl