Boltfast

COMPANY PROFILE

2015

Boltfast

www.boltfast.co.za | +27 (0)21 505 1000

company profile

A small component with a big role‌ Editorial: Harriet Pattison

Vital to every industry, the fastener plays a very important and unparalleled role in many appliances that we use on an everyday basis. Integral to the design process, a fastener determines the lifespan and quality of a product.

Based in Cape Town, Boltfast has over three decades of experience and knowledge and standing as a leading distributor of industrial fasteners, it boasts an impressive portfolio of over 28,000 products.

Although a seemingly small component of the construction puzzle, fasteners are perhaps the most significant, required and essential in our everyday lives.

U l t i m a tely d es igned to hold two compone nts t oge t h e r, f as ten ers n eed to be prioritise d in t h e de s i gn p ro ces s – ensuring the y are e qual, o r b e t t e r th an, th e as s emble d parts with the b o l t e d jo in ts never a point of we akne ss.

B ol t s , rivets , s crew s , pane l faste ne rs, pipe s, n ut s a n d clinch s tu d s are just a fe w of the most c om m o n f as ten ers u s ed to hold the industry t oge t h e r to d ay. Mad e from a rang e of diffe re nt f e r r o u s an d no n-f erro us me tals and e v e n e n g i n e e ring p las tics , f aste ne rs are continually b e i n g des igned w ith ne w and innov ativ e a dv a n t a ges in a b id to prov ide an e ffe ctiv e

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so l ut i on . An e x a m pl e of t h e s e n e w g e n e ra t i on fa s t e n e rs i s t h e s n a p fa s t e n e r.

B roa dl y s pe a k i n g , fa s t e n e rs c a n be ca t e g ori z e d i n t o t w o s e c t ors : h i g h t e n s i l e an d m i l d s t e e l fa s t e n e rs , de pe n di n g on t h e ten s i l e s t re n g t h . M i l d s t e e l fa s t e n e rs t e n d t o be produc e d by t h e un org a n i s e d s e c t or w h i l e hi g h t e n s i l e fa s t e n e rs re qui re a m ore s upe ri or tec h n ol og y s pe c a n d a re pre dom i n a n t l y m a n ufa c t ure d by t h e org a n i s e d s e c t or. T h e aut om obi l e i n dus t ry c urre n t l y a c c oun t s for a n e st i m a t e d 7 5 % of t h e t ot a l de m a n d, c l os e l y fol l ow e d by c on s um e r dura bl e s a n d ra i l w a ys .

Wh i l e fa s t e n e rs c om e i n t h ous a n ds of v a ri e t i e s , e a c h h a s a s pe c i fi c a n d e s s e n t i a l purpos e a n d e a c h i s c l a s s i fi e d i n a c c orda n c e to t h e i n dus t ry i t i s s uppl i e d t o. S o a n a i rc ra ft

Boltfast

m od el w o u ld req u i re a comple te ly diffe re nt f a st e n er d es ign to a re side ntial building or e v e n tho s e u s ed in marine craft. Faste ne rs c a n als o b e clas s if ied according to mate rials u s e d in manu f actu ring – Titanium faste ne rs a r e m o s t co mmo n ly use d whe re corrosion is a p r e d o min ant and de trime ntal factor, whe re h e a vy iro n f as ten ers are chose n whe n we ig ht c a r r y in g cap acity is inte g ral. One of the most c ommo n ly u s ed , s tainle ss ste e l faste ne rs, are a c h e ap er altern ative for titanium, prov iding a c or r o s io n res is tan t solution.

C orro s io n is an ine v itable and common p r ob lem w ith f as te ne rs so prote ctiv e coating s h e l p to p revent this whilst simultane ously i m p ro vin g ap p earance . Diffe re nt faste ne rs o p e rate in d if f erent industrie s which can

s ubs e que n t l y m e a n m uc h h a rs h e r c on di t i on s .

Ca rs run i n v a ri ous w e a t h e r c on di t i on s a n d on di ffe re n t t e rra i n s s o fa s t e n e rs us e d h e re m us t be a bl e t o w i t h s t a n d s uc h e l e m e n t s .

F a s t e n e rs us e d on t h e un de rs i de for e x a m pl e w i l l i n c ur a bra s i on from s a n d a n d g ra v e l t h row n from t h e w h e e l s , w h i l e fa s t e n e rs c l os e t o t h e e n g i n e w i l l n e e d t h e n e c e s s a ry e l e m e n t t o w i t h s t a n d h i g h t e m pe ra t ure s .

O n e of t h e l e a di n g c oa t i n g s i n fa s t e n e r prot e c t i on i s F l uoropol ym e r – i t e n a bl e s a l ow e r c oe ffi c i e n t of fri c t i on for a m uc h qui c k e r a n d m ore e ffi c i e n t a ppl i c a t i on a n d a re l i a bl e re m ov a bl e w i t h ordi n a ry w re n c h e s , e v e n w h e n e x pos e d t o pa rt i c ul a rl y c orros i v e c h e m i c a l s or s a l t w a t e r. T h e proc e s s i n v ol v e s pre pa ri n g t h e s urfa c e of t h e fa s t e n e r pri or t o

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company profile c oa t i n g bef o re co mp let ing a unique thre e -ste p c oa t i n g pro ces s , help in g to e nsure consiste nt c oa t i n g a n d excellen t adhe sion, e v e n on the m or e h a rd -to -reach p arts.

F l u o r op o ly mer co ating s are an e spe cially d u r a b l e o p tio n and w ith normal usag e , c a n n o t b e eas ily remo ve d. A me tallic base c oa t a l so h elp s to ens u re a supe rior corrosion r e si st a n c e mean ing p rote ction is g iv e n e v e n u n de r h a rs h co nd itio ns - coating s can ofte n b e da m a g ed d u ring th e asse mbly of faste ne rs.

I f b a r e m etal is exp o s ed during the asse mbly p r oc e ss , it can q u ickly be g in to show sig ns of c or r o s i o n , s o metimes c ausing the coating to fa i l a l t o gether.

STATISTICS OF THE FASTENER I n Ju n e this y ear, it w as re porte d that the price o f st e e l was s et at $100 pe r ton – and while r e po r t s s h o w a s imilar price was se e n this time l a s t ye a r, the p rice has droppe d sig nificantly

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thi s ye a r a l on e , re a c h i n g $ 4 0 0 pe r t on be fore Ch ri s t m a s .

T h e i m port a n c e of a s e c ure fa s t e n e r i s e sse n t i a l a n d pa ra m oun t , w h i c h e v e r i n dus t ry it i s be i n g de s i g n e d for – t h e c on s e que n c e s an d da n g e rs of a fa ul t y fa s t e n e r c oul d re s ul t i n com pl e t e e qui pm e n t fa i l ure , pe rs on a l i n dus t ry an d i n t h e w ors t c a s e s c e n a ri o, fa t a l i t i e s .

It i s e x pe c t e d t h a t t h e fa s t e n e r a n d s c re w ma c h i n e produc t m a n ufa c t uri n g i n dus t ry w i l l g en e ra t e a re v e n ue of a n e s t i m a t e d £ 5 3 1 .7 mil l i on be t w e e n 2 0 1 4 a n d 2 0 1 5 , i n c i de n t a l l y thi s i s dow n by 2 .5 % on t h e pre v i ous ye a r – d ra s t i c c h a n g e s i n dow n s t re a m de m a n ds , e con om i c c h a l l e n g e s a n d e x c h a n g e ra t e s a l l he l pe d t o e n c oura g e t h e s e c h a n g e s i n m a rk e t re ve n ue a s a re s ul t of t h e re c e s s i on .

T h e dom e s t i c m a rk e t for fa s t e n e r a n d s c re w ma c h i n e produc t s i s s a i d t o be w ort h a n e st i m a t e d £ 8 7 7 .3 m i l l i on from 2 0 1 4 -1 5 .

More re c e n t l y, E urope a n D i re c t i v e s h a v e

BP SA

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company profile

Š Boltfast

p u t f u r t h er emp has is o n the importance of fa s t e n e r s , w ith p articu lar conce ntration for d e s i gn e r s o f vehicles , e le ctrical and e le ctronic eq u i pm e nt. Th e th ree most important d i r e c t i v e s o u tlined are: Waste E le ctrical and E l e c t r o nic Eq u ip ment (WE E E ), E nd of L ife Ve h i c l e ( ELV) and the Re striction of the use of c e r t a i n Hazard o u s S u b stance s in e le ctrical and el e c t r o n ic eq u ip men t ( RoHS) Dire ctiv e .

T h i s i n tro d u ctio n w ill me an that both the a ut om ot ive, electrical a nd e le ctronic product m a n uf a c tu rers w ill n o w hav e to make chang e s t o t h e t yp e o f f as ten ers be ing use d and to t h e a p p l icatio n p ro ces s. One such me thod t o i m pl e m en t this chang e is to de sig n using s in g l e c o mp o n en ts , u s ing moulde d snap-fits i n s t e a d of s ep arate f as t e ne rs and re de sig ning a ss e m b l i es s o f ew er f as t e ne rs are holding more p a r t s t o geth er.

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In S out h Afri c a , a n a t i on w h i c h a l s o ha s s i g n i fi c a n t a ut om ot i v e , a g ri c ul t ura l , con s t ruc t i on a n d i n fra s t ruc t ure i n dus t ri e s , t h e com m on fa s t e n e r i s us e d on a n ot a bl y l a rg e sca l e . Wh i l e m a n y c om pa n i e s ope ra t e w i t h i n the fa s t e n e r i n dus t ry, B ol t fa s t , h e a dqua rt e re d in Ca pe Tow n , i s a s s ure dl y on e of t h e l e a di n g ind us t ry out l e t s i n S out h Afri c a t oda y.

THE PREFERRED PARTNER Opening its doors to the public in 1983, B o l t f a s t w a s f o u n d e d b y f o r m e r o w n e r, E r i c Hasselbach. Initially employing just a small handful of staff and operating in South A f r i c a ’s We s t e r n C a p e P r o v i n c e , i t n o w stands as one of the leading distributors of industrial fasteners in South Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa. Headquartered in C a p e To w n , t h e c o m p a n y w a s a c q u i r e d b y

Boltfast Overberg Agri in 2007.

C ontinu ing to d eliv e r an e v e r-incre asing p r od u ct ran ge to clie nts all ov e r the country, B ol t f as t h as s ecu red an impre ssiv e re putation s t a n d ing as th e p refe rre d partne r of choice for a l l i t s s takeho ld ers .

S t rivin g to b u ild solid and re liable r e l a t io ns hip s w ith clie nts, Boltfast is inte nt o n p ro vid ing s o lu tions to e nsure that e ach c l i e nt receives excelle nt se rv ice , hig h quality p r od u cts an d p ro vide s an array of training and s e r v ices to help each clie nt g row the ir busine ss b o t h ef f ectively and succe ssfully.

Pl a cin g a key f o cus on v alue s including trust, h on e s ty, d eliverin g on promise s and mutual r e sp ect, it’s n o w o nde r Boltfast has e stablishe d s uc h a p ro min en t position within the industry.

O v er the y ears , additional companie s we re a c q u ired , help in g to e xte nd the company’s f o o t prin t acro s s So uth Africa, including in J oh a n nes b u rg, Du rban and P re toria. Today, B ol t f as t h as nu merous office locations in P ort E l i z a b eth , Preto ria , Johanne sburg , Durban a n d t hree f u rther branche s in its He ad Office C a p e To w n lo catio n - Vre de nburg , E pping and

M on t a g ue G a rde n s .

B ol t fa s t i s I S O 9 0 0 1 :2 0 0 8 re g i s t e re d w i t h a l e v e l 4 B -B B E E ra t i n g a n d s t a n ds a s a c e rt i fi e d v a l ue a dde d s uppl i e r.

EXTENSIVE PRODUCT RANGE Wi t h a v a s t r a n g e o f o v e r 2 8 , 0 0 0 p r o d u c t s , Boltfast not only supplies an extensive list of fasteners, but additionally it also offers; high tensile steel, mild steel, stainless steel and brass products, not to mention, socket heads, roof and fastening systems, tools, solvents and associated products.

It continues to boast one of the largest product ranges than any of its competitors, maintaining its position as the largest stockist of stainless steel fasteners across South Africa.

While steel prices and the continued availability of quality steel proves a concern for Boltfast, it has a dedicated and reliable team in place to constantly monitor steel p r i c e s , m a r k e t c o n d i t i o n s a n d a v a i l a b i l i t y.

Now operating across numerous market sectors, Boltfast sells its extensive product

DCS Engineering was established in 1989 and currently supplies the industrial sector of South Africa with specialised engineering requirements.

PRODUCT LINE INCLUDES: Specialised Engineering – Mechanical fastenings Marine – Fittings for shipping & yachting Mining – Fasteners & foundation bolts Wine Industry – Sample taps & fittings Oil & Gas – 904. & B7, flanges Agriculture – Machine repairs & components Customised designs for clients

PO BOX 431 | TABLE VIEW | 7439 | SOUTH AFRICA TEL: +27 (0)21 557 6747 | FAX: +27 (0)21 557 6771

www.dcscape.co.za

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Company profile

© Boltfast

“While fasteners come in thousands of varieties, each has a specific and essential purpose and each is classified in accordance to the industry it is supplied to”

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range to the mining, construction, marine and manufacturing industries.

Due to the size of the product range and the differing needs of the various industries in different locations, the popularity of the p r o d u c t s v a r i e s a c c o r d i n g l y.

Wi t h m a n y l a r g e s c a l e a n d p r o m i n e n t projects under its belt – Boltfast has been involved with an array of large construction developments including the Medupi power station.

FULL PACKAGE SOLUTION Over the last few years, Boltfast has undergone a process of restructuring and consolidation, all with the aim of ensuring it provides the very best services for its clients. It has also introduced new and related product lines which includes t h e Ti t a n H a r d w a r e r a n g a n d p r o t e c t i v e

Boltfast clothing and silicon ranges, helping to reestablish its role as the preferred partner for clients.

M o r e r e c e n t l y, B o l t f a s t l a u n c h e d a s m a l l packs range for the DIY market as part of a social responsibility initiative in a bid to support an organisation which provides work to disabled individuals in both a safe and protected working environment. An extremely valid and important scheme, it will allow these individuals the opportunity to work for companies like Boltfast.

These strategic updates have helped to ensure that Boltfast is in a prime position to capitalise on future growth opportunities and plans to increase its market share and returns. One of the ways it hopes to achieve this is by building upon its ability to provide high quality products and concentrating on building secure long term relationships with clients and suppliers.

Boltfast is also looking to further increase its footprint through the addition of several new branches and franchise options to extend both its retail and DIY markets.

In a report released by Freedonia Group, a leading international industrial research c o m p a n y, i t i s p r e d i c t e d t h e g l o b a l d e m a n d for industrial fasteners is to grow year on year by 4.8% from 2012. In 2007, the demand for fasteners had reached an exponential total of US$52 billion, growing by 9% annually since 2002. It is thought this surge in demand is attributed largely to the increases in world economic growth, increased fixed investment activity and greater manufacturing production. Both the motor vehicle production and aerospace grade fasteners required for aircrafts are expected to contribute significantly to this growth.

The growth of fastener demands in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Eastern Europe and Latin America has now started to outpace g r o w t h w i t h i n t h e U S , J a p a n a n d We s t e r n Europe – while sales growth is looking to be stimulated by favourable economic conditions and higher income levels, this will undoubtedly lead to an increase in manufacturing activity and consumer expenditures for durable goods.

Looking at the industrial fastener industry, recorded consumption by the world’s original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) represented a significant proportion of the global fastener demand at 84% - followed by maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) applications accounting for the remainder. In 2007, it was reported that motor vehicle manufacturers consume the most fasteners, accounting for 35% of the global demand, this figure has now risen significantly. Approaching a total of US$5 billion in 2012, the demand for aerospace-grade fasteners is expected to grow too.

So, in a market that is constantly changing, growing and becoming more innovative and r e l i a n t o n t e c h n o l o g y, i t i s e s s e n t i a l f o r a company like Boltfast to ensure it puts its energies into adding new and related product lines to its industrial fastener database over the coming years. This dedication will undoubtedly ensure it maintains its prominent industry leading position to successfully provide the full package solution to its clients and develop its footprint further

.

“We wish Boltfast continued success in the future.”

• Air & Sea Freight Forwarding and Customs Clearing • Warehousing: Bond and Duty free facilities • National Distribution: road & rail, heavy-lift and special transport

• Worldwide Agent Network • Project Cargo • Marine Insurance

Tel: +27 (0)21 419 9330 Email: sales@ctcworldwide.co.za www.ctcworldwide.co.za

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