6 minute read
FASTENER PRICE RISES
WHY ARE FASTENER PRICES RISING IN 2021?
Torque Magazine breaks down some of the key reasons behind the price rises affecting the fixing, fastener and tool industries...
CONTAINER SHORTAGES
Container prices have quadrupled in a matter of months, eroding margins to such an extent that importers are having to pass on at least some of the costs. Why the steep rise for these metal boxes? There’s a global shortage – and a vast number of containers in the wrong part of the world and not where they are needed. With availability of containers low, shipping prices have risen for importers to the tune of from $2,000 to $10,000 – understandably hitting margins significantly.
STEEL PRICES AND AVAILABILITY
Raw material prices are significantly up; Everything from rubber to aluminium and, inevitably, steel (a per tonne low of $327 in April 2020 to approx. $600 in Feb 2021). Prices have been pushed up in part thanks to steel mill owners operating well under capacity in 2020 while they waited for demand to ramp up again. However demand has returned quicker than expected with one steel mill operator admitting “supply is far from matching demand” (CSC) and citing “higher coking coal prices” pushing up steel prices. We also hear of larger manufacturers making bigger raw material orders to minimise their disruption in anticipation of raw material shortages, constricting supply further still.
STOCK SHORTAGES –CORONA
When Covid‐19 shut factories in China back in early 2020, stock shortages were among the early business concerns. Those fears have truly now materialised. Off the record chats confirm that wholesalers are currently operating with far less stock availability than usual. Exacerbated by port disruption, drivers forced to self‐isolate with Covid‐19 symptoms, storage capacity taken up by government PPE orders, an unforeseen rocket in DIY and construction product… the supply chain is far from ‘normal’ and with scarcity of materials also in the mix, warehouse shelves are emptier than usual.
VICTORY LAYS FOUNDATIONS FOR EXPANSION
A significant and strategic expansion of stocks has seen Victory Fasteners take on an additional warehouse with over 300 additional pallet locations. Managing Director Vic Waddison explains the move to Torque Magazine…
Victory Fasteners, a leading supplier of high‐grade alloy fasten‐ers, has built a notable reputation for supporting its distribution customer base across the UK and Europe. Vic Waddison, MD of Victory Fasteners, who has been in the industry for over 40 years, comments: “We started our busi‐ness eight years ago during the last reces‐sion. Who would have thought that those challenging times would pale into insignificance when faced with the current global pandemic? “Like many businesses, we had to take stock of our position. We were financially strong but at that point, 12 months ago, none of us could have imagined what was to come. Like others we trimmed, we furloughed, we worked from home and hoped that we would all be back too normal soon, how wrong we were.” With Brexit also looming, the company decided to increase its strategic stocks with emphasis on additional blanks, but particularly more depth of its European stock. During December and January, the company had an additional 100 tonnes of stock arriving to continue to deliver growth in stock and investment. As a consequence, Victory Fasteners has taken an additional 2,300 ft² warehouse able to accommodate over 300 additional pallet positions. Located on its current indus‐trial estate, this bulk storage facility allows the business to service larger volume enquiries and orders. Vic Waddison continues: “The company has grown impressively over the past seven years and changing the direction of the company into increased conversion of our stock blanks and manufacturing has been the key to that growth, whilst continuing to offer flexibility and reliabil‐ity. The team have worked diligently with our software company to amend our invoice and GDN templates to accommo‐date the new export documentation requirements, which we are driving across the whole of our company’s docu‐mentation. With the possibility of addi‐tional duty for our export customers on non‐EU product exported from the UK, we hope that our extensive range of Euro‐pean stock and our new documentation procedures will make the process of importing from Victory Fasteners a simpler one. “It’s not easy running a business with the constraints that we face today. With further possible challenges pending –price increases, product shortages and extended manufacturer delivery times –make for challenging times ahead, we feel that the prudent decisions we’ve made over the last few months give us a solid foundation to continue to build on the excellent reputation we’ve established with our distribution customers. “Despite recent challenges, our enthu‐siasm is still strong, and our team looks forward to helping you with your stan‐dard and non‐standard requirements.” Victory Fasteners has recently updated its blank stock list with new ranges, don’t hesitate to contact the Sales department on 00 44 1902 544480 or email sales@victo‐ryfasteners.com to get your copy.
Victory Fasteners has significantly ramped up its stock of blanks
www.victoryfasteners.com
“TO BE SUCCESSFUL YOU HAVE TO ADAPT”
Maria Ford, President of North America Industrial and Commercial Construction Global Tools & Storage at Stanley Black & Decker, discussed adapting during challenging times and the digital and environmental development within the fastener and tool industry in the latest enhanced digital issue of Torque Magazine…
It's been a highly disruptive 11 months and in your STAFDA Convention talk you spoke about the need for more digital interaction with customers. Is this something that was always going to become necessary, and has Covid accelerated it? Or has it been driven by the pandemic?
Yes, I think it’s safe to say that 2020 has been disruptive. It was a privilege to speak at STAFDA, and the theme I centred my speech around was transformation. As an industry I think we all knew we needed to become increasingly digital, but COVID‐19 really accelerated that to a speed no one could’ve anticipated.
How do you see the drive towards digital impacting on how sales are made in the industry? Is it a challenge for businesses to adapt?
The virtual environment we live in allows people to get infor‐mation, reviews and products very quickly, and now with COVID‐19 these virtual opportunities are more efficient than ever. Distributors and manufacturers like Stanley Black & Decker were all making changes in the way we did business, but in 2020 a lot of change happened overnight. The opportunity for smaller incremental changes has passed, and we all need to transform the way we think about doing business to create as much impact as we can in every customer interaction…
The rise of hybrid trade shows Opinions from fischer Webshop round-up IT, Software and e-business
Read the rest of the interview in the January Enhanced Digital edition of Torque Magazine. Find the issue at:
