Europe announces stainless steel anti-dumping investigation

Phil Matten

Editor”s Note: The following column by Phil Matten, editor of Fastener & Fixing Europe, is part of a news column exchange with FIN.
On August 24 the European Commission initiated anti-dumping proceedings on imports of stainless steel fasteners from China, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam. Previous anti-dumping duties covering all these countries, except Indonesia and Vietnam, expired in 2003. Tariffs varied by country, and in some cases the producer with the highest levels, up to 74.7%, applied to China.
The investigation was prompted by a July 15 complaint from the European Industrial Fastener Institute, which represents “a major portion of the total community production of stainless steel fasteners.” The Commission must now determine whether dumping is taking place and whether “material injury” is being caused to community industry. Injury has been alleged on the basis that imports have increased both in absolute terms and in terms of market share. The volumes and prices of imported product are alleged to have “had a negative impact on the level of prices charged by the Community industry resulting in substantial effects on the financial situation, capacity and employment of the Community industry.”
The Commission has nine months to make a provisional determination, and a total of 15 months to reach a definitive conclusion.
FABORY opens Chinese facility
FABORY Pacific, part of the Dutch Borstlap Masteners in Fasteners Group, officially opened. The new facility, located in the Zhangjiagang Free Trade Zone, about 60 miles northwest of Shanghai, incorporates a 100,000 sq ft warehouse that employs around 100 people. The facility sources from local Chinese vendors and other Asian sources.
Finnveden wins new automotive business
The Swedish Engineering group has reported further success in the automotive sector, with new contracts and recent orders expected to generate SEK 1 billion (�100 million) in sales within a three-year period. The growth includes fasteners for a new generation of passenger car engines.
First half results show net sales rose 4.7%, while operating profit grew over 60% to SEK 183 million. Finnveden Fasteners, distinct from the Bufab distribution operation, is one of the five largest suppliers to the European automotive industry, producing about 75% of components in-house.
Trying XS on the web again
More than three years since the demise of the last Europe-based fastener trading website, FastenerXS.com is trying to make it work again. Aimed at small to midsize fastener distributors, the site allows them to list and trade excess inventory, and it includes a bulletin board to make enquiries for new stocks. As an incentive to get good trading parts on the site FastenerXS.com is offering the first 100 companies a heavily discounted membership fee of �50.
Monitoring raw materials for steel
Brussels-based International Iron and Steel Institute believes that while Chinese demand for finished steel has eased somewhat in the last few months, supply of raw materials such as coke will not catch up with demand until at least 2006. Believing that, in the current environment, supply constraint forecasts may be more realistic than its usual demand-driven analysis, the Institute appointed a group of experts to monitor and report on the raw material situation. The Group will look at the susceptibility of China”s potential production growth to limitations on raw material availability and transport bottlenecks. The group will report twice a year, in October and April.
According to a recent Financial Times report, the world”s three biggest iron ore producers are planning to spend $5.3 billion over the next four years to increase output by over 50%. The plans by Brazil”s CVRD, UK Rio-Tinto and Anglo-Australian BHP Billiton reflect confidence that the steel market will remain strong for at least three or four more years.
Hooking up?
According to The Welding Institute, UK researchers have found a way to make tiny protrusions on the surface of metal that mean it could be bonded to composite materials in the same way as “hook and loop” fabric fastenings. The 2 mm high, 0.2 diameter projections are made by a focused electron beam in a vacuum chamber. The process is apparently capable of creating thousands of projections in a matter of minutes. Carbon fibres in composite materials become easily entangled in the projections, which means they could be bonded rapidly to the metal surface, just by pressure. Tests also indicate the joints formed may be longer lasting than those created using adhesives. The system works on stainless steel, aluminium and titanium, but in the future might be developed for use on other materials that will melt, including plastics and glass.
Make the Stuttgart link at Vegas
November”s NIFS/West show provides the ideal opportunity to find out first hand from organiser Jerry Ramsdale how plans are developing for next September”s Fastener Fair Stuttgart. Ramsdale remains upbeat. “With a year to go, 63 exhibitors have already signed up and we haven”t even begun to sell in earnest. We have an event dedicated to the fastener and fixings sector, in the heart of Germany, in a year when the Cologne Practical World does not take place. It”s a formula that has found favour very rapidly. As well as companies from throughout Europe we already have bookings from Taiwan and Canada.”
Fastener Fair”s booth is number 621.\ �2004 FastenerNews.com