Insight

A review and preview of the global fastener market

Named after the Roman god who is often depicted as having two faces – due to its ability to look to the future and to the past – the Janus Perspective is a unique feature that includes a wide cross section of global fastener business leaders, who have all contributed their retrospective of 2021 and thoughts on prospects and challenges for 2022.

Pasquale Cozzolino, tier 1 manager, corrosion protection, GMF

2021 was marked by a series of extraordinary events. The ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, supply chain disruptions, and inflation, hit the world on an unprecedented scale. Globally, manufacturing industries faced severe challenges.

Despite these exceptional circumstances, we made every effort to meet the needs of the market and our customers, ensuring that we delivered products and services with our proven reliability.  Our global presence, our multi-source purchasing approach, and our forecasting capabilities allowed us to mitigate supply shortages. At the same time, we continued to focus on promoting our sustainable solutions and developing our R&D roadmap, keeping in-line with market needs.

In 2021, the automotive industry was hit by shortages in electronic chips. Though increased wafer production will ease this pressure on the market in 2022, high lead times will still impact supply chains. Relief is expected towards the end of next year. Rising demand for electric vehicles is set to stimulate global production and the faster transition to eMobility will generate technical challenges. For example, new requirements for electrical conductivity or cleanliness of connecting elements will play a key role in the future and new standardised test methods will be introduced. Downsizing of fasteners and the implementation of different base materials to enable weight reduction are further key trends. With our comprehensive know-how in electroplating and finishing, and our extensive analysis capabilities, we are well-equipped to offer the ideal products and solutions for fasteners for electric vehicles.

The construction market is driven by high-levels of public investment around the world. Rising construction fastener demands and continuing import problems, such as high transport costs and delays, call for more investment in production and expansion across Europe and North America. With production facilities around the world, Atotech is a reliable global industry partner for providing high-quality coating processes.

In 2022, fast expansion is predicted within the renewables markets. Over the coming months and years, further market growth will be driven by political initiatives in the US and Europe, boosted by public pressure to reduce CO2 emissions. Fasteners utilised in onshore and offshore wind turbine production require outstanding corrosion performance to prolong their life. We have developed high corrosion resistant zinc flake systems – providing the best corrosion protection to meet this demand.

Sustainability: The driver of innovation and cost efficiency

Environmentally sustainable production, specifically reducing CO2 emissions, plays an important role in the fastener supply chain – requiring a strong commitment from all stakeholders.

Atotech is committed to being an innovative and environmentally conscious company. Our goal is to be the leading supplier of sustainable plating systems, with sustainability driving our R&D strategy. As we meet global demand for technologies and chemicals, we seek to contribute to a more sustainable plating industry by improving our environmental performance and resource efficiency. Over the last decade, we have focused on making our chemical portfolio more environmentally friendly. We are committed to reducing the use of hazardous chemicals and developing less harmful processes, going beyond industry standards.

Our systems are designed to use water, energy, and raw materials, at high efficiency – reusing and recycling where possible. Atotech strives to make a positive impact by helping our customers achieve their goals through sustainable products and services. This allows us to quickly respond to customer needs as they adapt to evolving environmental laws and regulations, enabling cost efficient and sustainable production.

Maximum efficiency with minimum environmental impact

Atotech’s innovative and patented compact modular coating line, DynaSmart® for fastener coating, features a revolutionary automation design that, in combination with Atotech’s portfolio of acid and alkaline zinc and zinc alloy processes, maximises efficiency while meeting sustainability standards. Paired with online purification systems, production efficiency can be further increased for additional cost savings and reduced environmental impact. In the field of chemical processes, we are constantly expanding our portfolio of non-hazardous and efficient processes and are currently introducing nickel-free alloys that demonstrate the same corrosion behaviour as alloys containing nickel. Our portfolio of sustainable and economical zinc flake systems was recently expanded by a new self-lubricating base coat – Zintek® 200 SL F – which meets the automotive industry’s requirements for corrosion protection and coefficient of friction – with only two layers of the same base coat. This results in a significantly lower carbon footprint compared to systems that require a third or fourth layer top coat. With this product, we not only meet requirements for environmental compatibility, but offer greater cost efficiency and productivity, counteracting the rising costs of production and raw materials.

Over the coming year, it is expected that many existing supply chain challenges will continue to impact various markets. With our global presence and broad service and production network, we are excellently positioned to meet the needs of our customers with our proven reliability. By delivering innovative and sustainable solutions, as well as an unparalleled service to our fastener industry partners, we will continue to facilitate and foster excellent collaboration across the supply chain in 2022.