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.

Martin Jauss, general manager

An intensive 2021 has come to an end. After we already had a very challenging time in 2020, we definitely reached new dimensions this year. From the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic to political uncertainties and environmental disasters, 2021 was a year of diverse and large-scale issues.

Beyond these various local situations, one challenge united us across all our markets and industries this year: An unprecedented and volatile situation in the global procurement markets and supply chains, as well as in transport management, in pricing structures or in the shortage of skilled workers.

The demand in many sectors and industries has increased in 2021, yet the situation on the procurement market currently remains unstable and is in a state of flux. This is reflected not only in continuing price increases, but also in bottlenecks in material availability and delivery times. The following two factors are decisive for this development: Increased export demand and a massive increase in transport costs.

The majority of goods are shipped by containers across the world’s oceans. This not only leads to shortages in containers and associated higher prices, but also to longer delivery times. The consequence of all that is the shortage of raw materials. Raw materials are becoming increasingly rare in Europe. The probable introduction of anti-dumping duties on fasteners from China in 2022 will not ease the situation with regard to availability and will cause further uncertainty.

That is why one of the most important levers for us as a company is, and has always been, the supply security for our customers worldwide – in terms of our products and systems. As a holistic C-parts partner, our strategy is designed to invest continuously in innovative logistics solutions; in the further development of our digital supply systems; in dynamic procurement of goods; and in our employees. Our purchasing unit is organised centrally and is responsible for procurement and for any enquiries regarding new projects from all European companies – a decisive competitive advantage. The resulting bundling effects, as well as the frequent high volume of enquiries, make us a preferred customer for manufacturers from all over the world and this in turn guarantees good terms and conditions. In our disposition, it is not only rigid parameters that decide on the quantity that is purchased. We have experts who determine the disposition parameters, as well as the purchasing volume. This allows an anticyclical purchase. By operating proactively, as well as extensively monitoring the suppliers and stocking up the products adequately, we were able to fulfil all our delivery commitments in the production sector in spite of the restrictions due to the Covid-19, a situation in several countries, and thus to ensure the availability of C-parts at the manufacturers’ production sites worldwide.

Würth Industrie Service closed 2021 on a very positive level, with preliminary growth of more than 23% and sales expected to exceed €664 million, which is a big milestone in the company’s history. Despite a good order situation and positive conclusion to the year, we can expect further uncertainties in the procurement markets when we look ahead to the coming year. That is why the focus at Würth Industrie Service will remain where it is today.

Above all, we will continue to focus on our customers and thus also on the topics of supply security, process and material reliability, as well as customer oriented systems and innovations. It is also important to develop our portfolio to beyond the standard, such as additive manufacturing technologies and 3D printing. In the future, we will not only focus on classic fasteners, assembly materials, plus auxiliary and operating materials, but also develop completely new business areas and technologies together with our customers. Thanks to our colleagues and our strong team we will achieve this together.