Issue: #122 March 2020

In the January edition of the magazine I discussed the difficulty in predicting how 2020 would develop for the fastener industry. Here we are in March, and things have seemingly become even more challenging – largely down to the impact of the Coronavirus: Covid-19.

In our Asian News section, we have a full report that includes how the initial impact of Covid-19 in China led to a two week delay in employees returning to work after the Chinese New Year, and how even after that Chinese manufacturers were still at a reduced workforce – leading to reduced capacity. The report also looks at the challenge of getting containers to ports and the productivity of the ports.

Whilst European distributors are currently reporting full stocks, with many having already ordered additional supplies as standard practice to cover the Chinese New Year, there is uncertainty on how the delays might impact supplies later in the year.

Now Covid-19 is making its way across Europe and it is key trade shows that are being impacted. EISENWARENMESSE and wire® Düsseldorf have both been postponed, as has the Taiwan International Fastener Show.

Going to print, it is unclear what other impacts Covid-19 could have within Europe and the fastener industry.  For the latest information visit www.fastenerandfixing.com

Fastener machinery spotlight
Whilst the wire® Düsseldorf show may have been postponed; our March edition is full of information on the latest developments within the manufacturing technology sector. Firstly, our Cover Story focuses on SACMA Group and how recent acquisitions have enabled it to become a supplier of machinery for all aspects of fastener production.

Plus, we have a special ‘Fastener Machinery Spotlight’ feature that gives a unique and exclusive insight into the key innovations and capabilities within cold and hot forging, tooling and dies, threading, secondary operations, heat treatment, testing and inspection, as well as weighing, counting and packing. 

For this edition I also had the pleasure of sitting down with EFDA president, Volker Lederer, and discussing the association’s 20^th anniversary and how it supports its members.

Other articles in this edition include the launch of the new JRP line of rivets from Hexstone Group; as well as Paolo Cattaneo, managing director at Growermetal Srl, talking about the continuous testing it carries out on its Grower TenKeep® safety washers.

Pushing the boundaries
At Fastener + Fixing Magazine we are always looking for new methods and platforms to provide key fastener insight to our readers.

A prime example is our recent video interview with Dr Volker Lederer, managing director at Lederer GmbH, which is now online at www.fastenerandfixing.com, where we discuss the fastener market, tariffs, raw material prices, the role of distributors, and digitisation.

To help us continue to push the boundaries, we have also started a survey to find out what you as a user want to hear about and how you want to receive information. If you could
take 5 minutes to fill it out, it will help us to continue providing the fastener and fixing news you want.