Issue: 133 (Jan - Feb 2022)

The start of a new year is always a good opportunity to take a step back and look at what happened over the previous year and what could happen in the future. Unfortunately, sometimes this is just not possible with the day-to-day pressures, especially in the current climate.

That is why we invited the leading players from within the fastener and fixing industry to give us their thoughts on the previous year and the opportunities that lie ahead, creating the unique Janus Perspective and giving all our readers the opportunity to see what the industry is thinking. 

With nearly 40 contributions there are too many companies and associations involved to name them, but the articles cover every facet of the industry, such as distribution, manufacturing, machinery, coatings, as well as reports on individual countries, including China, Taiwan, India, Brazil and Turkey. Make sure you give it a read.

In Industry News, we have a breakdown on the latest situation within the AD676 case on imports of certain iron or steel fasteners in the People’s Republic of China. In November the European Commission published to interested parties its General Final Disclosure Document that showed the European Commission intended to apply definitive anti-dumping duties of up to 89.8%. Later in December the Commission disclosed additional conclusions, which included a small reduction of duty rates between 1.8% – 3.3%, which would still make the top duty rate 86.5%.  

Whilst this is a disclosure of the European Commission’s intentions, rather than the final regulation, it does show that the Commission intends to apply definitive duties. According to the Commission, the duties are to be imposed by 17^th February 2022 at the very latest. Before that, the governments of the EU member states will vote on the definitive measure.

Of course, you can keep up to date with the latest information as it happens on fastenerandfixing.com, as well as subscribing to our newsletter, which includes breaking news on all the latest developments within the industry. 

Within our Insight section we cover another big topic that relates to the potential anti-dumping duties – circumvention. Phil Matten explains how companies need to be hyper alert to the risks, whether a company gets knowingly or unknowingly involved in circumvention. It is well worth a read.

Other articles within the January issue include our Cover Story from Nord-Lock Group, which focuses on how the company has continued its expansion plans during the Covid-19 pandemic. Alongside which it has introduced new machinery, enhanced processes and additional personnel. 

To add to this we also have a great chemical anchors + resins feature in Construction Fixings, plus expert articles from Jason Bader, managing partner at The Distribution Team, who asks whether technology can help us get through the labour crisis; Cesare Certini, owner of CERMAC Srl – an Italian testing machine manufacturer – explains why tensile testing is ‘the king’ of mechanical testing; and finally regular contributor Ian Parker discusses how Covid-19 and environmental concerns could lead to electric planes in the future, and the challenges this will bring for fasteners.