社團法人台灣螺絲貿易協會Taiwan Fastener Trading Association

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Interview with International Fastener Association

TFTA Interview with International Fastener Associations

Kevin Godin President of NFDA, National Fastener Distributors Association NFDA

Anders Karlsson President of EIFI, European Industrial Fasteners Institute EIFI

Volker Lederer President of EFDA, European Fastener Distributor Association EFDA

Rob Pietersma President of SAFMA, South African Fasteners Manufacturers Association, SOUTH AFRICA

Q1: How has Covid-19 impacted your domestic fastener industry?

NFDA: Last year most fastener distributors in the U.S. saw a significant decline, especially in the second quarter followed by a rebound as the year progressed. The timing and amount of rebound depended heavily on what type of end-markets the business sold to. In most cases, however, by the 4^th quarter firms were seeing solid demand relative to pre-COVID levels. This continued into 2021 and most companies have had a good year so far and are reporting solid demand through the end of the year. Although the virus has not been eradicated, the biggest industry challenges right now appear to be the supply chain issues and labor shortages for certain types of positions.

EIFI: Impact was huge in Q2 2020 with all business shut downs. In Q3/4 we saw the opening up of industry and slowly returning back to pre-Covid levels even if not fully back.

EFDA: At the beginning of the pandemic, EU fastener distributors suffered considerably from the decreasing demand of fasteners worldwide, especially in the second quarter of 2020. According to the individual company and sector the turnover decreased up to 30% during this period. Companies delivering to the automotive industry had major decreases.

Since then, the economic situation has improved. The global demand of fasteners has increased significantly, and the major problem EU fastener distributors have now is to satisfy the demand of their customers. Severe sourcing problems due to limited production capacities, the continuing shipping crisis and rising raw material prices make it difficult if not impossible for our member companies to supply the EU industry with the quantities of fasteners it needs. Delivery times up to one year are no exceptions!

In the midst of this unusual and difficult situation, our member companies have to additionally cope with the effects of the current anti-dumping investigation regarding imports of iron and steel fasteners from the People’s Republic of China. The investigation was launched by the European Commission in December 2020 and has increased the sourcing problems and uncertainties on the European fastener market.

SAFMA : The impact of Covid-19 was severe. Our economy had already been in a recession at the end of 2019 so when lockdown started in March 2020, it worsened the already deteriorating situation. South Africa’s economy has been mismanaged by the ruling government so necessary investment for growth and a stable economy has not taken place.

Q2: Has Covid-19 changed your members’ business models?

NFDA: It may be too early to tell which changes will be longer term but it does appear that we are experiencing a significant shift in certain portions of how various companies approach business. The most obvious have to do with remote work and flexibility in terms of managing the workforce. Virtually all businesses have made investments into their communication and remote work technologies which allow them to reconsider strategies for how to use their office space, how to do training, and how to approach travel, etc. There remains a strong sense that face to face interaction is necessary, especially with customers, but I think we are only seeing the beginning of how virtual and digital tools will revolutionize collaboration and workflow.

EIFI: Less travelling if any at all and less physical meetings and for white collars working from home. Web meetings has become the normal standard and I likely to remain like that in the future as well with much less traveling than before. Real meetings has just now started to open up again. EIFI will meet first time this week in one of our working groups.

EFDA: We can see that the Covid-19 pandemic has led to a further digitization boost in our industry. Video conferences have become an important part of our future relationship management with our business partners, and home office has played a crucial role in our work organization.

Electronic data exchange, too, has increased and will certainly continue to do so. Those who are already well-positioned in the field of digitization, who have modern IT systems and highly qualified employees and who are also financially healthy, will emerge from the current crisis stronger and survive in the market and continue to grow.

SAFMA : The two leading manufacturers recognised that business would not be the same and downsized according to expected reduced demand. I believe in doing so it also allowed companies to gear up for greater efficiency. In this respect, Covid was a blessing, however it does not bode well for employment. Our official unemployment is now 34% and the wider unemployment is 44%. The are now as many people on government grants than people employed. This is certainly putting a strain on government finances and is not a good thing for the medium to long term.

Q3: How do you see the opportunity and challenge in fastener market in 2022?

NFDA: The most significant underlying factor is the general economy, but currently there is a lot of optimism about customer demand. The biggest short term challenges are likely to remain availability and cost issues with supply chain and workforce disruption issues. There will be opportunities for those businesses who are able to navigate these challenges well.

EIFI: Hopefully returning back to normal world with industrial shortages disappearing again. Stabilizing of raw material prices must also happen.

EFDA: The development in 2022 is difficult to foresee due to high risks: if and to what extent the current supply chain problems will continue, the uncertainties brought by the covid pandemic and impending anti-dumping duties on imports of fasteners form PR China.

SAFMA: The commodity upturn, mining thereof, has had a positive affect on those businesses exposed to mining which in turn has had a benefit to local manufacturers. In addition there is a big drive towards localization which will also have a benefit to local manufacturers. The industry has been able to obtain Safeguard Duty protection on a number of ‘bread and butter’ products which will also benefit local. There is expected to be a drive on green energy and we are hopeful that this will drive positive demand as well, particularly solar. The huge increase in freight rates will also certainly impact on ‘cheap imports’, in turn having a positive effect for local.

12F.-1, No. 615, Sec. 2, Datong Rd., East Dist., Tainan City 701012 , Taiwan (R.O.C.)

TEL : 06-2679960 / FAX : 06-2670107 / E-mail : tfta_org@yahoo.com.tw

Web design by Fastener World Inc.

TEL : 06-2679960 / FAX : 06-2670107

E-mail : tfta_org@yahoo.com.tw

12F.-1, No. 615, Sec. 2, Datong Rd., East Dist., Tainan City 701012 , Taiwan (R.O.C.)

Web design by Fastener World Inc.