GOVERNMENTS/ASSOCIATIONS/FASTENER GROUPS 

On the opening day of Fastener Expo Shanghai 2019, EFDA Vice President Gian Marco Dalpane was invited to give a speech on the global economic development trend and its influence on fastener production, application and trade. According to Mr. Dalpane, future fastener manufacturing will definitely be automated, so manufacturers must focus more on the management chain and continuously develop better fastening solutions.

     Mr. Dalpane added that future requirements for fasteners will be more stringent and only products with zero defects can survive the market with keen competition. With these requirements, fastener manufacturers will definitely face two important trends in the future: professionalism and concentration. 

     Professionalism can be divided into two aspects. One is digitalization, and the other is internationalization. Manufacturing procedures and technology must be digitalized, which is good to machine-to-machine management, while purchasing and sales must be internationalized in order to extend reach out of the domestic market to the whole world. Concentration denotes mergers and acquisitions among companies. Fastener enterprises conducting various ways of integration will face the issue of how to manage companies with different backgrounds. On the other hand, as the world’s situation continues to change and there comes more red tape pertaining to the laws and Customs regulations, certification has become much more important in global marketing. 

     Mr. Dalpane pointed out in his speech that the world’s fastener sales are EUR 5.5 billion a year and Asia represents a lion’s share, followed by Europe with sales amounting to around EUR 1 billion. Thus far, Europe has imposed no fastener AD duties against any Asian country and its demand for fasteners continues to grow. To view from the EU’s 8 major fastener import origins in Asia, China’s share increased by 2%, while the share of Taiwan dropped by 3%.

     Major industries in Europe showing the most significant fastener demand are: automotive, aerospace and railroad (representing 50% of the total demand), followed by construction (20%) and mechanical fasteners. Mr. Dalpane said in his expectations toward 2019-2020 that EFDA will make every effort to recruit more members in order to create more powerful influence and strengthen its role in speaking for the interest of all members. It will also continue to concern about the development of AD measures and object to any form of trade protectionism. Last but not least, he told every fastener company in attendance, “Any objects cannot be assembled without fasteners, so if fasteners cannot be sold through proper approaches, that ‘ll be an end of the whole world.”