Fastener + Fixing Magazine #138

In this issue…

Ambrovit: Striving towards service excellence Made in Italy Tapes + adhesives fastenerandfixing.com ≡ Issue 138: November 2022

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ADVANCED TECHNOLOGIES Since 1955 ND Industries has specialized in the development of innovative materials and processes which increase the safety and reliability of fastener assemblies.

ND serves a global market with divisions across the continental U.S., Taiwan, and licensees around the world. ND’s core business revolves around the application of a wide variety of materials onto fasteners and assemblies to aid in functions such as locking, sealing, masking, lubricating, and noise and vibration dampening. ND also manufactures a line of bottled products under the Vibra-Tite® brand name for MRO and retail use.

From two base products in 1965 to currently over two hundred twenty, ND continues its tradition of cutting edge research and development with the regular introduction of unique materials along with competitive brand offsets.

ELECTROLOC® High strength encapsulated epoxy threadlocker for use in electrical systems where low halogen materials are necessary. Contains small micrometer microcaps which reduce material extrusion on installation.

THERMOSEAL™ A high temperature, high pressure thread sealant which withstands up to 40MPa. Offering thread locking breakaway torques greater than 20Nm and a maximum temperature of 428°F (220°C). Thermoseal is an extremely versatile product for challenging sealing conditions.

THERMOLOC® 1500 ND’s highest temperature chemical threadlocker. Initially performs like a vibration dampening compound. Once temperatures reach 750°F (400°C), a secondary activation begins, causing the fastener to be permanently locked in place. Tested to over 1500°F (850°C).

AUTHORIZED APPLICATOR Did you know that ND is an approved 3M applicator? Further proof why ND should be your one stop shop for pre-applied fasteners.

ND PATCH® HI-TEMP Highest temperature pre-applied nylon threadlocker in the industry. Unlike the competition, ND’s application process requires only 120°C, preventing plating damage. However, once crosslinked, it can withstand temps up to 260°C. Meets MIL-DTL-18240F / QPL-18240.

THREAD ARMOR® GP Prevents galvanic corrosion in assemblies with dissimilar metals, such as aluminum, and steel, by electrically isolating the fastener. Specially bonded to the fastener, ND Galvanic Patch is durable, chemical resistant, and non-conductive.

THREAD ARMOR® VC An advanced anti-galling and lubricating thread coating designed to extend the life of bolts up to 15 times while under intense torque and high friction loads. Helps to ensure consistent clamp load. Works well on stainless steel fasteners.

EPOXY-LOCK® NUTS This pre-applied threadlocker consists of separated epoxy hardener and expoxy resin.

Upon fastener installation, the two materials mix and activate. When fully cured, EpoxyLock provides greater breakaway torque than conventional nylon fastener locking devices.

EXPAND-A-LOCK® A unique pre-applied microencapsulated expanding threadlocking & sealing compound. Increases in volume 20-50% on installation, penetrating the gaps in fastener threads typically unfilled by conventional threadlockers.

CONTACT US www.ndindustries.com www.vibra-tite.com info@ndindustries.com

EXPAND-A-SLEEVE™ Extruded ND Mastics are pre-applied to fasteners (threaded or non-threaded), bound for e-cote cycles. Heat from the process causes the material to expand, sealing large leak paths between fastener and assembly.

SEALTEK™ An acrylic-based sealing material which is applied to the underhead of the fastener. SealTek’s robust seal replaces the need for O-rings, gaskets, or sealing washers.

CONTENTS 32

NEWS 10-30 Financial reports, acquisitions and trade duty news

COVER STORY 32-33

Ambrovit: Striving towards service excellence

INSIGHT 34 Converting customer problems into product solutions

MADE IN ITALY

35-82

An exclusive feature highlighting the Italian fastener manufacturing market

FASTENER FAIR ITALY PREVIEW 84-100

35

A spotlight on the products, innovations and exhibitors at this year’s Fastener Fair Italy

EXHIBITIONS 102-110 CONSTRUCTION 112-126 FIXINGS

84

The new generation of Eurocodes is coming soon Qualification of construction fasteners under the current and future CPR: The manufacturers’ view Sealants + adhesives feature

MANUFACTURING 128-136 TECHNOLOGY

TESTING 138-144 The testing of materials Impact testing at low temperatures User-friendly software makes sure bolted joints are safe

MANAGEMENT + 146-152 SYSTEMS

112

Who’s the ‘Alpha’ now?

APPLICATION TECHNOLOGY

154-168

Renewable energy feature

PRODUCTS + TOOLS 170-194 Tapes + adhesives feature

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EDITOR’S NOTE

Part of the Mack Brooks Group

www.fastenerandfixing.com

Will Lowry, content director, Fastener + Fixing Magazine

Managing Director Jamie Mitchell jamie.mitchell@verulammedia.com Content Director Will Lowry will.lowry@verulammedia.com Deputy Editor Claire Aldridge claire.aldridge@verulammedia.com

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Editorial Assistant Rebecca England rebecca.england@verulammedia.com Sales Director Mac Rahman mac.rahman@verulammedia.com

Blow the cover off...

In homage to the famous line from the classic film ‘The Italian job’ we have looked to ‘blow the cover off’ this issue, with it reaching a mammoth 198 pages – with a large part of the content focused on the Italian fastener market.

F

irstly, we have our biggest ever Made in Italy feature, covering every aspect of the fastener and fixing sector. As part of this feature, I travelled to Italy and had the privilege to site down with Sergio Cattaneo, CEO EMEA at Fontana Gruppo. We discussed the group’s 70 th anniversary; how it is still proud to be a family business; and how it is using innovation, research and production as part of long-term vision.

During my trip I also had the pleasure of interviewing Jody Brugola, president at Brugola OEB Industriale SpA, about new developments at the business and how it has continued to invest in its capabilities, and sustainability, for the future.

To add to this we also have articles from Bontempi Vibo and how it is continuing with its industrial growth plan to achieve €80 million in revenue by 2025; Growermetal talks about sustainability and its Greenmetal Project; and Marco A Guerritore, editor in chief of Italian Fasteners Magazine, asks what can be done about the rising energy costs.

To go with the Made in Italy feature we also have a preview of the upcoming Fastener Fair Italy show, scheduled for the end of November. After such a long time without a

European trade show dedicated to the fastener and fixing industry, there is certainly a lot of excitement about the sector being able to meet face-to-face again. Within the preview we have details about the show, an exhibitor list, as well as previews from exhibitors on the latest developments at their company.

To round up our Italian coverage, our Cover Story is focused on Ambrovit SpA and how it continues to strive towards service excellence, with a host of investments ensuring its stays at the forefront of the fastener sector.

Other articles include two excellent pieces within our Construction Fixings section. First, we have Barbara Sorgato, secretary general at the European Consortium of Anchor Producers, who’s article is entitled: ‘The new generation of Eurocodes is coming soon’. We also have an article from Ulrich Bourgund and Thomas Holland-Letz, of Construction Fixings Europe, which gives the manufacturers’ view on the ‘qualification of construction fasteners under the current and future CPR’.

There is also a host of other insights and articles, but, unfortunately, I don’t have space here to cover them all. Therefore, make sure you give every page a read and be careful with that cover…

Subscribe for free at www.fastenerandfixing.com

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FASTENER + FIXING MAGAZINE ≡ ISSUE 138: NOVEMBER 2022

Business Development Manager – Italy Emiliano Pagliaroli emiliano.pagliaroli@verulammedia.com Business Development Manager – Europe Chantal Ridings chantal.ridings@verulammedia.com Production & Design Manager Lee Duskwick lee.duskwick@verulammedia.com

Find us online: @fastenerfixing FastenerandFixingMagazine fastener---fixing-magazine Fastener and Fixing Fastener + Fixing Magazine is a dedicated, trade–only publication which is circulated freely throughout the European trade.

Disclaimer The Publisher cannot be held responsible or, in any way, liable for errors or omissions, during input or printing of any material supplied or contained herein although the utmost care is taken to ensure that information contained is accurate and up to date. The Publisher also cannot be held liable for any claims made by advertisers or in contributions from individuals or companies submitted for inclusion within this publication. The opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the Editor or Verulam Media.

Copyright Entire contents copyright © Verulam Media Ltd 2022. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior permission of the publisher.

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NEWS COMPREHENSIVE COVERAGE OF KEY INDUSTRY NEWS

Bufab continues healthy growth and strong results Bufab Group has reported solid third quarter results with net sales increasing by 49% to SEK 2.122 billion (€194.3 million) compared to 2021. This continues the Group’s healthy growth with net sales for the first nine months of the year also increasing by 49% to SEK 6.358 billion, when compared to 2021.

E

rik Lundén, president and CEO at Bufab Group, commented: “This was my first quarter as CEO of Bufab and I am pleased to report that it was yet another strong quarter despite challenging market conditions. We reported a continued healthy growth, a stable gross margin and a strong result. However, given the geopolitical and macroeconomic situation, the uncertainty regarding the upcoming year has increased.”

“The growth was largely driven by acquisitions completed in the past year, but we also noted a continued good organic growth of 9%.

The underlying demand was relatively stable, and the organic growth was mainly a result of price increases and captured market shares. In particular, segments West and UK/North America showed a strong organic growth for the quarter.”

Due to a stable gross margin, and a lower share of operating expenses, both Bufab Group’s operating profit and the operating margin increased significantly. “There is a continued good cost control within the group, and this, together with the organic growth and recent acquisitions, accounts for the good profit development in the quarter.

Overall, the operating profit increased by 66% and the operating margin amounted to 12.8%. All segments contributed to the strong development, especially, segments West and UK/North America,” explained Erik.

He added: “The energy crisis in Europe; the war in Ukraine; the high inflation rate; and rising interest rates; indicate major uncertainty ahead of 2023 and point to a weaker economic development. We have noted a somewhat higher level of caution among customers in certain segments. At the same time, we have a well diversified portfolio of customers and product items with good risk diversification. If demand were to weaken, we are well positioned with specific measures for each Bufab company. In addition to this, we continue to focus on efficiency improvements, cost savings and price increases towards customers.”

“A potentially weaker economy implies greater opportunities for strong companies to capture market shares and Bufab has a history of managing challenges in a flexible, dynamic and successful manner.

This combined with a progressively broadened offer, and increased customer relevance, provides a solid basis for a continued long-term, sustainable, and profitable growth journey going forward.”

Continued high demand across all regions Bossard Group again achieved strong growth in the third quarter, benefitting from the solid order books of its customers and broad-based growth initiatives. The Group’s sales grew by 16.9% to CHF 291.6 million (€294 million). ll three of Bossard Group’s market regions posted double-digit growth rates in local currency. In addition to the positive economic environment, especially in America and Asia, the Group also benefited from its consistently high delivery capability and the further strengthening of its market position.

In Europe, Bossard recorded growth of 7.9% to CHF 151.3 million (in local currency: +16.4%). Adjusted for acquisitions, growth in local currency was 8.4%. In spite of geopolitical tensions and the resulting challenges, demand remained consistently high. Among other things, newly won customer projects in the electromobility sector helped to sustain positive demand. In an environment marked by significantly rising costs, Bossard’s Smart Factory services drew even more attention from customers.

Sales in America increased by 38% to CHF 82.1 million (in local currency: +31.1%). The positive business development was driven by the dynamic economic environment evident in all business units.

Continued diversification of the customer base was especially notable in the electromobility sector, with healthy orders for passenger and commercial vehicles.

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In Asia, the Group recorded growth of 16.9% to CHF 58.2 million (in local currency: +18.8%). The numerous growth initiatives launched in recent years are starting to pay off and result in expanded customer relationships, especially in the focus industries of electromobility and robotics. Despite repeated lockdowns in China, Bossard maintained satisfactory growth thanks to consistently high delivery capabilities.

Future outlook Owing to the uncertain economic environment; the volatile situation on the procurement market; and the unpredictable course of geopolitical tensions in Europe; Bossard believes the outlook for the rest of the year remains marked by uncertainty and risk. Nonetheless, the Group expects demand to develop positively in the fourth quarter. This expectation is based on our customers’ full order books along with further gains in market share in the growth industries, as well as the continued high delivery capability. In the medium term, after a phase of increased investments, Bossard is targetting an average organic growth rate of over 5% and an EBIT margin of 12% – 15%.

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NEWS - INDUSTRY

Increased net sales and new collaborations Bulten AB has reported net sales of SEK 1.095 billion an increase of 43.3% on the same period last year (2021: SEK 764 million). Operating earnings (EBIT) totalled SEK 47 million, equating to an operating margin of 4.3%.

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nders Nyström, president and CEO at Bulten, explained: “Net sales in Q3 increased by a full 43% compared to the same quarter in 2021, and was the second highest quarterly sales figure in Bulten’s history. Demand remained good although profitability was pressured by major operating disruptions among certain customers, due to a shortage of components and higher inflation. The focus moving forward will be on reducing stock levels and increasing margins. Our position as an innovative partner with sustainable solutions was confirmed through an exciting new collaboration with Polestar.”

The new collaboration with Polestar involves the development project Polestar 0, which aims to build a climate neutral electric car by 2030. Bulten’s contribution will be the delivery of climate neutral and highly functional fasteners, which will be achieved through a combination of energy efficient materials and processes, as well as renewable energy supply throughout the value chain.

“We are truly honoured to be part of the Polestar 0 project, and to assist one of our customers in developing a truly climate neutral vehicle,” reports Anders Nyström. “We take our sustainability work extremely seriously and see this as an opportunity to share our knowledge, but also to learn from the other partners involved in the project.”

Hans Pehrson, leader of the Polestar 0 project, adds: “A project of this ambition requires partners at the cutting-edge of their industries and which are fully engaged in our bold vision. That’s why I’m looking forward to Bulten becoming a crucial part of our team as we find solutions for developing an entirely climate neutral supply chain. Bulten’s expertise in fasteners will be invaluable in our mission and will play an integral role in pioneering new and innovative technologies to achieve what has so far been impossible.”

Bulten nominated as supplier for new EV platform Bulten has also been nominated as a supplier of fasteners for a new global electric vehicle platform, to be produced in China. The order value is estimated at approximately SEK 155 million a year at full production.

Anders Nyström explains: “We are of course delighted to be delivering fasteners for a brand new EV platform intended for the global market. The nomination shows that we are a leader regarding sustainability in our industry, as this is a customer that places very high sustainability demands on its suppliers. The contract is also positive for our operation in China, as the majority of production will take place in our factory in Tianjin.”

Serial deliveries are expected to begin in the second quarter of 2024 and to reach full capacity during 2025. The new EV platform has an anticipated lifecycle of seven years.

Challenging environment impacts Hilti results In the first eight months of 2022 Hilti Group increased sales by 6.1% to CHF 410 billion (€415.6 billion). However, the operating result declined by 36% due to global supply chain disruptions such as the Russian invasion in Ukraine, negative currency effects, as well as significant investments into building up the software business.

In addition, the results are impacted by strong negative base effects that will level out until year end. n local currencies sales increased by 9.1% with the strongest contribution coming from the Americas (+15.8%), Europe (+7.5%), Asia/Pacific (+6.7%) and the eastern Europe / Middle East / Africa region (+3%) made disproportionally low contributions to the overall growth over the first eight months of the year.

“2022 is an exceptionally demanding year for Hilti due to the challenging external environment as well as a strongly backloaded year in Europe triggered by the launch of our new battery platform Nuron in September. We are making massive efforts to limit our margin decline caused by the tremendous cost increases in our supply chain while staying the course with strong strategic investments, especially into our software business. With a successful launch of Nuron we expect our results to improve until year end to above 10% growth in local currencies and a profit decline to below 15%. This corresponds to our pre-Corona 2019 profit level before software investments,” says Christoph Loos, CEO at Hilti Group.

Going forward, the Hilti Group expects a diminishing growth dynamic in the global construction market owing to continued cost inflation, growing uncertainties around the energy supply, political tensions and rising interest rates.

“We are able to cope with these challenges fairly well due to our healthy financial position and the long-term perspective of our shareholder. This allows us to continue with long-term investments even in demanding times,” closes Christoph Loos.

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FASTENER + FIXING MAGAZINE ≡ ISSUE 138: NOVEMBER 2022

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NEWS - INDUSTRY

NORMA Group grows amid a turbulent market environment NORMA Group recorded a 19.9% increase in group sales to €318.6 million in the third quarter of 2022 (Q3 2021: €265.7 million). Positive impacts came from higher selling prices that allowed the company to partially offset inflation driven cost increases. Growth was also attributable to positive currency effects, particularly in connection with the strong US dollar.

D

r Michael Schneider, CEO at NORMA Group, said: “The shock waves that were felt throughout the world as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and the ongoing pandemic, had a considerable impact on our business in the third quarter. We recorded strong growth in the face of a turbulent market environment, although the current challenges facing our industry remain diverse and complex. At NORMA Group, we are doing everything we can to overcome these challenges by working together with our customers and suppliers in order to continue delivering the best possible joining solutions in the future.”

Growth in all business regions

In the EMEA region (Europe, Middle East and Africa), sales increased by 11.8% to €119.9 million in the period from July to September 2022 (Q3 2021: €107.2 million). Strong organic growth of 12.2% was diminished slightly by 0.5% due to negative currency effects. Business with automotive customers developed well despite the difficult market situation in the European automotive industry.

This development included, for example, a major order that has been in place since 2020 from a British car maker for cooling lines for electric vehicles and for cars with internal combustion engines.

By contrast, sales were lower in the area of standardised joining technology, which is sold through retailers.

NORMA Group’s strongest growth in the third quarter was delivered in the Americas region, where sales rose by 29.5% to €151.7 million, significantly exceeding the prior year figure (Q3 2021: €117.2 million). Organically, sales expanded by 10.9%, with the larger share of sales growth attributable to positive currency effects. Demand for joining technology for light vehicles and trucks was also strong in this region in the third quarter. Business with irrigation and drainage solutions also developed well, as was the case in previous quarters.

In the Asia-Pacific region, sales totalled €47 million, up 13.9% on the figure for the prior year quarter (Q3 2021: €41.3 million), of which 3.7% was organic growth. Contributions from joining technology for cars were particularly strong. Business with standardised joining technology for general industry applications and water management grew slightly as a result of positive currency effects.

Simpson Strong-Tie’s acquisitions operational Simpson Strong-Tie has announced that following its recent acquisition of ETANCO Group, a leading designer and manufacturer of fixing and fastening solutions for the construction market, and parent company of Friulsider SpA, that both ETANCO and Friulsider are now fully operational within the group following the purchase. impson Strong-Tie confirmed that the Friulsider administration will not undergo any transformative interventions and the management teams of both companies are working together to outline the most effective strategy for the future, whilst guaranteeing operational continuity to protect the level of service to customers in the meantime.

Michael Andersen, vice-president of European operations for Simpson Strong-Tie, said: “Our goal is to combine the companies in a way that takes advantage of our respective strengths in the marketplace. Both Friulsider and Simpson Strong-Tie customers can expect the same level of high-quality products and service as they have received in the past.”

Both companies, according to Simpson Strong-Tie, share ‘very similar DNA’, having built their strengths through high-quality products and excellent customer service. Friulsider CEO, Claudio Peleson, said of the acquisition that “ensuring a fast and effective integration without market disruption’ is the priority”. Adding: “Our entire supply chain, from production to the end customer, will greatly benefit from this acquisition, which will strengthen our presence on the Italian market, expanding our product range and making it even more competitive.”

These views were echoed by Karen Colonias, CEO at Simpson Strong-Tie, who concluded by saying: “We believe ETANCO’s extensive and complementary product offering will strengthen our overall product portfolio in Europe, enabling us to deliver even more value to our customers,” with the two companies consolidating their competitive strengths by optimising their offerings in a global approach.

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NEWS - INDUSTRY

Lesjöfors expands in Turkey through acquisition Lesjöfors has signed an agreement to acquire 100% of the shares in Telform, a Turkish spring manufacturer.

With the transaction, Lesjöfors expands its production footprint, in-line with its ambition to build the leading spring, wire and flat strip component group.

T

elform Kelepçe ve Yay San Tic AŞ is a Turkish manufacturer of industrial springs to the domestic and international markets. The customer base is diversified across more than 30 countries and multiple industries, such as white goods, construction, automotive, electrical and others. Through its know-how and customer focus, the company has been able to grow with its existing customers over time. The company has approximately 140 employees and generates revenues of about €11 million per annum – with favourable profitability.

The acquisition is well in-line with Beijer Alma’s (Lesjöfors’ parent company) model for value creating acquisitions and is another step in Lesjöfors’ ambition to consolidate the market for industrial springs and marks an expansion to a new geography with growth potential.

Ola Tengroth, president at Lesjöfors, comments on the acquisition: “Lesjöfors has followed Telform over a period of time

and we are impressed by the company’s operations and culture, which we are convinced will fit well within Lesjöfors’ Group. With the acquisition of Telform, Lesjöfors expands its production footprint and increases its low cost manufacturing capabilities, which enables further production optimisation in-line with Lesjöfors overall strategy. In addition, the acquisition opens a new market, which is well positioned to benefit from the trend of nearshoring, for Lesjöfors. Therefore, I am looking forward to working together with the company and its management team to continue to develop and grow Telform.”

Buket Böke and Melis Dülger Yilmaz, CEO and CFO at Telform, added: “We are very happy that Telform from now on will be a part of a global group with extensive experience and knowledge of our industry. We appreciate Lesjöfors’ decentralised structure and are looking forward to continuing to develop the company further.”

STANLEY Black & Decker increases revenues Third quarter revenues for STANLEY Black & Decker reached US$4.1 billion (€4.13 billion), up 9% versus the previous year – led by acquisitions in outdoor power equipment, strong industrial growth and price realisation. onald Allan Jr, STANLEY Black & Decker’s president and CEO, commented: “We made tangible progress in transforming our business during the third quarter as we improved customer fill rates, deployed a new organisational structure, implemented cost controls and actively reduced our inventories. While the macroeconomic environment remains challenging – notably consumer and European demand weakness, as well as cost inflation – there were relative bright spots with continued strength in professional construction and industrial customer demand, as well as incremental progress unlocking global supply chain constraints.”

He continued: “Today we are a more focused company, centred around our market leadership positions in Tools & Outdoor and Industrial, and built upon the strength of our people and culture. Our new organisational structure is largely in place and we are accelerating our supply chain transformation to better serve our customers and improve efficiency. We are also continuing to invest in our iconic brands and are launching new advances in innovation, including the expansion of our DEWALT POWERSTACK battery technology and DEWALT FLEXVOLT System. Overall, we remain confident that our strategy and priorities position the company for strong, sustainable long-term growth, cash flow generation, profitability and shareholder return.”

Corbin Walburger, Interim CFO at STANLEY Black & Decker, added: “We have substantially completed our initiatives focused on streamlining the organisation and are taking additional measures to adjust our cost base and inventory levels over the next 6 – 9 months. While the impact of planned production curtailments temporarily increases our manufacturing costs and weighs on margins, we are improving inventory turns and prioritising cash generation to position the company for gross margin expansion and balance sheet strength in 2023 and beyond.”

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FASTENER + FIXING MAGAZINE ≡ ISSUE 138: NOVEMBER 2022

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NEWS - INDUSTRY

Optimas implements dual-CEO structure Optimas Solutions has elevated Mike Tuffy to CEO International and Daniel Harms to CEO Americas. The decision to implement a dual-CEO structure evolves the organisational model established in 2020 with autonomous, yet connected, business units.

B

y design, this structure has brought Optimas closer to customers and suppliers and created greater community within the organisation. It also better reflects the scope of Daniel Harms and Mike Tuffy’s roles and the contributions they’ve been making to Optimas for over a year.

“This promotion is recognition for how much Optimas, under the leadership of Mike and Daniel, has accomplished over the past year,” said Board Member Tim Horgan. “Their leadership, partnership and results have exceeded expectations.”

“The past year has been a great journey for Optimas,” said Daniel Harms and Mike Tuffy. “We both share a deep belief in this dual-CEO structure and the positive momentum Optimas has gained in the last year is real. Feedback from customers, prospects and teammates around the globe is positive and tells us we’re on the right track.”

Mike Tuffy has over 35 years of experience in the fastener industry with leadership positions across commercial, sourcing and

Halfmann starts work on new warehouse Halfmann Schrauben, a supplier of fasteners and fastening technology, has held a ground-breaking ceremony for a new warehouse that will enable it to continue to grow its capacity and capabilities. ith up to 90 years of experience, Halfmann Schrauben GmbH has established itself as a full range supplier with its 70,000 products available to customers. Through its individual customer service and high-level of technical know-how the company has been able to guarantee success and customer satisfaction to become a reliable partner for trade.

With a previous storage capacity of 5,000 pallet spaces, as well as 45,000 small parts compartments, Halfmann Schrauben decided to introduce the new warehouse to enable the business to continue to grow. The new warehouse will have a total area of 800m2 and enable the company to store an additional 2,000 pallet spaces. Completion of the building is targeted for the middle of next year.

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FASTENER + FIXING MAGAZINE ≡ ISSUE 138: NOVEMBER 2022

operations. As the leader of international markets, he utilises his broad knowledge of world-class supplier capabilities to match with customer needs and expectations that drive efficiencies for partners and Optimas. Previously, Mike served in leadership positions at Walters Hexagon and Anixter where he was part of the management team that significantly grew the business through organic growth and acquisitions. He was also part of the acquisition team that carved Optimas out of Anixter.

A strategic thought leader with nearly 20 years of supply chain experience, Daniel Harms has built and guided high performing teams to deliver operational excellence across multiple industries. His influential leadership style and data driven, problem solving approach have consistently produced top and bottom line growth with company P&Ls over US$100 million. Prior to joining Optimas, Harms held several positions of increasing responsibility at DSC/CJ Logistics, culminating as senior vice-president operations.

Essentra opens new eastern European hub Essentra Components has opened a new European distribution hub in Łódź, Poland, to enhance service and lay the foundations for future growth.

T

he new location is part of an ongoing investment by Essentra Components to enhance its European distribution footprint by merging its legacy Łódź warehouse and Bratislava warehouse into a purposebuilt hub. With the new hub, products previously held across multiple locations will now be centralised, enabling Essentra Components to distribute complete orders from a single source, improving service through improved lead times and reducing carbon footprint.

The new facility sits on a 9,300m 2 footprint, built to Essentra’s design, including a new office complex and a warehouse facility servicing 20,000 product lines. The new hub will initially serve five countries as part of a soft launch, with further countries being added in due course. It is estimated that the 26-strong logistics team will process over 1,000 shipments per day.

Rob Baker, global supply chain director at Essentra Components, said the new site will further strengthen customer relationships and give scope for future growth: “Moving our facility into a new, purpose-built location in Łódź means that we can capitalise on the great experience and ethos of our current Łódź team, whilst maintaining access to key freight links that Łódź provides, including the rail network.”

He adds: “In addition, with a larger office footprint, our customer teams will have new, modern facilities to enhance our hassle-free service – allowing room to grow as we continue to expand market presence. The team are looking forward to cutting the ribbon and opening their new hub.”

NEWS - INDUSTRY

Taiwan ends quarantine measures At the end of September, the Taiwanese Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) announced that from 13th October arriving travellers were no longer required to quarantine and instead will undergo a seven day period of self-initiated prevention after arrival. Related border restrictions were also lifted.

O

ther details that the CECC announced include a weekly cap on arriving travellers, with the weekly cap in principle being 150,000 on a trial basis. Arriving travellers will also no longer be required to make a health declaration on the Quarantine System for Entry before arrival or have a mobile phone with a Taiwanese number.

Whilst mandatory quarantine has been discontinued, as part of the self-initiated prevention period arriving travellers should stay at home or a residence of a friend or family member or a hotel room that meets the requirement of “one person per room” (with a private bathroom).

Arriving travellers should stay in their accommodation if they experience symptoms. If they don’t experience symptoms, a negative result from an at home rapid test taken within two days is required before they go out or go to work. They should wear a mask at all times when outside.

Arriving travellers can dine alone or with specific persons in a restaurant if they need to eat when outside.

They should immediately put on a mask when they leave their seat or finish eating.

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NEWS - INDUSTRY

Hydrajaws’ HQ relocates With high demand for its product range driving continuous growth, Hydrajaws Ltd has relocated its headquarters to Tamworth, UK, in response to its need for additional capacity, unavailable at its previous premises.

H

ydrajaws’ new headquarters covers 20,000 square feet and houses Hydrajaws’ manufacturing, distribution, sales and marketing, as well as training and service operations, in support of its business in over 70 countries across all continents. It has distributors in the USA, Australia and Europe, as well as a network of global service agents and field support teams, which, together, offer comprehensive support to its worldwide customer base.

The new building has been designed and built to meet high efficiency standards, including using the latest materials, renewable energy in the form of solar panels, water conservation measures and new IT infrastructure. Anticipating growth in electric car usage, charging points for staff and visitors have also been included on-site.

Hydrajaws CEO, Adrian Morgan, said of the move: ‘The high-quality and robust nature of our products has seen demand outgrow our supply capacity, hence our investment in a new HQ operation, helping to ensure continuity of supply and services to our customers. The all new building not only future proofs demand, but also enables a more efficient and cost-effective flow for our manufacturing and distribution process, plus the establishment of more comprehensive training, research and development, as well as service and testing facilities, to serve our growing global customer base.”

Among its business activities, the company supplies several large OEMs in the anchors and fixings sector and its

comprehensive range of equipment has been used on several major construction projects, most recently Crossrail and now HS2 in the UK.

New MD for Hydrajaws

In addition to the new headquarters, Hydrajaws has also appointed Stephen Hynes as managing director. He has an extensive background in a diverse range of industries from automotive, and chemicals to off-highway and logistics experience in B2B manufacturing and distribution.

Within these industries, he has gained knowledge of global export markets and has

led commercial teams and manufacturing operations in large corporates and SMEs. “It’s a very exciting time to be joining Hydrajaws,” commented Stephen. “We have an excellent established team and a trusted name within the pull testing industry. I am looking forward to leading and evolving the business during its next stage of significant development.”

Adrian Morgan added: “At a time when Hydrajaws is growing and expanding its footprint across our customer base worldwide, it is appropriate, as an important part of our growth strategy, to establish this new leadership role for the business.”

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NEWS - NORTH AMERICA

by John Wolz, editor, GlobalFastenerNews.com

FINdex declines in volatile quarter of trading The FIN Fastener Stock Index declined 3.5% in the third quarter of 2022, besting a 5.8% drop by an index of related industrial stocks during a quarter when the market plunged on recession fears.

O

nly three of the 15 companies tracked by the FINdex achieved stock value increases in Q3: Carpenter Technology Corporation (up 14%); Grainger Industrial Supply (up 9.2%); and Nucor Corporation (up 5.2%). During the first nine months of 2022 the FINdex declined 20%, besting a 24% drop by an index of related industrial stocks.

Fastener companies losing 40% or more in share value during the first three quarters included Park-Ohio Holdings Corporation (down 50%), Simpson Manufacturing Company (down 41%), STANLEY Black & Decker Inc (down 60%) and Tree Island Steel (down 52%).

During the first half of 2022, the FINdex lost 17.1% of its value compared to a 19.1% decline by an index of related industrial stocks.

The FINdex declined 13.4% in the second quarter of 2022, besting a 14.1% drop by an index of related industrial stocks during a quarter of market volatility and ongoing supply disruptions.

Fastener issue prompts Rivian to recall thousands of EVs Rivian Automotive Inc has recalled more than 13,000 vehicles after flagging a problem with its steering system, SeekingAlpha reports.

T

he EV manufacturer explained that a fastener connecting the upper control arm and steering knuckle may have been installed incorrectly. If “insufficiently torqued”, the issue could create excessive wheel camber. If the nut were to separate, the vehicle would become difficult to control.

“If you experience excessive noise, vibration or harshness from the front suspension, or a change in steering performance or feel, you should call immediately,” CEO RJ Scaringe noted in a letter to owners.

No injuries have been reported in relation to the fastener issue, according to SeekingAlpha.

The recall of the 2022 Rivian R1T, R1S, and EDV models represents about 90% of vehicles produced by the automaker thus far and more than half of its 2022 total production guidance of 25,000 vehicles. The company previously recalled vehicles due to seatbelt anchor issues.

Supplying Europe for 20 years Illinois-based Smalley Steel Ring Company is marking 20 years supplying the European market, after opening its first European branch in France in 2002, and further expanding its service capabilities to 10,000 parts in 2013.

S

malley was founded in 1918 with the invention of the wave spring and today supplies retaining rings and springs for a number of industries, including automotive.

“From a simple idea to provide local support to our European customers, we have for 20 years continuously worked to build an entire team dedicated to help our customers develop their ideas further and faster,” commented Fabrice Jeannin, managing director at Smalley Europe.

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FASTENER + FIXING MAGAZINE ≡ ISSUE 138: NOVEMBER 2022

NEWS - NORTH AMERICA

Industrial fasteners at 4% CAGR through 2030 The global industrial fastener market was valued at US$88.43 billion (€91.05 billion) in 2021 and is expected to grow to US$123.18 billion by 2030, according to an industrial fastener market report by Straits Research.

T

he market is expected to grow at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 4.23% during the forecast period (2022 – 2030). The externally threaded fasteners segment has the highest share, with a revenue of US$42.9 billion in 2021, expected to reach US$63.7 billion by 2030 at a CAGR of 5%.

Based on the segmentation by application, the automotive industry segment had a market share of US$28.9 billion in 2021 and is expected to reach US$40.08 billion by 2030 at a CAGR of 4%.

Regionally, the Asia-Pacific region has the major share of the market with revenue of US$38 billion in 2021, estimated to reach US$57.9 billion in 2030 at a CAGR of 5.4%.

The report points out: “With the increase in automotive production, the need for industrial fasteners has increased, which is why the industrial fastener market is growing with a significant share in the market.”

Meanwhile, the aerospace industry is trying to make the overall passenger experience better and more convenient, helping to drive global aerospace and defense industry growth at a rate of 4.8%.

The substitution of metal fasteners with plastic fasteners opens a range of opportunities for manufacturers, according to the report. “Plastics are low cost substitutes for metals, and they can be molded into any kind of shape with the injection molding and extrusion technique.”

The global industrial fastener market is regionally segmented into four regions, which are North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Middle East and Africa. North America has major players in the industry and plays an important role in driving the industrial fastener market forward. It is the second dominant region after Asia-Pacific, with revenue of US$21.5 billion in 2021 and growing to US$29.4 billion by 2030 at a CAGR of 4%.

Europe generated revenues of US$21.1 billion in 2021 and is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 3% to total US$27.8 billion by 2030. Middle East and Africa also has a whopping sales figure of US$1.9 billion in 2021 which is anticipated to grow to US$2.82 billion in 2030 at a CAGR of 4%.

The Straits Research report costs US$4,250 for a single use license: www.straitsresearch.com/report/industrialfasteners-market

Chester at Pac-West: Let employees talk Before Covid-19, “employers had the upper hand”, Eric Chester told the Pacific-West Fastener Association. Now employees “are doing the interviewing”.

T

he author of Fully Staffed noted: “Most of your employees know you need them.” To remain ‘fully staffed’ Chester offered the obvious answer: “Be a great place to work.”

Beyond that “recruit relentlessly”, he advocated.

“Stop fishing and start hunting,” added Chester. Hunt your “ex-superstars. Keep in contact”. Hunt schools and friends, as well as groups such as adjacent industries, government workforce centers, ex-offenders, retirees and returning military, as well as participate in social media, Chester added.

Tips for being a great place to work include asking people consistently: ‘What do you like about working here?’ and ‘What don’t you like?’ Also ask: ‘If you ran things…’. “Give them a chance to talk,” Chester advised. “Great leaders know how people think.”

He pointed out that Marriott Hotel shifts begin with a five minute ‘stand up’ meeting. Though many may think meetings “suck time”, Chester said five minutes can be used to ask: “What is working well?” and “what is something you need to do your job better?”

“People stay in a job where they feel like they are listened to,” Chester finds. A question that can be revealing to you

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FASTENER + FIXING MAGAZINE ≡ ISSUE 138: NOVEMBER 2022

and to an employee is: “What is something you need to get better at?” Employers need to “Listen, respond and engage,” Chester said.

“You have to be a better place to work than competitors,” Chester added. “Be different, unique, better. You don’t have to be Google,” which is known for employee benefits.

Chester suggested giving employees autonomy, “if your people are empowered to make choices under US$1,000, it will put smiles on their faces”. He also added companies should acknowledge an employee’s success. “It should be personal, pertinent, proportionate, prompt and public.”

Chester highlighted studies have shown that providing training helps keep employees. “Too many employers fear training an employee leads to them leaving.” He cited the example of Wegman’s, a mid-Atlantic and north-eastern chain of 100+ grocery stores with 50,000+ employees. “Everyone grows at Wegman’s,” Chester said. Managers at the chain “started pushing carts”, Chester explained. Wegman’s asks employees: “What would you like to do next?”

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NEWS - ASIA

Taiwan fastener exports continue to rise Fastener World Magazine has published its annual table comparing the ‘Top 10’ fastener export destinations over the last three years – based on information from the Taiwan Industrial Fastener Institute.

Ranking

Partner

0

Global

1

USA

Jan – Jun (kg) 2020

T Partner

2021

2022

658,879,841

787,413,826

845,091,184

Global

291,603,356

348,813,969

378,939,349

USA

he data is focused on HS7318 screws, bolts, nuts, coach screws, screw hooks, rivets, cotters, cotter pins, washers (including spring washers) and similar articles made of iron or steel.

Jan – Jun (USD) 2020

2021

2022

1,898,882,436

2,447,164,502

3,183,209,705

801,695,136

1,042,499,250

1,427,203,915

2

Germany

55,604,757

62,793,352

74,582,297

Germany

160,167,826

195,427,677

260,847,004

3

Netherlands

31,630,390

42,198,275

47,933,998

Netherlands

91,357,586

126,574,045

169,348,088

4

Japan

34,269,835

32,107,521

35,794,631

Japan

112,401,390

112,373,667

149,510,874

5

Canada

20,384,194

29,656,296

30,176,213

UK

65,932,233

93,951,544

109,955,298

6

UK

20,102,973

28,881,528

27,369,360

Canada

58,226,726

87,126,730

107,050,441

7

Italy

13,911,817

16,796,226

23,008,929

China

58,054,847

90,303,341

88,074,895

8

Poland

13,969,678

15,481,098

18,928,100

Italy

35,549,774

46,846,757

71,511,493

9

Mexico

10,479,019

17,686,252

17,296,565

Sweden

41,823,025

54,358,900

71,109,514

10

Sweden

12,541,546

15,289,159

17,191,913

Mexico

33,927,705

58,645,872

70,972,853

Top 10 fastener trade partners for Vietnam

By studying the Trend Economy/UN Database, Fastener World Magazine has created a table for the ‘Top 10’ fastener export destinations for Vietnam.

Partner World USA Germany Japan Netherlands Canada United Kingdom Thailand Italy France China

28

(US$)

2017

2018

2019

2020

Export value

385,441,096

470,669,486

454,986,123

453,104,662

Growth, YoY

11.85%

22.11%

-3.33%

-0.41%

Export value

22,035,306

31,967,641

59,015,219

76,157,151

Growth, YoY

26.38%

45.07%

84.6%

29.04%

Export value

61,517,862

81,566,363

73,807,147

66,334,608

Growth, YoY

-0.29%

32.58%

-9.51%

-10.12%

Export value

40,941,254

51,338,082

57,146,961

61,506,583

Growth, YoY

24.83%

25.39%

11.31%

7.62%

Export value

47,687,383

57,176,521

47,743,898

53,913,428

Growth, YoY

33.78%

19.89%

-16.49%

12.92%

Export value

13,984,644

19,554,234

17,591,332

25,025,588

Growth, YoY

-15.69%

39.82%

-10.03%

42.26%

Export value

28,223,704

36,434,326

22,118,223

15,576,740

Growth, YoY

-0.96%

29.09%

-39.29%

-29.57%

Export value

16,083,319

17,154,518

16,972,780

15,410,095

Growth, YoY

33.02%

6.66%

-1.05%

-9.2%

Export value

18,413,291

22,378,705

18,904,355

14,237,840

Growth, YoY

26.17%

21.53%

-15.52%

-24.68%

Export value

7,631,039

14,273,100

9,908,951

7,674,912

Growth, YoY

15.31%

87.04%

-30.57%

-22.54%

Export value

2,496,864

3,520,176

9,534,740

6,951,488

Growth, YoY

-16.57%

40.98%

170.85%

-27.09%

FASTENER + FIXING MAGAZINE ≡ ISSUE 138: NOVEMBER 2022

NEWS - BRAZIL Sérgio Milatias, editor, Revista do Parafuso, www.revistadoparafuso.com.br

Forte Fixadores’ 10th anniversary

Another Brazilian company has celebrated a decade of activities, with Forte Fixadores celebrating its 10th anniversary in July.

A

fastener manufacturer specialising in heavy fasteners, Forte Fixadores has offices and a factory in Mauà Town, São Paulo State, where it produces fasteners from M16 to M100, including bolts, nuts, washers, anchors, stud bolts, ties rods and special parts.

“Currently our main market is wind power applications, but our production lines can also be used for the oil and gas sector, as well as industry in general,” commented Maurício Silva, CEO at Forte Fixadores.

The company is able to produce more than 500 tonnes per month.

By August 2022 it had produced 3,073 tonnes.

Senafor is back

The 40th edition of Senafor, the most traditional forging seminary in Brazil, once again took place at the Continental Hotel, Porto Alegre City, Brazil.

S

imilar to what is happening with many events around the world, the reopening of Senafor (the Seminary National Forging acronym) represents a great relief and happiness to the sector.

This year’s event was a hybrid event, combining both a face-to-face show and a digital one. The last ‘live’ edition of Senafor was in 2019, as 2020 was cancelled due to Covid-19 and the 2021 edition was held just online.

During the event, professionals and academic members from the forging sector watched a variety of lectures, as well as attended business meetings on the technology involved in the cold and hot industrial forging process.

Max Del CEO passes Besides being an irreparable loss for family and friends, the Brazilian fastener industrial sector said goodbye to Anderson Luiz Biason, CEO at Max Del.

O

n 27 th August 2022 Biason was involved in a fatal road traffic accident on a road close to São Paulo City metropolitan region.

His perseverance and creativity were fundamental to the substantial progress Max Del Ltda – a family business founded 45 years ago by his father, Mr Américo Maximiliano Biason – made in becoming one of the most important Brazilian fastener manufacturers, especially in the automotive (tier one) and solar energy sectors.

Mercedes-Benz recall involves O 500 bus model Since May the Brazilian unit for Mercedes-Benz has announced a recall involving buses from the O 500 family, manufactured between October 2020 and April 2022.

T 30

he recall has been announced via a YouTube video and explains that due to the assembly characteristics of the hydraulic steering box of the chassis on these buses, there is a risk of gradual loss of the torque of the bolts that keep the steering box fixed to the support. If that happens, noises will occur while driving, generating impacts on driveability and the possibility of accidents, harming occupants and third parties.

FASTENER + FIXING MAGAZINE ≡ ISSUE 138: NOVEMBER 2022

s w e r c s d o o W e u iq t An

Brass Antique Screw Flat Head Brass Antique Screw Round Head Head office: 9-28, 1-Chome, Itachibori, Nish-Ku, Osaka 550-0012, Japan Tel: +81-6-6539-3560 Email: tradeinfo@sunco.jp World Trade section

COVER STORY

Ambrovit: Striving towards service excellence

Quality, availability and service are the hallmarks that Ambrovit believes differentiates it from its competitors in both Italy and Europe. This year, the company aims to reach new heights of excellence amidst a particularly challenging economic environment, thanks to an increased warehouse capacity and quality products.

F

ounded in 1997 by the initiative of two entrepreneurs in the fastener industry, the company has become a leader in fastening systems and the ideal partner for both industry and distribution. A recent investment in its automatic warehouse in Garlasco has significantly increased its storage capacity, with the warehouse now 28 metres in height, containing 44,000 pallet spaces, managed by eight stacker cranes, and more than 5,000 daily picking lines. This new investment has helped to ensure prompt delivery in 24/48 hours and has equipped an automated system for the storage of palletised goods so as to closely monitor all processes, as well as increase the productivity of picking activities and all operating flows.

“Automation is the future and at Ambrovit we are living in the future. We aim for excellence and believe there can be no perfect service if it is not automated. Without constantly investing and enhancing your automation services there can be no clear management of your product offering. Our automated warehouse, as of today, has a buffer area of 310 positions which is equivalent to 10 containers per day, dedicated to the management of incoming goods.

The implementation of the automatic warehouse has made it possible to carry out the order fulfillment activity with less difficulty, greater

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FASTENER + FIXING MAGAZINE ≡ ISSUE 138: NOVEMBER 2022

620

speed and an almost total reduction in errors,” explains Mattia Sozzè, quality manager at Ambrovit SpA. Investing in production technology is important, but Ambrovit is also constantly investing in human resources, which it says is the real engine of all production activities. Product packaging also plays a decisive role in achieving maximum efficiency with its daily capacity of 18,000 boxes intended for customers across every sector. In order to optimise the service offered, the packaging is standardised – making it possible to receive the material in-line with customers’ storage needs.

The quality of the product offered and the wide range of screws and bolts available in stock, ready for the fulfillment of orders, is of course paramount to Ambrovit’s achievements. That is why the company has a wide variety of products, such as different types of screws and bolts as well as different finishes and galvanic processes.

“Without presumption, we can proudly say that the inclusion of more than 10,000 items in our catalogue has enabled us to continue to meet the demands of our customers – even in these challenging times we are facing,” comments Mattia Sozzé. “The rising costs of raw material and anti-dumping duties are among the factors that have contributed to the challenges faced by distributors but, while feeling the burden, we believe that maintaining the high standard of product quality and the quality of customer service is the winning strategy. It must also be

said that, so far, the market understands the necessary variables and maintains a strong demand.”

“In recent years, from a commercial point of view, we had no particular market declines, but have maintained positive numbers, increasing year by year. Logistical problems, such as in the production and commercial sectors, have been addressed by effective and objective programmatic reorganisation, which has allowed us to respond exhaustively to market demands. For now, everything gives us hope that the growth in logistics issues will stabilise, because only by finding a balance we will avoid seriously compromising the market in our industry.”

To be a leader in this market, Ambrovit believes it is not enough to have good products delivered quickly – long-standing relationships are vital and this has never been more true. “Our relationships with our customers are the result of years of collaboration and have been further consolidated over the past few years. As a business you have to work together with your customers to create synergies to address economic aspects; to be as transparent as possible; and to also communicate effectively. This of course means

providing product information quickly and clearly – an offering we’ve also enhanced with our online portals.”

Ambrovit’s online portals give customers all the product technical specifications and product updates in a clear, intuitive and easy to view way. There is also an online interactive catalogue that is constantly updated in ‘real time’.

Despite the heights of excellence already reached, the company does not intend to stop here. Today the strategies, which will be announced soon, concern sustainability – a value that the company wants to embrace by becoming the promoter of a possible and necessary change. “For the future we have many plans – Ambrovit is always in constant evolution,” concludes Mattia Sozzé. “In the world of fastening, where the main material is metal, sustainability is important within the supply chain. Because of this, Ambrovit is particularly sensitive and attentive to product finishes, packaging, quality of the working environment, as well as the use of sustainable in-house operating products. Ambrovit will continue to do its part.” www.wearenotnumbers.it

Automation is the future and at Ambrovit we are living in the future.”

INSIGHT

take a look into the workings of fastener companies

Converting customer problems into product solutions With a history now spanning 100 years, EJOT Group has grown to become one of the world’s leading fastening systems manufacturers. As part of a media day to mark its centenary, Deputy Editor Claire Aldridge visited EJOT UK’s newly extended manufacturing site in Yorkshire to see how, as an integral part of the group, it is solving the most demanding technical challenges.

I

n 1985 the UK became the first in a series of international subsidiaries for EJOT Group and by the early 1990s EJOT UK was established as a manufacturing site in Leeds. Over four decades EJOT has continuously grown to adapt to the changing needs of the markets it serves from automotive and construction, to microindustries and medical technology.

With an ever expanding customer base, it was only a matter of time before its North Yorkshire site could no longer provide the capacity needed to take hold of the market opportunities it had developed. So, back in 2016, with the full support of EJOT Group, the UK management team submitted a proposal to increase the scale of its UK site and create a state of the art facility tailored very much to the needs of its core customer bases, with class leading support for customer innovation.

“The expansion was approved in 2018 and we started work in 2020 – taking full advantage of the Covid-19 pandemic and our staff being off-site and working from home. The world around us was stopping, but what did we do? We continued to invest – EJOT UK did not stand still,” commented Robert Hardstaff, managing director at EJOT UK. The multi-million pound extension project has doubled the size of its UK site and extended its technical capabilities. Completed in September last year, the UK£6 million investment in manufacturing, R&D, technical support and customer service – expanding its administrative, production and logistical facilities – has enabled EJOT UK to continue to support the next generation of young product designers, engineers and logistical specialists.

EJOT UK focuses on providing high performing fastening solutions for the building industry, along with numerous other construction applications, as well as advanced engineering fasteners predominantly for the automotive industry. It is a business with a local focus but a global outlook, creating engineered product solutions for clients across the world.

EJOT UK’s R&D team has also developed market specific fastening solutions that have gained traction in markets around the world.

These include the patented EJOT Opticore fastener, which has been widely used for installing membrane faced composite panels now for over a decade; and EJObar – a multi-purpose bridging system developed in partnership with an OEM specifically for flat roofs waterproofed using single ply membrane.

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In addition to providing extensive new manufacturing space, and a logistical control centre that increases storage capacity by 40%, the expansion also includes a state of the art upgrade to its Applitec centre.

This ‘APPLIcation TEChnology’ facility is three times the size of the previous centre, providing a resource for multi-dimensional fastener testing and new product development in conjunction with OEMs. The testing resources available include two environmental testing laboratories with an extensive machine portfolio – shadow graphs, Vickers hardness testing machine, light cabinet, Xray fluorescent machine, sectioning machine, 3D resin printer, as well as torque testing machine to name just a few – where the long-term performance of EJOT products can be reliably assessed.

“This investment in our UK site represents a major step forward for EJOT, giving us a unique position in our local market – and increasingly on a global level in respect of the levels of technical, logistical and sales support we can offer, with a strengthening of our manufacturing base,” explained Robert. “Our ethos of ‘converting customer problems into product solutions’, both reactively and often proactively to prevent problems manifesting in the first place, requires us to have the right technical resources and quality procedures in place to meet whatever challenges our customers face.

Our new facilities enables us to do this better than ever before.”

In addition to expanding the production of EJOT’s core range of fasteners for both the construction and engineering sectors, the extended site also includes a new facility for manufacturing certain key components of the LIEBIG range of heavy-duty anchors – a brand EJOT Group acquired from Finnish company Sormat in 2017.

“The investment programme represents so much more than just a building extension. It supports EJOT’s family business approach that drives our global strategy to continuously reinvest profits into the business,” concluded Robert.

Made in Italy

your fasteners specialist www.colombofasteners.com

MADE IN ITALY

Rising energy costs: What can we do?

By Marco A Guerritore, editor in chief, Italian Fasteners Magazine Confusion reigns in the market today, first because of Covid-19 and then because of the war in Ukraine. Making predictions is undoubtedly not easy, with the constant rise in energy and raw material prices, the difficulties, and risks, for those running a business are very high.

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n any case, entrepreneurs cannot stop, they must move forward even if they have many doubts and questions. Undoubtedly, it is not possible to dispel all the uncertainties and answer all the questions comprehensively.

With this in mind, some interesting and relevant questions were submitted to Vittoriano Calomeni – general manager of Bontempi Vibo SpA and CEO of Mi.Mi.Af. SpA, and president of the UPIVEB General Industry & Distribution Market Group (top right), as well as Giandomenico Sbaragli – sales and marketing director of Agrati Group and president of the UPIVEB ‘Automotive’ Market Group (bottom right).

What consequences has Covid-19 left on fastener companies?

Calomeni: “Unfortunately, the Covid-19 emergency is not over yet. We have simply gotten used to living with it. I don’t think our sector has any particular issues in this respect. Still, in general, I believe that this pandemic has left us with the awareness that no matter how necessary it is to make medium to long-term plans, we must always be ready and prepared to adapt them to an ever-changing context.”

Sbaragli: “Covid-19 represented a real revolution, both in terms of the market and in terms of the cultural and management aspects within companies. The long wave of the market crisis caused by Covid-19 has not yet passed. The volumes of car sales achieved in the pre-Covid era have not yet been fully recovered – due to the market being suffocated by other problems only partially linked to Covid-19, such as the shortage of microchips, inflation and the uncertainty generated by electrification.

The other element that characterised the pandemic period was the change of some organisational parameters that seemed to be ingrained in our companies. Smart working, which had become a necessity during the periods of shutdown or periods of restrictions, suddenly became a new ‘modus operandi’.

WWW.FASTENERANDFIXING.COM

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MADE IN ITALY This mechanism has been systematically incorporated into business processes and is extremely important for the workforce and in particular the younger generations, who are much more focused on achieving a balance between work and personal life and are much less willing to travel long distances to physically reach their place of work.”

As the pandemic restrictions started to ease across Europe, it seemed that a period of economic recovery was about to begin, but then the war in Ukraine destabilised all expectations with a slowdown in market dynamics. What are your thoughts?

Calomeni: “Yes, that’s right. 2021 was a record year for the fastener industry due to the post-Covid recovery and the expectations created in the market as a result of the anti-dumping investigation launched by the European Commission following the complaint lodged by EIFI. The outlook for 2022 was even further growth, with demand remaining at high-levels. However, there had been warnings of rising energy prices before the war, which had raised some threats.

The war subsequently amplified the magnitude of these events.”

Sbaragli: “The economic crisis, resulting from the two years of Covid-19, inevitably slowed down a market that had already shown signs of subsiding, with a downward trend that began in 2018 and continued in 2019, due to unfair competition from China. 2022 looked like it could be the year of the restart, especially in the second half of the year. To date, forecasts still show the next six months as robust with volumes finally matching those recorded in the pre-Covid period.

However, there remains the unknown impact that the war in Ukraine may have, especially on energy costs and gas.

This situation generates an increasingly worrying inflationary trend and could create severe market slowdowns and serious financial difficulties in the supply chain. Another major element of risk is the availability of gas. An interruption in supplies from Russia could create problems for the continuity of production throughout the automotive supply chain, representing a further element of severe disruption to the market for the third consecutive year.”

As you mentioned, one of the main problems facing the fastener industry today is the rising cost of energy. How do you think it should be tackled?

Calomeni: “Firstly, I think intervention by the Italian government is indispensable, followed closely by a European regulation of the energy market. It is not possible that in the face of 10 year framework agreements we are witnessing continuous record increases that have led the cost of energy to be 500% higher than 12 months ago.

In my opinion, the government should ensure that there are no speculative operations even in the free market.”

Sbaragli: “The uncontrolled increase in energy is certainly the biggest cause for concern in recent weeks. The trend that began in the second half of 2021 seemed to be manageable through timely negotiations with customers and with a kind of pain-sharing, which was necessary to overcome the period of increase that everyone thought would not last and whose intensity could be managed. The beginning of the war and the tensions with Russia regarding the supply of gas have instead created a difficult situation, with problems associated with cost increases and availability that become crucial in the management strategies of each company.

Managing these costs with suppliers and customers throughout the supply chain is the only short-term tool that can limit the default risks of one or more elements of the supply chain. A balance must be found between the record margins generated by car manufacturers and the suffering of the entire upstream supply chain.

In the medium to long-term, it will be necessary to review the strategies for energy consumption, within the various industrial processes and the technologies for both energy generation and production – especially if the new costs turn out to be, at least partially, a new standard.”

There is a lot of talk about Industry 4.0 and sometimes even Industry 5.0. In other words, industries that are increasingly robotised and therefore require more and more energy to operate. Do you think this is a contradiction?

Shouldn’t we instead review the concept of the use of labour?

Calomeni: “No, I don’t think there is such a correlation. Automation is essential to meet the ever more pressing performance requirements arriving from the market. Furthermore, Italy does not have a large availability of labour; in fact, there is a chronic shortage of various specific profiles. The search for qualified personnel has been a major challenge in recent years and will remain so in the near future.”

Sbaragli: “In reality, the main drivers of energy consumption are part of the production processes, which have little to do with the widespread use of labour. I am referring, particularly in our field, to wire preparation, reclamation processes, and if we widen the scope to include the supply chain, to steel production.

Extending the use of Industry 4.0 to these processes remains the only solution for rationalising consumption and focusing on the efficiency of the processes themselves, precisely to reduce gas and electricity consumption where the expense is greatest.”

If energy prices were to rise further, what could be the consequences for the fastener sector?

Calomeni: “Without structural interventions at a national and European level, faced with competition that is not in the same condition, I see the generalised shutdown of the entire European production sector as the only foreseeable consequence.”

Sbaragli: “A further increase would become unsustainable without direct support from car manufacturers. The weight of raw materials (strongly influenced by electricity and gas costs) of the basic processes of wire treatment, reclamation and surface treatment, make our production particularly energy intensive and dependent on gas and electricity costs. Therefore our activities would be unmanageable without adjusting prices to the new cost levels. There are no alternative solutions in the short-term.”

In general, the focus on sustainability, CO2 reduction and the circular economy has increased dramatically in recent years.”

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In some countries, especially in Europe, people are starting to think about selecting companies to be preserved in the event of energy rationing. In this case, what do you think is the fate of the fastener industry?

Calomeni: “The fastener is a low value commodity, but it represents a very dangerous ‘line stopper’ for several sectors. Therefore, I believe

that our industry will have to be preserved so that other vital sectors can continue to produce.”

Sbaragli: “I believe that the fastener industry must be preserved.

Our industry is an essential element in the assembly of a huge number of products. Stopping our production would be tantamount to destroying huge chunks of the European economy.

Rationing would also greatly risk the continuity of production activities in general and would most likely indirectly disrupt one or more points in the chain. This in turn would greatly impact the entire Italian and European manufacturing industry.”

I believe that the trend is correct, bearing in mind of course that the green transition being demanded has a cost – requiring time for the redesigning of production processes and reconversion of facilities.

Also in this case, total alignment between suppliers, customers (in particular OEMs) and institutions is crucial. An imbalance between strategies, demands for change and resources could be dangerous for many players in the supply chain.”

Inflation is gaining strength again.

How do you think it should be tackled?

Calomeni: “Yes, absolutely. UPIVEB is essential for the fastener sector especially for discussions on common issues as the association makes it possible to learn from successful strategies implemented by other companies. Above all, the association is essential for bringing the issues that Italian fastener manufacturers care about to Brussels and Rome.”

Sbaragli: “I believe that coordination between companies in the supply chain, large manufacturers, and institutions, plays a vital role in these difficult times.

The management of inflation and the significant impact this will have on the results of member companies; the balance between regulations and laws with respect to the resources needed for their implementation; as well as the management of tensions between different yet interconnected players; are all components of the dayto-day management of a company. However, they will have to be addressed on a broader scale.

The activity of the association and its integration into groups and associations with greater specific weight will allow us to address the different aspects with greater strength, adequate to the extraordinary nature of the events we are currently experiencing.

It is precisely at such times when the saying ‘union is strength’ becomes indispensable!” www.upiveb.org

Calomeni: “I believe that stagflation is more critical than inflation and unfortunately an unambiguous and shared solution does not exist for this. The only possibility I see is that European institutions and governments must quickly regain credibility, convincing households and businesses of the transient nature of this dire situation.”

Sbaragli: “The answer is similar to that already indicated for energy. In fact, one of the key drivers of inflation is precisely that of energy cost. To date, support from major car manufacturers is the only solution for overcoming this difficult time.”

What about Green certificates, which have quadrupled in less than two years?

Calomeni: “A positive effect that has come from this crisis is the strong push for households and companies to find alternative, autonomous and environmentally friendly energy sources.”

Sbaragli: “In general, the focus on sustainability, CO 2 reduction and the circular economy has increased dramatically in recent years.

In the automotive sector, the certification based on green issues, and therefore the ability to demonstrate that these issues are a central part of company strategies, is becoming a must in order to be able to access new projects and work with major car manufacturers.

In the current political/economic situation, can UPIVEB play a role in supporting its members?

MADE IN ITALY

Bontempi Vibo continues growth strategy As part of its corporate philosophy Bontempi Vibo has always seen difficult or challenging times as an opportunity to invest in the business and the future, which is why it is continuing with its industrial growth plan to achieve €80 million in revenue by 2025.

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ittoriano Calomeni, general manager at Bontempi Vibo SpA, explains: “Last year was our 60 th anniversary and we celebrated in the proper way, by achieving a record year for turnover and tonnage sold. Obviously, there were challenges regarding particular situations – such as raw material prices – but it was still a very good year for us and for our industrial growth strategy.”

With that in mind the forecast for 2022 was even higher, with Bontempi Vibo expecting to have its best year ever. “Of course, in March the Ukrainian/Russian war started and this started to impact fasteners. To do this we need to continue to increase our production the energy situation,” points out Vittoriano. “By the middle of the year capabilities, and capacities, so that we can increase the range of we had the incredible situation where prices increased 500% compared several product families, as well as introduce new families of products.” to the beginning of the crisis. This made things unpredictable and Last year the company also completed another investment, also difficult to manage, as there was nothing we could do apart from which saw the doubling of its automatic warehouse to 18,000 pallet increase our prices – in-line with what we were experiencing.” spaces. “The extension of the automatic warehouse will enable us to With customers’ stock levels also being high, it led to the turnover give better support to our existing customers, as they can buy more for 2022 so far not meeting the targets Bontempi Vibo had set, products – from stock. Through the warehouse investment and although it is still the business’ best year when it comes to turnover. production additions we also hope to attract new customers – who “Whilst it has been difficult and there has been uncertainty in the are looking to buy strategic ranges all from one source.” market, we still believed in our industrial growth plans, which is why A key part of Bontempi Vibo’s industrial growth plan is also we decided to push forwards with investments – as we have always sustainability. “The energy crisis will push all companies to have a done in difficult periods,” points out Vittoriano. “When we set the serious look at finding different possibilities to have energy production growth strategy in 2020 our plan was to within companies,” points out Vittoriano. “We already have in our achieve the €80 million target through southern plant some production that is produced with solar power internal growth, which is why we and we will be pushing new projects in this have numerous investment projects area going forward to help us reduce for the next year, including the our energy costs.” doubling of the production capacity This approach to investing during CEO Raoul Bontempi in our southern plant in Calabritto. ‘difficult time’ is something that and General Manager This will also give us a chance to Vittoriano believes helps Bontempi Vittoriano Calomeni have more efficient processes Vibo stand out from other companies. through each stage of “Throughout my time at the production – ensuring company, the management better performance and has always pushed the a better control of the aspect of investing cost structure.” during any crisis period.

Bontempi Vibo is The aim is to look at also investing in a new new strategies and new heat treatment furnace, investments that can put as well as new packaging us in a good position for machinery. Plus, it will when the market starts introduce new machinery again. We are following at its northern plant. “Our the same philosophy strategy is to become during this period as well, the first manufacturer and we are sure it will be the European distributors correct approach.” think of when it comes to www.vibo.com

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MADE IN ITALY

CSF invests in opportunities By following its ‘Diversification and Specialisation’ policy, Colombo Special Fasteners – an Italian manufacturer focused on the production of bespoke fastening solutions – has been able to achieve solid growth over the last two years.

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or instance, Colombo Special Fasteners Srl (CSF) reports that it will increase its turnover by 22% this year to €19 million – compared to €15.5 million in 2021. “The increase is due to the explosion of costs in raw materials and consequently the entire production chain involved, but it is above all the result of the good commercial work that our team is doing in acquiring new important businesses in various application sectors,” states Pietro Colombo, sales director at CSF. CSF is already carrying out several significant projects with clients that will last for 6 – 7 years and is continuing to work towards new agreements on the production of special fasteners. At the production level, the company is also revamping the operations of its entire machine park, for each department, combining this with the inclusion of automated machinery for various projects.

“We have a number of agreements that have already started in 2022, with others planned to start in 2023 and 2024,” reports Pietro. “To better support this commercial growth, we are optimising our processes, as well as introducing new professionals and new machinery in each production department. We are also looking at what extra services we can provide customers, with a prime example being our investment in the latest generation continuous heat treatment line – arriving next year.”

To add to this, a new office building will be completed at the end of 2023, along with new spaces for training rooms and rooms for employees. “All these investments are part of our ‘Diversification and Specialisation’ strategy,” points out Pietro.

“Our goal is to be a technological partner for our customers and to provide 360° support, which all starts with analysing a customer’s technical needs.”

CSF is able to provide these type of services thanks to its technological simulation and design tools; a diversified fleet of printing, rolling and reworking machines; together with a heat treatment plant, which can cover a very wide dimensional and geometric range of special fasteners; as well as partnerships with suppliers and subcontractors.

“The goal of our company is to always provide a complete service and we do this by introducing new technological machinery for specific processes and/or businesses. In this way, we can offer the best possible product for the most diverse needs,” explains Pietro.

“Two other fundamental pillars to our business are digitisation

and sustainability, as we see them as a vital part of building the present and future of the company. When it comes to digitisation, several years ago we invested in a business management software to integrate all business processes. We have also introduced new Industry 4.0 ready machines, as well as collaborative robots, with further plans for the future.”

Pietro continues: “Sustainability is also very important to the company. We have key objectives to be achieved by 2025, including the expansion of our photovoltaic system; cleaning and recovery of oil in production; as well as reducing the consumption of water, plastic and paper in the various departments. For the latter, the introduction of tablets will allow us to completely remove the use of paper going forward.”

Thanks to its strategic approach, and the challenges of the last two years, CSF has recently been able to gain business historically associated with Asian production. “As a company policy, we have always tried to avoid business that could put us in competition with procurement from China, as it is simply not cost-effective. However, since the arrival of the Covid-19 pandemic, the concept of globalisation and supply policies in general have undergone profound changes,” mentions Pietro. “In Europe, many businesses that have long been focused on the Far East have returned to working within Europe. We have received numerous requests for typically Asian production, so we decided to invest resources only, and exclusively, in those businesses that we have deemed the most complex and interesting, which we can also see developing in the long-term.

After the critical scenarios faced in recent years, I believe the aim for a lot of customers will be to shorten supply chain as much as possible, which could provide further opportunities for us as an Italian manufacturer.”

He concludes: “Italian manufacturing has always been a point of reference for the world market, certainly for quality, as well as the ability to react and the technology involved. The energy crisis that has overwhelmed us in recent months has made our production realities less competitive when compared with abroad, but our contribution is still fundamental. I believe that an intervention by the Italian government is needed to allow the Italian supply chain to flourish and excel again.

At CSF we will continue our ‘Diversification and Specialisation’ strategy in order to go on producing the products and services our customers’ demand and we will continue to develop long-lasting partnerships.” www.colombofasteners.com

Our goal is to be a technological partner for our customers and to provide 360° support…”

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No contact induction heating devices For more than 40 years CEIA has been working on the design and manufacture of no contact induction heating devices for metal treatment, including the renowned Power Cube® family.

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he Power Cube® family is made up of high and medium frequency generators, control units, optical sensors for measuring temperature, and automatic solder alloy wire supply devices, which makes it ideal for industrial processes of heat treatment and braze welding.

CEIA’s new branch CEIA explains that its unique technological solutions in Vicenza are compact in size and deliver extremely high energy efficiency and long-term reliability. “The high performance they offer contributes to the widespread use of CEIA systems in the most important industrial fields, where they have received the approval of end users and final product manufacturers,” reports CEIA SpA. One of the newest additions to the Power Cube® family is the Power Cube® System 900 – a new line of high frequency generators.

The System 900 range maintains all the characteristics typical of CEIA high frequency generators and also integrates the temperature control system, as well as a high-resolution graphic TFT display, for easy programming of all generator working parameters.

The System 900 generator is also equipped with a wide selection of analogue and digital I/O, plus a field bus interface for easy integration with automatic production systems – essential in all production processes where small overall dimensions are required.

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Investing in future growth

Headquartered in Arezzo, Italy, CEIA has recently opened new show rooms and laboratories in the province of Vicenza – dedicated to the sale and assistance of its induction heating systems for all its customers in northern Italy, Austria, Switzerland and Slovenia. Furthermore, the company has also incorporated the German company LTB GmbH into the CEIA Group, which is dedicated to the development of CEIA’s induction systems in the German market. www.ceia-power.com

CEIA Induction Heating Systems for Fastener Industry

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FASTENER FAIR ITALY S TA N D 1 1 5 0

MADE IN ITALY

Dimac invests in R&D For the last three years Dimac has been working on an investment campaign within its R&D department, which is aimed at enabling the company to introduce new hardware and software technologies for sorting machines that offer 100% control.

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hanks to this campaign Dimac has been able to introduce a host of developments to its machinery that offer customers better solutions and services.

For instance, Dimac has introduced the latest generation of microprocessor controllers to increase the computing power in its machines’ image processing. It has also adopted higher resolution digital cameras for increasingly sophisticated and accurate controls at very high production rates.

By implementing measurement functions of complex geometries on images obtained by direct lighting and software algorithms, based on artificial intelligence, it was also possible to approach new types of defects and diversify what the business was able to offer.

“Thanks to our R&D investments we have patented some innovative automation solutions for Statistical Process Control (SPC) on fasteners, making data and measurements available in SQL format for ‘real time’ exchange with the ERP systems of our customers,” explains Dimac Srl. “These developments materialised in the design of three new models of MCV6, SPC-EVO and SPC 360° glass rotary table machines – the first two of which were presented at the wire® Düsseldorf show in June this year.”

The MCV6 is a large diameter glass rotary table that allows for the inspection of pieces at high-speed thanks to the reduced centrifugal force. The feeding system can be customised according to the geometry and orientation of the pieces. Optical inspection stations

834 have also been developed for accurate dimensional inspections using part profile analysis and for surface flaw detection with configurable lighting technologies.

The next generation hardware and software technology that equips the MCV6 includes algorithms for high-speed dimensional checks, AI for surface inspection and NDT controls for special parts and fasteners. This machine is also equipped with a special management of pseudo-rejects that can be automatically rechecked to optimise the efficiency of the sorting cycle.

The SPC-EVO semi-automatic SPC control and data collection optical system is suitable for parts with flat geometry such as washers, retaining rings, spacers, chain plates and products from fine blanking. The machine is suitable for the SPC measurement of a batch of parts taken from any production machine and for batches of samples for PPAP. The system also features the new Dimac SPCx software developed to measure any geometric feature visible in the image by part profile or by direct lightening – with an accuracy of up to ±5μm.

Parts for SPC control are filled by the operator into a blister, off the machine. The blister is then inserted in the SPC-EVO and the inspection plan is activated by a barcode reader. When the CYCLE START button is pressed, the SPC-EVO loads every single part from the blister and measures it automatically. Measured data and statistical calculations are also available in ‘real time’, in a suitable format for a company’s ERP quality management system.

Thanks to our R&D investments we have patented some innovative automation solutions...”

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Dimac has been able to develop these machines even within the challenging environment currently in the market, such as the shortage of electronic components and related price increases. “The delays and uncertainties relating to the delivery of components and electronic boards have forced us to carry out intense market research to find compatible and reliable alternative components to replace the missing ones,” explains Dimac. “We had to reconfigure the machines and related projects to make them flexible in the adoption of alternative components. This process also involved the development of more parameterisable software, without changing the main functions of our user interface – namely the extreme ease of use oriented to operators in the world of fasteners.”

Dimac invests in its production site

Dimac has not only been investing in its R&D capabilities, but has also been building a new production site, which will sit alongside its exisisting site and will be inaugrated by the end of 2022. “The new site will effectively optimise the space available for the design and development of our wide range of inspection machinery and equipment,” points out Dimac. “The site will also include new offices and a new showroom – where we can test and demonstrate the capabilities of our machinery.”

To add to the investment within its production, Dimac has also looked to expand its sales network – opening new agencies in South America and eastern Europe. www.dimacsrl.com

MADE IN ITALY

Fastening the future For seventy years Fontana Gruppo has provided global fastening solutions to customers, becoming known for its innovation, research, production, and growth, by combining a long-term vision with a passion for building the future.

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orn Fontana Luigi and today known as Fontana Gruppo, the company is still led by the Fontana family – with CEO Giuseppe Fontana assisted by brothers Enio and Luigi – while business development and operations are managed by the third generation of the family, Fabrizio and Alberto Fontana.

“Fontana Gruppo is proud of its history and to still be a family business,” states Sergio Cattaneo, CEO EMEA at Fontana Gruppo. “This reputation comes from the fact that not only does it still have the Fontana family working within the business, but it also encourages the development and growth of its employees. For instance, I joined Fontana directly from university and have worked for the company for 24 years – experiencing almost every part of the group. This is a common occurrence within our employees and that is due to the support and guidance they are given to make them feel part of the family.”

From the very beginning Fontana has based its business on the belief that every screw or bolt is a high-tech object, which can always be developed. “Our goal is constant evolution thanks to our attention to customers’ needs, which leads to partnerships beginning with product projects and continuing up to the produce usage. Our company is certain that each fastener is a high-tech item, always open to improvement,” explains Sergio. “From concept to production, passing through engineering to service, Fontana Gruppo qualifies as a real partner for a variety of sectors and markets. This approach has led the company to be a supplier of all major brands in the automotive and industrial sector, as well as dedicating special attention to the development of high profile solutions in the field of structural bolts.”

Another key factor within Fontana’s success has been special products, which have been a real driver of the group’s growth.

“Thanks to our R&D activity we have been able to develop more than 140 patents, in addition to countless trademarks and treatments that are real reference points for the fastener industry,” highlights Sergio.

A worldwide presence

Today Fontana Gruppo is a world leader in fasteners with 32 locations in 29 countries – in Europe, South America, North America and India – 19 of which are production facilities. With more than 4,000 employees the group produces over 12 billion pieces per year, which equates to 250,000 tonnes of products and results in a turnover of €900 million.

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“Our strategy has always been to be present where customers operate – firstly by introducing ourselves via a logistics centre and then by looking to add high value added engineering facilities and services,” points out Sergio. “This enables us to produce parts close to customers and build strong partnerships. It has been a successful strategy for us, which is why we will continue to use it with new markets in the future.”

Well known within the automotive sector, Fontana has recently looked to develop other markets. “Previously we were heavily reliant on the automotive industry, with it accounting for nearly 90% of our business only 5 or 6 years ago. We have successfully grown other sectors over recent years so that they now account for 30% – with automotive now 70%. We have moved into agriculture, aerospace, civil engineering, and earth moving, and have worked on some very exciting projects.”

Another area Fontana has worked particularly hard in developing over recent years is its logistics and distribution service, with the introduction on FAST TRADE in 2020. “FAST TRADE is a standalone business and is strategically very important for us,” explains Sergio.

“It has been set-up to increase our logistics capacity and allows us to support customers around the world. Alongside the wide product offering, FAST TRADE can also offer quality and engineering options to provide extra services to customers.”

MADE IN ITALY He then went away and created individual artworks – with each a mosaic of polaroid photos of our business – the buildings, the machinery, the products, everything,” points out Sergio. “Once the book was complete, we held a special event for our employees and their families where they could view all the final pieces in an art gallery style display. It was great to see the different pieces and how Maurizio had combined the photos to create something new – whilst still making the images about Fontana and its culture.”

Targeting future growth

From left to right: Enio Fontana, Fabrizio Fontana, Maurizio Galimberti, Alberto Fontana, Giuseppe Fontana and Luigi Fontana A key factor with FAST TRADE is that it does not just supply Fontana products, it is also able to meet the needs of other products not produced by Fontana. “We are a big company and we produce a lot of products, but we cannot produce everything,” laughs Sergio. “That is why FAST TRADE also includes those products we do not produce internally.

Another positive aspect of FAST TRADE is that it has its own advanced eCommerce site, as we believe this aspect of business will be very important in the future.”

Adding standard products

In addition to its distribution services, Sergio also believes that FAST TRADE can play a vital role in Fontana looking to concentrate more on standard parts, especially since the introduction of the anti-dumping duties on certain fasteners from China.

“When it comes to producing standard parts there are a couple of key factors you need as a business. Firstly, the margin for standard parts is relatively low, so you need to have the capability and capacity to produce large quantities. Secondly, you need to have the logistic capabilities. At Fontana we have the volume capabilities, in fact we already have the machinery, which are ready to go. We can simply turn them on and get them running to be solely dedicated to these types of parts. That is why we are looking to reopen this production line and start producing the standard parts for customers as an alternative source. In addition to the machinery, we now also have FAST TRADE that can provide all the necessary distribution and logistics services required by customers to meet every type of need. We see this as a big opportunity now with the introduction of the anti-dumping duties and we are keen to grow this part of the business and provide a reliable and quick service to customers within Europe.”

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Unique celebrations

To mark its 70th anniversary Fontana Gruppo decided against one big celebration, but instead carried out smaller internal events and looked to mark the occasion with two special projects – with other events planned for the rest of 2022. “During the Covid-19 period we didn’t know how things would develop within Italy. We therefore decided in 2021 not to have a ‘big’ event, but instead have a number of specific events each month,” explains Sergio. “We wanted to reduce the physical presence and have smaller groups of employees that could celebrate together. This has enabled our celebrations to be more personal and build on the family ethos we have within the business.”

To add to these small events the company also worked on two special projects to mark the 70 th anniversary – the first of which was a special Fontana Gruppo Postmark. “We received a unique Fontana Postmark and then invited Poste Italiane to our headquarters where we held a ceremony to officially recognise the Postmark,” mentions Sergio. “As part of this ceremony the Postmark was also added to the Museo Storico della Comunicazione (the historical museum of communication) based in Rome.”

The second project to commemorate the anniversary was the commissioning of international photographer Maurizio Galimberti to work on a special book entitled: ‘Inside the Cathedral of Work’ (pictured right), which is about the group’s 70 years of history through photos. The artist is famous for his polaroid mosaics with which he creates sequences or splits the image.

“This was the first time that Maurizio had carried out a commission on a business rather than an individual and so it was a unique opportunity for us to mark the anniversary.

Maurizio came to our headquarters and took hundreds of photos of every aspect of Fontana.

FASTENER + FIXING MAGAZINE ≡ ISSUE 138: NOVEMBER 2022

Whilst Fontana Gruppo is proud to celebrate its 70 th anniversary, the company is also looking forward at how it can continue to grow in the future. “We have already taken several steps in our aim to grow and thanks to the investments we had made in our capabilities and services, we are confident we will be successful going forward,” states Sergio. “The last few years have certainly been challenging for all of us – especially due to the fact that each challenge seemed to happen one after another. However, as a business we have been able to maintain a level of production to the necessary standards.”

“There are still challenges within the market, such as energy prices and the potential for growing inflation across Europe, where it is not as easy to pass on the rises to customers. However, we cannot manage what is happening outside the company. All we can do is focus internally on what we are doing. That is why we will continue with our environmental policy, which we have been working on for a number of years, as well as continue to work on optimising processes and steps as much as possible. By doing this we can continue to grow and develop as a business whilst providing our global customer base with the fastening solutions and services they need.” www.gruppofontana.it

Committed to energy efficiency titibi® is committed to improving its energy efficiency, which is why it has recently been working to modernise some of its production plants.

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or more than 50 years titibi® snc has specialised in the production of nails, initially focusing on common nails in iron, before quickly changing to concentrate exclusively on hardened steel nails.

In addition to top of the range quality, titibi® can also supply high production flexibility, which has become a feature of the company. “We are committed to improving the energy efficiency of the entire production line, renovating the plants where possible or replacing them with machines that perform at a higher rate – from an energy point of view,” explains titibi®.

The company continues: “We have built our reputation based on the high-quality we can provide, as well as on the mutual trust between customers and suppliers. We are always attentive to customer requests and can help to develop new products.”

The ability to meet the technological challenges of the market is one of titibi®’s distinctive characteristics, underlined by the company continously expanding and developing its range of products for gas and powder nailers. “We are always looking for new challenges and areas we can grow,” mentions titibi®. “In fact, we are about to certify some new products that will make us among the first to obtain these specific product certifications. This will help us to develop and expand our market, as will the fact we’ve recently expanded our presence through new distributors – in areas we previously did not cover." www.titibi.com

MADE IN ITALY

Mi.Me.Af. ready for action

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Since being acquired in March last year, Mi.Me.Af. has gone through a restructuring and investment programme to ensure it continues to be recognised for its high-quality products, as well as its ability to customise products for a variety of industries

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n Italian manufacturer specialised in the production of specially designed fasteners, Mi.Me.Af. SpA was acquired by Bontempi Vibo as part of its industrial growth strategy – with the company bringing a new range of products, capabilities and market opportunities to Bontempi Vibo. “When we bought Mi.Me.Af. we decided that some restructuring was necessary in order to rebuild some of the internal organisation – when it came to the sales, accounting and quality departments,” explains Raoul Bontempi, CEO at Bontempi Vibo and president of Mi.Me.Af. “As part of this process we also looked to invest in the renewal of production machinery to help modernise the processes and make them more efficient.”

Through both of these steps the production cost structure of Mi.Me.Af. has been streamlined and means the business is ran in a similar way to Bontempi. “When it comes to specialised products you still need to be competitive within the market, which is why we have worked on optimising the production processes at Mi.Me.Af. to make them more competitive,” points out Raoul. “Through the steps we have taken we have put the company in a better position to grow in the future and we are already seeing the positive results of this work.”

Another key factor in Bontempi buying Mi.Me.Af. was the fact the Italian SME focuses on a completely different range of products and markets than Bontempi. “Mi.Me.Af. produces a variety of special screws and has a lot of experience and knowledge within this area,” explains Raoul. “To add to this, there are also a lot of synergies between the two companies that will also provide a lot of opportunities. For instance, at Bontempi we can use our experience to help develop Mi.Me.Af. with its processes and structure, as well as offer the strength and financial capacity needed in order to support the company and enable organic growth. At the same time, Mi.Me.Af. can open Bontempi up to new markets and also new quality and production expertise, such as IATF 16949 certification for the automotive industry. There are a lot of different areas we can work on together and both companies can benefit from this acquisition, as we are already starting to experience.”

Raoul continues: “The two businesses are already working closely together in order to optimise a variety of different areas, including from a technical aspect. Both technical departments are working very closely and of course we are sharing the production knowledge of both companies to help improve both production processes. By doing this we can reduce production costs and guarantee that both businesses are competitive from a price point of view.”

Whilst Mi.Me.Af. is well known within the automotive market, the company is also looking to develop in other areas where it identifies opportunities. “Automotive is without doubt our focus, but we also want to get involved in other sectors,” mentions Raoul.

“We are also looking to grow our presence in the distribution sector and use the connection with Bontempi Vibo to offer customers special parts.”

Mi.Me.Af. can also work closely with customers on solutions, which is proving popular within the current market. “Customers are looking for new solutions that guarantee the same quality levels but maybe at a lower price or an improved production capacity, which is an area we are able to support them,” points out Raoul. “Over the last 18 months we have seen a lot of positives with the work we are doing with Mi.Me.Af. and we are very confident for the future and how much more we can do.”

Raoul Bontempi is also clear that Mi.Me.Af. will not be the only acquisition Bontempi Group makes as part of its industrial growth strategy. “Our plan is to achieve €80 million in revenue by 2025, which will involve targeting not only the Italian but also the European market. To do this we will continue to look at acquiring solid and innovative companies, such as Mi.Me.Af., especially where we see a good fit with Bontempi Vibo.” www.mimeaf.it

Fasteners for people who want more Tailored solutions for every industrial need up to M10

Corso Europa 240 | 23801 Calolziocorte (LC) |Italia Tel +39 0341 634814

Web www.mimeaf.it

Mail info@mimeaf.it

MADE IN ITALY

Dell’Era Ermanno adds new warehouse Dell’Era Ermanno has invested in a new warehouse to make sure it is able to stay flexible when it comes to customers’ requirements for cold forming standard and special metric screws.

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n the post-pandemic period, the market was characterised by strong instability, scarcity of raw materials and rising prices. To handle this situation and ensure it was still flexible enough to meet customers’ needs, Dell’Era Ermanno e Figlio Srl decided to store large stocks of raw materials. It was therefore necessary to invest in a new warehouse to increase the space for the raw materials, as well as for additional finished product.

“The Covid-19 pandemic hit Italy hard. However, it reminded us how important it was to have domestic production and enhanced ‘Made in Italy’ products,” states Owner Paolo Dell’Era. “Producing in Italy means making a product with the most advanced technologies, with highly qualified personnel in a territory made up of highly specialised districts. At Dell’Era Ermanno we work with a select clientele of specialised distributors, both in Italy and abroad. The speed of product realisation, combined with great quality and impeccable service, are the advantages that we offer customers. To ensure we could still deliver this service it was necessary to enlarge our raw material stocks and this in turn required a new warehouse.”

Developing to meet the needs of its customers is part of Dell’Era Ermanno’s strategy, as it constantly looks at growth both in terms of

internal development and efficiency. This is underlined by the company’s commitment to the digitisation of its operations, which it has been working on since 2017. “We have been able to simplify and save money by using technology with different solutions,” points out Paolo. “For instance, modern effort control tools have been applied to all production machines, as well as related statistical analysis software. Sorting machines with modern optical thermal cameras have also been implemented to increase the zero reject guarantee. New software has also been introduced in the quality department.”

To add to this, activities and procedures have been streamlined to increase production efficiency, whilst the company has also been attentive to the environment and socio-economic activities.

“Sustainability has always been at the heart of Dell’Era Ermanno’s investments. In 2010 we had our first solar panel system installed and subsequently in 2016 a second system went into production,” concludes Paolo. “Corporate social sustainability is also at the heart of the business. Numerous interventions have been carried out to ensure safety in the workplace both in regards to infrastructures and the involvement of workers.” www.delleraviterie.com

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G&B Fissaggi never stops Initially specialising in the production of nylon plugs, G&B Fissaggi has expanded to now offer a portfolio of products with the very highest quality and certified performance – thanks to its increased experience and continuous commitment to research and development.

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hanks to the flexibility of its production programme, today G&B Fissaggi is a manufacturer of nylon fixing systems, as well as steel and chemical anchors for many fields – including ironmongery, hardware, building construction and the engineering industry.

Alongside its wide product portfolio, the company has also been committed to the very highest quality standards. “The challenges of a growing and highly competitive market such as construction fixing products, within both the Italian and European markets, has led to a thorough and more responsible use of resources in our company in order to achieve and control the total quality in every area of the supply chain, from production to sales, to service, with a growing sensitivity towards the respect of the environment and the use of recyclable packaging,” explains Enrico Galeasso, CEO at G&B Fissaggi. “We are very proud of the quality we can provide customers, which is underlined by the Quality System Control of our production process being certified to DNV ISO 9001.”

Even during the last two years of Covid-19, as well as market difficulties due to the international crisis, G&B Fissaggi has still continued to work on the research and development of new products in order to offer a better service to its customers in Italy and in Europe.

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“At the beginning of 2020 we launched the new responsive version of our website, which has a revised graphic layout and better navigation for searching content,” points out Enrico. “We are currently working on how we can further improve the customer experience across the site as well.”

G&B Fissaggi has also been working on new products this year, including a new edition of its general catalogue for 2023. “We have proposed new important products for structural fastening and range complements,” mentions Enrico. “This includes the new range of GETO PLUS SCREWS and the new bonded anchor GEBOFIX PRO SISMIK – both of which are CE Option 1 approved for applications in seismic areas.”

Also this year, G&B Fissaggi has expanded its warehouse at its headquarters by 3,500m 2 to ensure a large stock of products is always available. Plus, the company has expanded its team within the technical, marketing and sales departments. www.gebfissaggi.com

Great quality for small components Quality - Flexibility - Speed - Service 360°

DELL’ERA ERMANNO E FLIGLIO SRL - VIA SANTA VECCHIA 82, 23868 VALMADRERA (LC) ITALY Tel. +39 0341.550247 - Fax +39 0341.551364 - info@delleraviterie.com - www.delleraviterie.com

Think Fixing

G&B FISSAGGI, the Italian company

G&B UK warehouse Quality products with a service to match available for next day delivery direct from our branch in Sheffield (UK mainland only).

Contact our experienced staff to assist you for all you need.

www.gebfissaggi.com

G&B Fissaggi S.r.l. Italia Corso Savona, 22 10029 Villastellone (TO) tel. +39 011 961 94 33 fax +39 011 961 96 39 info@gebfissaggi.com

G&B Fissaggi UK warehouse Unit 16 Riverside Court Don Road - Sheffield - S9 2TJ (UK) tel. 0114 242 0074 fax 0114 242 0075 uksales@gebfissaggi.com

G&B Fissaggi Vertretung Deutschland johnengebfissaggi@gmail.com G&B Fissaggi Ibérica gbiberica@gebfissaggi.com G&B Fissaggi Benelux export@gebfissaggi.com G&B Fissaggi France export@gebfissaggi.com

MADE IN ITALY

The role of sustainability in Growermetal’s approach Like most sectors the fastener industry has been called on to face environmental issues, such as embracing low impact and sustainable manufacturing models. This call has contributed to more responsible companies, as well as opened up a new way of innovation and development.

The Greenmetal project is one of Growermetal’s answers to this continuously evolving picture.

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number of constant changes have impacted the fastener market over recent years, a large part of which are related to the reliability of their projects, both from the fastening performance and the environmental point of view.

Founded in 1950 by Virginio Cattaneo in the North of Italy, washer manufacturer Growermetal SpA has been called on to face the evolution of the international and global scenario, whilst confronting the increasing demand for a sustainable and circular production model.

With an overall production of more than 4,500 standard safety washers and 2,500 special parts according to customers’ drawings, the Italian company covers the needs of many sectors, from automotive to railway, from industrial machines to aerospace.

Improvement is crucial to build trust with customers, which is why the pressure on sustainability must be taken into account to build a strategy based on energy conservation, emission abatement and circular development.

For Growermetal bringing a constant change inside the production process of its safety washers line is not only a matter of norms, but a strategic choice to boost a positive impact and a sustainable growth.

Among the near-term and long-term objectives of the company, many aspects concern the commitment to reduce the ecological footprint of the business.

In order to align with the 2015 EU Green Deal for Carbon Neutrality, Growermetal is working to reduce CO 2 emissions and achieve Carbon Neutrality by 2050. On the one hand, the company is optimising its environmental profile through targeted interventions and structured actions. On the other hand, the integration of renewable energies and the responsible exploitation of resources has

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contributed to reducing consumption, as well as increasing efficiency at all production stages.

Among the many actions aimed at encouraging and enhancing the circular economy, there are also the use of natural resources, the rational disposal of waste materials and the recovery of energy and resources.

Policy for quality and environment

In order to define actions, activities and targets related to the quality of its process and commitment towards the environment, Growermetal established a ‘Policy for Quality and Environment’. This document describes the goals and commitments of the company, taking into account the needs and expectations of all involved parties.

It also contains a guideline through which Growermetal’s management aims to perform a strategy based on a number of main targets: The achievement of a shared and continuous success.

The full satisfaction of customers and stakeholders.

The improvement of products, services and processes quality.

The maintenance of a safe workplace.

An ethical approach to business management.

The full respect of the environment.

Among the solutions promoted to achieve these goals there is the implementing of a series of actions, such as the adherence to the internal ethic code in the activities conduct; a clear assignment of responsibilities and tasks; the

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MADE IN ITALY constant supervision and effective prevention of non-conformities; the full compliance with binding regulations; the constant training and involvement of the human resources; and many others.

In this journey the whole team is encouraged to take active part in the initiative of Growermetal. “The quality and the environmental management system requires each of us to be prepared to participate,” comments Paolo Cattaneo, CEO of Growermetal. “As an international company we must be aware of the impact of our actions on product and process compliance, but also on the environment. We are expected to act responsibly as quality, efficiency, safety and a sustainable business model are today essential elements to generate mutual trust.”

Creating a sustainable supply chain: The Greenmetal Project

In order to reach ambitious environmental goals the company has created the Greenmetal Project, a system that, as underlined by Paolo Cattaneo: “Aligns the environmental conduct of Growermetal to four main points: The selection of suppliers, the choice of raw materials, the process development and the optimisation of resources.”

In regards to suppliers, the company pays great attention in selecting its partners, focusing on the need to reduce the negative impact of the production and guarantee the full compliance to the Italian and international standards and norms related to environmental protection.

This responsibility extends to the second aspect involved in the programme; the selection of advanced and low impact materials for the production of its safety washers, railway washers and blanked parts. From this point of view the transition to hydrogen and the relationship with the raw materials supply chain allows the manufacturer to significantly reduce its ecological footprint, by investing in innovative materials such as low-impact steel.

The third focus of Growermetal regards the process and its organisation. Here, a large part of the efforts and investments have been addressed in equipping the company’s in-house departments and the R&D laboratory with innovative technologies and machinery. “The optimisation of the resources used in the production process has been crucial in order to minimise pollution and improve the environmental performance of our company. Such a result has brought us even closer to one of our objectives: To improve Growermetal’s energy management system,” continues Paolo.

Finally, the responsible organisation of every aspect of the manufacturing system also involves choices related to the management and collection of resources. In particular, Growermetal counts on an industrial water recycling system that allows the full recovery of every liter of water used in production, while the use of renewable resources and the safe disposal and reduction of chemicals are another expression of its commitment to sustainability.

The attention given to the environment is not new for the Italian fastener company. Since 2006 Growermetal has been certified UNI EN ISO 14001 for the Environmental Management System (EMS).

A certification that underlines the effort in creating responsible organisational structure, procedures, and programmes, aimed at monitoring and keeping an effective environmental policy.

Since April 2010 the installation of a photovoltaic plant on the roof of the Growermetal headquarters has also allowed the Italian washer manufacturer to produce part of its electric energy on its own. With 94 kWp of power and 101,400 kWh produced per year, the solar panels have contributed to a significant reduction of emissions, saving 70.5 tonnes of CO 2 per year.

Actions and objectives for an environmentally friendly company

When talking about the future, investments towards sustainability are combined with informational and educational resources, in order

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to raise the awareness of all the employers and make the team even more involved in the creation of a virtuous system.

“Daily choices and actions are essential to make our company more and more eco-friendly,” comments Raffaele Motta, Growermetal’s HSE manager. Awareness-raising activities addressed to all the employees range from simple daily actions, such as the installation of drinking water distributors, to internal training and initiatives.

“Defining shared goals with our team and partners is the base to create and support long-term development. Our staff plays an active role in making our reality more ecological. We are very proud in seeing a positive response in the different departments,” comments Raffaele.

These targets are combined with other key interventions, which put energy saving, resources recovery, waste reduction and responsible management at the centre. This includes heat recovery from heat treatment processes; lower electricity consumption combining LED lightning systems with the installation of high efficiency electric motors and the automatic machine switch off in case of inactivity; the recycling and reuse of oil and water from production process; and the industrial rainwater harvesting system. When combined these aspects create a remarkable reduction of industrial waste production, plastic waste and chemical consumption.

Growermetal’s code of ethics

Nowadays delivering a sustainable business model means also to guarantee the full compliance with human rights, which helps brands with increasing the mutual trust and perceived value for employees, stakeholders and customers. Through Growermetal’s internal code of ethics, the company expresses the desire to protect the rights of the people and workers involved in the whole supply chain.

Creating a balance between the economic, social and environmental aspects is at the centre of such a model. Growermetal does so by adopting a transparent approach, supporting employees health and safety, creating opportunities of training and increasing the company’s welfare. Personal wellbeing is promoted through a schedule and a workload in-line with an ideal work-life balance, but also by creating a safe and healthy physical workplace.

“We encourage dialogue as we want to create a collaborative environment, where training, education and awareness play a crucial role in the professional growth of employees,” states Paolo.

“It’s no coincidence that our payoff is ‘Around ideas’. A sentence that expresses our commitment to create innovation through intuition, passion, study and knowledge. People are the ones who bring ideas to life, so they deserve the best tools and conditions to shape great projects and live in a gratifying workplace.” www.growermetal.com

Kilton modernises machinery Kilton has looked to modernise its machinery in order to guarantee its customers’ a consistently high-quality standard when it comes to the production of both standard and special fasteners.

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ilton’s flexibility and commitment to meeting the requirements of its customers, regardless of how niche or specialised, has enabled it to stand out from its competitors – especially in the current market situation. “Since the outbreak of Covid-19 there have been a lot of challenges customers have faced when it comes to finding products,” points out Kilton Srl. “With the increase in demand there has been a lack of products within the market and the usual supply hubs in Asia have struggled with price and supply.

This has given us, as a European manufacturer, the opportunity to support customers.”

Whilst the market has been positive, there are still challenges all companies are facing. “The market situation today is very nebulous; whereas you could previously try and predict the future trends of the market, today unfortunately it is no longer possible to do so.

The continuous rise and fall of prices without a logical line only causes uncertainties – so, for now, you can only try to limit any damage and carefully weigh your choices while waiting for the market to stabilise.”

As a manufacturer Kilton believes the best opportunities come from always being able to produce quickly and to follow the market step-by-step without large exposures. “We are a company that solves problems and supplies fasteners net of service fads. Being essential today, even in supplies, means saving the customer time and money.”

Having production within Italy enables Kilton to provide this quick service and gives the company a strategic advantage.

“Customers tend to forget the importance of ‘Made in Italy’ in preference for Asian competitors, usually because of lower prices,” mentions Kilton. “Let us remember, however, that a customer having a foot inside a European production company can be very helpful. To say there is a manufacturing difference would be a lack of honesty. Our products follow and must comply with regulations here, as in the rest of the world, and the same goes for all manufacturers. So, as mentioned before, and as we have seen in the past two years with the lack of supplies from traders, it is really strategic for a European company to also have fastener manufacturers in its supplier base.” www.kilton.it

We are a company that solves problems...”

Experience & professionalism since 1966

AN ITALIAN QUALITY STORY SEDE E STABILIMENTO / OFFICE AND FACTORY Via Sardegna 64 20072 Fizzonasco di Pieve Emanuele (MI) - ITALY Tel. +39 02 907 248 17 Fax: +39 02 907 229 77 info@kilton.it

ready for your warehouse, including:

• Production of high-strength bolts: 10.9 – 8.8 – 5.6 • Partially or fully threaded rod / threaded rod grade • 8.8 Clamping bolts • M4 to M100 – Rolled threads and metric trapezoidal

CERTIFICATES EN 1090-1:2009+A1:2011 UNI EN ISO 9001:2015 ISO 9001

kilton.it

Bonfatti Filettature s.r.l.

Via De Nicola, 42 - 41100 Modena, Italy Tel: +39 059 251604 Fax: +39 059 254226 email: info@bonfattifilettature.it www.bonfa ttifilettatu re .i t

MADE IN ITALY

Brugola – targeting growth Well known for inventing the hexagonal socket head cap screw, leading Italian manufacturer Brugola OEB Industriale SpA has been working on new products and sectors to meet its ambitious growth targets. Here Content Director Will Lowry speaks to President Jody Brugola about these new developments and how the business has continued to invest in its capabilities, and sustainability, for the future.

Fastener + Fixing Magazine’s last ‘Made in Italy’ feature was in 2020. Clearly a lot has happened in this time, what have been the key developments at Brugola?

“Since 2019 we have looked to continue to produce and develop special parts – even more than we were producing before. As a business we are known within the automotive sector, especially when it comes to fasteners for engines. However, at Brugola we are able to produce a lot more than this and we have been focused on developing special parts and components, and sometimes not even fasteners, for use in other sectors.

By looking to grow in other markets it brings us new customers and new opportunities. Our strategy is to grow and to achieve this we are looking to attract more clients – by producing new products we have not previously offered, in materials such as stainless steel, aluminium and others. Thanks to this strategy, over the last three years we have been able to develop new partnerships with OEMs and tier one companies in new markets we have not worked in before.

A key factor behind this ability to develop these new products and markets is the excellent knowledge and experience we have within Brugola. I believe we have seen a drastic and dramatic decline in knowledge within the fastener sector over the last ten years. At Brugola we have been committed to keeping the very highest level of expertise within our production – finding the best people from all around Europe who want to join us and help us achieve our ambitious goals. By being open minded, and having this knowledge of how to produce other parts, we can look at new opportunities that might be interesting to us as a business.

A sector we are currently working in and has potential for growth is eMobility, which is certainly a growth area for us in the future. We are already producing some important parts for electric engines – where we have developed solutions that have proven difficult to produce for other companies. We are succeeding in producing these parts regularly to a very high standard. I have always seen eMobility as an opportunity to not only be a supplier but to be a co-developer with customers – so that we can understand their goals and requests and what solutions they need – in order to provide the necessary parts.

This comes back to having the necessary knowledge and expertise within the business and the technicians we have now make this a lot easier, so we can move forward with these solutions. Even if we do not have the necessary knowledge in-house, we have a lot of connections within the market, which means if there are any further requirements we can still work on a project.”

During this time of growth for Brugola there have also been a number of challenges within the market (ongoing Covid-19 issues, freight transport, commodity prices, energy prices, war in Ukraine).

How did you manage these challenges?

“There have been a number of factors influencing markets over the last two years, but if you look at the automotive industry in particular it was already going down before the start of Covid-19 – so we’ve been through three years of decline to a certain point. However, the biggest

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problem is it is very hard to work properly because it seems like every week something has changed and as a business you don’t know what can happen.

That being said, since May things seem to have been getting better and we have experienced good production most of the year and still have good programmes scheduled for the rest of 2022 and also for January and February. However, we do not know what is going to happen to the economy in the long-term – so the vision you have as business, as well as planning for the future, is made very difficult.

As a business we are continuing to look at where we can be flexible and how we can handle situations, such as the current dramatic rise in energy prices. For instance, we have already worked on making our heat treatment lines run as efficiently and effectively as possible, so that they are fully optimised. Before, to do a certain type of tonnage, we were running 5 or 6 heat treatment lines. Thanks to our optimisation process we are able to produce the same amount of tonnage, but we are only running 3 or 4 lines.

Every manufacturer needs gas and electricity to run, but it is about being as optimised as possible. Due to the work that we have done regarding heat treatment, as well as other areas, we have been able to save over €1 million in the first six months of 2022.”

EVOLVING EXCELLENCE

Brugola is world leader in the production of critical fasteners for engines and is also ready to become very influential in finding and developing new technologies for electric engines.

As always we are shaping the future!

Today

Lissone - Plymouth www.brugola.com

Tomorrow

MADE IN ITALY

With it difficult to plan for the future, how does this impact the need for investments within the business, products, etc?

“Whilst it is difficult to plan in the long-term, as a company we still think it is vital that we invest so that we can continue to grow. In 2019 we grew when other companies went down. We were also one of the businesses that went down the least in 2020 – with all the problems that happened from Covid-19. We did have to shut down for two months, but even so we still only went down by 10%, which was very good. In 2021 we went up by 4% and this year we believe we are going to grow by more than 20%.

One of the key things that I am seeing right now and I believe will happen much more in the future is that globalisation is reducing and this is a huge opportunity for European companies – especially manufacturers. We must be ready to restart producing parts that we thought were lost to Asia. I think all these important parts of the world, such as Asia, America, Europe, etc, will have to rethink that maybe it makes sense to produce inside their own territories for what is needed for that part of the world.

From an environmental point of view this also makes sense, especially when you consider how much pollution is being created by all these shipments all over the world from one continent to another. It makes a lot of sense and gives a lot of chances for European companies to grow and to rebuild know-how for different productions not just fasteners.

It also guarantees supply chain security, because the last two years have shown us that global supply chains can quickly become unreliable through outside forces. With this in mind, we will continue to invest in our capabilities and employees to make sure that we are meeting the needs of existing customers, as well as targeting new markets.”

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Sustainability is a big topic within markets at the moment.

How has Brugola approached this area?

“Over recent years we have been working intensively to become more sustainable and have taken several steps in making this a reality. It is my personal belief that we all need to become carbon neutral in the next 10 – 15 years, which is why at Brugola we have joined the Forever Zero CO 2 project. This is a project ran by Forever Bambù and allows companies and professionals to reduce or eliminate their impact environmentally and become carbon neutral – thanks to absorption of CO 2 from Forever Bambù’s ten bamboo forests in Italy – covering a total of 200 hectares.

As certified by independent studies, giant bamboo – which lives on average for 100 years – is able to sequester up to 260 tonnes of CO 2 per year per hectare. This is 36 times more than any other plant. We started with two hectares in 2022 and we will go up to six in the next two years.

FASTENER + FIXING MAGAZINE ≡ ISSUE 138: NOVEMBER 2022

We also have a range of other incentives and new solutions when it comes to sustainability. For instance, we have replaced 25 tonnes of paper reels with eco-sustainable and reusable technical cloths – reducing the use of paper by 80%. We have also looked to recover litres of emulsion composed of oil and water, necessary and derived from the screw production process, which helped reduce the use of oils by 15%.

Other developments include reducing the use of plastic, from a consumption of 207 tonnes a day to about 50 tonnes – two thirds of which are made of recycled plastic.

The company also renewed the factory lighting with LED bulbs to lower electricity consumption and reduce CO 2 emissions.

In addition, we are also working on new modern solar panels to take a further step to provide our own energy.

Our aim is by 2030 to have a reduction of 70% of our emissions and we want to be carbon neutral by 2035.” www.brugola.com

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MADE IN ITALY

Supplying technologically advanced solutions Ober® is able to provide a wide range of sophisticated products – characterised by a prolonged life expectancy in heavy use conditions – as well as first class assistance for its entire range.

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Our advanced product lines and pre- and after-sales services are second to none.”

specialist in tools since 1952, Ober® SpA is known for its ability to design and manufacture portable compressed air tools, pneumatic motors, automated machinery, as well as systems for drilling, tapping, threading and screwing – including power screwdrivers with electronic torque control.

“As a business we have been working within the mechanical sector for 70 years, which gives us the experience and knowledge to produce products and developments necessary to compete on a global scale,” states Ober®.

THE ULTIMATE THREADED INSERTS RIVETING MACHINE

“Even during recent years, where there has been a lot of uncertainty within the market, we have still looked at investments and developing our know-how so that we can continue to optimise our products and services.”

Ober®’s ability to innovate is underlined with its range of air motors dubbed SLFB, as well as its BTR 170 Rebel cordless riveting tool.

“Thanks to our extensive relationships with dealers and distributors in key territories, as well as a well established sales rep network, we are able to understand the pulse of the market and produce solutions to meet the needs of customers.”

All of the products within Ober®’s range are built within its facility located in Cadriano di Granarolo dell’Emilia to the north of Bologna in Italy. “Our advanced product lines and pre- and after-sales services are second to none,” explains Ober®. “This has enabled us to become a leader in the Italian market, as well as grow strongly throughout.

We can do this because we know how to earn and win the trust of our customers by meeting and satisfying their needs.”

Ober® is also able to work on projects with OEMs, with the company previously developing custom projects for a variety of customers and applications. A major factor in Ober’s ability to produce high-quality innovative products, and work alongside OEMs, is its skilled and experienced employees. “Without doubt the most valuable asset of our business is our employees – who have the knowledge and experience to allow us to continuously develop new features and tools,” points out Ober®. “Alongside our employees, we also look to purchase the very latest production technology, whether machinery or software. This has led to our R&D capabilities being at the very forefront of the industry. Finally, we also strive to supply products of the highest quality, which is why we not only look to meet relevant standards – we are ISO 9001 certified – but go beyond them to guarantee the very best quality.” www.ober.it

Innovative heat treatment systems Meapforni has strengthed its internal and external sales network in order to continue to develop new markets and acquire new customers – creating further synergies and alliances.

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ocated in Fontanafredda, north east of Italy, Meapforni Srl specialises in turn key applications related to furnace production for heat treatment.

“Our four decades of experience in the field of furnaces and metal treatment lines enable us to meet a variety of needs regarding processing and treatment,” states Meapforni.

The company can cover a variety of applications, not only regarding the project but also processes and metallurgical aspects.

“Thanks to the skills and knowledge of our technical staff we are able to constantly look for innovative and energy saving solutions for heat treatment,” points out Meapforni. “This means we can produce furnaces for the treatment of ferrous and non-ferrous components.”

Meapforni’s range of products include automatic batch type lines, mesh belt lines, rollers lines, rotative furnaces integrated into robotised cells, vacuum furnaces up to 20 bars, low pressure nitriding furnaces, low pressure carburising furnaces, as well as aluminium solubilisation and ageing.

Recently Meapforni has been concentrating on the fastener sector in particular, where it believes it is able to supply high-level solutions to meet the sector’s needs. A prime example is the company delivering and installing a new mesh belt line, with a 1,000kg/hour capacity, to

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a European fastener producer. The line is completely automatic and includes loading from parts box, pre-washing, carburising furnace and oil tank, post washer, as well as a tempering furnace to reduce installation time by 30%.

“This is a typical product line that we are able to offer fastener producers – a complete automated system, both in an electric or gas heated version, with a capacity between 250kg/hour – 1,000kg/hour,” mentions Meapforni. “As an Italian company we are very proud to produce and deliver top of the range solutions that are not only innovative but provide constant quality and productivity over a long period.”

Meapforni also looks to provide products that are digitised to make the systems more efficient and help with diagnosis. “Digitisation has always been one of our strong points and today our lines are equipped with a number of systems that help operators.”

In addition to producing high-quality products, the company also looks to provide first class support and service to customers. “We make sure we have a direct line with all our customers, not only in the pre-order phase but also in all subsequent points. We also look to customise our solutions to meet specific needs,” reports Meapforni.

“As a business we pride ourselves on the quality of our products and services and aim to serve customers to the best of our ability.” www.meapforni.com

MADE IN ITALY

Rivit part of Fervi Group Last year Rivit Srl was acquired by Fervi Group, a collection of key players focused on supplying machinery and tools to the MRO sector.

Here Guido Greco of Fervi Group talks about how the last 12 months have progressed for Rivit now it is part of the group.

How has Rivit been incorporated into Fervi Group since being acquired and how has the company looked to manage the current challenges within the market?

“Over the last twelve months we have worked on integrating Rivit into the group of companies by reviewing the management and operating structure in a market context.

This has been a long process, but our choices have been rewarded with satisfactory results in 2021 and up to September 2022.

During this time Covid-19 has certainly had a significant but limited impact, Rivit had already organised itself in the best possible way and had implemented all the actions to minimise the decline in activity, which meant that by the end of 2020 the volumes of activity had actually returned to pre-Covid levels.

Another big factor has been transports costs – which had increased as a result of Covid-19 restrictions on an international level. However, these have also gradually returned to reasonable levels. A different long-term impact we are facing currently is the Russian-Ukrainian crisis and the impacts on energy costs. Whilst this has impacted Rivit, it does not fall into the energy intensive category.”

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What new developments have recently taken place at Rivit and how will they help the company and its customers?

“As mentioned, thanks to the change in ownership, numerous and significant changes have taken place – particularly of an organisational nature. Resources of high managerial standing have entered that will contribute, in the short term, to the change of corporate culture – making customers increasingly the centre of attention with their technical, service and, naturally, price balance needs.

Our clients will also be looked after by a large and highly efficient team. The new organisation, by channels and by industry, makes it possible to give the best service to the customer in the context of an offer that in the fasteners sector can certainly be defined as the most complete for an Italian company. Our customers have access to over 65,000 product references – available for any need related to sheet metal fastening – which are always available thanks to our automatic warehouse that can hold up to 56,000 locations. Our store in Ozzano, Italy, has also become a point of reference for local customers.

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On the digitalisation front, numerous projects have already been launched at Rivit, including the complete overhaul of the website and the portal for order management, which is used by agents and customers. Numerous other projects will also be launched over the next few months.”

Where do you see opportunities for Rivit in the future?

“In recent months the market has been living in uncertainty and everything will depend on the impact that will have on industrial production in the last quarter and especially in 2023. The fastener sector will follow this trend with opportunities to be exploited in markets less exposed to the recent crises (North America, Middle East, etc) but the challenge of not losing ground in Italy and Europe will remain.” www.rivit.it

A pioneer in fastening systems Specialinsert is known within the fastener industry for its ability to create innovative fastening systems for a wide range of applications and sectors – with the company creating sector specialists that are able to work with customers in order to provide solutions across every market.

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ith headquarters in Torino, Specialinsert has recently been through a process of reorganising its corporate structure, as well as its offices and sectors, including the introduction of specialists for specific markets.

“Our sector specialists are able to network both with customers and with our internal technical team in order to disseminate our systems into applications across every industry,” explains Specialinsert Srl. “As a company we are very proud of our innovative capabilties and we feel it is important to work closely with customers to make sure the correct solutions are used for every project – whether it be an exisiting product or a new special item.”

Specialinsert’s commitment to R&D and innovation has also resulted in the company experiencing growth over recent years. “Whilst some companies may have struggled post Covid-19, we actually experienced a period of strong recovery and turnover growth. It is only recently with the Ukraine-Russia war; as well as political government instability; cost increases – especially raw materials and their scarce availability, etc; that we have seen setbacks in the market. However, thanks to the excellent planning of purchases we are still in a strong position.”

Even with these challenges, Specialinsert still believes there are plenty of opportunities within the fastener market to develop new

applications. “The secret is being able to search for an innovative product or solution based on the the strength of the R&D department, which is essential,” states Specialinsert. “We are very proud of our R&D team, along with the design, prototyping and after-sales services that we can provide customers. We are convinced that these activities help build customer loyalty.”

The final aspect of Specialinsert’s service is its commitment to quality, which was underlined with the company achieving IATF 16949:2016 certification back in 2018. “We are very proud to have achieved the certification, as it demonstrates our commitment to pursuing an approach based on the flow analysis, in order to minimise lead times and eliminate everything that does not represent value for customers. At Specialinsert we believe it is vital for us as a business to be recognised in markets as a supplier of a quality and high value.”

Specialinsert concludes: “We will try more and more to establish ourselves in markets as a producer of innovative solutions and, thanks to the IATF certification, we can now also offer our services in automotive niche markets. We do not want to go towards large consumption at low cost but rather be recognised in the various market niches that matter.” www.specialinsert.it

Fasteners and fastening systems 4.0

SPECIALINSERT® FASTENERS WE’RE CHALLENGING YOU TO DO WITHOUT! Specialinsert®, since 1974 in the world of fasteners, thanks to the experience matured and to the continuous research, today it is able to supply the most innovative fastening systems.

SPECIALINSERT.IT

UNI EN ISO 9001:2015

IATF 16949:2016

MADE IN ITALY

Carlo Salvi meets market demands Thanks to the investments in its R&D department, Carlo Salvi has been able to introduce the CS 513 TH – a new progressive combined machine with five stations that also includes an integrated pointing and threading unit.

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ith a minimum and maximum thread diameter of M6 and M12, the CS 513 TH also features a layout that has been developed to provide better accessibility and optimised ergonomics for the operator. “This is a combined production unit, which integrates a stamping unit, spot welding and rolling in a single machine as standard,” points out Carlo Salvi SpA. “It was developed for the cold forging of parts in five stations, subsequently rolled to obtain threads of various types.”

The threading movement of the CS 513 TH is driven by a desmodromic cam for gradual deformation and perfect synchronisation between ram movement and introduction of the parts into the flat dies. To add to this there is also a control system that brings optimised efficiency, with a special device preventing two parts from being fed into the flat dies at the same time.

Meeting customers’ needs

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Look forward, Carlo Salvi is also planning to expand further, as well as reorganise its production departments and offices to help it meet demand. “As a business we have been focusing on satisfying customers' needs, as well as new market requirements. Production has historically been located in south-east Asia, and China in particular.

However, it is now returning to Europe, which means the demand for

our machines is very high,” explains Carlo Salvi. “That is why we are dedicating ourselves to the construction of new models of machines – in particular double stroke machines capable of printing lengths up to 200mm, as well as combined printers integrated with rolling units. At Carlo Salvi we devote ourselves to developing this range of products even further and a key factor in this will be the structure of our production department.”

The increase in demand from within Europe is a positive factor, after what has been a challenging period. “Of course Covid-19 had an impact – causing a loss in orders, especially for long-term production blocks – firstly in Italy and then around the world. This started two years of uncertainty for everybody,” mentions Carlo Salvi. “Other factors that we have needed to manage include the transport of goods and increase in costs; the sharp decline in exports from China to western markets, which further slowed production; and finally the price of raw materials and the costs of energy in recent periods – which are playing a very important role in the current market.”

“The Italian market was one of the first to restart after the pandemic, confirming once again that what characterises Italians is our inventiveness – especially in our sector. Italian companies immediately reacted in a proactive manner by placing themselves on the market with determination and the desire to get back into the game by showing an entrepreneurial spirit. This was definitely the case for us. In fact, we did not wait for orders and requests to start arriving again, instead we tried to anticipate the times by completing and studying new products and types of service, as well as increasing investments in research and development. This led to a strong and solid recovery for us as a business.”

Working for the future

Whilst there are still challenges within the market, Carlo Salvi will continue to work on how it handles costs whilst at the same time reducing delivery times. “By doing this we will become increasingly attractive and competitive in the national and international market,” states Carlo Salvi. “The fastener market is very strong and open to new requests, with large groups starting to demand localised production.

We are confident this will lead to more opportunities for us thanks to the machines and services we can deliver.” www.carlosalvi.com

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MADE IN ITALY

60 years of specialisation Celebrating its 60th anniversary in 2022, Bossong SpA has established itself as an Italian manufacturer of fastening systems – with the company known for its ongoing specialisation and innovation in chemical anchors, post installed rebar connections, heavy-duty fixings and powder actuated tooling.

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ossong was initially founded in Germany in 1937 as a producer of automotive components, but in 1962 the company was acquired by the Taddei family and developed into a fixings manufacturer and supplier based in Italy. Since then the company has gone on to become one of the leading businesses in the production of fixing systems – with a reputation for innovation.

A prime example of this innovative mentality is the recent addition of E-Plus, a bi-component styrene-free pure epoxy resin, to Bossong’s already impressive portfolio. “The E-Plus is the next generation of super epoxy resin and is the newest version of the original Epox from the 1990s,” explains Bossong. “It is a short name that encapsulates thirty years of research and development in the chemical anchor sector, essential enough not to require anything else except for the ‘plus’, which is a hint at its above expectations performance, like all the other products offered by Bossong over the last 60 years.”

Features of the new E-Plus include a 100 year service life, which is twice the standard 50 years and makes the resin ideal for major projects. Another key advantage includes applicability in flooded holes tested underwater; the resin’s fire resistance – up to a maximum of R24; as well as its natural ability to penetrate into holes and hollow materials thanks to the successful combination of fluidity and adherence – reaching up to 2.5 metres of extrusion with no expansion or shrinking. The E-Plus is also suitable for use with masonry, wood, and concrete, in a range of temperatures up to 50°C – with strong grip on smooth surfaces such as core holes.

Bossong highlights that the E-Plus has also obtained numerous certifications, ensuring excellent results in terms of the environment – as it is part of the company’s range of products qualified according to the LEED protocol concerning the certification of VOC content (Volatile Organic Compounds) and it has obtained the highest qualification level, i.e. A+ rating, of the French regulation.

“The resin has also obtained EOTA approval for concrete bonding in accordance with EAD 330499-01-0601 and EAD 330087-01-0601,” points out Bossong. “Its aseismic performance is especially notable as it is double that of the current product and has obtained the highest C2 rating for M12 and M24. It is the jewel in the crown of this new 3:1 formula capable of reacting efficiently to significant earth movements, just as the certified aseismic rebar rods with 12mm to 32mm diameter.”

A distinctive characteristic of the new E-Plus is that it has been created to meet the needs of the construction sector while also respecting the environment – offering safety and maximising structural consolidation, which have been distinctive characters of all Bossong products.

“E-Plus is the latest step in a journey that started decades ago,” explains Bossong. “Between the 1960s and the 1970s we specialised first in the production of rivets and riveting machines for concrete anchoring, then mechanical anchors and plugs. The shift to chemical anchors was made by chemist Luciano Taddei, founder of Bossong SpA Italia, and marked a decisive change of direction. The formulation and filling of these bi-component chemical anchors to fix metal elements in concrete and masonry structures with epoxy, polyester, and vinylester resins, led to the company’s worldwide success.”

At the start of the new millennium, the recently established EOTA certification body approved the products on a European and international scale but at the same time forced the company to align to increasingly higher standards and face competition on a wider scale, Bossong took on the new challenges by focusing on research and innovation, aware that each investment was a step towards market leadership. “The strength of our anchors has been achieved thanks to sixty years of experience and a strive for innovation and the highest level of competencies,” states Bossong proudly.

An additional reason for pride for Bossong is the inauguration of a new logistics centre, which has allowed the company to totally redesign itself both inside and out. “The warehouse is completely automated and connected using all the latest technologies, leaving more space in the main building for additional production lines – which are connected using 4.0 next generation technologies and robotics,” mentions Bossong.

“Last but not least, the 1,250m2 of photovoltaic panels – providing almost 200,000kWh and a power of approximately 200kW per year – are a tangible proof of the company’s commitment to reducing our carbon footprint, a circular economy approach that benefits the entire community.” www.bossong.com

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info@blumorgana.it

HIGH LOAD CHEMICAL ANCHOR FOR CONCRETE

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FIXING SYSTEMS ETA

w w w . b o s s o n g . c o m Z.I. 2 - Via E. Fermi, 49/51 - 24050 Grassobbio (BG) Tel +39 035 3846 011 - info@bossong.com

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EAD 330087-01-0601

ETA - 22/0468

MADE IN ITALY

Large investments to satisfy the market Commitments to quality, modularity, excellence, reliability, customer centricity, continuous improvement, innovation, team working, and employee engagement, are the core values that have been defining SACMA since 1939 and made it a world leading manufacturer of multi-station cold forming machines for high-precision metal components and fasteners.

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t its headquarters in Limbiate, through an insourced, fully vertically integrated and modular production system, SACMA Group is able to machine mechanical parts with the highest standards for precision and raw material quality. Each workpiece is then assembled in-house and becomes part of either a SACMA multi-station cold forming machine, an Ingramatic flat die thread roller or HS ASPE tapping machine, which SACMA points out then share the same destiny – accompanying customers for the next half-century in their workshop and rewarding them with the highest output possible across three shifts per day.

SACMA Group is recognised as an industrial ecosystem for the fastener and cold forming industry, which is able to offer cutting edge technologies from process design through 3D simulation, multi-station cold forming equipment (SACMA), flat die thread rollers (Ingramatic) all the way to dedicated CNC machines for secondary operations after forming and threading (HS ASPE). Anything that goes in between these steps requires stable, high efficiency loading and moving systems. For this SACMA Group supplies reliable solutions through its controlled company Tecno Lift.

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Global presence

This all adds up to five interconnected production sites, 300 employees worldwide, five foreign branches with local after sales staff (USA, China, Taiwan, Germany and Brazil), 24 agencies, 83 years of history, 24/7 on-site and remote service, plus 11 technical service centres – all under one group.

To add to this, SACMA Group has also looked to continue to develop over the last two years, with the company investing 10% of its total turnover in new plants, buildings and new activities. “For sure the Covid-19 pandemic accelerated our strategy to be closer and closer to all the customers buying our equipment,” mentions SACMA. “Thanks to our €25 million total inventory, our group has been able to honour all the contracts received in 2020 and 2021.”

SACMA Group also intensified its presence around the world in hiring local technicians to install equipment – including in Taiwan, India, China, Turkey, Poland, USA and France. As a big achievement, during the last two years, SACMA Group shipped more than 200 new pieces of equipment around the world without sending any technicians from Italy. “This is a demonstration of our powerful organisation, which is spreading our technologies even in difficult times,” points out SACMA.

KSP12-R • ALL IN ONE 1D2B header with threading unit www.sacmagroup.com

1D2B UNIT WITH S-FEED WIRE FEEDER DRIVEN BY TORQUE MOTOR

THREADING UNIT WITH STARTER DRIVEN BY TORQUE MOTOR

New 1D2B combined header model KSP12-R

ALL-IN-ONE to run fasteners from M3 to M8 The KSP12-R combines typical SACMA solutions, proven by thousands of machines, with the most advanced mechatronic technology available in the market. Major set up adjustments are motorized for a quick and friendly changeover: S-feed wire feeder driven by torque motor, motorized wire stock gauge and DKO, threading starter driven by torque motor with self-learning function borrowed from Ingramatic rollers. The quality management is facilitated by two gates interfaced with the load monitoring system and discharging NC parts respectively after the header and after the roller. An optional sophisticated load control system is protecting the machine against overloads and is monitoring the forming and rolling processes. Scraps separators in different sizes are available when producing self-tapping screws.

Watch the video

NEW

Ask for more information to : info@sacmalimbiate.it

Sacma Limbiate S.p.A.

Viale Dei Mille 126-128 • 20812 Limbiate (MB) - ITALY Ph. +39 0299 4521 • info@sacmalimbiate.it

MADE IN ITALY In 2021 SACMA Group also created its own branch in Taiwan to provide the technical services expected from this country – with an ever increasing demand for more SACMA machines. The different brands of SACMA implemented a programme of training for each of the technicians joining the organisation in order to be more effective on the local market – with the branch constantly updated with new technologies to support the customers.

Meeting challenges

To ensure the shipment of its machineries, and being a major player for shipping large equipment around the world, SACMA’s logistics department works closely with its partners to guarantee on time deliveries. “Of course, the cost of shipment has been increasing according to the market, but thanks to our ability to organise advance shipments, we have been able to manage this situation,” highlights SACMA. “However, we have seen a variety of increases, especially for shipments to North America. For instance, even the cost of the seaworthy packaging has increased, due to the value of wood. This made us optimise the layout of our shipments (see below), which has led to improvements that we will adopt as a new standard for the future.”

It was not just the logistical challenges SACMA needed to manage, there was also the price increases in raw materials and components, with supply chain disruptions sometimes creating stoppage of machines in the different SACMA assembly lines – due to a handful of missing components. “Thanks to our organisation, and our massive stock of parts and serial production strategy, we were able to quickly rectify any situations and ensured the parts arrived at the assembly divisions perfectly on time,” states SACMA. “With the electronic and electrical components, the situation is a little more difficult but still under control. We have anticipated our schedules to order the components early to be sure to get them on time in our assembly lines.”

SACMA’s purchasing department has also been reinforced to help with the ‘lake of components’ in order to not penalise the

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assembly divisions too much. “For the future, we are not expecting a better situation, so we have invested in additional automatic and robotised storage systems, dedicated to the electronic and electrical components, to increase our stockage and guarantee at list one year of production.”

Recently the cost of the energy has also increased and is still unpredictable, due to the tension between Ukraine and Russia.

“This situation penalised our organisation with some suppliers of materials in trouble and the shutting down their plants impacting our deliveries,” reports SACMA. “But once again, thanks to our serial production and large warehouse, we are managing this situation with serenity. Regarding our internal needs, our total budget for buying energy has been multiplied by a factor of three.”

SACMA continues: “Despite these difficult times we have sold many solutions to our customers, especially in the local Italian market due to the government’s Industry 4.0 programme to help companies invest in new machineries. This means that despite the economic condition, the Italian market has been very active regarding the investment in headers, threaders and tapping machines. However, we expect the Italian market to slow down in 2023 as the Industry 4.0 programme will be reduced.”

To handle all of these circumstances, SACMA Group has intensified its strategy to keep production in its factories and to utilise only prime European components. To do that, and to remain competitive, the company has invested in additional cutting-edge technologies, with more than 100,000m 2 of plant – with 60,000m 2 covered for manufacturing, storage and assembling – helping SACMA Group to provide no less than 120 machines per year.

New investments and equipment

As part of its strategy SACMA Group has also invested in new equipment with additional Mazak machineries as FMS (Flexible Machines Systems), which are milling and turning machines equipped with the last generation of robotics for loading and unloading.

Over the last two years SACMA has also been working on its new series of combined headers models – SP18 and SP28 – and has launched the 1D2B combined header model KSP12-R to satisfy the fastener market – with the machine able to produce, in one shot, screws and bolts from wire to finished product.

When it comes to combined headers, Ingramatic has been focused on new technical projects to help customers making fasteners to produce with a ‘Lean’ concept. “Our Ingramatic division is now supplying combined machines consisting of a rotary station combined with a flat die rolling station,” explains SACMA. “This solution allows the operator to load the blanks just one time and still make more shapes in one shot. We have seen a very large interest from the market in this solution – allowing the reduction of WIP stock, machines and loading/unloading equipment.”

This means that SACMA’s factories can run during the night shifts without any labour costs. “This strategy has always been applied in our divisions but we have looked to implement equipment with more high-tech solutions to speed up the production, with optimal ergonomic conditions for our operators, as well as introduce machines equipped with automatic loading/unloading systems,” highlights SACMA. In-line with its continuous focus on improving its manufacturing division, in 2023 SACMA will start the construction of an additional 4,000m2 building, which will be added to the current 40,000m2 and enable the company to install even more new machineries in the coming years.

When it comes to the management of the business SACMA has also made a large investment in new SAP software, so it can control all its branches around the world, along with its five factories. “The SAP system will be installed within all of our departments,” states SACMA. “We have started at our headquarters with the financial, commercial and purchasing departments, with the target to be ready

by June 2023. The system will then be applied to our R&D, assembly and production departments by 2024.”

Ingramatic produces approximately 35 machines annually and has invested in its R&D with more engineers, and hired additional technicians for the assembly division, to help meet the requests of the market. The company has also opened a new area with robotic storage dedicated to the electronic and hardware department – following the strategy of SACMA. Since 2020 SACMA Group has also worked on integrating HS ASPE into the group – with the company dealing with automatic machinery for secondary operations, such as tapping, turning, machining and general automation. “We moved the company to a brand new plant in Ciriè close to Turin, where we are implementing the same rules applied in our factories in designing and manufacturing machinery – with all the components made in serial production,” mentions SACMA. “By the end of 2022, HS ASPE will have shipped 22 machines compared to an average of 10 to 12 during the last 10 years. Due to the success of the tapping machines, we expect to reach 30 machines very soon.”

The final company within the group is Tecno Lift, which is also growing – through its range of ancillaries to move the parts, including conveyors, vertical elevators, vibrating hopers, lotifiers, bin tilting systems and any kind of loading systems. “In 2023, we will further increase the capacity of the company and supply more units to the group and even to customers buying the units directly from Tecno Lift.”

Thanks to the combination of companies, SACMA Group is able to supply increasingly complete lines of machineries from the header, threader to sometimes the secondary operation machine to deliver the finished part. “The pandemic and the energy crisis have put manufacturers of machinery in a difficult position, but at SACMA Group, thanks to our proven strategy, we are still one of the most reliable suppliers in the world,” concludes SACMA. “Despite the wordwide situation, 2023 will be a great time for SACMA Group to finalise all the projects we started over these last two years and to continue to supply an even wider range of machines for the fastener market.” www.sacmagroup.com

WWW.FASTENERANDFIXING.COM

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MADE IN ITALY

SIPA expands product range SIPA Srl is committed to continuously developing its product range and services, with the Italian producer recently adding repair plates, as well as straight and angled plates with slots, to its wide product portfolio.

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hen it was initially founded in 1989 SIPA was based on the production of plates and angles for hardware, with the company progressing to focus on a wide range of other items – before developing steel cutting and plastic moulding services for third parties. “We have always looked to grow as a business by adding new products that can provide opportunities in new or existing markets,” explains SIPA. “These new additions underline that even in the current market situation we are keen to grow where possible.”

A big step in the company’s production capabilities came in 2006 when it introduced washer production.

“This gave us the ability to produce a variety of sizes to industry standards. Through a targeted marketing campaign, and participating at trade fairs across Europe, we were also able to expand into new markets abroad,” mentions SIPA. “Going forward we are confident we will be able to grow even more within the washer sector in the future, especially with the introduction of duties on imports of certain items from China. This should give us a good opportunity to further develop our market share within Italy and Europe.”

Within its steel cutting department SIPA has 30 automatic presses, with capabilities from 50 to 250 tonnes for cutting sheet coils.

The company also has its own plastic pressing department, which is composed of 11 automatic presses, ranging from 50 to 430 tonnes – for pressing plastic material from granules. An additional 250 tonne bicolour press enables the use of two different materials or two different colours simultaneously.

“To add to this, we also have our mechanical workshop that consists of four work centres, three grinding machines, one lathe,

one radial drill, one microdrill, one erosion bath and two wire eroders,” points out SIPA. “Thanks to these departments, and the experience of our employees, we are able to develop a mould both for steel and plastic articles – from a simple idea, a sample, or a technical drawing. We can also produce parts using moulds from other firms. Additionally, we provide all the necessary maintenance during and after production, which enables us to supply excellent product quality combined with competitive prices.”

SIPA is not just a producer, it also has its own 7,000m 2 warehouse, which includes four automatic packaging lines for boxes and industrial packaging, as well as various manual packaging machines – to satisfy all customer demands. “Being a producer and distributor has put us in a strong position to handle the various challenges that have arisen over the last 24 months. For instance, thanks to our warehouse stocks of both raw materials and finished products, we have been able to fulfil orders to our customers very quickly,” explains SIPA. “The strength of our company is in the fact we are able to provide a 360° service with an excellent quality-price ratio and a fast delivery service.”

SIPA concludes: “As an Italian manufacturer we are synonymous with quality, service and competence. Furthermore, customers can count on our knowledge and know-how, gained from extensive experience in the markets, to provide the solutions and services customers’ demand. With this in mind, we will continue to consolidate our position as a producer and distributor in the domestic market, as well as look to grow our exports.” www.sipaitalia.it

The strength of our company is in the fact we are able to provide a 360° service...”

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www.anomaliecreative.it

SIPA s.r.l.

Via dell’Artigianato, 16-18-20 - 36027 SAN PIETRO DI ROSÀ (VI) - ITALY Tel. 0039.0424.562044 - Fax 0039.0424.564055 E-mail: sipa@sipaitalia.it - E-mail: ordini@sipaitalia.it - Web: www.sipaitalia.it

MADE IN ITALY

TECNOLOGIC 3®: Innovation and new markets TECNOLOGIC 3® is a key Italian player within the manufacturing and applying of adhesive products and sealants – using systems, processes, and technology, designed internally and patented all over the world for the application.

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or over 35 years TECNOLOGIC 3® has developed water-based and non-solvent-based solutions that today are insistently requested by the market. The products produced by the company are also included in the IMDS (International Material Data System); meet the new EC (RoSH) and REACH directives; as well as being fully protected by comprehensive international patents.

In the past two years TECNOLOGIC 3® has dedicated its R&D department to develop new products responding to the market and customers’ needs. With this in mind the company has developed two new solutions: TECNOLOGIC 16®: For protection of threads during painting and welding.

TECNOLOGIC 40®: For regulator screws for soft materials and plastic.

This commitment to new products and technology is also pushing TECNOLOGIC 3® to open new markets and opportunities. In particular, new international clients from Brazil and Taiwan have now adopted TECNOLOGIC 3® products, as have customers from new European countries.

To ensure ongoing efficiency and higher productivity the company has also strongly invested in its machines offering, with new equipment available on the market – with revolutionary quality control and inspection systems.

TECNOLOGIC 3® points out that all products, solutions and application machines are protected by national and international patents. Also the know-how the company has built up over the years provides an important guarantee for the company’s problem solving capabilities, efficiency, and ability to deliver on time.

“We can easily say that TECNOLOGIC 3® is now a real player within the adhesive and sealant market for different industries and the company is looking to a new development phase in external markets – offering a unique water-based product range and technology,” states TECNOLOGIC 3®. “Our participation at Fastener Fair Italy 2022 underlines the company’s new commitment and renewed ambitions for international growth.” www.tecnologic3.it

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Both are water-based solutions in continuity with the company’s will to develop and distribute green products for different industries and will be fully presented to the market during the Fastener Fair Italy exhibition in Milan at the end of November.

New generation of Marposs devices Marposs Group has developed a new generation of devices that can meet the demand for process data and interfaces to higher level systems, such as ERP or MES, giving customers further options for analysing their process data.

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arposs has worked closely with the fastener sector for several years and is able to provide a variety of quality and process control solutions. “Our focus in development is on the digitalisation of the forming process,” reports Joachim Krüger, head of sales forming division at Marposs Monitoring Solutions GmbH. “This data should be made easily accessible and can be evaluated and analysed with suitable tools.”

Marposs has been focused on digitalisation for a number of years, with its customers now accustomed to using tools to analyse their process data and thus improve the quality and stability of their production. “Through this analysis possibility, long-term examinations can be made and conclusions can be drawn about tool wear,” points out Joachim. “The exchange of data via interfaces such as MQTT and OPCUA is also increasingly requested by customers and machine manufacturers. Through our Brankamp monitoring units we are able to offer the appropriate solutions as standard in this area.”

Despite the Covid-19 pandemic Marposs’ fastener customers have still been investing in new machines and monitoring equipment. “The topic of networking and data exchange is currently at the forefront of many producers’ minds and we are in demand as a central interface to other systems,” mentions Joachim. “With most of our customers we maintain a partnership relationship over many years. This helps us to get the feedback we need for new developments, directly, because we are in constant exchange.

By doing this we can provide our customers with the best possible monitoring at the machine and evaluation of the data through further digitalisation solutions and MES software.” www.marposs.com

MONITORING SOLUTIONS

FOR SMART FORMING

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SET UP AIDE BIG DATA ANALYSIS

PRODUCTIVITY INCREASE TOOL PROTECTION

PROCESS OPTIMISATION

MACHINE PROTECTION

QUALITY CONTROL

MADE IN ITALY

Viteria Fusani – a family affair Since 1955 Viteria Fusani Srl has been a family run business, with the company now into its third generation. Here Sales and Marketing Manager Isabella Fusani gives an insight into how being a family company has helped it take opportunities within the challenging market.

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fter the success of participating at the 2018 edition of Fastener Fair Italy we were also planning on participating at the 2020 event. However, as we all know, due to the Covid-19 pandemic the fair was cancelled and only this year is it finally reopening its doors to its visitors. We do not have our own stand for the 2022 show because we wanted to prepare ourselves in the best possible way and present all the innovations implemented in these two years at the next Fastener Fair Italy. Instead, we decided to use Fastener + Fixing Magazine to make our voice heard.

Since 1955 we have been producing custom made screws from M1.6 to M8 metric, both self-forming and self-tapping in a diameter range from 1.6mm to 8mm – all available in large quantities in order to feed the production chains of our customers’ manufacturing industries.

We are very proud to be a family run business and believe it is a distinct advantage because we truly believe in what we do. We are heavily involved in the day-to-day running of the company, as well as the management of the B2B relationships with our Italian and foreign

t Excellent produc Excellent service Excellent care

customers, which has proved to be very beneficial when facing the challenges of the last two years. The beginning of 2020 was really positive, with many projects starting with our customers and with various companies – with which we had developed interesting offers.

Already between the end of 2019 and the beginning of 2020, the order book was growing and with very encouraging data.

The real ‘cold shower’ was the announcement of the first national lockdown in early March 2020 with the fear (humanly speaking) of not knowing how we would get out of the Covid-19 pandemic. We stopped the plants and for the first time experienced the surreal atmosphere of silence in the plant – those who have visited a cold forging plant can understand how the absence of noise can be a truly unusual thing.

We were stopped for two weeks at production level but kept constant contact with customers and suppliers by taking advantage of ‘smart working’. This allowed us to be available to immediately resume production to serve customers in the essential categories and so, little by little, we reworked a budget in-line with the situation.

The end of 2020, albeit subdued, finished positively and was a good opportunity to continue, admittedly slowly, the development of new projects with Italian and foreign customers; which we have since seen fully develop during 2021 and 2022. We also promptly helped customers who were not receiving supplies from the Asian markets and needed emergency supplies that we were able to provide in record time.

Whilst 2020 is to be forgotten for so many ugly aspects, we did obtain for the first time the IATF 16949 certification, which opens up the automotive sector and this was a source of pride for us. It is also not the only positive note of the last two years because we have also made several investments to improve the efficiency of our plants; expand our range and production capacity; and to achieve the

objective of Industry 4.0 with the interconnection of all our processes. These investments included replacing and/or adding machinery such as a screw and washer assembly machine in plastic materials, a printing machine, an optical sorter, a weighing system, an ultrasonic washing machine and a new water purifier. That’s not all, many improvement activities have been carried out on our workflows in order to guarantee our customers consistent punctual deliveries – even in the most difficult moments on the market.

For example, among the many problems due to the pandemic period, one that has strongly impacted our sector was the scarce availability of raw materials. Thanks to our procurement policy and the reliability of our suppliers, we have never had work interruptions and this has allowed us to constantly serve our customers even in 2021 and all the way up to the first quarter of 2022 – with a peak increase of approximately 52% of parts ordered. Extra work shifts were also needed to satisfy a request of this magnitude, but the effort of our entire team allowed us to always respond positively to our customers.

Then with the beginning of the Russian-Ukrainian war, the situation became complicated again, This time due to the occurrence of the insane and speculative increases in energy and gas prices that brought everyone to their knees, forcing them to revise costs and prices. It is difficult to make predictions at a time when there is no economic stability. However, we are ready to defend the excellence and quality of the ‘Made in Italy’ concept in which, despite the many obstacles in our country, we have always believed in and which has led us to continue to invest in innovation. www.viteriafusani.it

Advanced testing machinery CERMAC is an Italian manufacturer focused on the production of advanced material testing machines for tensile, impact, creep and stress testing on a variety of materials, including fasteners.

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stablished in 1983 as Sider Metro Test, CERMAC was initially set-up to satisfy the requests for maintenance, calibration and overhaul of laboratory test equipment – predominately tensile machines, as well as pendulum and hardness testers.

By 2005 the company had positioned itself as a reliable supplier and consultant when it came to the technical capabilities of manufacturing components and spare parts for upgrades – even of very dated equipment. The next step came in 2008 when CERMAC decided to transform and specialise in the production and sale of its own equipment – in order to satisfy a constantly expanding market. “To do this our already equipped workshop was further strengthened through a series of important investments – so that we could carry out the production and assembly directly in our own factory,” explains Cesare Certini, owner of CERMAC Srl. In 2012 the range of machines and equipment available from CERMAC was increased to include electromechanical and hydraulic machines for tensile tests, as well as those for dynamic stress – from Charpy pendulums to tube markers. The range of accessories was also extended, such as mechanical and electronic strain gauges for tests on smooth and ribbed rods, as well as systems for hot tests and sets for tests on bolts.

To add to this, in 2014 the CERMAC Testing System and related software was introduced, which was developed internally for the control and automatic processing of tests. “This testing system is still in use today and is subject to continuous updates to guarantee it is always in step with the most recent national and international testing standards,” points out Cesare. “We are a relatively small

company, but we can provide a complete service to every one of our customers. Not only are we able to manufacture the machinery and instrumentation, and software, we also take care of the installation, training and service assistance, even remotely.”

Cesare adds: “We have always aimed for the very highest quality, supplying customised and simplified solutions that are competitive and have a good reputation within the market – thanks to their quality and Italian style.”

This approach has benefited the company and its customers when it comes to the challenges of the last two years. “Without doubt ‘resilence’ is one of our main strengths at CERMAC,” states Cesare. “This has enabled us to manage the current market situation and take advantage of government economic initiatives to incentivise technological innovation; invest in research and in new sectors; reduce the dependence on semi-finished products of foreign production; as well as invest in human resources and technical knowledge.”

This means that CERMAC is well placed to take advantage of upcoming opportunities, such as the anti-dumping duties imposed by the EU, which the company believes will see a large part of fastener production divert back to within the EU market. “We see this as an advantage for us, as we can support customers with the testing machinery they need,” highlights Cesare.

Another area the company has been working on is Industry 4.0. “The Italian government’s Transition Plan 4.0 has introduced a series of measures to incentivise investments,” explains Cesare.

“That is why, since 2020, we have looked to promote these benefits to customers when it comes to our new generation machinery.” www.cermacsrl.com

WWW.FASTENERANDFIXING.COM

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MADE IN ITALY

Mecavit to boost services Italian manufacturer Mecavit is on the verge of enhancing its services and increasing its production through a focused investment strategy, which will be introduced in-line with how the market develops.

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ith the investment budget already approved, Mecavit is planning to expand its premises and will ensure higher specialised human resources, IT systems and an Industry 4.0 mentality are all included during the implementation process. “This is not just a ‘simple’ development,” explains Giuseppe Verdoliva, sales director at Mecavit Srl. “Our goal and ambition is for the investment to transform our position in the market and to enable us to take steps forward in actively exploring opportunities and the advantages offered by fastening innovation technology to manufacture tech elements.”

Giuseppe continues: “We are looking to reduce the ‘superfluous’ to zero and restore durability to the final product. We also want to not only catch-up with the new fastening trends and industrial fastener applications, but go beyond them and look, and propose, new horizons for the metallurgical and composite industries.”

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Ongoing support and service

This commitment to service and its customers has always been a fundamental factor for Mecavit, which was underlined post pandemic. “Throughout the last two years we have concentrated on increasing customers’ perception, awareness and ability to evaluate our operations – especially in regards to optimisation, efficiencies and effectiveness,” states Giuseppe. “By doing this we can build a strong partnership and ensure our production can master the complexity of our customers’ demands.”

He adds: “We firmly believe that a customer fully understanding our business plays a central role in their decision making process, as well as being a fundamental pillar in our ability to increase not only the quality of our service, but also to sensibly decrease all those non-value-added activities. By doing this it benefits our overall performance and process improvement.”

Localisation of products

We believe this ‘localisation’ trend within Europe will continue...”

Throughout this period, the close relationship Mecavit has with its customers has enabled it to communicate any potential issues – with global supply chain disruptions still a major challenge. “We witnessed a scenario where there were explosives lead times, unreliable raw materials supply, as well as extreme price volatility – as a result of the supply chain’s infrastructure fragility,” reports Donato Capodiferro, techniocal sales specialist at Mecavit. “This pushed OEMs to rethink and develop new solutions, including operating closer with European suppliers. For instance, many fasteners that for years have been ‘exclusively’ localised in Asia are coming back into Europe and into our manufacturing portfolio. We believe this ‘localisation’ trend within Europe will continue to happen and will create new opportunities.”

Another factor that has provided an opportunity for Mecavit has been the anti-dumping duties that were announced by the EU on certain fasteners from China. “The anti-dumping duties have given

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us the opportunity to restore a fair market price of our manufactured products and increase our overall product portfolio, giving us the opportunity to successfully work closer with customers,” reports Donato. “The benefits of customers actively engaging with us, and the positive energy of closer collaboration, has helped to increased mutual trust that delivers, in our case, efficiency in all fields.”

Giuseppe concludes: “Being a proud Italian manufacturer means that we are able to state our products are ‘Made in Italy’, which is a brand that’s reputation has grown thanks to passionate folks and entrepreneurs that are commited and live for their product. That is why at Mecavit we say we export not only the goods but a little bit of us with every order. As Italians we build personal-professional relationships first and work around the product after. The key in all this is communication, which also plays a major role in our culture. That is why we are able to deliver first class quality products, combined with emotions and support, that benefits long-term business relationships”. www.mecavit.it

High technology thread rolling solutions In today’s manufacturing, one of the main challenges companies face is skilled operators.

SMART Machinery believes its equipment helps to address this issue thanks to the machines being easy to learn and operate – even for a beginner.

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leading provider of high technology thread rolling solutions, SMART Machinery produces flat die thread rollers from small to large diameter sizes, rotary (planetary) threaders and pointers. All the machines utilise direct drive gearless technology along with precision linear motors – supplying the latest in technology and efficiency.

SMART’s patented industry use of direct drive – a high torque motor that drives the thread rollers main slide, in turn, providing high efficiency energy saving advantages, full torque at set-up, as well as nearly eliminating normal mechanical maintenance – is a key advantage of the solutions it can provide.

Other features include optional adjustable stroke technology – allowing for unprecedented flexibility between different die configurations on the same machine; quick changeover between jobs with optional auto set-up offering complete job storage – with ease of repeatability and minimal downtime; as well as the exclusive die match automatic, in conjunction with SK Process Monitor, providing ‘real time’ data to the SMART thread roller, as well as signalling automatic adjustment of the die match set-up without any operator intervention or machine downtime. This is in addition to the auto set-up feature where linear motors adjust the crank position to match the dies.

SMART Machinery Srl can also provide a servo linear motor introduction drive system, which ensures precise placement of the blank into the die area. The unit adjusts to the part diameter and controls how much torque is utilised as the blank is pushed into the dies and optimises movement of the introduction for the best speed output.

Based in Tortona, Italy, SMART Machinery is owned by National Machinery LLC and is able to provide a global service thanks to National Machinery’s network of customer support. “The combination of high technology from SMART Machinery, and local service by National Machinery, is the combination that helps manufacturers make good parts with new operators. SMART is a great solution for any thread rolling needs,” states the company. www.smartmachinery.com

Building the future together

The Berardi Group is a living heritage, an evolving process which we develop day by day, to shape a better future.

Our know-how, innovative spirit, and attention for human relationships combine to create a business model that meets modern needs, without forgetting where it all began.

Our wide assortment and logistics services are our best products!

www.gberardi.com

30 November - 1 December 2022 Fiera Milano City - Italy

STAND 430

MADE IN ITALY

Atlantic Man marks 40th anniversary This year Atlantic Man Srl celebrates its 40th anniversary as an Italian manufacturer of heavy-duty clamps and fastening solutions – building a reputation for high-quality products at competitive prices.

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o mark this milestone, Atlantic Man is looking to set new targets and goals in order to consolidate its position in an increasingly dynamic and rapidly changing market. “The fact we started as a small artisan workshop and have become an internationally recognised business gives us enormous satisfaction and, at the same time, obliges us with a great sense of responsibility towards what our future developments will be,” comments Atlantic Man. “The last few years have been particularly complicated to manage and shows us how quickly markets can change. On an emotional level the conflict in Ukraine was certainly the event that had the greatest impact; on the more strictly economic side the surge in raw material costs, the scarcity of materials, and the price of energy, were the most difficult challenges to face. However, we were able to cope with these difficulties thanks to the collaboration and availability of our main suppliers; through significant investments in our stocks; and with the acquisition of a new warehouse.”

Through the steps it has taken Atlantic Man has been able to not only maintain but grow its presence in the hose clamp market over the last two years – with an expected growth in turnover of around 58% for the end of 2022, when compared with the data for 2019. “We are very happy with how we have progressed, but we do expect this

1982•2022

114 last quarter to confirm a contraction in demand, especially at the international level. This is a natural consequence of the high stock levels at customers – the result of large procurement policies in recent years, and of the slowdown in some specific sectors,” reports the company. “The biggest unknown is certainly linked to expensive energy and how our government and Europe will be able to join forces.

At Atlantic Man we invested in a photovoltaic system in 2015, which has allowed us to meet about 60% of our energy needs – with the added advantage of it being green energy.”

In recent years Atlantic Man has also embarked on increasing its production efficiency through a five year plan – aimed at introducing new production lines, which will add to, and in some cases replace, the current ones. “The production capacity will increase 50% by the end of 2023 when compared to today and the developments of this phase will lead to the complete automation of the entire process, with a relative reduction in transformation costs – all from a Industry 4.0 perspective of integrated management of the entire supply chain,” explains Atlantic Man. Through the investments it has already made, as well as its plans to obtain future targets and goals, Atlantic Man is looking forward with confidence. “Our customers are for the most part wholesalers or distributors in the sector, with whom we have established long-term collaborations, and whom we respect in the real markets of competence. As a business we are very satisfied with how we have managed the challenges of recent years and we look towards the future with optimism.” clamps.atlanticgroup.it

NEW • T10-HC Automatic Tapping Machine With Four Spindles www.hsaspe.com

HS ASPE will display the new tapping machine model T10-HC

Come to see the demo at the Wire show

Watch the T10-HC video

The T10-HC Automatic Tapping Machine is equipped with n.4 reversible spindles mechanically driven by lead screws with an output rate up to 200 pieces/minute.

Internal threads, within the range M2 to M10, can be executed using standard taps in both technologies, cutting and forming.

Modularity is at the core of the machine with the double spindles which is enabling two autonomous working areas.

Flexibility is maximized with the possibility to work two geometrically different parts in completely independent processes.

NEW

Precision in operation is achieved using a structurally rigid design of frame, along with the engineered and innovative design of the positioning/clamping devices.

Orthogonality and concentricity in conjunction with other dimensional/geometrical features, are lifetime guaranteed.

Ask for more information to : info@hsautomazioni.it HS Automazioni s.r.l.

Via San Maurizio 184/17 • 10073 CIRIE’ (TO) • ITALY Ph. +39 011 9221825 • info@hsautomazioni.it

EXHIBITIONS

PREVIEWS AND REPORTS FROM INTERNATIONAL TRADE FAIRS

Seminar programme announced for Fastener Fair Italy In less than a month Fastener Fair Italy 2022 will open its doors from 30th November – 1st December 2022 and feature a programme of seminars, workshops and exhibitor presentations, which will enhance the visitor experience – with relevant discussions aimed at the entire industrial supply chain.

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rganised by Mack-Brooks Exhibitions – Part of RX, the event organiser – and in collaboration with partners, the seminars will be open to both exhibitors and visitors. On its first day – 30 th November – the programme includes a conference by ECAP – European Consortium of Anchors Producers titled ‘Revision of the Construction Products Regulation, based on the Commission proposal presented in March 2022’.

As well as this, there will be a workshop organised by AIFM – The Italian Association of Metal Finishing, focusing on innovations regarding surface coatings of fastening systems titled ‘Finishes and surface treatments for fastening elements: Trends and perspectives’ on 1 st December.

Taking place in Hall 3 at Fiera Milano City, Milan, Italy, national and international producers and distributors will once again be able to showcase their products and services, as well as present the latest innovations and technological advancement to visitors at Fastener Fair Italy. The show offers a meeting point for market professionals to share new trends, launch new products, encourage corporate marketing activities, and personally meet customers, suppliers and business partners, all gathered under the same roof in one of the major European industrial economies. The previous edition in 2018 was attended by a total of 2,700 visitors, including managers, engineers and buyers.

To date, there are around 200 exhibitors from 16 countries representing the sector, including Ambrovit SpA, Berardi Bullonerie Srl, Bonfatti Filettature Srl, Bontempi Vibo SpA, Bralo Italia, Carlo Salvi SpA, CHAVESBAO (CHAVES BILBAO S.A.), Di Costa Guiseppe Srl, Dimac Srl, Fastbolt Schraubengroßhandels GmbH, Lederer GmbH, MEVI ITALIA Srl, Piloni Srl, SOM FASTENERS, The-ma SpA, VIPA SpA, VISION Srl, VITAL SpA, and Zincoplating Srl. “The strong exhibitor participation at Fastener Fair Italy 2022 is a positive signal indicating an industry’s need to return to in person events to facilitate business networking and trade and enable new sales opportunities,” comments Liljana Goszdziewski, portfolio director for the European Fastener Fairs. “We can safely say that there is a keen interest in the event among the sector’s key players, and we look forward to welcoming exhibitors, visitors and partners to Fastener Fair Italy 2022.” www.fastenerfairitaly.com

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FASTENER FAIR ITALY PREVIEW EXHIBITOR LIST COMPANY NAME A.I.F.M. - ASSOCIAZIONE ITALIANA FINITURE DEI METALLI ABC SISTEM ACHILLES SEIBERT GMBH AFIM SRL AICHELIN GES.M.B.H. AMBROVIT SPA ANHUI NINGGUO DONGBO FASTENER CO LTD ANNIBALE VITERIE SPA ARSER SRL ATLANTIC MAN SRL BENERI SPA BERARDI BULLONERIE BERDAN CIVATA SOMUN MAK. YED. PARCA IML SAN VE LA BEYDEMİR SAC PROFIL SAN VE TİC A.Ş BIRLIK BAGLANTI ELEMANLARI SAN VE TIC LTD STI BONFATTI FILETTATURE SRL BONOTTO PACKAGING BONTEMPI VIBO SPA BONVINI ELETTROGALVANICA SRL BRALO ITALIA BULLONERIA USORINI SRL BULL-VIT SRL BZ VIBRATORI SNC CANALI SRL CAPITAL BOLTS AND HARDWARES CARBODIES SAS DI ANGELO E PAOLO REDAELLI & C CARLO SALVI SPA CARUTTI SRL CEIA SPA ÇETIN CIVATA SAN VE TIC A.Ş CHANDAN STEEL LTD CHAVESBAO (CHAVES BILBAO S.A) CHITE ENTERPRISES CO LTD CIMA SPA COLOMBO GIOVANNI E FIGLI SRL COMETO SRL CORBETTA ERMANNO SRL D.F. EDIZIONI SRL DATAGEST SRL DEEPAK FASTENERS LIMITED DELL'ERA ERMANNO E FIGLIO SRL DFV AUTOMAZIONI DI COSTA GIUSEPPE SRL DIMAC SRL DR-ING MAX SCHLÖTTER GMBH & CO KG E.CO SRL E.W.MENN GMBH & CO KG ECOZINC SRL EFP INDUSTRIE EMEK PERCIN VE END. BAGL / EMEK FASTENERS CO EUROFIX POLSKA EUROFIX SRL FASTENING SYSTEMS EUROPRESSVIT SRL EUROSPECIAL SRL EZEL CIVATA SANAYI VE TICARET A.Ş F.L.M.D F.R.L. SRL FACCHI FRANCO & C SNC FAR Srl FASTBOLT SCHRAUBENGROSSHANDELS GMBH FASTDEV SRL FASTENER + FIXING MAGAZINE FASTER SRL FESTON S.N.C DI FESTI GIUSEPPE & C

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COMPANY NAME FIXI SRL FONTEC SCREWS CO LTD FOSHAN CITY GUANGQINGCHANG METAL PLASTIC CO LTD FRIGERIO ETTORE SPA GANDINI FASTENERS SRL GEL DI GIUSSANI . & L S.N.C GIACOMO MARTINELLI SRL GIUSSANI RAPID SRL GROWERMETAL SPA HAIYAN BROTHER UNITED FASTENER HEROSLAM S.A.L IMANPACK PACKAGING & ECO SOLUTION SPA INDEX A PERFECT FIXING INDUSTRIAL RECENSE S.L INOVAN GMBH & CO KG INOX VITI DI CATTINORI BRUNO & C S.N.C INOXDADI SRL INOXMARE SRL INTERNATIONAL INDUSTRIAL SPRINGS ISB BAGLANTI ELEMANLARI SAN TIC LTD STI JIAXING CHINAFAR STANDARD PARTS CO LTD JOKER INDUSTRIAL CO., LTD. KALELILER BAGLANTI ELEMANLA RI LTD. STI KALOTI / COLDMATIC FORGE (INDIA) KEMIA SRL KIT PACK SRL KONAK CIVATA SAN VE TIC LTD STI KOVA FASTENERS PVT LTD LEDERER GMBH LM INDUSTRY SRL MARER SRL MARPOSS ITALIA SPA MARVIT SRL MAYZEN AUTOMATIVE MC BOLT SRL MEAPFORNI SRL MECAVIT SRL MECCANICHE MORANDI SRL METALLURGICA LOCATELLI SPA MEVI ITALIA SRL MI.ME.AF. SPA MICROMETAL SRL MILANI ENRICO SRL MINSAVIT SRL MITOS SRL MITTER FASTENERS MOLLIFICIO LUIGI CODEGA SRL NEXO INDUSTRIES PVT LTD NINGBO TRANSHOW FASTENER CO LTD NINGBO ZHISHANG SPECIAL FASTENER CO,.LTD NISSEI CO LTD NORD-LOCK SRL SOCIO UNICO NUOVA RIVETTERIA BOLOGNESE SRL OFFICINA MECCANICA PISCETTA SRL OFFICINE RIVA SPA OK TECH CO LTD OMEGA CIVATA SAN TIC A.S ORT ITALIA SINCE 1964 SRL P SYSTEMS SRL P.J.I. NV PANOZZO SRL PGB-EUROPE & PGB-POLSKA PILONI SRL PRESSVIT SRL

FASTENER + FIXING MAGAZINE ≡ ISSUE 138: NOVEMBER 2022

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COMPANY NAME PRIMA ZANETTI SRL PROFIROLL TECHNOLOGIES GMBH PUBLITEC S.R.L R+FK SCHULTE KG RAACO GERMANY HANDELS GMBH RAPIER AUTOMOTIVE RAPITECH SRL REGG INSPECTION SRL RGP BALLS SRL RM DISTRIBUZIONE INDUSTRIALE SRL ROMEO COBALCHINI SRL ROTOR CLIP S.R.O. RP METALFASTENERS SRL SABE FORNI SRL SALCA SRL SARIV SRL SCELL-IT SCHWER + KOPKA GMBH SELECTRON ELEKTROKIMYA SAN. VE TIC. LTD. STI. SERTEL VIDA METAL A.Ş SHANGHAI ANZI INDUSTRIAL CO. LTD SHANGRAO CITY YIWEN FASTENER CO LIMITED SILGA SPA SIMPLEX ENGINEERING COMPANY SKAKO VIBRATION SOM FASTENERS SP DI PIOVAN SILVANO SAS & C SPEED BOLT SRL STATE ENTERPRISES STREICHER MASCHINENBAU GMBH STRUBL GMBH & CO KG TANCO CONSULTING AND TRADING JSC TARUN ENTERPRISES TECMET 2000 TECNOLOGIC 3 TEMSA TEST GMBH TEUDELOFF GMBH & CO KG THE MAGNI GROUP INC THE-MA SPA UGC UGUR GÜRBÜZ CIVATA SINAYI VE TICARET LIMITED S UT.P.F. SRL VILUX VITERIE SPA VIPA SPA VIS VIDASAN VIDA SAN VE TIC LTD ŞTI VISION ENGINEERING LTD. ITALY VISION SRL VITAL SPA VITERIA SMEL SRL VITI SRL VPACK SRL WAFIOS UMFORMTECHNIK GMBH WDI WESTFÄLISCHE DRAHTINDUSTRIE GMBH WEIGHPACK INTERNATIONAL – PACKAGING SOLUTIONS WENZHOU JINSHENG FASTENER CO LTD YUYAO ALFIRSTE HARDWARE CO LTD ZDI SUPPLIES (HAIYAN) CO LTD ZHEJIANG XINCHUN FASTENING PIECE CO LTD ZINCATURA DI COSTA SRL ZINCOPLATING SRL ZITAC SRL UNIPERSONALE – GIAMBARINI GROUP

STAND 760 1363 1301 213 257 453 1446 1134 150 250 1154 1360 1454 1253 1055 1124 934 1340 1020 434 510 212 335 251 1350 833 1240 450 1030 1047 410 1639 158 503 1310 138 1335 130 461 1040 230 553 555 330 260 1260 1426 340 830 1536 360 1130 660 1130 210 321 120 214 1726 1330 1214

* All information correct at the time of press

Features Calendar 2023 Fastener + Fixing Magazine’s dedicated features take an in-depth look at key topics, products, and applications within important industry sectors.

ISSUE 139: JANUARY 2023

ISSUE 140: MARCH 2023

SPECIAL FEATURE:

FASTENER FAIR GLOBAL SHOW ISSUE

Fastener Fair Global preview Route to Fastener Innovation 2023 EXHIBITION REPORT CONSTRUCTION FIXINGS MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY FASTENER TESTING MANAGEMENT + SYSTEMS APPLICATION TECHNOLOGY PRODUCTS + TOOLS

Fastener Fair Italy Chemical anchors + resins Steel + alloy wire rod bar Metallurgical testing Supply chain management

Stainless steel fasteners

Sustainability

FASTENER TESTING MANAGEMENT + SYSTEMS APPLICATION TECHNOLOGY PRODUCTS + TOOLS

CONSTRUCTION FIXINGS

Structural steel + cladding fasteners

MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY

Heading + forging

FASTENER TESTING

Mechanical testing

MANAGEMENT + SYSTEMS APPLICATION TECHNOLOGY PRODUCTS + TOOLS

Manufacturing software

EXHIBITION REPORTS CONSTRUCTION FIXINGS

Heavy-duty anchors

MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY

Threading, machining + secondary operations

FASTENER TESTING MANAGEMENT + SYSTEMS APPLICATION TECHNOLOGY

Electrical + Electronics Rivets + rivet nuts

Fastener Fair Global / BAU / CONTROL / Fastener Fair USA

Hardness testing Business intelligence Marine Security screws

PRODUCTS + TOOLS

Battery powered installation tools

Drivers, screwdrivers + drive bits

Torque wrenches

SPECIAL FEATURE:

MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY

BAU / Fastener Fair USA / CONTROL

Aerospace

ISSUE 142: JULY 2023

CONSTRUCTION FIXINGS

EXHIBITION PREVIEWS

ISSUE 141: MAY 2023

ISSUE 143: SEPTEMBER 2023

ISSUE 144: NOVEMBER 2023

SPECIAL FEATURE:

SPECIAL FEATURE:

Made in Eastern Europe

Light-duty fixings

CONSTRUCTION FIXINGS

Tools, dies + punches

MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY

Performance + application testing Inventory + warehouse management Automotive Nuts, washers + locking systems Sockets + wrenches

FASTENER TESTING MANAGEMENT + SYSTEMS APPLICATION TECHNOLOGY PRODUCTS + TOOLS

Made in Germany

ETAs

CONSTRUCTION FIXINGS

Sealants + adhesives

Coatings, lubrication + locking technologies

MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY

Inspection + packing

FASTENER TESTING

Dimensional testing

Corrosion + coating thickness testing

Mobile technology Rail Collated fasteners, nailers, staplers + systems

MANAGEMENT + SYSTEMS APPLICATION TECHNOLOGY PRODUCTS + TOOLS

Storage systems + material handling Renewable energy Tapes + adhesives Drill + drill bits

For more information about your marketing opportunities please visit www.fastenerandfixing.com, email sales@verulammedia.com or phone +44 (0)1727 743 882

FASTENER FAIR ITALY PREVIEW

Celebrating 80 years in threading solutions Heroslam will be celebrating 80 years at the forefront in the designing and manufacturing of thread rolling tools for the production of fasteners at this year’s Fastener Fair Italy (Milano).

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eroslam manufactures a wide range of thread rolling tools including flat, cylindrical and planetary dies, and produces all its dies from beginning to end at its own facilities, including heat treatment and coatings, giving the tools an extra quality and guarantee.

Thanks to an extensive background in the field, the company is able to offer customers a professional and personalised technical and commercial assistance, with tailor-made and customised thread rolling solutions.

“We establish long-term business relationships with our customers, becoming their partners in thread rolling solutions to help them optimise their threading processes. Our motto ‘Long Life Thread Rolling Tools’ perfectly describes the most important foundations of our project – the exceptional quality and durability of the tools we supply to hundreds of fastener producers around the world,” explains Heroslam SAL. “The most prestigious fastener and threaded parts producers rely on Heroslam as their main thread rolling tools provider and we look forward to meeting everyone on our stand in Milan.”

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Automotive components in Milan Exhibiting at this year’s Fastener Fair Italy, E.CO Srl will be showcasing its patented storage systems, as well as its new catalogue with several new articles and kits made up of faster moving parts.

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ith more than 60 years experience in the production of small parts, as well as a continuous development through environmentally friendly solutions, E.CO offers a product catalogue featuring approximately 3,000 items, which it is constantly updating.

“Nowadays we are one of the leaders in the production and distribution of fasteners mainly for the automotive industry,” explains E.CO. “Quality is never an accident and it is a key point for us. We design, produce and package high-quality products according to the specific needs of our customers.”

With eight injection moulding machines and an ISO 9001:2015 certification, the company also produces high-quality number plate holders, storage systems, repair kits and bumper brackets.

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‘Our performance, your advantage’ Part of the Hatebur Group, Carlo Salvi will be presenting its ‘our performance, your advantage’ promise to every customer throughout Fastener Fair Italy, to ensure the company continues to offer advantages, leadership, competitiveness and excellence to fulfil every expectation.

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nown for the design and production of cold and semi hot wire forming machines, Carlo Salvi will be exhibiting its products and services to key industry professionals including engineers, buyers, retailers and dealers, looking for fastening manufacturing technologies.

“Customers around the world in a variety of industries including the automotive, aerospace and electronic sectors can attest to the high-quality of our products,” proudly states Carlo Salvi SpA. “Fastener Fair Italy will provide an excellent opportunity for us to make new contacts and build new business relationships with manufacturers, wholesalers, dealers, end users and the whole fastener industry.”

“We are proud to offer a wide range of ‘Made in Italy’ products that are already well known within the industry. Exhibiting at the show will also enable us to strengthen our current partnerships and we’re looking forward to being back together again face-to-face.” www.carlosalvi.com

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Fasteners for distributors

Since its foundation in 1982 Fastbolt has been importing industrial fasteners on a large-scale and selling them to European distributors exclusively as a range specialist. This clear and reliable positioning enables a close and trusted relationship with all its customers.

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ith warehouse and distribution locations in Germany, UK and Portugal, as well as a trade office and quality laboratory in China, Fastbolt ensures close proximity to its customers and a permanent presence in the ever changing and growing Asian supply markets. The company’s efficient and flexible material flow ensures product delivery in standardised and harmonised FB packaging to customers all over Europe with the three warehouses supplying product packed in ‘FB boxes’. As well as this, customers’ individual boxes and labels can also be provided on request supported by in-house packaging lines.

To further aid its customers, Fastbolt’s in-house developed eCommerce solution FBonline enables customers to check ‘real time’ stock availability, as well as customer individual and quantity-based dynamic prices. Added to a wide range of additional information and services, as well as technical support, FBonline provides a multilingual, including Italian, user interface enabling customers to enquire digitally, negotiate prices directly with the system, place orders online, keep track of order statuses and deliveries and view packing lists, delivery notes and invoices at any time.

“After more than three years without exhibitions in general and Fastener Fairs, we are ready to get together again. We look forward to welcoming everyone to our booth in Milano,” comments Fastbolt Schraubengroßhandels GmbH. www.fastbolt.com

BRALO

EXPERTS IN FASTENING SOLUTIONS HIGH RESISTANCE FIXING RIVETS SOLUTIONS FOR ALL THE SECTORS CUSTOMISED SPECIAL PARTS

STAND 1230

HALL 1

STAND 822

SPAIN - FRANCE - GERMANY UNITED KINGDOM - ITALY - PORTUGAL -TURKEY CHINA - MEXICO - CZECH REPUBLIC

PROFESSIONAL RIVETING TOOLS

FASTENER FAIR ITALY PREVIEW

SMART® solutions in Italy Under its brand name SMART® pgb-Polska will be showcasing the high-quality thermo SMART® insulation plugs and SMART® S-TB7 through bolts with ETA approval option 7 at this year’s Fastener Fair Italy.

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he high-quality thermo SMART® insulation plugs are the perfect combination of an expansion plug and expansion nail in one handy product. The plastic insulating plug is ideal for use in hollow and solid building materials. The plugs are approved for use in concrete – usage category A; solid masonry – usage category B; hollow/perforated bricks – usage category C; lightweight concrete – usage category D; as well as aerated concrete – usage category E. Also on display, the SMART® S-TB7 through bolts with ETA approval option 7 are a flexible solution for fastening in non-cracked concrete surfaces under medium to heavy loads. Both products produced by pgb-Polska feature a unified certification and a unified packaging system, which greatly benefits the customer base. pgb-Polska specialises in manufacturing quality nylon anchors, as well as steel and chemical anchors.

The SMART® range includes standard wall plugs, as well as heavy-duty anchors with seismic assessment.

“We continuously monitor the building industry and improve and develop our products to provide better and stronger solutions. With over 8,000 articles in our range, we are able to provide fixing solutions and deliver them in any size of package, according to customers’ demands,” proudly states pgb-Polska. www.pgb-international.com

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Vibo introduces new hot forging department

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Bontempi Vibo SpA has introduced a new hot forging department at its Rodengo Saiano, Italy site, in order to produce special shapes and profiles that are more articulated and complex than ever before.

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long with a new hot forging technique and highly qualified staff, Vibo now boasts considerable levels of robotics and automation, enabling further flexibility with quick product changes and shorter delivery times. The new investment has also enabled Vibo to expand its product range with a further assortment of stud bolts and screws up to 1,000mm and diameters up to and including M64.

The combination of technical expertise and the new forging line allows Vibo’s specialised team to take care of the entire production process from initial costing to complete development, whilst maintaining consistently high-levels of quality and efficiency that the company has become renowned for.

Additional investments are planned next year for the new hot forging department, aimed at further improving the production process which will significantly reduce lead times and further increase the quality of the final product. www.vibo.com

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WE BREATHE FASTENERS ®

Manufacturer & Distributor Your partner for all fasteners and fixings!

Fasteners and Fixings. From small screws to ETA approved construction

bolts.

From

nylon

plugs

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seismic

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anchors. These are the visible or invisible connections that keep building projects together. They are indispensable links.

For pgb-Europe and pgb-Polska it is our daily aim to provide our customers with quality products and a matching service. We have been an established supplier and manufacturer of fasteners and fixings for more than 60 years.

Let’s talk soon at the Fastener Fair Italy!

More information: www.pgb-international.com

FASTENER FAIR ITALY PREVIEW

Lederer receives top sustainability award After placing great importance on its sustainability requirements, Lederer has received a silver medal from EcoVadis, provider of sustainability rankings, placing the fastener company in the top 4% of metal and plastic good wholesalers assessed by EcoVadis.

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cting sustainably as a company has been a matter of course for Lederer for many years. Lederer GmbH is a major buyer of electrical energy and switched to a provider of pure, certified green electricity two years ago. In addition, the conversion of vehicles to hybrid and electric drives began last year. The company’s own charging stations supply the vehicle fleet exclusively with electricity from renewable energies.

As well as all this, 500 trees were recently planted as part of an initial reforestation.

The company is also currently dealing with the topics of energy and resources, with ‘Smart Home’ solutions currently being considered for the offices. In addition, Lederer deals intensively with heat pumps and photovoltaics with a medium and long-term goal to become largely independent of fossil fuels and generate electricity for its own needs.

“We take our responsibility as a company for our impact on society, the environment and the wellbeing of our employees very seriously. As supply chains are becoming more and more complex, there are also increasingly important tasks for shaping our sustainability balance sheet,” comments Dr Volker Lederer, owner and managing director at Lederer. “So far our focus has been on the price, availability and quality of the products, but now ecological, ethical and social aspects are becoming more and more important.”

“In this year’s sustainability assessment, with 64 points, we missed the gold medal by three points and improved by 13%. Our goal for 2023 is to continue to focus even more on ecological aspects and to do even better in the sustainability assessment,” concludes Volker. www.lederer-world.com

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Imanpack brings packaging innovations to Milan Imanpack will be presenting its wide range of weighing, packaging and boxing systems for the hardware and kit industry, including its CMF5 counting modules, during Fastener Fair Italy on 30th November – 1st December.

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manpack’s counting modules are suitable for the counting of screws, nails, rivets and other hardware in a pre-set quantity. The CMF5 module is specific for flat products and features a photoelectric light barrier to count products, a motorised transport belt with different speeds and a container with two adjustments for product selection. Built according to CE regulations, the CMF5 is also easily connectable to conveyors, scales and wrappers.

Imanpack Packaging & Eco Solutions SpA will also showcase the MICROPACK PRO 200P, a rotary flow wrapper suitable for wrapping solid products using heat sealing or polyethylene film, as well as its belt checkweigher which is a microprocessor type weight check module which automatically rejects packages that do not conform with the set required weight. The belt checkweigher is for positioning at the output section of packaging machines.

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Everything from one source With a focus on high-end stamping technology R+FK Schulte GmbH (rfks) offers not only a wide range of DIN/ISO washers, but also a wide production range of special and drawing parts according to customer specifications.

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stablished in 1938, rfks is one of Europe’s leading manufacturers of stamped, embossed and bent parts with a production site in Plettenberg, Germany. As a traditional family-owned business, rfks commits itself to a policy based on trust and reliability, processing more than 30,000 tonnes of flat steel for all material grades annually.

The company is also able to offer a comprehensive service thanks to a large raw material stock, as well as modern packaging lines and logistics centre to supply wholesalers of fasteners,

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the automotive industry and its suppliers, screw and dowel manufacturers, as well as steel construction companies and many more.

“For rfks innovation means to continuously develop and improve production processes. We are always ‘one step ahead’ thanks to our innovative production methods and material combinations and can therefore help to keep production costs low for our customers and partners. We have one clear goal in mind – achieve the highest possible customer satisfaction,” comments rfks. www.rfks.com

Made in Plettenberg, Germany. Guaranteed.

HIT

THE MARK.

High quality washers WE ARE EXH

IBITING

HALL 3 STAND 213

l Exhibition for 3rd Internationa ng Technology Fastener & Fixi 2

202 – 1 December 30 November ity, Milan, Italy Fiera Milano C www.fastener

fairitaly.com

Stamped parts

R+FK SCHULTE KG

Washers Screw locking devices

R+FK Schulte KG | Herscheider Str. 73 | 58840 Plettenberg | Phone +49 (0) 2391 9192-0 | www.rfks.com

FASTENER FAIR ITALY PREVIEW

Investing in new materials

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In order to stay ‘one step ahead’, Inoxdadi is focusing on technological innovation and new materials to satisfy its customers’ ever growing demands.

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ince 1973 Inoxdadi has been an important Italian producer and distributor of nuts, screws, bolts, threaded bar, washers and a selection of other fasteners.

Its range of materials includes stainless steel, brass, aluminium, steel alloys, super alloys, titanium, Inconel, Hastelloy, Nimonic, duplex, Monel 400, as well as super duplex.

These super alloys are excellent raw materials as they have a great resistance to corrosion caused by acid, alkaline, caustic, oxidiser or chlorinated chemical agents, In addition to this, they also have a high mechanical resistance at elevated temperatures, a very good quality and a long-lasting endurance which allows

their usage in a lot of different fields.

The applications are various and include petrochemical processing, marine, aerospace, nuclear reactors, chemical processing, pollution control, industrial furnaces, gas turbine components, hydro-carbon processing equipment, heat exchangers, tunnelling, automotive, medical, as well as the military industry and many others.

“We have searched the market for the best suppliers of special alloys and have invested heavily in new machines to work with these sophisticated and advanced materials,” comments Inoxdadi Srl. “Our intention is to have a certain stock of our

products in every material available every day for our customers.”

With its factory located in Gallignano and warehouse and head office in Barbata, Inoxdadi uses cold forming and turning to produce a range from M02 to M100, as well as a thread rolling department which produces threaded bars and studs from 10mm – 3,000mm, in accordance with international standards DIN/ISO or according to customers’ drawings. The efficiency and reliability of its production processes also helps to ensure the constant quality of its products. www.inoxdadi.com

A new, greener packaging concept raaco Germany Handels GmbH will be introducing PA inserts – a new private label packaging concept – at this year’s Fastener Fair Italy.

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ade of 72% recycled granules, the new inserts come in different sizes with lids and are sturdy, weather resistant, as well as being available in personalised colours. It’s also possible to add a company’s label with logo, product name, as well as barcode to the packaging.

Since 1956 raaco has developed and produced robust and durable storage solutions for the industrial and professional market, with a continuous focus on using recyclable material when developing innovative, intelligent, and long-lasting products. The company also offers a wide range of storage and transport solutions for PA inserts, such as assortment boxes in different sizes, portable units with space for several assortment boxes, as well as an ergonomic and mobile solution in the form of a trolley.

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“raaco storage and transport systems are flexible and can be organised and built according to a customers’ needs,” comments the company. “We are very excited to be introducing the visitors of Fastener Fair Italy to our new and greener concept, which is very easily reorganised and changed if needed.”

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FASTENER FAIR ITALY PREVIEW

Kaleliler invests in new hot forging line With the aim to double its capacity, Kaleliler has added a new hot forging line to its production which controls all parameters, temperature variations and is automatically fed.

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aleliler has also integrated an automation system into the production line that works with the current ERP system to perform data analysis in a healthier way and increase productivity.

As well as this, a hot dip galvanising line with a daily capacity of approximately 40 tonnes was also put into operation. In the fully automatic system, transactions are carried out by robots and all parameters are controlled and recorded. In addition to the coating, the primary surface treatments are done automatically in an environmentally friendly system. Since there is no use of acid, both environmental damage is minimised and the risk of hydrogen fragility, which is a very important issue for Kaleliler’s product range, is prevented.

In high strength preloaded bolt sets, which is the strongest product group of the KLR brand, the coating can be successfully performed at low temperatures in accordance with EN 10684 and Dast 022 standards.

Kaleliler Bağlanti Elemanlari Sti has also recently invested in a torque testing device, which gives the company the capacity to test all the products it manufactures, including the opportunity to test M72 bolts.

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Finding the solution for every need With nearly six decades of experience in cold forming, and thanks to its internal tooling department, Inox Viti offers timely solutions and high-quality tailor-made products according to customers’ drawings and specifications.

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ince 1964 Inox Viti has been manufacturing screws and bolts in stainless steel from M3 to M24 up to a length of 300mm in Class 70, 80 and 100. The company also produces threaded rods and pins from M5 to M30 up to 5 metres in length, standard or customised.

Working in close cooperation with the customer, Inox Viti di Cattinori Bruno & C SNC develops solutions to satisfy the most sophisticated needs, as well as carrying out post production operations on the screws, such as high precision drilling, milling, and recovery machining, performed by some of the most advanced instruments available in the sector.

Inox Viti also offers many additional services and solutions to improve the performance of its products including different types of surface treatments such as lubricants, protective, braking and finishing layers, as well as stress relieving, hardening and ageing heat treatments. Washer assembly and 100% automatic selection are also among the services most requested by its customers.

The quality of Inox Viti products is supported by the company certificates ISO 9001:2015, CE EN 15048-1:2007, AD 2000-Merkblatt W0 and IATF 16949:2016 for automotive parts.

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The ‘Pay Per Use’ paradigm Dimac will be using Fastener Fair Italy to launch its new ‘Pay Per Use’ business model paradigm, which will allow any Italian customer to rent a Dimac 100% inspection machine by paying a monthly fee varying according to the volume of parts sorted.

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he critical economical situation and the uncertainty brought in by the geopolitical troubles worldwide are encouraging fastener manufacturers to switch from a Capex-based investment policy model to an Opex-based model by reducing the capital in fixed assets. The ‘Pay Per Use’ paradigm aims to help fastener producers when they need more capacity in the short-term but don’t want to invest in a new machine.

The business model also helps fastener manufacturers looking for advanced features such as NDT controls by eddy current for crack detection or heat treatment inspection.

The ‘Pay Per Use’ will soon be extended to other European countries through the company sales network.

Dimac Srl will also present its latest generation innovative and versatile machines in Milan, with renewed improvements in hardware and software to guarantee the performance and capability needed to meet the specifications of the latest IATF 16949 certification. www.dimacsrl.com

FASTENER PACKAGING Product inspection and packaging machines with over 48 years of specialised experience

Design and manufacturing of hardware packaging lines and inspection systems !

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weighpackinternational.com info@weighpack.nl

Tel +31 70 3067100

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FASTENER FAIR ITALY PREVIEW

AICHELIN invests in Ludwigsburg Following AICHELIN Service GmbH’s acquisition of the Group’s subsidiary SAFED France SAS, AICHELIN Group is now putting a focus on its service branch and strengthening its Ludwigsburg site.

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nvestments amounting to €200,000 have gone into the expansion of logistics systems and service staff, to establish a European distribution centre as an extension of the spare parts warehouse in Ludwigsburg.

This investment will enable customers to benefit from service control across all sites and will see all services for AICHELIN and SAFED under a single source.

Among other things, investments were made in the procurement of an additional vertical lift module for automated storage and retrieval, as well as in warehouse software for the intelligent linking of the picking systems. Moreover, new employees were hired for the expanded warehouse and the logistics team was also enhanced.

In the coming months, the focus will be on further optimising the flow of materials, in particular to be able to serve the aftersales of spare and service parts as well as cater to customer needs that arise at short notice.

AICHELIN Service is the global competence centre for all customers that use AICHELIN and SAFED heat treatment systems as well as thirdparty systems. It is a ‘one stop shop’ for all customers. The focus is on the planning and execution of maintenance and repair work as well as conversions and modernisations of existing heat treatment plants.

Increasing energy efficiency, reducing CO 2 emissions, and increasing plant safety, play a particularly important role here. This goes hand in hand with the scheduling of service technicians in-line with demand and deadlines, as well as the procurement and delivery of spare parts.

Through specialist forums and seminars as well as customer specific training courses, AICHELIN Service offers its customers relevant specialist knowledge and an exchange with experts.

Solving fastening problems in Milan With the ability to develop special solutions, generate value and solve the most disparate fastening problems in all industrial sectors from automotive to industrial, Bulloneria Usorini will be exhibiting at this year’s Fastener Fair Italy.

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oasting over 50 years of experience in the sector, Bulloneria Usorini Srl uses multistation cold forming machines with 4 or 5 stations, to produce any kind of special and standard screws from M5 up to M16, in 8mm – 145mm in length. The company has a production capability of more than 200 million pieces a year, with more than 7,000 tonnes of machined steel annually.

The company also designs and manufactures tooling in-house, developed through the support of 3D CAD software and the most innovative engineering procedures. This makes the process fast and flexible, meeting customers’ requirement and needs.

“Research capabilities and more than 50 years of experience allows us to build strong development partnerships with our customers,” comments Bulloneria. “This experience and flexibility enables us to design reliable solutions to meet product standards as well as provide services in-line with the highest customer expectations.”

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FASTENER FAIR ITALY PREVIEW

The latest innovations in Milan With Fastener Fair Italy taking place just a few kilometres from Growermetal’s headquarters in Calco, the exhibition represents the last stop in the company’s 2022 trade fair calendar and provides the opportunity to showcase its latest innovations – Grower SpheraTech® and Grower Tenkeep®.

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eveloped by Growermetal’s R&D department, the Grower SpheraTech® is based on the combination of a spherical top washer and a conical seat washer. This inseparable set guarantees a safe locking function on non-parallel surfaces, avoiding damages or breakages of the bolted joint connection caused by the bending of the head or the shank of the screw.

With different configurations, materials and surface coatings in-line with the specific needs of customers, Growermetal’s wide product range covers the requirements of the railway, automotive, aerospace and other application fields. Its full range will also be on display at the show, including the new special shaped blanked and bended parts, high thickness and precision flat washers, metallic parts with glued or moulded EPDM, as well as the technology of the safety washer Grower TenKeep®.

First introduced to the washer family in 2019, Grower TenKeep® is one of Growermetal’s flagship products, thanks to its particular design made of two surfaces with different knurls that offer a flawless locking, even in the presence of extreme vibrations or dynamic loads.

“Innovation together with the delivery of a complete in-house service are two main aspects that Growermetal focuses on. We are honoured to represent ‘Made in Italy’ quality and introduce present and future customers to our company as we aim to strengthen our partnerships by investing in flexible, reliable and safe products and processes,” comments Paolo Cattaneo, CEO of Growermetal SpA. www.growermetal.com

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Constantly investing in technology After nearly three years of forced absence due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Colombo Giovanni e Figli Srl is pleased to present its latest investments in machinery and technology at the Fastener Fair Italy in Milan.

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ith two new full CNC multispindles machines, 8 and 6 spindles, capable of producing very complicated parts with tight tolerances and in hard materials, Colombo Giovanni points out it has never stopped making investments to optimise the services available to its customers to increase satisfaction. As well as this, an investment in infrastructure has also recently taken place with the installation of a 130kw/h photovoltaic system on the roof of the production area in order to reduce CO 2 emissions.

The next step for the company is to obtain the ISO 14001 certification to further enhance its offering to its customers.

“We know that Fastener Fair Italy will be a great opportunity to finally see our customers and suppliers again after such a long time of emails, phone calls and web meetings. It is going to be great to be able to have face-to-face conversations again,” comments Colombo Giovanni.

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Via per Carpiano, 18, 20077 Melegnano (MILANO) ITALY

WWW.FIMINOX.COM

TEUDELOFF & TOOLING INTERNATIONAL

WE THINK AHEAD WORLDWIDE

AUTOMOTIVE • AEROSPACE • WOOD • CONSTRUCTION • WHITE GOODS

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Booth 130

EVENTS CALENDAR

Fastener Fair Global Stuttgart, Germany 21 Mar – 23 Mar 2023 www.fastenerfairglobal.com The fastener event for Europe.

BUDMA – International Construction Fair

CONSTRUMA

National Hardware Show

Empack

BouwBeurs

FEICON

Asia-Pacific Sourcing

Manufacturing World Nagoya

Intersolar Middle East

BAU

BYGGERI

SchraubTec South

Poznań, Poland 31 Jan – 3 Feb 2023 www.budma.pl Building technology, equipment and materials.

Las Vegas, USA 31 Jan – 2 Feb 2023 www.nationalhardwareshow.com Connects retailers, wholesalers, distributors and manufacturers.

Utrecht, Netherlands 6 Feb – 10 Feb 2023 www.bouwbeurslive.nl Trade fair for the construction industry.

Köln, Germany 28 Feb – 2 Mar 2023 www.asia-pacificsourcing.de A platform for asian companies in import and export.

Dubai, United Arab Emirates 7 Mar – 9 Mar 2023 www.intersolar.ae Exhibition for the Middle Eastern solar industry.

Fredericia, Denmark 21 Mar – 24 Mar 2023 https://byggerimessen.dk/ Scandinavia’s trade fair for construction products.

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Budapest, Hungary 29 Mar – 2 Apr 2023 www.construma.hu International building trade exhibition.

Den Bosch, Netherlands 5 Apr – 6 Apr 2023 www.empack.nl The future of packing technology.

São Paulo, Brazil 11 Apr – 14 Apr 2023 www.feicon.com.br Construction industry fair.

Nagoya, Japan 12 Apr – 14 Apr 2023 www.manufacturing-world.jp/nagoya Asia’s B2B trade show for mechanical components and processing technology.

Munich, Germany 17 Apr – 22 Apr 2023 www.bau-muenchen.com German construction industry.

Sindelfingen, Germany 26 Apr 2023 www.schraubtec.com German regional trade fair for screw connections.

EXHIBITIONS

Exceeding expectations at After four years, EISENWARENMESSE – International Hardware Fair Köln was finally able to return to Koelnmesse following restrictions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. Despite exhibitor expectations on what to expect lower than usual, there was a definite feeling of relief to be returning to face-to-face meetings. Editorial Assistant Becca England, visited the show to see what fastener, fixing and tool innovations were on display.

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©Koelnmesse

xhibiting this year were 1,400 companies from 50 countries, with fastener and fixing companies well represented in halls 3, 10 and 11. These included ARaymond SAS, Bossong SpA, Ettinger GmbH, Fixi Sistemi Di Fissaggio, GESIPA Blindniettechnik GmbH, INDEX – A Perfect Fixing, Pecol Sistemas de Fixação S.A, pgb-Europe N.V, Projahn Präzisionswerkzeuge GmbH, STANLEY Black & Decker, Tecfi SpA, tesa SE, TOX Dübel Technik GmbH, F Reyher Nchfg GmbH & Co KG and many more.

Following the pandemic, it was apparent expectations were lower for certain exhibitors than that of previous years due to travel restrictions which remained in some countries. Despite this, 25,000 visitors from 125 countries attended the show – with 70% of visitors travelling from outside of Germany.

“The sense of relief at finally being able to meet face-to-face again after such a long time and do business in person could be clearly felt among all our exhibitors and trade visitors throughout the entire trade fair. You had the feeling that a big family was getting together again after a long time apart,” states Oliver Frese, chief operating officer at Koelnmesse GmbH. “The trade fair was a success, especially in the context of the ongoing travel restrictions in Asia; the acute energy and raw materials crisis; as well as the geopolitical situation in many countries.

The feedback from our exhibitors about the business contacts they’ve made is positive across the board. Clearly companies made a strategic decision to attend EISENWARENMESSE – the decision makers were here, and exhibitors reported a high calibre of visitors.”

This was confirmed by Michael Martsch, vice-president of sales at Reyher, who said: “This year despite the uncertainty, we had a similarly high number of visitors at our booth as we did at the last Köln show. We were therefore very satisfied with the quality of our discussions.”

Echoing the high-quality of visitors was Bossong. “The quality of visitors at our stand was good with customers being excited to be back to face-to-face meetings. This also meant visitors were highly motivated to meet new and current suppliers, which certainly improved the experience,” commented Elenora Locatelli, marketing sales at Bossong. “The show marked a great opportunity to present our new E-Plus pure epoxy resin chemical anchor to visitors, which is earthquake resistant and environmentally friendly due to its styrenefree component.”

Also with new products on display was GESIPA with its new Birdie® cordless blind riveting tool. The cordless tool, which is notably lighter than its predecessor at 900g, has a setting force of 10,000N and a 25mm tool stroke, along with an 18V battery. As well as this, new TOX products designed for the construction industry were on

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EISENWARENMESSE

display at the TOX stand, including the Thermo Proof Wood spacer mounting system for timber constructions, the Thermo Proof Mini Wood, as well as the Aqua Stop Pro sealing plug. “We were able to welcome many interested parties to our stand – both existing customers and new contacts,” said Carola Marquart, export sales manager at TOX. “All our target groups were represented, such as large DIY purchasing organisations, wholesalers, retailers and industrial customers and were very satisfied with the quality and quantity of visitors.”

Returning to the show was STANLEY Black & Decker. “We’re over the moon to be back after a break. Our international customers have told us that they travelled to Köln especially to come and see us, which makes EISENWARENMESSE the ideal place to not just meet current customers but also tap into new areas of the market and find new retailers,” explained Paul Samms, director of licensing at STANLEY Black & Decker.

EISENWARENMESSE will return in 2024 from the 3rd – 6th March at Koelnmesse.

EXHIBITIONS

Strong exhibitor line-up at Fastener Fair Global Four years after the last edition, Fastener Fair Global, known previously as Fastener Fair Stuttgart, returns from 21st – 23rd March 2023 at Messe Stuttgart to bring the industry together face-to-face.

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astener Fair Global is the largest exhibition worldwide specifically dedicated to presenting and promoting fastener and fixing products and technologies. In advance of the exhibition, there are already 780 exhibitors confirmed from some 40 countries across the world, with the strongest representation from German, Italian, Chinese, Taiwanese, Turkish and Indian companies.

Over 21,170m2 of net exhibition space has already been booked, covering halls 1, 3, 5 and 7 at the Messe Stuttgart Exhibition Centre.

Among those exhibiting include Alexander Paal GmbH, Böllhoff GmbH, Carlo Salvi SpA, Eurobolt B.V, F. REYHER Nchfg GmbH & Co KG, Fastbolt Schraubengroßhandels GmbH, INDEX® – A Perfect Fixing, INOXMARE Srl, Lederer GmbH, MKT Metall-Kunststoff-Technik GmbH & Co KG, Norm Civita A.S, Obel Civita San ve Tic A.S, pgb Europe NV, Pühl GmbH & Co KG, SACMA Limbiate SpA, Schäfer + Peters GmbH, SPAX International GmbH & Co KG, Tecfi SpA, TOBSTEEL GmbH, WASI GmbH and Würth.

“It is such a pleasure to welcome the fastener and fixing industry back to Stuttgart for Fastener Fair Global 2023. There has been so much happening within the industry in the last four years that we are looking forward to discovering the most modern technologies the sector offers,” says Liljana Goszdziewski, portfolio director for the European Fastener Fairs, commenting on behalf of Mack-Brooks Exhibitions, the organiser of the event. “Boasting strong participation from exhibiting companies, we can safely say that there is an eagerness for the sector to return to the live exhibition as there is no real substitute for face-to-face networking to strengthen connections and enable new sales opportunities. Particularly with such a large and renowned exhibition such as Fastener Fair Global, which has such wide ranging and international participation.”

High-level exhibitor satisfaction

At the last edition, nine in ten exhibitors claimed to be satisfied with the show. This is reflected in the concrete business goals that were achieved through participation in the exhibition, as 85% of exhibitors

received positive business enquiries as a result of taking part in Fastener Fair Global. Furthermore, the exhibitor satisfaction was affected by the quality of the attendees at the show, with 95% of visitors having an influence on or personally making purchasing decisions.

The mix of visitors to the last show represented the diversity of markets served by the fastener and fixing industry. Most visitors were either wholesalers, manufacturers or distributors, all playing a vital role in the supply chain. Visitors came from a wide range of professions, such as senior managers, buyers, engineers, R&D professionals and specialists who source and trade fasteners as well as fixings for various sectors, mainly automotive, construction, distribution, and mechanical engineering.

Exhibitor information and stand booking

Participants at Fastener Fair Global have a unique opportunity to meet face-to-face with other professionals in the industry from all over the world, see and ensure the quality of products first-hand, source and sell products and services, initiate and strengthen business relationships, as well as build trade networks.

Companies who wish to exhibit at Fastener Fair Global 2023 can contact the show team directly to discuss the best stand spaces available and receive a customised participation package.

Further information about the event is available on the show website. www.fastenerfairglobal.com

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9th International Exhibition for the Fastener and Fixing Industry

21 - 23 MARCH 2023 MESSE STUTTGART, GERMANY

Showcase your technologies to the global fastener and fixing industry Industrial Fasteners and Fixings Construction Fixings Assembly and Installation Systems

Fastener Manufacturing Technology Storage, Distribution, Factory Equipment Information, Communication and Services

BOOK YOUR STAND NOW!

www.fastenerfairglobal.com

Organiser:

EXHIBITIONS

UKCW returns with record visitors The UK’s largest event for the built environment, UK Construction Week (UKCW) Birmingham, made a welcome return to the NEC from 4th – 6th October 2022, with visitor numbers up 19% from last year.

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rawing over 23,900 visitors from as far afield as Turkey, Brazil, Australia, Norway, India, the UAE and Canada, UKCW Birmingham celebrated culture change in construction with three days of debate and discussion from top speakers across seven stages. Issues covered included Net Zero, sustainability, offsite manufacturing, mental health, as well as improving diversity and inclusion.

Nathan Garnett, UKCW event director, commented: “There is so much happening in the construction industry right now that has put UK Construction Week into a unique position, whereby it can inform and educate the sector as it moves forward. There is a real sense of momentum now as we plan the next one, especially on meeting our Net Zero targets and creating long-lasting culture change. A record number of companies have signed up for 2023 so we look forward to really growing the UK’s largest trade show for construction.”

Over 6,000 products were on display from over 300 exhibitors including Bosch, Schneider Electric, Google, Graco Distribution, Wavin, Hanson Plywood and many more.

Dates for next year’s two shows have already been announced – UKCW London will take place from 2 nd – 4th May 2023 at ExCeL and UKCW Birmingham will run from 3rd – 5th October 2023 at the NEC.

New trade fair management for HUSUM WIND From 1st October 2022, HUSUM WIND, a technology trade fair for the German renewable energy market, has new management, with Diana Haagen as project director. aagen has many years of international experience in the B2B segment of the trade fair industry. For more than ten years, she worked for Hamburg Messe und Congress GmbH as project manager for maritime trade fairs, among others. She was also responsible for the market launch and positioning of SMM’s foreign subsidiaries SMM India and SMM Istanbul.

Previously, she has also worked in the foreign department and was responsible for the organisation of German pavilions which are held worldwide as part of the foreign trade fair programme by BMWi (Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action). In recent years, the certified event manager has been self employed.

Klaus Liermann, CEO of Messe Husum und Congress GmbH & Co KG, commented: “In Diana Haagen we have brought in an experienced manager with in-depth knowledge of the trade fair industry. She is a native of Husum and has followed the development of HUSUM WIND since its beginnings. We are very pleased that she is taking over the position as project director for this trade fair.”

The HUSUM WIND website has also been relaunched in a new design together with a new logo and claim; ‘Transforming Energy.’

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EXHIBITIONS

Visitors return to parts2clean By the end of the third and final day of the 19th edition of parts2clean, it was abundantly clear that the requirements for cleaning industrial parts are becoming increasingly diverse and demanding, with more than 2,300 visitors attending the show – up by around 15% on 2021.

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rom 11th – 13th October at the Stuttgart Exhibition Centre in Germany, the show saw a number of trade fair attendees from outside Germany with the strongest nations being Switzerland, Austria, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic and Poland.

“We are satisfied with the course of this year’s parts2clean in the face of the prevailing conditions,” says Hendrik Engelking, global director at Deutsche Messe. “More important for us, however, is that participating in the trade show was worth it for our exhibitors.”

Most of the 140 exhibitors from 16 countries who presented their new, enhanced and established products and services for industrial parts and surface cleaning on over 4,300m 2 of display space, were able to hold highly detailed discussions. This was confirmed by Michael Höckh, managing director of Höckh Metall-Reinigungsanlagen GmbH: “For us it was an acutely interesting trade fair. Our visitors here were overwhelmingly devoted to finding solutions to projects they are planning to implement in the near future. Often this involves making replacement investments in order to meet higher cleanliness requirements.”

Another highlight at parts2clean 2022 was the presentation of the FiT2clean award for outstanding achievements and solutions for a current challenge in industrial parts cleaning, which the Industrial Parts Cleaning Association (FiT) was offering for the first time. The award went to Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation (IPA) for its new and unconventional approach of using liquid butane gas as an effective and energy saving cleaning medium.

The 20 th and anniversary edition of parts2clean will run from 26th – 28 th September 2023 at the Stuttgart Exhibition Centre.

EISENWARENMESSE launches Indian show Koelnmesse is bringing the approved trade fair model of EISENWARENMESSE to India by launching International Hardware Fair India, to be held from 2nd – 4th December 2023 at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi. he first edition of the International Hardware Fair India is a new B2B trade fair for the Indian and sub-continental market providing a professional business platform for the entire hardware industry, as well as covering the entire Indian hardware industry such as DIY, home improvement, garden equipment, plumbing, electrical hardware and paints.

India being the 5th largest economy in the world, has a well positioned market to offer global economies an additional option to diversify their supply chain. The Indian hardware industry is one of the largest in the world with a high demand for hardware products.

“The International Hardware Fair India builds on our global portfolio and adds value to our hardware community by providing another response to the growing demand in a very important market in Asia,” says Gerald Böse, chief executive officer of Koelnmesse GmbH. “Internationalisation – and especially the development of new markets – is a central strategic component for Koelnmesse in order to position ourselves securely for the future and to further expand our competitiveness.”

International Hardware Fair India will be targeting key decision makers from the industry as well as visitors from key industries such as automotive, renewable energy, construction, engineering, electrical and many more.

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CONSTRUCTION FIXINGS

news and information dedicated to construction fixing products

The new generation of Eurocodes is coming soon

By Barbara Sorgato, secretary general, European Consortium of Anchor Producers (ECAP)

The Eurocodes are the European Standards for the design of buildings, a series of 10 European Standards, EN 1990 – EN 1999, divided into 58 parts and taking up over 3,000 pages.

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hey are the European reference design codes, providing a common approach for the structural and geotechnical design of European buildings and infrastructures. Eurocodes are important for all construction products, therefore also for fasteners – when they are used for structural applications.

The CE Marking of products allows fasteners to be placed on the market, but, without design rules, no structural engineer will know how to calculate, hence how to use them. This explains the interest not only of the academic world, but also of the industry for the new generation of the Eurocodes, who’s technical works took place in the last decades, and which is planned to be published in 2026.

Like all European projects of strategic importance for the internal market, and therefore for the creation of a united Europe, the publication of Eurocodes is accompanied by discussions, and not always peaceful ones, between Member States – with the aim to carry out their own needs and national interests.

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The next arena will be the so called ‘Formal Enquiry’, which will start in the coming months. During the ‘Formal Enquiry’, Member States will comment on the drafts of the Eurocodes, trying to oppose certain solutions and to push for solutions that better suit them. As a next step, the so called ‘Formal Vote’, a final text will be issued and the technical discussion will be over. During the ‘Formal Vote’, Member States are asked to vote ‘YES’, ‘NO’ or to abstain. The result of the vote will be calculated according to the CEN weighted vote.

If you would like to see how Member States can influence the vote through the mechanism of weighted vote, we recommend using the following tool: https://votecalculator.cencenelec.eu/cen On 13th and 14th September 2022, in Zurich, Switzerland, Eurocode 5 ‘Design of timber structures’ met for its last plenary session, before issuing the draft for the ‘Formal Enquiry’. I had the pleasure to see some peaceful cows in the grass in front of the University, and to deepen some topics that are likely to be subjects of discussions during the ‘Formal Enquiry’:

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CONSTRUCTION FIXINGS Design versus product

Eurocode 5 contains Annex M ‘Material and product properties for the design with EN 1995-1-1’. Annex M contains the list of properties needed for the design of timber structures. This annex is important, because it clearly defines the hierarchy of roles between design specifications and product specifications (and the role of manufacturers). The design standards lists all properties and characteristics needed for design; product specifications (product standards and EADs – European Assessment Documents) define how to declare these characteristics; and finally the manufacturer decides which characteristics will be declared in the DoP – Declaration of Performance – and which will be not, in which case these will be defined as ‘NPD’ – No Performances Declared.

The debate starts because, for historical reasons, these hierarchies were not always respected. Coming from the culture of Zulassungen, where one institution was ruling almost all aspects, for each single product and according to its own judgement only, EADs happen often to refer to own design or to design ruled in EOTA Technical Reports, which in some cases conflicts or overlaps the design of Eurocodes. The Eurocodes, on the other side, happen to deal with test methods or with other elements that are of competence of product standards, and not of design standards.

So, the discussion is about field of competences and powers of institutions, and it is indirectly related to powers of systems of European Member States.

Eurocodes are important for all construction products, therefore also for fasteners.”

Reference to EADs

Whilst it is clear that EADs (European Assessment Documents) belong nowadays to the CE Marking of several families of products, they are not harmonised standards. EADs are based on single products, hence are issued continuously upon demands of single manufacturers. Mentioning them one by one in a document that will be published in 2026 would lead to a great confusion and would make the Eurocodes already obsolete – also considering that the new CPR will probably reintroduce an expiring date for EADs, if not a different numbering system. That’s why the last text proposes a generic sentence in the text, referring to EADs as one of the two product technical specifications.

Creation of classes for screws

Eurocode 5 proposes to introduce classes for woodscrews. At product level, the industry made very clear that these are not supported. Discussion at national level is open, and will reflect into the comments of the ‘Formal Enquiry’.

Seismic design

Seismic design is important to the Member States that are affected by earthquakes. All other Member States either ignore discussions on seismic performances or do not see with ‘good eyes’ what they consider to be an interference of approach with their traditional design methods. The fact that NPDs can be used by all manufacturers that do not need to sell their products in non-seismic areas is not always acknowledged, and, in extreme cases, discussions tend to mirror performances needed for seismic design as a barrier to trade or as non-consistent with a “good design”. The strongest discussions are held in the Eurocode of competence, Eurocode 8 ‘Design of structures for earthquake resistance’. However, some of them landed also in Eurocode 5, with the related comments and proposal on the text, which will be submitted for ‘Formal Enquiry’.

Last but not least, in parallel with the revision of the new generation of Eurocodes, revisions of the related product standards has started informally, in order to align product standards with the new generation of the Eurocodes. In the meanwhile, the new proposal of CPR will take form, and we are waiting to see which will be the future of the new generation of the European product standards. www.ecap-sme.org

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CONSTRUCTION FIXINGS

Qualification of construction fasteners under the current and future CPR: The manufacturers’ view

By Ulrich Bourgund & Thomas Holland-Letz from Construction Fixings Europe

From the fastening industry, as well as from the customer point of view, the legal framework of the current CPR (Construction Products Regulation) has triggered quite some dynamics.

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ew products and new applications have been developed continuously to an extent that the range of applicability was dramatically increased. At the same time the performance of the fastening products has nearly doubled in some areas. The investment of the industry in research has led to a clear leadership position of the European fastening industry in the world.

More than 50 EADs and 2,800 ETAs have been issued in the scope of fastening technology. The number of ETAs – taking into account that they are voluntary documents – clearly demonstrate the huge acceptance in the industry and by the respective customers.

Despite the favorable environment of the existing CPR to develop new fastening products/applications for the construction industry, some optimisation of the speed and transparency of the administrative process at EOTA and EC level, and between both institutions, would further foster the necessary European harmonisation on technical specifications.

Fastening technology products are widely used in construction and play a major role for the functionality and safety of constructions.

It is easy to imagine what happens if the products in the respective application fail. Transparent safety level and reliable installation are vital for constructions. This cannot be taken for granted as can be learnt from the accidents in major countries outside Europe (USA 2006 and Japan 2012). The EAD/ETA system has proven to provide a level playing field for competition in Europe, which is the basis for innovative, safe and economical fastening solutions. Most important is the agility and speed of the EAD/ETA development, which is a source of productivity in construction methods.

Customers in the construction sector are interested in finding safe and cost efficient solutions for the respective fastening. Technical solutions in construction nowadays need to be assessed with respect

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to build, maintenance, robustness, energy efficiency, recycling potential and various other dimensions. Some products serve specific applications best in those dimensions, therefore cost of the product itself is getting less important. This trend will continue and even speed up, triggered especially by various initiatives of the EC to shape the European Future (Green Deal). The professional customer clearly understands that EAD/ETA qualified products with the respective 3rd party assessment included, ensures compliance with the technical requirements in a most transparent and reliable way.

On 30 th March 2022, the European Commission published a draft for the revision of the Construction Products Regulation (CPR). At a first glance it looks like there are no major changes with respect to the EAD/ETA process. A closer look unfortunately reveals substantial deviations from the current practice. A survey among Construction Fixing Europe member companies has brought up the most critical elements of the draft of the new CPR (See Figure One).

1st 2nd 3rd 4th

EADs are not considered any more harmonised Technical Specifications (HTS).

The ETA can only be published by TABs after publication of the respective EAD in the European Journal.

Transitional Period: After implementation of the new CPR existing EADs will be valid for 3 years.

New additional document: DoC (Declaration of Conformity) a newly required document which needs to be published.

Figure One: Most critical elements of the EC proposal for the revised Construction Products Regulation (CPR) rated by member companies of Construction Fixings Europe (CFE)

Firstly, EADs will lose their status as harmonised technical specifications, this would lead to a de-harmonisation of products covered by ETAs. There are severe doubts that this gap could be filled

by Harmonised Standards in a reasonable time, keeping in mind the huge efforts needed by CEN, the European Commission, and the stakeholders to overcome the backlog of existing standards. A lot of EADs cover special products and the respective intended uses, which are quite challenging for standardisation.

Secondly, it is important to understand that EADs are triggered by customer needs and developed very focused and much faster (within months) than hEN (typical takes 5 – 7 years). The current sequence of publication after a new EAD is worked out includes: Step One: First ETA published; Step Two: EAD is published in the European Journal – ensuring a good practical quality of the EAD and providing confidentiality over a short period of time for the stakeholder, which brings up the innovation in product or application.

In a recent study 1 the European Commission has stated: “The Renovation Wave 2 aims to at least double the annual rate of building renovation in the EU. In practice, this would result in 35 million buildings being renovated by 2030. For the achievement of this ambition, a mix of policy instruments, funding and technical assistance is available.” It is obvious that the renovation of existing buildings with respect to the targets expressed in the Commission document on “Scenarios for a transition pathway for a resilient, greener and more digital construction Ecosystem” requires a substantial volume of suitable fasteners, which are qualified on their performances in the respective application.

From this perspective it is hard to understand that the draft for the new CPR will eliminate all currently existing EADs three years after the new CPR is implemented without any clarity on what is going to replace all those EADs. The intention may be to develop new EADs in the framework of the new CPR – with the same scope of product and application.

From an industry standpoint it is confusing to put existing key documents (EAD) out of function right at the point in time when you need them most to achieve targets on renovation and sustainability (until 2030). The different approach on validity between EADs (three years) and hEN (until 2045 if not reworked) is another dimension that should trigger modifications on the current CPR draft in the course of the discussion.

Europe has to undergo a twin transition “greener and digital” in the years to come. The construction sector will have an important contribution on this path to the future. It is strongly recommended to remove/modify the mentioned critical elements in the CPR draft, which endanger European harmonisation as well as agile and efficient innovation in construction industry. www.construction-fixings.eu

1

References: Commission staff working document: ‘Scenarios for a transition pathway for a resilient, greener and more digital construction Ecosystem’, European r Brussels 14.12.2021 2 A Renovation Wave for Europe – greening our buildings, creating jobs, improving lives’, COM (2020) 662 final

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Adhesives and sealants in the construction ecosystem

By Dimitrios Soutzoukis, senior regulatory affairs manager at FEICA The sustainability of products in the construction sector is receiving alot of attention in Europe. The importance of this subject is justified by the sheer scale of the construction sector; its share in the materials used and produced in the European Union; as well as the share of greenhouse gas emissions it represents.

In addition, the ongoing geopolitical and energy crisis is also impacting this particular sector significantly.

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egislative initiatives focused on sustainability, such as the EU Green Deal, cover the construction sector explicitly and with specific provisions. This attention concerns all levels, from the entire building to individual construction elements, as well as the materials used for their production and installation.

As a result, adhesives and sealants designed for the construction sector are therefore also of interest.

The construction ecosystem comprises all the elements involved in the complete lifecycle of buildings – for example, blueprinting, erection of the structure, maintenance of various fixtures and building elements, renovation and demolition. In the sustainability transition pathway for the construction ecosystem, there are two critical elements – the energy efficiency of buildings and the material efficiency of the installed materials. Adhesives and sealants strongly support both of these elements.

The key element in the transition pathway for the construction ecosystem is energy efficiency. Buildings have a very long lifespan and so the ‘use phase’ of these structures have a major effect on the environmental footprint. The heating and cooling of buildings and the efficient use of energy therefore becomes paramount. The current energy crisis and prediction of a harsh winter accentuate the need for energy efficiency ever further. Adhesives and sealants play a crucial role in this as the energy efficiency of buildings is augmented by the use of thermal insulation and decarbonised heat sources, which contribute to further reduction of the carbon footprint of buildings in use – ensuring less energy consumption within the buildings.

Regarding thermal insulation, adhesives and sealants facilitate insulation systems that are both durable and airtight. The latter is a very important element. This is accomplished, specifically, through the use of adhesively bonded insulation panels, polyurethane foams for filling gaps, adhesive tapes at insulation joints and sealants around door and window openings, and adhesives in the construction of insulated (multipaned) glass units.

All these aspects of adhesives and sealants apply not only to new construction of buildings but also to (deep) energy renovation activities. As far as the decarbonisation of heat sources is concerned, adhesives and sealants make possible, for example, photovoltaic panels furnishing electricity for heat pumps, as well as batteries holding surplus daytime electrical energy.

Besides promoting energy efficiency during the ‘use phase’ of buildings, adhesives and sealants play a second key role in terms of promoting material efficiency. Material efficiency concerns the material make-up of the parts of a building, that is, the ‘so called’ ‘embodied carbon’ and the circularity of materials. Adhesives and sealants support the reduction of material used – the ‘construction phase’, the extension of building life through maintenance and repair – the ‘use phase’, and the reuse and recycling of building materials that is possible so that the creation of waste is avoided – the ‘end of life phase’.

118 FASTENER + FIXING MAGAZINE ≡ ISSUE 138: NOVEMBER 2022

The amount of adhesive or sealant in a final product is very low, in construction often less than one weight percent of a building. Yet, they can reduce the amount of material used by, for instance, the adhesion of glass directly to frames or the use of highly insulated glazing on the exteriors of buildings. Furthermore, thanks to adhesives and sealants, renewable construction materials, such as engineered wood to replace steel and concrete, can also be used in buildings and thus reduce the overall carbon footprint of the construction.

Regarding maintenance and repair, adhesives and sealants are also able to extend a building’s life by both avoiding the need to replace elements and by preventing damage through maintenance and repair. They additionally prove to be very important for repairing and maintaining construction machinery. With respect to reuse and recycling, adhesives and sealants promote approaches towards disposing materials at a building’s ‘end of life’. www.feica.eu

About FEICA

FEICA is the European voice of the adhesives and sealants industry. Over 450 adhesives and sealants manufacturers are represented by FEICA through National Association Members in 16 countries (representing 17 countries), 25 Direct Company Members and 24 Affiliate Members.

STRONG FOR GENERATIONS

TIMBER CONSTRUCTION SCREWS

UP TO

40% 20%

FASTER SCREWING TIME compared to old tip of Klimas Wkręt-met screws

LESS SCREWING RESISTANCE

compared to old tip of Klimas Wkręt-met screws

DOUBLE THREAD

IMPROVE REMARKABLY A SPEED OF TIMBER PENETRATION

PARAMETERS

WKLC

CERTIFIED PRODUCTS WKSS

KMWHT (SQ Ceramic)

WKCS

WKCP

WKFS

WKPC

WKFC

HIGH PERFORMANCE

more at: www.klimas.com | contact us: export@wkret-met.com

POLISH PRODUCER OF TIMBER CONSTRUCTION SCREWS

CONSTRUCTION FIXINGS SEALANTS + ADHESIVES FEATURE

Fire rated silicone from JCP JCP Fixings, a supplier of high-quality construction fixings from Owlett-Jaton, offers a comprehensive range of products capable of meeting the demanding expectations of the construction industry, including a B1 fire rated silicone sealant/adhesive.

J

CP’s B1 fire rated silicone sealant/adhesive offers a high-level of fire retardation – up to 4 hours and produces an efficient seal against smoke and gas – again for up to 4 hours. The fire stop product is also ready to use, saves time and offers excellent thermal and acoustic insulation properties.

JCP’s fire stop silicone/adhesive is ideal for filling and sealing joints and gaps which require fire resistant properties. Applications also include sealing and fixing windows and doors, as well as sealing penetrations from mechanical, electrical, or structural penetrants.

Based on innovative inert polymer technology, it is suitable for a wide variety of building trade applications including decorating, flooring, joinery, tiling, as well as plumbing projects. The B1 silicone sealant/adhesive forms an excellent adhesion to most building materials and can therefore be applied to a wide range of porous and non-porous substrates commonly found in the construction environment including concrete, wood and stone.

Outperforming conventional silicone, MSP, butyl, and acrylic-based products as a sealant and adhesive, it is also the only sealant that is free from dangerous emissions. It has a high resistance to UV radiation, as well as changing weather conditions, which makes it ideal for external, as well as internal projects. It is permanently elastic after curing, impervious to shrinkage, and is also able to be painted on. Furthermore, the B1 fire rated silicone is very easy to apply using a standard injection cartridge tool, which is also available from JCP. The product also has an ETA assessment (ETA – 21/0413), can be applied onto B1 fire stop gun foam, as well as conforms to EI240 in-line with BS EN 13501-2:2016. www.jcpfixings.co.uk

SEALANTS + ADHESIVES FEATURE

A global business provider With more than 20 years of experience, the Portugal-based CHEMITOOL range, which includes the CHEMIHYB Seal&Bond 50MS adhesive sealant, looks to gain global recognition for being a reliable supplier of high-quality products, providing products ‘for real life professionals’.

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ecommended for different types of substrates used in construction, CHEMIHYB Seal&Bond 50MS is an adhesive and sealant MS Polymer based on high-quality, high modulus polymers for bonding and sealing on most substrates used in the construction, automotive, marine, as well as other industries. With permanent elasticity after cure, the adhesive sealant also offers excellent adhesion and chemical resistance, as well as good grip on wet surfaces, even under water.

It is also suitable for gluing the most commonly used materials in construction such as concrete, brick, metal, wood, fibreglass, stone, ceramics, and for sealing cracks and imperfections. For installation, and to achieve a perfect adhesion to the substrate, the surfaces must be clean and free of dust, grease, oils, pollution and oxides. The user must simply place the nozzle on the cartridge and cut it to the desired width, press the product with the application gun to perfectly cover the entire joint and spread with a spatula.

Working with the world’s best manufacturers, CHEMITOOL is able to supply a wide range of products including silicones, sealants, hybrid polymers (MS), seal and bond, glues, polyurethane foams, chemical resins, waterproofing liquid membrane, as well as sprays for painting, lubrication, cleaning, automotive, protection, surface treatment and the food industry.

120 FASTENER + FIXING MAGAZINE ≡ ISSUE 138: NOVEMBER 2022

CONSTRUCTION FIXINGS SEALANTS + ADHESIVES FEATURE

A new range of hybrid sealants and adhesives Adhesives can be a clever alternative to traditional fastening methods, depending on the application. fischer offers many product solutions that offer safety, flexibility and multifunctionality including its Flex MS, Express MS and Multi MS adhesives – part of its range of hybrid sealants and adhesives.

f

ischer’s new Flex MS sealant can absorb particularly high component movements. Further advantages include bubble-free curing, its particularly safe hold on moist subsurfaces, as well as its weather, ageing and UV resistance. Typical applications include movement and connection joints, as well as sealings on façades and floors as per EN 15651 part 1 and part 4. Flex MS is available in white and grey.

The Express MS adhesive is another new addition to the range. Its quick setting time provides a solid adhesive connection after just 20 minutes. It is ideal for thin joints and is available in white. Its applications include fastening electrical installations, cable ducts, skirting boards, panels, cladding, insulation material, brackets, timber constructions, tiles and stone, as well as bonding applications on stairs, vehicles and wall cladding.

Also available, fischer’s sealant and adhesive Multi MS can be used for a particularly versatile range of applications, including joints, skirting boards, tiles and stress-equalising adhesion of various materials and mirrors. It can also be used for indoor and outdoor façades, plumbing and floor joints as confirmed by the CE marking in accordance with DIN EN 15651. Multi MS is available in white, grey and black, as well as in an 80ml tube for simple manual dispensing without tools.

The High Tack MS adhesive completes fischer’s hybrid range, providing the highest initial adhesion, eliminating the need for additional prefixation of attachment parts during conventional fastening applications. High Tack MS is ideal for gluing insulation panels, substructures made of wood and metal, as well as skirting boards, panels and cladding. Another advantage is its applicability on sensitive subsurfaces such as natural stone or mirror coatings.

SEALANTS + ADHESIVES FEATURE

Eurobond’s fire resistant adhesive and sealant SafeFix® FR300 from Eurobond is a single component, flexible fire resistant MS polymer adhesive and sealant, ideal for bonding and sealing many different construction material types.

S

afeFix® FR300 is ideally suited for the fire resistant adhesion of connection and dilation joints in construction, which in the event of fire must have certain fire resistance so that the spread of fire, smoke or toxic vapours is counteracted. SafeFix® FR300 is also certified for horizontal joints and connections to floor/ceiling with wall, wooden and steel casings and all stud wall applications. The fire resistance was tested and conforms with EN1366-4 to 240 minutes in a horizontal or vertical joint measuring 30mm wide.

SafeFix® FR300 conforms with European standard EN1366-4:2000+A1:2000 using the standard heat curve. Based on the test performed in accordance with EN1366-4:2000+A1:2010 and the extended application in accordance with EN 15882-4:2012, the system was classified in accordance with EN13501-2:2007+A1:2009.

The cured adhesive is resistant to water and forms an air tight seal resisting fire for up to four hours. When applied to a substrate the adhesive will form a skin in about 10 minutes at 20°C, with 50% relative humidity and a bond line thickness of up to 3mm will cure in 24 hours.

Available in 290ml mastic type cartridges, the Eurobond SafeFix® FR300 can be used in a variety of materials including most timbers, plasterboard, fire resistant fibreboard, metals, fire cladding, modern composite materials, glass, ceramics and enamel.

122 FASTENER + FIXING MAGAZINE ≡ ISSUE 138: NOVEMBER 2022

PRODUCTION (PRIVATE LABEL & ETA CLONING AVAILABLE)

ETA

ETA

ETA 22/0225

ETA

TAB CONCRETE BOLTS

& 22/0455

ETA 21/0150

ETA

CONSTRUCTION FIXINGS

Recent European Technical Assessments for fixings Following an agreement with the European Organisation of Technical Assessments, here is a list of ETAs published recently on the EOTA website.

ETA NUMBER

TRADE NAME

I

t is important to note that existing ETAs may be amended or withdrawn so this list should not be considered definitive.

For further information and a full list of valid ETAs visit EOTA’s website.

If you have recently received an ETA, and would like to have it included in our table, please email us the full details at editor@fastenerandfixing.com www.eota.eu

COMPANY

Bonded fasteners for use in concrete

ETA NUMBER

TRADE NAME

COMPANY

ETA - 22/0452

Anchor TP CCA+, Anchor TP CCA-G+, Anchor TP CCA-X+, Anchor TP CCA-A4+

Team Pro lnternational FZ-LLC

ETA - 22/0539

FM 753 3DG I

FRIULSIDER SpA

ETA - 22/0540

FM 753 I

FRIULSIDER SpA

ETA - 22/0421

X-Tite ResiLoc EX3€

X-CALIBUR EMIRATES LLC

ETA - 22/0459

WTF C Chemical Anchor,WTF C Chemical Anchor-W,WTF C Chemical Anchor-T

RAKENNUSKEMIA Oy

ETA - 22/0469

Bossong BCR E-PLUS

Bossong SpA

ETA - 22/0541

FM 753 Crack I

FRIULSIDER SpA

ETA - 22/0484

FX-PD8

FASTFIX-IT ENTERPRISE CO., Ltd

ETA - 22/0492

MIT-V Max

Mungo Srl

ETA - 22/0491

MIT-V MAX

Mungo Srl

ETA - 22/0495

BIT-VESF

BIT United Ltd

ETA - 22/0494

RÉSINE DS Max

ING Fixations

ETA - 22/0522

SPIT MULTI-MAX PLUS

SPIT

ETA - 22/0496

BIT-VESF

BIT United Ltd

ETA - 22/0497

ARVEX CV

ARVEX GROBELNY Sp. z o.o.

ETA - 22/0509

ANCORANTE E500 Bonded anchor

SEICO COMPOSITI SRL

ETA - 22/0524

SPIT MULTI-MAX PLUS

SPIT

ETA - 22/0525

Injection system VI420

Hard Produtos para Construção Ltda

ETA - 22/0577

Injection system SCELL-IT X-PRO PLUS, SCELL-IT X-PRO PLUS EXPRESS,SCELL-IT X-PRO PLUS TROPICAL

Scell-it

ETA - 22/0625

DESA-CHEM VSF-H AND DESACHEM VSF-H TROPICAL

Desarrollos Especiales de Sistemas de Anclaje S.A. (Grupodesa)

ETA - 22/0632

FASTY professional POLYESTER STYRENE FREE

LUCIUS, s.r.o.

ETA - 22/0633

FASTY professional VINYLESTER STYRENE FREE fast curing chemical anchor PE-SF Bonded anchor

LUCIUS, s.r.o.

ETA - 22/0449

TP DA+, TP DAL+, TP DA-A4+, TP DAS+ drop in anchor

Team Pro lnternational FZ-LLC

ETA - 22/0457

GMS-Ceiling Nail GDN

GMS-Bautechnik GmbH

ETA - 22/0628

SPIT TRINEO AND SPIT TRINEO/B

ITW Construction Products Italy Srl

Mechanical fasteners for use in concrete Anchor TP NCA+, Anchor TP NVA-A2+, Anchor TP NCA-A4+

ETA - 22/0438

Injection system EJOT Multifix PSF+/ Sormat ITH-Pe,EJOT Multifix PSF+ Tropical / Sormat ITH-Te, EJOT Multifix PSF+ Winter

EJOT SE & Co. KG (MU Construction)

ETA - 22/0576

Injection system SCELL-IT X-PRO PLUS, SCELL-IT X-PRO PLUS EXPRESS,SCELL-IT X-PRO PLUS TROPICAL

Scell-it

Plastic anchors for redundant non-structural systems in concrete and masonry

Fasteners for use in concrete for redundant for non-structural systems

ETA - 22/0450

Bonded anchors for use in autoclaved aerated concrete slabs

ETA - 22/0512

fischer universal plug DuoPower ETA

fischerwerke GmbH & Co KG

Post-installed rebar with mortar under seismic action ETA - 22/0482

MUNGO MIT-V MAX for post-installed rebar connections

Mungo Srl

ETA - 22/0634

Injection system SCELL-IT X-PRO PLUS, SCELL-IT X-PRO PLUS EXPRESS

Scell-it

Systems for post-installed rebar connections with mortar ETA - 22/0468

Bossong BCR E-PLUS for rebar connections

Bossong SpA

ETA - 22/0508

ANCORANTE E500 Bonded anchor for rebar connections

SEICO COMPOSITI Srl

Three dimensional nailing plates Team Pro lnternational FZ-LLC

ETA - 22/0513

PRESETOR SU

First Wood

ETA - 22/0543

Walter Werkzeuge Angle Brackets

Walter Werkzeuge Salzburg GmbH

Rawlplug UK achieves new technical certificate With UKTA approvals and UKCA Markings now applicable for companies and products within the UK, due to replace the CE and ETA systems completely by the end of the year, Rawlplug’s British subsidiary, Rawlplug Ltd, points out it has become the first fixing manufacturer operating in the UK market to have obtained several United Kingdom Technical Assessment (UKTA) technical approvals. he UKTA is required for products available in the UK market as an equivalent to the former European Technical Approval (ETA) certification, while the UK Conformity Assessment (UKCA) Mark is a new product marking that has replaced the former CE Marking scheme and is applicable to products placed on the UK market. Both these marking systems have been mandatory for products delivered into the UK market since January 2021, but starting from January 2023, they will also apply to any product that can be used in the UK. The former CE and ETA Marking schemes will only be recognised up to that point.

Hardy Giesler, CEO at the British Board of Agreement (BBA), and Bill Hewlett, the organisation’s Technical Director, visited the Rawlplug Academy in Reading, UK, to present Rawlplug Ltd’s Managing Director, Dr Pietro Grandesso, with the UKTA certificate applicable to selected products from within the Rawlplug portfolio.

T

124 FASTENER + FIXING MAGAZINE ≡ ISSUE 138: NOVEMBER 2022

CONSTRUCTION FIXINGS

CELO extends distance mounting insulation range With building façade thermal insulation becoming increasingly relevant as gas and heating costs rise, the ResiTHERM® 16 distance mounting system for ETICS insulated façades from CELO Befestigungssysteme GmbH has experienced high demand since its launch in April this year, with the company deciding to add a further ResiTHERM® 12 system to its portfolio.

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esiTHERM® 16 displays a number of high performance characteristics; it enables effective thermal decoupling due to its thermal separation module so that the heavy loads, such as canopies, awnings, French balconies, air conditioning units or satellite dishes can be mounted on the external insulation without thermal bridges occurring. The system can also be fitted to a wide range of façade materials, from concrete, solid and perforated bricks, to aerated concrete or sand-lime bricks, all while maintaining its energy efficiency. It can also bridge insulation thicknesses of up to 300mm on concrete, or 250mm on perforated brick masonry, with its high-quality, black, glass-fibre-reinforced polyamide separating module providing the necessary stability.

ResiTHERM® 16 also displays high resistance and a tight seal against driving rain, based on the European DIN EN 1027 standard for water tightness. This feature is also relevant beyond driving rain scenarios; its pre-mounted sealing ring, made of high-quality, weather resistant EPDM, also ensures a tested seal will resist winds of up to Storm Force 11 when the product is used with typical plaster of a grain size distribution up to 3mm. Force 11 corresponds to hurricane force winds with average

wind speeds between 103km/h – 117km/h at a height of 10m above open ground. Even under these conditions, no water penetration was detected during tests on ResiTHERM® 16’s attachment points.

The system also seals itself automatically; the anchor rod with the glass-fibre-reinforced thermal separation module, cuts through the plaster into the insulation material and seals the drill hole cleanly through the EPDM and, combined with the chemical mortar, a perfect setting process is ensured making subsequent sealing no longer necessary.

This saves valuable installation time and helps make the installation of ResiTHERM® 16 a relatively simple process.

Adding further to CELO’s distance mounting system range is the ResiTHERM® 12, which differs from ResiTHERM® 16, as it uses a smaller diameter M12 threaded rod located in the insulation and wall, as opposed to the larger M16 threaded rod of the ResiTHERM® 16 system. The resulting smaller drill hole diameter in solid building materials helps reduce installation time. Both products have ETA certification (ETA 22 – 0229) and while ResiTHERM® 16 is available now, ResiTHERM® 12 will be available soon. www.celofixings.com

All purpose sealing wall plug from TOX German manufacturer of plugs and anchor systems TOX-Dübel-Technik GmbH, has introduced a new wall plug ideal for fastening jobs in wet conditions – the all purpose Aqua Stop Pro. qua Stop Pro is a sealing wall plug, which enables secure, time saving, self-sealing fastening using a sealing function that prevents the penetration of moisture into building material being penetrated, without the need for any additional sealant.

In solid stone and in concrete, the Aqua Stop Pro works like an expansion anchor; with optimised geometry it expands several times in the drill hole and will knot reliably in hollow building materials, or behind panel building materials frequently used in wet areas.

Water blue in colour, the sealing function of the all purpose wall plug when using a stainless steel screw, has been tested by an independent institute in accordance with ETAG 022. It therefore protects building materials, especially gypsum board and gypsum fibreboard from moisture, mould growth and potential structural damage, as well as occupants from related health issues.

Fastenings must be properly sealed in accordance with ETAG 022. Until now, this has only been possible using sealants such as silicone – a very time-consuming process and not a permanent fix. With the new all purpose Aqua Stop Pro, however, fastening and sealing is done in one operation, saving time and costs.

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126 FASTENER + FIXING MAGAZINE ≡ ISSUE 138: NOVEMBER 2022

MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY IN-DEPTH COVERAGE OF THE FASTENER MANUFACTURING PROCESS

How to make hot dip galvanised bolt sets even better

Screwed fasteners are one of the most important components in wind energy units, bridges and steel construction. Alongside diverse factors such as material and tools, varying weather conditions also have an important influence on coefficients of friction and therefore the screwed fastening as a whole.

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here is currently a range of different screwed fastening in use: ISO bolt sets, friction grip bolt sets and bolt sets with calibrated pretension – all of which consist of a bolt, at least one washer and a nut. They are often made of high-tensile material.

The coefficient of friction is a key element of a secure screwed fastener. This value describes the ratio of pretension and torque and is determined by two factors – thread friction and head friction. The load pressure that affects the surfaces is the pretension, which is also responsible for the elongation of the bolt and the corresponding spring effect. Torque, on the other hand, affects the surface of the thread and the contact area, it is divided into three partial torques – thread torque, head friction and the part translated directly into pretension. Consequently, the pretension ultimately achieved with prescribed torque is dependent on the coefficient of friction.

The friction µges and k-factor are influenced by numerous different factors, such as material pairing, surface, lubrication or wear. However, ambient temperature, humidity, and rain, also have a considerable influence on screwed fastenings. It is not only elastic deformation that occurs here, in the worst case this may result in sheared bolts or failure to achieve the necessary pretension. This leads to halts in construction with extensive costs and time delays due to repair work or the replacement of fittings.

That is why DÖRKEN and Peiner Umformtechnik decided to work together on a solution. Peiner is a leading supplier of fasteners for wind energy units, and steel construction, and produces calibrated pretension bolt sets, as well as friction grip bolt sets in the dimensions M12 to M36.

“The challenge in our joint project lay in equipping the standard hot dip galvanised bolt with washer and nut with an additional top coat – meaning neither rain nor sunshine impact the stability of the fastening,” explains Christos Tselebidis, vice-president sales industrial coatings at DÖRKEN. “To achieve this, over a period of nearly six months we conducted a number of experiments and extensive testing with our zinc flake top coats, ultimately finding a top coat as a solution.”

Whilst the hot dip galvanisation is the base coat protecting the screwed fastening against corrosion, the set coefficient of friction of the zinc flake top coat ensures the secure fastening of the nut, without removing any of the hot-dip galvanised protective layer.

Alongside the extremely demanding laboratory test, the coating combinations identified have also proved their ability in various field trials. “The results are impressive – no malfunctions have occurred in the nearly 3 million bolt sets delivered and installed,” says Valerij Schram, head of application A hot dip galvanised ISO bolt set with engineering for steel construction and wind energy additional top coat at Peiner Umformtechnik. “The cooperation provides stable between DÖRKEN and Peiner has not only resolved fastening properties. a real problem, it also ensured that a previously unachieved level of process reliability could be reached on construction sites.”

The hot dip galvanised calibrated pretension bolt set was equipped with an additional top coat and is fastened in a secure and stable manner, regardless of weather influences

128 FASTENER + FIXING MAGAZINE ≡ ISSUE 138: NOVEMBER 2022

MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY

Carlo Salvi Stories: Looking to the future For the final part of our series highlighting ‘Carlo Salvi Stories’ – a series of articles celebrating business collaborations, successes and shared goals – we focus on how Carlo Salvi has helped Solvera Gaweł Technology S.A reorganise production and integrate digital technologies for automation, process monitoring and data collection.

F

ounded in 1983 and specialising in the production of high-quality fasteners, Poland-based Solvera manufactures screws for plastic and wood, metric bolts, as well as self-tapping screws for a wide range of applications, including the automotive industry in Europe, USA, China, India, Mexico, Brazil and Russia.

An increase in orders, as well as an expansion into a new 2,500m 2 area, laid the foundations for a collaboration between Solvera and Carlo Salvi. “Solvera is a state of the art company always looking to the future. Needing to increase the number of parts in our range, we needed machines that stood out for their innovative features. That’s when we found Carlo Salvi – an authentic strategic partner, able not only to provide us with the best technologies, but also to support us significantly in terms of training and assistance,” explains Grzegorz Gawel, vice-president at Solvera Gaweł Technology.

With a goal to add automation to its production, 15 headers – all a high technical specification, of double stroke models CS 001, CS 002 and CS 003 – have now been installed at Solvera’s plant in Poland. Developed in compliance with the principle of Industry 4.0, the headers enable the company to meet automation goals by offering production efficiency, as well as time and cost savings. Touchscreens also facilitate operators’ communication with IT software, with them receiving all the necessary information and warnings on the required quality control, process parameters and tooling wear.

“Carlo Salvi offered the perfect solution, improving the times and methods of our production process. From a technological point of view, what we most appreciate is certainly the

640

We wanted a supplier that was reliable, with proven international experience...”

130 FASTENER + FIXING MAGAZINE ≡ ISSUE 138: NOVEMBER 2022

rigid construction, the quick settings, the short changeover times and the two different tanks for machine and tool oil. We had high expectations.

We wanted a supplier that was reliable, with proven international experience, but at the same time followed us closely. We have found the right partner,” comments Grzegorz Gawel.

“The collaboration with Solvera Gaweł Technology has allowed us to develop synergies and results that cannot be reached individually.

A cohesive group always achieves greater results.

With the aim of mutual growth, we want to continue making our skills and technology available,” comments Marco Pizzi, CCO at Carlo Salvi SpA. www.carlosalvi.com

Limitless possibilities . . .

No matter what kind of corrosion protection you need, we have the right tool for you. MKS' Atotech corrosion protection solutions meet and exceed all industry requirements and cover the full spectrum of coating technologies: from pretreatment, zinc and zinc alloy plating processes, as well as zinc flake coatings to a comprehensive range of post-treatment systems with suitable coefficients of friction. The various possible combinations of our exceptional product range ensure outstanding corrosion protection with an attractive appearance and durability.

Our unique products, global availability, and unsurpassed service capabilities make us a trusted partner for the fastener industry worldwide.

Learn more about our products at: www.atotech.com

MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY INSPECTION + PACKING FEATURE

Solving packaging issues for long products When it comes to packing long fasteners, manufacturers of roofing and timber screws often experience an issue with tangling.

Packaging lines from Weighpack are solving this issue by using magnetic orientation to align products.

D

uring the manufacturing process of these long coarse threaded fasteners, the fasteners are usually collected in steel bins at the outlet of the forming machines, as well as the outlet of heat treatment and various coating systems. This naturally leads to a nest of unmanageable proportions, requiring large amounts of human resources to separate, align/orient and pack these kinds of products – which are in high demand worldwide.

During the last couple of years, Weighpack International has sold a number of solutions for long screws, across both Europe and the USA. These solutions, which are based on a development of a 40 year old concept for customers in the concrete fibre reinforcement industry, are capable of handling screws ranging from 25mm up to 200mm for fast packaging lines with use of a multi head weighing machine.

Longer lengths can also be achieved by using Weighpack’s continuous in-line weighing machines, specially designed for very long screws up to 300mm – 400mm.

“Some solutions are semi automatic, where the products are detangled and oriented for subsequent manual packaging, others are fully automatic with carton forming and closing machines, as well as plastic container destacking and lidding functionality – providing an end-to-end packaging solution,” comments Weighpack. “If you are struggling with the packaging of long products – Weighpack can help.” www.weighpackinternational.com

1130

INSPECTION + PACKING FEATURE

Fast and accurate inspection with the i600 HS PRO

1134

With a granite base foundation to guarantee strength and stability, the new i600 HS PRO with Packing Unit from Regg Inspection Srl has been designed for the most comprehensive inspection needs.

A

ssembled using the highest quality components, the machine features a 600mm, 23 diameter rotary table to ensure fast and accurate inspection, as well as high resolution USB 3.0 cameras, eddy currents and hardness control.

Also new to the machine is an integrated Packing Unit, which automatically unloads the good parts into boxes made up of plastic or cardboard in complete autonomy. The pieces are then distributed inside the boxes and counted with zero errors.

132 FASTENER + FIXING MAGAZINE ≡ ISSUE 138: NOVEMBER 2022

ADVANTAGES • • • • •

MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY

Forging machines from Schuler Schuler points out that its range of equipment for forging is as diverse as the products created on it, offering the right technology for every part to be forged – from component development to method planning and die making, to the commissioning of highly efficient machines.

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chuler’s technology can also be completely automated in order to increase process stability, output and availability. Its wide range of machines include hydraulic cold extrusion, ironing, and forging presses to mechanical knuckle joint, eccentric, and crank presses – each with and without servo drive – screw presses, drop and counterblow hammers, as well as wheel rollers. Not to be forgotten are the systems with a press force of up to 16,000 tonnes from company subsidiary Farina, which has been part of Schuler Group since 2018. The Müller Weingarten and Bêché brands are also included in the group.

For the digital transformation in machine and plant engineering, Schuler has bundled a wide range of solutions for networking forming technology in its ‘Digital Suite’ to increase productivity and availability. These include applications for monitoring operating status, press force, energy requirements, and cooling and lubrication circuits, ‘Track & Trace’ for following up components, and ‘Schuler Connect’ for rapid assistance in the event of a problem with the aid of augmented reality technology.

Most problems can be solved remotely, however, if it does become necessary to call in a Schuler expert on-site, the service team of

around 800 specialists with locations throughout Europe, as well as in Brazil, Mexico, USA, China, India and Thailand is always close at hand. mayes warwick quarter page-2018-outlines.pdf

Cleaning Fasteners?

Learn more

Clean Workpieces.

C

M

Economical and Sustainable. www.ecoclean-group.net

Y

CM

MY

CY

CMY

Solvent Cleaning

Aqueous Cleaning

High-pressure Waterjet Deburring

Ultrasonic Cleaning

Surface Processing & Selective Cleaning

K

1

25/01/2018

MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY

Walter acquires PCD tools manufacturer Walter AG has reached an agreement to acquire Portugal-based Frezigest SA (Frezite), a manufacturer of made to order polycrystalline diamond (PCD) tools for metal and wood applications.

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rezite has a strong focus on products for the automotive, general engineering and aerospace segments and will strengthen Walter’s competence in lightweight machining, especially for the European market. The acquisition also supports Walter’s growth strategy.

The complementary production capabilities and competence of Frezite also helps to reinforce Walter’s position in the electric and hybrid vehicle market. Frezite’s competence and offering of clamping systems and drills will enable Walter to offer turnkey solutions which implies deeper interaction in the customer’s value chain. In addition Frezite adds adjacent revenue potential for Walter in the premium wood and composite segment.

Frezite, founded in 1978, has around 450 employees and is headquartered in Trofa, Portugal. It is an engineering group of companies mainly working on the wood and metal cutting tool business but also high performance fixtures and post machining

special machinery, as well as space technologies. A strong focus of the company is producing made to order PCD cutting tools. Frezite is strongly active towards globalisation and already has a consolidated branch network. Developing engineered solutions for different markets, the company has also been extending its field of action to new operating areas. The commitment to innovation and excellence means that Frezite’s products and technology can currently be found in over 70 countries spread across five continents.

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TESTING

INSIGHT INTO TESTING METHODS FOR THE FASTENER SECTOR

The testing of materials

By Cesare Certini, owner of CERMAC Srl

The testing of materials has to be performed with machines and equipment that ensure high-quality – using cutting edge technology.

Such testing machines apply increasing stress to the material under test until it fails, simultaneously measuring the applied force and, depending on the type of test, other physical characteristics.

Either load control or strain control can be used to perform tensile tests.”

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achines that perform tensile tests on metallic materials must have a robust and rigid construction, as well as being accurate in their load and strain measurements. This means that the tensile force must be transferred entirely to the specimen and measured as accurately as the specimen’s elongation, avoiding deformation of the machine structure as much as possible.

The force is measured by means of a load cell, while the strain is measured directly on the test specimen using a clip on extensometer. In addition, the crosshead displacement is also measured; the latter data does not give a quantitative but a qualitative measure of the strain.

During the execution of the test, the force and strain measurements are acquired in ‘real time’ and used by a closed loop P.I.D algorithm to control the test speed. This control is most accurate when the resolution of the load and strain measurements is high and the sampling rate is fast. The test speed is also a key parameter to guarantee the consistency of the results, as well as their reproducibility and comparability.

Either load control or strain control can be used to perform tensile tests. When operating in load control, an increment of force

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is applied over time. Conversely, when operating in strain control, an increment of strain is applied over time. The loading rate is usually expressed in MPa/s and has a range between 2 – 60, while the strain rate is expressed in s-1 and has a range, depending on the test phase, between 0.00007 and 0.008 s-1.

The reference standards set how the test speed is to be applied; i.e. which type of control and which speed to use. In particular, the UNI EN ISO 6892 standard provides two different methods for performing tensile tests on metallic materials at room temperature: Method A – provides the speed control is based on strain over time (strain control), with strain rates differentiated between elastic, yield and plastic phases.

Method B – provides the speed control is based on the load increase over time (load control) in the elastic phase, and then switches to strain control with targeted speeds for yielding and plastic phase.

The difference between the two methods is that in Method A, the test speed is kept controlled in the determination phase of the point of interest (e.g Rp0.2%) where the parameter is determined, whereas in Method B, the controlled speed is applied in the elastic phase before the parameter is determined. www.cermacsrl.com

TESTING

Impact testing at low temperatures Here SMT Srl – the independent Italian testing laboratory and mechanical workshop – focuses on the requirements for impact tests at low temperatures, as well as the importance of factoring in transition temperature.

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ome fastener standards require impact tests and often at low temperatures. For example, Class 8.8 and 10.9 of the EN ISO 898-1 standard must be tested at -20°C, while in the case of Grade L7 of the American standard ASTM A193 at -101 °C. The reasons why the tests are carried out at temperatures below zero is essentially linked to the fact that fasteners often work at low temperatures and therefore it is necessary to verify they maintain good impact test values even at temperatures below zero.

However, there is another factor that should be considered, verifiable with the impact test, and it is the transition temperature.

The steels with a crystalline structure, with a body centered cubic (all steels with the exception of austenitic stainless steels) falling below a certain temperature, change behaviour – passing from ductile to brittle. This step can be gradual or sudden, with a small drop in temperature making the steel significantly brittle.

Conventionally it has been established that the transition temperature is that temperature value in which the fracture surface is 50% brittle and 50% ductile. To calculate this value, it is therefore not sufficient to evaluate the absorbed energy value (the value in Joules) but to verify the appearance of the fracture following the impact test.

If the fracture surface has a smooth appearance, it indicates that it is brittle, if it appears fibrous it indicates that it is ductile. In the case of a Charpy specimen, the brittle part will be in the centre of the specimen – while the ductile part will be near the edge. To correctly calculate the

Figure One percentage of brittle fracture it is necessary to have a calliper and measure the two sides of the brittle area and calculate the area (Ab). This value must then be divided by the area of the section of a Charpy specimen, which in the case of a KV is equal to 80mm2 and multiply it by 100:

%Brittle Fracture =

Ab 10 ∙ 8

∙ 100

To find the transition temperature it is necessary to perform a series of triples of KV at different temperatures and report the brittle percentage on the ordinate axis and the test temperatures on the abscissa. The intercept between the straight line passing through 50% of the brittle fracture, and the curve obtained by interpolating the points obtained from the tests performed at different temperatures, defines the transition temperature. It is then possible to obtain two other data: The intercept between the line passing through the 100% brittle fracture defines the ‘Nil Ductility Temperature’, while the intercept between the line passing through the 0% brittle fracture determines the ‘Ductility Transition Temperature’ (Figure Two).

Verifying the value of energy absorbed by an impact test is relatively simple because it is a value that is calculated directly by the test

Figure Two: Fracture appearance transition curve pendulum. The calculation of the brittle percentage of a fracture is instead performed by the operator, who necessarily must be an expert.

Thanks to the high number of FATT performed daily, and the experience of its staff, the SMT laboratory is able to ensure considerable accuracy in this type of calculation and guarantee its customers the correct achievement of the transition temperature. www.smtsrl.com

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TESTING

Streamlining the measurement of safety and performance critical components Addmore Engineering, a family business that supplies CNC turned and milled components, believes it has found the perfect way to measure safety and performance critical components thanks to an air gauging system from Bowers Group.

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s part of its inspection process, Addmore Engineering needs to measure bolts, which are critical components on braking systems. It is therefore imperative that 100% of the parts produced are within tolerance. The air gauging system from Bowers Group ensures the performance critical parts manufactured satisfy customers requirements to 100% inspect safety critical characteristics and meet tight tolerances.

“The Bowers air gauging system is the perfect solution for us because it standardises the measurement process and eliminates the potential for human error,” states Ben Vasquez, managing director at Addmore Engineering Ltd. “The system allows multiple operators to accurately check the diameter of the components in minimal time, and the modern control panel gives a quick yes/no output that enables each bolt to be checked with guaranteed high precision results in a matter of seconds.”

Addmore Engineering manufactures in excess of 10,000 of the bolts every month, therefore a fast, repeatable, and user-friendly solution was key. The business had previously experienced some

Measurement of prevail torques For the long-term durability of a bolted connection, it is of the utmost importance to know the tendency for embedment and relaxation under stress, which is what REC Fastening is able to measure using its high precision electric measurement wrenches of the FAST portable type. ithin its test laboratory REC Fastening GmbH uses its FAST portable to analyse the embedment and relaxation tendency of fastener joints. With an accuracy of 0.5%, and an angular resolution of 0.025 degrees, up to 10,000 pairs of measured values per second can be recorded and evaluated.

In order to be able to make a statement about the tendency for embedment and relaxation of the fastener joint, the original components are first assembled using a defined assembly strategy. During assembly, the tightening torque produces a certain preload force into the fastener joint. Subsequently, the bolted joint can be affected (loaded) by thermal, dynamic or environmental influences. After the treatment, the fastener joint is subjected to a high precision further tightening torque test. The drop in the measured prevail torque (Mw) in relation to the initiated assembly torque (MA) is a measure of the reduction in the preload force and thus a measure of the tendency of the bolted joint for embedment and relaxation.

“The high-resolution, handheld measuring wrench for torque drive angle testing was developed for the simple and precise detection of further tightening torques and loosening torques,” explains REC Fastening.

“Combined with the REC® MESStec proWIN software, the FAST portable is an optimal analysis system for assembly processes in fastener technology, both for use in development and for process validation.”

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difficulties whereby operators were achieving differing readings with micrometers; a significant problem when trying to measure 7-micron tolerances. The Bowers air gauging system enabled many members of the team to check component diameters in a short space of time, and the touchscreen display – with its customisable display interface – is easy to read and interpret results. The air gauging system uses air flow volumes and pressures to measure parts and is well suited for applications that demand sub-micron precision tolerancing.

The air gauging technology also enables the measurement of not only dimensions, but geometric and relational characteristics, such as squareness, parallelism, ovality, taper and straightness. “Personally, I have always been aware of the benefits of air gauging. During my apprenticeship I regularly used the older dial/clock-based systems.

The advantage of the modern digital display is that anybody can see if the component is correct just by looking at the colour,” adds Ben. “The sales and technical support from Bowers has also been first class and we have already begun discussions about further projects.”

Shimadzu introduces new LCMS-9050 Q-TOF Shimadzu, a global specialist in analytical instrumentation, has introduced the LCMS-9050 Q-TOF mass spectrometer with the company summing up its characteristics in three key points: Accuracy, acceleration and accommodation of users’ needs.

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he LCMS-9050 is a quadrupole Time-of-Flight (Q-TOF) mass spectrometer system, with Shimadzu highlighting it has one of the highest mass accuracy stability levels available. Its proprietary high precision temperature control system inhibits even tiny mass variations caused by external factors so that the system can be used to measure accurate mass values without worrying about mass calibration. The ultra-stable polarity switching technology enables the simultaneous analysis of positive and negative ions, contributing to new applications development and heightened analysis efficiency.

For an overall easy, efficient and enhanced analysis performance, Shimadzu has simplified mass calibration, maintenance and other non-analysis procedures – empowering users to spend less time on instrument management and more time on the ‘real data’. Plus, with high-speed for MS/MS, the LCMS-9050 will accelerate the output of results even more.

“Shimadzu’s line-up of varied optional equipment – ranging from the DPiMS™ probe electrospray ionization unit up to the Nexera™ UC supercritical fluid extraction (SFE)/supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC) system – helps users to tap the full potential of the LCMS-9050 Q-TOF and – most importantly – their own,” states the company.

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TESTING

User-friendly software makes sure bolted joints are safe Measurement technology expert Kistler now offers a solution that makes it easier for users to test fastening tools and get off to a quick start – the web-based CEUS 10 software, which complements Kistler’s proprietary cerTEST system.

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olted joints perform a highly critical safety role in many different application areas, which is why a growing number of manufacturers require their suppliers to provide documentation of the fastening processes. To make sure that a fastener sits properly, correct adjustment and reliable functioning of the tool are the key factors. Tool testing systems guarantee that these requirements are met, but what is the most efficient way to organise inspection of the many different tools in a company? And what is the simplest method of transferring the data to a database where it can be retrieved in case of recourse claims?

Kistler states its new generation CEUS 10 software leverages the intuitive operability of its cerTEST tool testing system, enabling users to store measurement settings for individual torque tools and benefit from step-by-step guidance through the measurements.

This is the latest development of the ‘Central Evaluation Unit for All Systems’, with even greater emphasis on intuitive operability and easy to understand test records. Kistler points out that CEUS 10 also allows cerTEST users to store different measurement settings and access them with just a few clicks whenever needed – so measurement parameters for individual tools only ever need to be set once. CEUS 10 also generates a specific measurement history for each tool, and stores test records automatically on a local server.

“To meet increasing safety requirements, more and more tool developers and suppliers in the automotive industry and many other sectors are opting for inspection systems such as cerTEST,” reports Dr Gerald Zeinert, head of development for CEUS 10 at Kistler. “The new software generation offers decisive advantages for system users as well as quality managers – both the measurements themselves and the resultant records are so easy to understand that operators don’t need to have any special experience.”

The program is able to guide users through the measurements in various languages, and the user can also choose the language for the records – ensuring traceability of tools and parts, even across international borders, with no language barriers. www.kistler.com/reliability

CEUS 10 generates a specific measurement history for each tool...”

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961-514e-03.21

Maximum reliability

Minimized quality costs

No matter what size – 100% reliability matters.

It’s crucially important for bolted joints to function safely and reliably. Therefore fastening technology must be continuously monitored and tested to eliminate the risk of recalls and additional costs. Kistler offers an extensive portfolio of test and analysis systems to analyze the functional characteristics of bolted joints and bolting tools.

www.kistler.com/reliability

MANAGEMENT + SYSTEMS SYSTEM DEVELOPMENTS AFFECTING THE FASTENER SECTOR

Who’s the ‘Alpha’ now?

By Jason Bader, principle, The Distribution Team

I was listening to a podcast recently, I know, I know. It seems that I am beginning many of my articles with “I was listening to this podcast…”. I have really got to get a new opener. As I was saying, I was listening to a podcast episode where the host and the guest were clearly close friends for many years and one of the keys to their successful ‘bromance’ was that one was the ‘Alpha’ in the relationship and the other was the ‘Beta’.

I

n other words, the host thrived in being the more dominant party in a relationship, while the guest was very comfortable being the less dominant. This came out in subtle ways like picking a restaurant to meet at or choosing a particular activity to do together. I started thinking about all sorts of relationships I had been a part of or observed over the years. Two ‘Alphas’ would often clash and try to find ways to be the lead, while two ‘Betas’ would constantly wait for the other to take the reins and nothing would ever get accomplished. So how does this observation relate to distribution? In our supplier relationships, there is always an ‘Alpha’ and a ‘Beta’; but does it always remain consistent?

I was doing a little coaching work with one of my long-standing clients and this subject came up. Not that I would suggest to a client that they were a ‘Beta’ to their supplier ‘Alphas’, but it came up in a more subtle way. We were talking about requesting co-op marketing funds from their suppliers to support some of the more sophisticated digital efforts the company had been investing in. I am a big believer that suppliers need to shoulder some of the load when we actively market their brand. It only seems fair, and it was kind of a given in the industry I grew up in. Over the years, I have heard this client suggest that co-op was never something his suppliers had every offered and it wasn’t very prevalent in their niche. Having had some prior relations with his suppliers in my previous life, I knew that these funds were available. They

In our supplier relationships, there is always an ‘Alpha’ and a ‘Beta’; but does it always remain consistent?”

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MANAGEMENT + SYSTEMS just hadn’t been available to his company. His company was the ‘Beta’ in this relationship.

I had to step back and help him think through the position of supplier dominance. He shared with me that many of the suppliers still withheld parts of their product offering claiming territory or channel conflicts. In many cases they were still having to ask, or rather beg, to allow them to sell the line in certain areas. ‘Oh, you can sell it in this area, but you can’t sell it in that area’.

I really hate this kind of manipulation.

For some context, this company has just crested over US$20 million in revenue.

With several suppliers, their purchases have crossed over the million dollar mark. They are no longer the ‘little dog’, but they have not been able to convince themselves otherwise. Even though they are clearly moving up the food chain, they still think of themselves as the ‘little dog’. This mentality starts at the top.

The first thing this leadership team has to do is start acting like a bigger dog. I don’t mean this in an arrogant way, but rather they need to see that they need to start becoming the ‘Alpha’ in their supplier relationships. In working through this change of perception with my client, we came to realise that he was hanging on to the way he developed relationships in the past. When the company was a small, insignificant player on the map, he was begging to be set-up with second tier suppliers. Begging to get a line of credit. Begging to get any sales support. When someone from the supplier would drop by, he would get an “atta boy” and a nice pat on the head. This self-perception has clung to him and has hampered his ability to gather the resources and support to rocket his company forward.

So how does one become an ‘Alpha’ in a supplier relationship?

First, you need to adopt a change in mentality. No longer will we ride the coattails of their brand. It is time that they start riding ours. We must convince that supplier that we are the horse to ride into the future. Obviously, we can’t be doing the same marketing activities of the past. Just like we try to demonstrate a unique value proposition to

our customers, we need to apply this same approach to convincing our suppliers that we are the better option in the market. When was the last time we pulled out all the stops when doing market planning with a supplier? Put on your selling shoes.

Create a PowerPoint. Manufacturer sales leadership can relate to good presentation.

Throw out terms like market share and target markets. Words like omnichannel and eCommerce get the juices flowing. Talk about sales innovation and an analytical approach to driving revenue. Highlight some of your successful initiatives and conversions. Make no mistake, this is a dog and pony show. At the end of the presentation, we want them to be inventing new ways to drive products through your door. That’s when the marketing funds magically appear.

Once you become the ‘Alpha’, you get to pick who will ride your coattails. I would suggest picking a few key suppliers, who respect your position in the market, and sit down to do formal marketing plans. This isn’t just an arbitrary growth goal with a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. I am talking about real planning. What joint marketing activities are we going to perform? What products are we going to focus on? What customer segments are we going to aggressively target? How are we going to support key eCommerce initiatives? How and when will product knowledge sessions take place? How can we use marketing funds to support these goals? These are the high-level conversations that take place when we quit fighting for the scraps.

In case anyone gets the wrong impression, I am not anti-manufacturer. I love working with suppliers who are excited about driving new market opportunities. I am thrilled to invite suppliers to participate in innovative initiatives. What I abhor is professional laziness. I have little regard for those who rest on brand equity from the past and look down upon the distributors who drove their brand for decades. Distributors have every opportunity to be the ‘Alpha’ in their supplier relationships. They just have to look in the mirror and believe it.

So how does one become an ‘Alpha’ in a supplier relationship?

First, you need to adopt a change in mentality.”

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MANAGEMENT + SYSTEMS STORAGE SYSTEMS + MATERIAL HANDLING FEATURE

Storage system efficiency With digital integration into pre-existing warehouses, Jungheinrich has unveiled its new automated compact storage system for containers – PowerCube, which offers flexibility, strong performance and a unique use of space.

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owerCube is an automated compact storage system for containers, providing storage and order picking for small parts and general cargo. Containers are stacked on top of each other in vertical channels up to 12m high within the modular racking system, enabling space efficient container storage in the smallest of areas. The containers are stored and retrieved

by PowerCube shuttles that move automatically underneath the racking system.

The shuttles move at a maximum speed of 4m/s, with an acceleration of up to 2m/s² and can simultaneously transport two containers with a load of 50kg each, moving automatically in the plane below the PowerCube racking. With a scalable number of shuttles, the throughput can be adjusted to meet increased demand or expansions in the product range. Also equipped with high performance lithium-ion

batteries, which are temporarily charged at the workstations during operation, the shuttles are ready for use over a 24 hour period.

“Companies are either under increasing time pressure or are reaching the limits of their warehouse capacity. PowerCube is the perfect solution to significantly increase warehouse efficiency under these conditions, thereby increasing competitiveness,” explains Christian Erlach, chief sales officer at Jungheinrich AG. “Whether as a standalone solution, an addition to wide aisle warehouses, or the centrepiece of a complex automated system, PowerCube allows our customers to fully exploit the potential of their warehouse. Thanks to the vertical arrangement of the containers, PowerCube has a storage density four times higher than that of a conventional storage system and can be erected on normal industrial floors without extensive reworking, meaning it can be easily integrated into existing warehouses.”

Implementing ERP remotely At a time when lockdown restrictions were in place, Caswells Group, a UK-based supplier of PPE, janitorial, safety and hose/hydraulic products made the decision to implement a K8 ERP solution remotely. Since then, the company has implemented more of KCS’ Apps including the K8 ePOD, as well as the eReceipts App to help manage margins easily and effectively. ames Platt, operations director at KCS explained: “Not being able to physically have KCS on-site was an all new approach to implementing a K8 system. Despite the remote challenges, K8 was successfully implemented and Caswells Group has never looked back – introducing many more Apps and solutions from KCS since.”

The latest additions to Caswell Group’s portfolio includes the K8 ePOD App, which enables drivers to download the delivery manifest and be guided to each drop where, upon arrival, the driver is able to check off the goods. “Not only does it make the delivery process much more straightforward but it also ensures that once a delivery is confirmed, it’s immediately available for invoicing. If the driver finds an issue, they can raise a notification via the App which can be immediately dealt with and resolved for the customer,” says James Platt.

Caswells has also implemented the KCS eReceipts App, which enables the team to receive and book goods in a single action, ensuring they are immediately registered. Additionally, any issues found can be notified electronically to the management team. “eReceipts really makes a difference to the picking and back order clearance process. We now find that inventory is available for picking throughout the day, not just when somebody finally gets around to booking the goods in at a terminal,” explains James Platt.

Finally, Caswells is planning to introduce KCS’s SalesRep Portal, which enables a remote sales team to capture orders on their phone whilst visiting with a customer. “Too often, keying errors can arise when orders are emailed to the office and then keyed into the system. We want the customer’s order to be immediately available for processing as soon as a member of our sales team takes it. Not only will this remove errors, but it will also mean that we can get the goods to our customers in less time and deliver even greater customer service,” concludes James Platt.

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MANAGEMENT + SYSTEMS

Providing full ERP integration With a world that is increasingly moving towards full automation there is a drive among businesses to integrate management systems to ease manufacturing and distribution processes. Here, OGL Software Limited explains how, with its Profit4 ERP software, it can provide automated processes to the modern business.

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f a business has never used an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solution, it can be difficult to understand why they’re so important to most modern distributor businesses. But ERPs are key, enhancing interconnectivity by managing and integrating most business processes through a single interface. Such technology is highly convenient, instead of having to use dozens of applications each day, employees can access a single centralised and integrated system where all data and applications are located.

The benefits ERPs bring are quite apparent. Firstly, they make businesses agile and efficient by taking away tedious data entry tasks. Every member of an organisation, from any department, can have access to relevant and ‘real time’ data.

This is the main advantage of an ERP – its ability to unite every department and build connections between them. ERPs coordinate the flow of information between departments, streamline operations and bring teams together under a single platform, thus increasing productivity and organisation. OGL offers a full service ERP, Profit4, which can unite a company’s departments, saving time and money while better organising processes and distribution.

Keeping on top of inventory is one of the hardest things about having a business – especially given the recent issues which have faced global supply chains. Fortunately, ERPs have the ability to simplify inventory management. By centralising all business areas to one location, ERPs allow for an integrated approach to stock management. A full service ERP solution such as Profit4 will include multi-channel stock management features to ensure a company is never over or under stocked. It will also provide a multi-location view for businesses that have multiple physical warehouses and digital eCommerce platforms.

Through an integrated ERP, orders can also be tracked and managed from a single point of sale. Profit4 equips sales teams with the necessary tools needed to close more deals. With the ability for sales reps to track a customer’s order history through a centralised software, they can offer a more personalised service to potential clients. This, combined with ‘real time’ sales performance data means sudden fluctuations in demand can be responded to quickly.

The advantages of an integrated ERP system are apparent for most modern businesses which require effective and organised processes. With Profit4, OGL offers a solution which enables the management of all areas of business from one centralised system.

Boosting services with software solutions Combilift, a global manufacturer of forklifts and provider of handling solutions, is using Infor Coleman AI in combination with Infor CloudSuite Industrial, to boost its equipment uptime and customer service. n order to meet its customers’ specific needs, Combilift has 60,000 trucks in operation. Managing such a diverse range of vehicles generates servicing issues which requires accuracy when quoting parts to ensure a ‘first time fix’. To combat this, the company utilises Coleman AI, an integrated Infor platform technology service, alongside Infor CloudSuite Industrial, to generate the correct parts for service quotes.

Within 60 days of the solution being deployed, Combilift predicts a 30% increase in first time fixes, a 40% reduction in costs for service jobs and a 30% increase in revenue per transaction with the use of Infor software solutions.

“With new hires and less experienced staff in the parts department, we knew there were missed revenue opportunities because of inaccurate quoting,” said Kenny Gilmour, global parts manager at Combilift. “For example, if someone wants a water pump, a trained employee knows to add a gasket. But a new hire would not, leaving the customer to go to another vendor to purchase a gasket. We are excited about the parts recommender getting smarter, so we can bring in more revenue.”

In addition to Coleman AI, Combilift is also using Infor homepage services to help deliver efficiency and accuracy to the production department responsible for production KPIs.

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APPLICATION TECHNOLOGY FASTENING SOLUTIONS FOR ALL INDUSTRIES RENEWABLE ENERGY FEATURE

Joining cheaper, cleaner energy

By Ian Parker, freelancer, ianparkerwriter@aol.com The Earth is full of energy, but we need the right technology to access it. Initially, humans developed mainly convenient, cheap but dirty methods (such as burning fossil fuels), but now the pressure is on to employ clean and much more evenly distributed methods, such as solar, wave, tide, nuclear and of course wind power.

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onflicts, such as the war in Ukraine, have also brought national energy dependency into focus – all countries now are wary of depending on another for energy, especially if that country may turn hostile. Some energy exporting countries have spent years getting customer countries dependent for political purposes, so many nations now want to be energy independent. Green technologies could go a long way towards this.

A more advanced energy alternative is wind power with wind turbine fields (both on and offshore) being built worldwide. In terms of efficiency, the bigger the turbines are the better and designs are now pushing the limits of materials, fasteners and fixings, as well as transport. Huge turbines need a lot of holding together, particularly as blades are now being made in sections because of manufacturing and delivery limitations.

The largest yet

There are roughly 36 large (above 10kW) wind turbine manufacturers worldwide, with the largest wind turbine in operation – according to the Guinness Book of Records – the General Electric

Haliade-X, which stands 260m (853ft) tall and has a rotor diameter of 220m (721ft). The first prototype Haliade-X was assembled for testing in the port of Rotterdam on 17 th October 2019.

The rotor blades on the Haliade-X are 107m (351ft) long with a 6m (19ft 8in) diameter hub. The Haliade series is made by GE Wind (Offshore), a European subsidiary of the US-based multinational formerly known as Alstom Wind. The bulk of the manufacturing for the Haliade series takes place in St Nazaire and Cherbourg, France.

The original version of the Haliade-X had a rated capacity of 12mW, but, after the initial round of testing, this was upgraded to 13mW. In January 2020, the Haliade-X 13mW prototype set a new 24 hour power generation record, with an output of 288mW/h in one day. The size of this turbine means that a single turn of the rotor generates enough electricity to power an average home for more than two days.

The Haliade-X has also been chosen for the massive Dogger Bank Wind Farm project, which is a group of wind farms under construction in the middle of the North Sea. When completed these wind farms will have 190 Haliade 13mW turbines for a total generating capacity of 4.8gW. GE Renewable Energy said recently that it has added a second mould for making the blades at Cherbourg. The company is also building

The Haliade-X prototype. The blade tips reach nearly as high as the Eiffel Tower, putting major stresses on the adhesives used in the blade manufacture and the fasteners in the tower and at the blade hubs

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Larger wind farm blades are moulded in two halves and joined with adhesives. This can lead to joint quality control issues.

(Baptiste Almodovar)

an additional hall for finishing blades. The factory is also planning to hire 200 more workers, which would bring the total number of employees at the site to 800. “Our teams here in Cherbourg are thrilled to take an active role in the energy transition and to be part of the successful journey for GE’s Haliade-X offshore wind turbine,” said Olivier Fontan, president and CEO of LM Wind Power.

Typically, workers make blades from layers of glassfibre fabric and balsa wood.

The result is a composite material. They line the individual sheets and wood inside special moulds honed and polished to produce the right aerodynamic shape. Next, they cover the layers with foil, pump the air out to create a vacuum and inject a special resin to fuse them together. The vacuum helps the resin seep into the tiniest nooks and create a solid shell.

The process sounds straightforward, but workers, wearing white Tyvek coveralls, respirators and protective eyewear, must work fast and infuse the huge mould with resin that quickly turns from liquid to solid.

When the blade shells harden, crews remove them from the mould and join them together – two half shells to make a blade – inside a long, curving clamp using adhesives.

Finally, they sand, polish and paint the blades and dispatch them to customers.

GE is also building another plant for the long blades in Teesside, an industrial port on the UK’s North Sea coast. Workers at the plant, which is scheduled to open in 2023, will supply blades for Haliade-X turbines at the Dogger Bank Offshore Wind Farm.

In October, GE also received an order to

supply 62 Haliade-X turbines to the 800mW Vineyard Wind 1, the first utility scale offshore wind farm in the United States. It is to be built 15 miles off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts.

And bigger to come

MingYang Smart Energy has also scheduled the market launch of its 16mW offshore wind turbine for 2024. The Chinese company said the largest wind turbine under development in the world will be able to supply enough electricity for 20,000 households.

The rapid rise in demand for electricity for renewable sources, and the decrease in costs for wind power technology, prompted MingYang Smart Energy to design the world’s strongest and biggest wind turbine. The model is called MySE 16.0-242 and the designers implemented the hybrid drive transmission concept and opted for a compact solution.

Offshore turbines are generally much larger than those onshore.

The 262m high wind turbine will be made to withstand typhoons, MingYang claims.

It is envisaged to have a rotor with a 242m diameter, blades of 118m and a 4.6 hectare swept area. The tower and blades will be able to stand the strongest winds, with curve built into the blade to stop them hitting the tower.

A single MySE 16.0-242 will be able to generate 80gWh of electricity per year. In comparison, it produces 45% more energy than MingYang’s previous turbine model, the MySE 11.0-203.

One 16.0-242 can also eliminate more than 1.6 million tonnes of CO 2 emissions over

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the course of its designed 25 year lifespan, according to the announcement. It is the start of MingYang’s offshore portfolio of 15mW or above. Last year China installed more than half of the turbines in the segment on a global scale.

The construction of turbines

So how big can wind turbine towers and blades get and what extra demands will they put on fasteners and fixings? In a US study, some 163 experts were polled by four energy research organisations and their opinions led to an expected median hub height of 115 metres by 2030 for onshore turbines, some 33 metres above the current ones. Blade tips will reach over 170 metres from the hub.

Offshore wind turbines, which are already larger than their onshore brethren, are set to achieve even greater heights by 2030, the experts said. Today’s machines, averaging 4.1mW with a hub height of 90m, will be replaced by 11mW giants with hubs 125m above sea level and blades spanning 190m.

Their blade tips will scythe the air at well over twice the height of the Statue of Liberty.

“We asked the experts to give us a sense for the typical size of turbines in 2030, so the resulting figures should be considered midpoint estimates, not the maximum,” said Ryan Wiser of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, one of the bodies involved in the research. This move towards ever bigger turbines is driven by the quest for lower levelised cost of energy (LCOE), said the study’s authors, some of whom are from the US National Renewable Energy Laboratory,

logistics. “At some point I suspect there will be diminishing returns,” said Daniels. “The key is in manufacturing and shipping costs.”

Another limitation might be material stiffness. Larger blades are already made with prebend so that they don’t touch the tower in strong winds. If the blades strike the tower at high rotational speed, there will be huge damage.

What are the fastener issues?

the University of Massachusetts and the International Energy Agency.

Bigger turbines cost less per megawatt, thanks to economies of scale and lower balance of plant costs, and have better performance through taller towers and longer blades. US onshore turbines have already increased twentyfold in size, from 0.1mW and 18m in the 1980s to 2mW and 82m in 2015.

Offshore turbines have had only a decade and a half of development in Europe, but have already grown from an average of 1.6mW and 64m in 2000 to 4.1mW and 90m last year. Thanks to further increases in size, “LCOE is anticipated to decline by 24% to 30% in 2030 and by 35% to 41% in 2050, relative to 2014 baseline values,” reads the study, which is said to be the largest ever expert elicitation survey on an energy technology.

As might be expected from a survey of diverse opinions, there was a fair amount of variability in responses, with some experts predicting that fixed bottom offshore wind turbines could top 18mW in capacity by 2030.

“European onshore and offshore typical turbine capacity in 2030 is somewhat larger than estimates for North America,” said Wiser. “There is an expectation of somewhat larger machines in Europe than North America, consistent with historical trends.”

Although the study did not consider emerging markets, Aaron Daniels, co-founder and managing director of Thailand-based consultancy Modern Energy Management, said massive turbines were rapidly becoming the norm outside Europe

and America. “And the market is responding,” he continued. “8mW wind turbines with 164m rotors are now commercially available for this market segment, with 10mW turbines planned to be released by some manufacturers.”

Even the top end of current size expectations could fall short of reality by 2030, Wiser said. “Alas, we did not ask about maximum capacities or fundamental limits,” he commented. “I would note that in the past, most claims that we were reaching a plateau have, so far at least, proven incorrect.”

Nevertheless, it is clear that wind turbines cannot carry on growing indefinitely. Wiser and Daniels both said there would likely be an upper limit for wind turbine size, potentially dictated by

When it comes to the wind turbine size, David Briggs, chief technical officer at the Cooper Turner Beck Group, explains the challenges regarding fasteners have also increased: “I started with Cooper & Turner 20 years ago when tower fasteners were M42s, and blade studs were M24s. We’re now talking tower fasteners of M82, and blade studs of M48, about a metre long. We’re also being challenged to make M100s. We’re having to find new materials that can be heat treated to get the right mechanical properties. It also brings problems in health and safety.

Manhandling these things around a factory at M100 is a challenge. Each one is about 70kg.”

David continues: “When it comes to the wind turbine business, we supply from top to bottom. We supply bolts throughout the tower and fasteners in the nacelle and the blade attachments. We’ve also developed our own zinc flake coating, which is very robust because it has to survive handling damage and the harsh offshore environment.”

David also believes that the market for bonding and fasteners in wind turbines will grow hugely over the next few decades, as the world turns to wind power as a major green alternative to fossil fuels. “There will be challenges in strength, quality control and fault detection in fasteners and fixings, as sizes become huge. However, the market opportunity is vast for those companies that get their products right.”

An LM Wind Power blade on the road.

Transport limits may be the major constraint on wind turbine blade size, but there will still be a huge number made worldwide, requiring lots of adhesives and fasteners

WWW.FASTENERANDFIXING.COM 157

APPLICATION TECHNOLOGY RENEWABLE ENERGY FEATURE

Atlas Copco advances hydraulic torque bolting Across the wind industry hydraulic torque wrenches are paramount when ensuring the structural integrity of a wind turbine’s tower, nacelle and blades. With the latest offshore wind turbines being capable of generating up to 14mW each, bigger bolts and higher torque values are necessary. For this reason, Atlas Copco has invested significantly in its hydraulic wrench offering with the launch of TorcFlex™.

A

tlas Copco’s new hydraulic torque wrench line, TorcFlex™ has been specifically designed to provide greater value in terms of ergonomic safety, accuracy, performance and cost efficiency for multiple industry applications. TorcFlex™ models include the TF Square Drive Tool and TFX Direct Fit Tool, which are complemented by a Co-Axial single hose and coupling, which Atlas explains is over four times faster in set-up than previous generations, with better maneuverability and zero risk of hose tangling with free moving couplings.

Throughout the wind industry construction firms were seen to be reducing the number of hydraulic wrenches being used in favour of electric and battery operated torque tooling. However with the latest offshore wind turbines being much larger, the need for hydraulic torque equipment has returned, with safety, performance, ease of maintenance, quality and cost efficiency being key drivers for turbine operators.

Capable of delivering torque levels over 43,000Nm on the Direct Fit Tool and 35,000Nm on the Square Drive Tool, TorcFlex™ addresses both assembly and maintenance demands of major turbines, maintaining a tool accuracy of 3%, whilst focusing on the user’s experience and prioritising safety.

To do this, the tools feature a unique retained reaction arm. Other similar wrenches available have a reaction arm that needs to be fully disengaged, so that they can be repositioned on the application, which is not only timeconsuming but also a dangerous drop hazard. Working at height is an obvious risk, so utilising TorcFlex™’s retained reaction arm increases safety for everyone working on the turbine.

TorcFlex™ also features an integral square drive retainer. Whilst other tools have a separate drive retainer, which has to be removed and reengaged when changing direction, Atlas Copco’s square drive assembly is now a single piece with a spring loaded button mechanism, which allows the user to change direction easily.

All hydraulic wrenches are also supplied with a new innovative support handle as standard and not an accessory meaning safety is again being prioritised.

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APPLICATION TECHNOLOGY RENEWABLE ENERGY FEATURE

CNC Onsite premieres wind turbine repair service and tools September’s WindEnergy show in Hamburg saw machining specialist, CNC Onsite ApS, unveil a new on-site repair service and tool to enable the precise, cost-effective replacement of damaged, threaded inserts in wind turbine blade roots.

T

he service, which takes two to three days, avoids lengthy downtime and costly logistics for the turbine operator faced with having to either transport a blade back to the manufacturer for repair, purchase a new blade, or scrap an entire turbine altogether.

Threaded inserts are critical for joining turbine blades to nacelle hubs, but can become loose over time – issues are usually detected during maintenance and mostly occur in turbines older than 10 years. Microcracks can form in older blades allowing contaminants such as grease and hydraulic oil to weaken the bonding. As a result, blade-root structural safety can be compromised, especially when fatigue loading is high and can, in worst case scenarios, result in a blade breaking away.

Previously, repairs for such problems had to be conducted at a turbine maker’s facility and could take months, but these can now be carried out on-site at the wind farm, using the new CNC Onsite service, for which the portable tool was developed specifically and in response to operator needs for an on-site repair service. Tool development also drew on the company’s CNC controlled machine technology, used to perform minute repairs to yaw ring and tower flanges.

Using the new on-site service, a turbine blade is removed and placed in a repair environment at the wind farm where faulty inserts can be drilled out and separated from the composite structure using the new portable, automatic machining tool.

To ensure drilled holes match the exact diameter and shape of replacement parts, additional precision drilling makes certain new parts can be inserted and fastened using bonding material.

A partner in the new service is international blade rotor and blade root connection expert, We4Ce, with which CNC Onsite has

teamed to deliver a complete repair solution focused on high strength blade roots.

“The difficult parts of replacing a threaded insert include both centering the replacement part, as well as the processing technology for the bond. We have developed inserts with a design that considers both.

This full solution offers a consistent and stronger bond between the insert and the blade,” said Edo Kuipers, engineering manager and co-owner at We4Ce B.V. “Repairing the blade root inserts on-site can be a complex operation. You need to be able to control several process parameters to ensure you do not do more

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damage to the blade and it is important to drill exactly in the centre of the existing inserts,” explains Søren Kellenberger, sales director and partner at CNC Onsite.

The energy transition to green power means blade manufacturers are not only running at full capacity producing new blades, but that older blade models are often phased out after five or ten years, requiring moulds to be recreated. One of the most fragile components of a wind turbine, blades are also their most expensive parts, accounting for 25% to 30% of the build cost. Replacing them, therefore, on older turbines is often unviable, with operators, instead, opting to either keep a turbine running at reduced capacity, or to decommission it.

Keeping them running is important to meet renewable energy targets and their efficient repair will be an increasingly vital element of global renewable energy transition; by helping extend the lifetime of existing turbines, CNC Onsite’s new repair service can play an important part in a renewable future.

The full repair service will be available from late autumn 2022 and caters for blades of all sizes.

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APPLICATION TECHNOLOGY RENEWABLE ENERGY FEATURE

Huck fasteners – securing the solar industry ®

With a recent drive in the industry to move towards more sustainable methods of energy and power generation such as solar, fasteners are often overlooked in the design process. Here, Star Fasteners outlines its range of Huck® fasteners specifically designed to withstand the harsh environments in solar applications.

W

hen developing solar arrays optimising the design of reliable solar racking and tracking structures for durability and reliability is paramount. Fasteners play a crucial part in the overall success of a project, frequently connecting multiple components to create a securely fastened joint, which transmits both static loads – snow, as well as dynamic loads – wind. Wind and vortices that introduce energy to the solar array at just the right frequencies can create dynamic loads that quickly overwhelm the system, causing catastrophic failure.

The sub frame, racking or tracking assemblies are important components as they provided the core structure and strength and can be subjected to the highest stresses and strains. They must survive without compromise in performance, any effect on the structural integrity can mean many hours of lost energy production and costly repairs.

Often, the most vulnerable point on a design is where there is an interface or join between components. Nuts and bolts have over centuries been used in a wide range of applications, both intricate assemblies through to mammoth installations. Bolted joints are designed to achieve a specific tension. The bolt acts as a spring to generate and retain preload in the joint. If the bolt is not stretched or elongated correctly by both the tool and the operator, targeted preload

cannot be achieved and maintained. Even when installed and checked, the installed values of a nut and bolt can vary significantly.

After installation self-loosening often takes place, this is when the threaded fastener loosens by rotation as a result of repeated slippage in the joint. Wedge washers along with pre-applied high strength adhesive can often help, but these are additional components and at additional expense.

Typically, a physical post installation inspection is necessary to ensure that all bolts are tightened to specification, a visual check of a nut and bolt does not ensure it is correctly torqued. On a solar farm for example, there are likely to be thousands of fasteners, so additional checks post installation would be costly and time-consuming.

To combat these issues, Star Fasteners UK Ltd, the largest UK distributor of the Huck® product range, offers alternative fastening solutions. HuckBolt®s (also known as LockBolts®) offer distinct advantages over traditional threaded fasteners for connecting permanent PV racking system joints.

Huck® fasteners are precision engineered to deliver unmatched installation speed, fatigue life and vibration resistance, tested and proven in solar arrays around the world. Known for their shear and tensile strength, once installed HuckBolt®s deliver consistent clamp. They have been designed to

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be tamper-proof for an additional measure of security for valuable PV panels.

Each HuckBolt® performs identically in terms of strength and clamping force.

Other mechanical fasteners such as nuts and bolts must be installed using torque, which varies with friction. HuckBolt®s such as the Huck® BobTail®, consist of two parts – a pin and a collar – but use an entirely different installation method to nuts and bolts.

As with nuts and bolts, they can be pre-assembled by hand to ‘lightly’ assemble the structure, then they are finally swaged with the installation tool (driven by pneumatic, pneudraulic or battery power).

During installation the clamp force is determined by the stretching of the hardened metal pin and the swaging of the collar into the pins locking grooves. Installation is quick; typically, less than two seconds per fastener, and unlike traditional LockBolts® no pin-break is required, therefore leaving no corrosion prone area of bare metal. This direct metal-to-metal contact of the collar swaged into the grooves of the pin eliminates the loosening effects of transverse vibration.

Recognising the cost associated with assembly time, BobTail®’s installation is fast, smooth and shock free (no jolts on the operator’s hands

Magna-Lok®

BOM® (Blind Oversized Mechanical) fastener and arms). The time saved by utilising HuckBolt®s is significant when considering the large number of potential fastening points. It could be argued that the cost of the HuckBolt® fastener and installation tools are more than those of a nut and bolt, but when considered, the high fatigue strength of HuckBolt®s means that fewer are needed. Joint integrity is not compromised, and overheads are quickly saved in other areas. Post installation, Huck® LockBolts® only require quick visual inspection (no torque or re-torque is required), saving even more time and expense.

When only one side of the joint material is accessible, performance engineered Huck® structural blind fasteners have a solution. Each fastener is designed and engineered with a unique set of features to deliver solutions to common manufacturing challenges. These include hole filling, water resistance, wide grip ranges, welding replacement, to self-grounding fastening solutions – all offering high-speed assembly.

Two widely used Huck® blind fasteners used in the solar industries are the BOM® (Blind Oversized Mechanical) fastener, often used as a replacement for welding and the Magna-Lok® (CHFR) which has been specifically designed for solar applications. The Magna-Lok® has a unique mechanical lock that ensures the integrity of the fastener in loaded conditions and complete hole-filling properties to ensure moisture resistance.

Irrespective of whether threaded, structural blind, or HuckBolts® fasteners are chosen, the mechanical properties of the joint need to be correctly determined to ensure that there is sufficient clamp force

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present on the joint interface; that is to say, enough to resist the applied loading and prevent the joint from slipping. However, by installing HuckBolt®s and Huck® structural blind fasteners, an engineer can count on many benefits including maintenance free joints; lower lifetime cost of joint; no loosening even under extreme vibration; high speed, easy to install systems that can reduce production time by 75%; improvements to health and safety; as well as being tamper-proof.

“Love or loath them, solar panels are definitely the way forward, whether that is in the form of huge solar farms, or as part of the architectural landscape,” comments Star Fasteners. “Where space is at a premium, placing solar panels on rooftops or more visible areas such as façades is going to be a necessity. Conventional ways of fitting and fastening solar panels will be challenged, buildings of the future will be at least in part, solar architecture buildings. The future strategy of solar is dynamic, and it’s a great time to explore how Huck® fastening technology can become a component of solar design of the future.”

APPLICATION TECHNOLOGY RENEWABLE ENERGY FEATURE

French tidal turbine uses BUMAX® Over two years ago BUMAX® 88 fasteners were successfully used on the 1MW HydroQuest tidal turbine in Paimpol-Bréhat, France. After two years of operation at 30m depth, the fasteners are showing no traces of corrosion or galling.

I

nstalled off the coast of Brittany in north-west France and capable of providing Europe with reliable renewable energy, the tidal turbine prototype was designed by HydroQuest, a French turbine technology developer of vertical axis turbines. Once deisgned, the turbine needed a maintenance free fastener solution to minimise operation costs over a lifespan of 20 years. Besides durability, the fasteners also had to be easy to install.

Tests of the mechanical properties including both strength and ductility of the bolts conducted by BUMAX® after the pilot project, showed the turbine fasteners had maintained their properties. “No issues were found related to bolting during this project, and our team didn’t have any issues with galling during disassembly,” says Raphaël Coquet, project director at HydroQuest. “These lessons give us positive learnings the long-term deployments, and we are confident in manufacturing our future turbines with BUMAX® bolts.”

The BUMAX® 88 grade was selected for its high molybdenum content and high pitting resistance equivalent number (PREN) that indicates a high resistance to localised pitting corrosion. This particular grade of 316L stainless steel has an excellent track record when used for BUMAX® fasteners in demanding marine applications, to provide durable and maintenance free fastener solutions.

Following the pilot project, HydroQuest is integrating the learnings from the pilot to design the next generation of the tidal turbine, which will also use BUMAX® 88 bolts. Seven of these 2.5MW tidal turbines will be deployed at the FLOWATT project at the Raz Blanchard site off the coast of Normandy with a design lifespan 20 years.

The commissioning of FLOWATT is planned for 2025 with the construction of the tidal turbines starting in 2023.

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TriMas receives supplier recognition from Boeing TriMas Aerospace’s Allfast Fastening Systems business has received a 2021 Supply Chain Performance Achievement Certificate from Boeing for the tenth consecutive year.

B

oeing issues the award annually to recognise suppliers that have achieved superior performance. Allfast Fastening Systems maintained a Silver composite performance rating for each month of the twelve month period from January to December 2021.

“This recognition acknowledges our commitment to our customers to consistently provide superior quality, on time delivery, flexibility and outstanding service,” said John Schaefer, President of TriMas Aerospace. “Our Allfast team tirelessly focuses on operational excellence and customer satisfaction, and we’re grateful for their hard work and dedication. We thank Boeing for this recognition and look forward to continuing to partner on innovative fastener solutions.”

TriMas Aerospace designs, engineers and manufactures precision fasteners, air ducting products and machined components for the global commercial and military aerospace industry under a number of brands including Monogram Aerospace Fasteners™, Allfast Fastening Systems, Mac Fasteners™, RSA Engineered Products, Martinic Engineering™ and TFI Aerospace.

A waterproof solution A provider of high precision opto-mechanical solutions for laser material processing, has replaced screws with a sealing adhesive and is now relying on Böllhoff’s PULLPLUG™ for the permanent sealing of drill holes in its cooling systems with water. ith its AXIALSCAN FIBER series, RAYLASE GmbH offers a product line that can be easily integrated into any laser system due to different interfaces. It is highly configurable and IP64 rated for heavy use in industrial environments. RAYLASE manufactures this product in a Class 7000 cleanroom and it requires various auxiliary holes, which must be permanently sealed. Screws with a sealing adhesive were used in the past, but this process was time intensive and only partly process safe.

To close the auxiliary holes in this application in the aluminium housing, Böllhoff recommended the 8mm diameter aluminium PULLPLUG™ LRST, installed with the handheld B2007 battery powered setting tool with preset tensile force.

The process is controlled by tensile force and not by stroke.

Assembly takes place without further sealing by a sealing compound, which reduces the assembly time of the cooling system to a fraction of the previous duration, resulting in a simple hole preparation, high reliability and fast assembly.

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Bulten works on climate neutral electric car Officially announced in 2021, the Polestar 0 project aims to create a climate neutral electric car by 2030 by eliminating emissions in the supply chain. Bulten will be delivering climate neutral fasteners to the project, through a combination of energy efficient materials and processes.

S

ustainability is integrated in Bulten’s strategy, with an aim to become the most sustainable company in the fastener sector. Bulten has clearly defined climate goals both for its own production and its supply chain, which are also in-line with the Paris Agreement.

“We are truly honoured to be part of the Polestar 0 project and to assist one of our customers in developing a truly climate neutral vehicle.

We take our sustainability work seriously and see this as an opportunity to share our knowledge, but also to learn from the other partners involved in the project,” says Anders Nyström, president and CEO at Bulten Group.

Hans Pehrson, leader of the Polestar 0 project, concludes: “I’m looking forward to Bulten becoming a crucial part of our team as we find solutions for developing an entirely climate neutral supply chain.

Bulten’s expertise in fasteners will be invaluable in our mission and will play an integral role in pioneering new and innovative technologies to achieve what has so far been impossible.”

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APPLICATION TECHNOLOGY

Lesjöfors heavy-duty springs solve weight issue A UK-based pick-up truck company recently contacted Lesjöfors Heavy Springs UK to custom design a nest of improved performance, heavy-duty springs, needed to solve a repetitive weight issue on its range of vehicles. The springs also had to reduce suspension spring damage experienced by heavily loaded pick-ups.

H

eavy loads put additional pressure on vehicle suspension, which can cause a range of issues, such as reduced brake efficiency, tyre wear and difficulty steering, all of which lead to additional costs. However, by working in collaboration with the customer to solve these problems through a better understanding of its needs and product design specifications, not only have Lesjöfors’ technical experts designed and manufactured a new suspension spring solution that meets all customer technical requirements, but the solution is also more operationally cost-effective.

Michael Gibbs, managing director at Lesjöfors Heavy Springs UK, said the company’s team of engineers were able to work on numerous customer designs at its advanced spring manufacturing facilities, developing prototypes and samples that ‘engineered the right solution’.

“Together, we developed a product that not only firmly secured a new suspension spring solution, but also delivered a new cost-effective product line for the customer.” He added that a spin-off of the collaboration has been the development of new suspension springs specifically for wheelchair accessible mobility vehicles.

With pick-up trucks imported into the UK often having lighter payload specifications to homegrown pick-ups, modification to meet heavier load requirements and Type Approval in the UK market are sometimes needed. Importantly, in the process of this latest product design and manufacture, the new Lesjöfors suspension spring solution has also achieved the UK Type Approval.

PRODUCTS + tools THE LAtest product and technology developments

Superbolt® launches revolutionary bolt tensioner Superbolt®, the original inventor and standard bearer for multi-jackbolt tensioning, has introduced the Superbolt® NXT – a revolutionary bolt tensioner that is up to 30% faster to install than existing solutions.

1254 Click here to find out more about Superbolt® NXT

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afely reducing the installation and maintenance time of tightening large bolts has long been at the core of Superbolt® technologies. With Superbolt® NXT, a brand new multi-jackbolt tensioner, Nord-Lock Group is taking those capabilities to the next level. Everything has been designed with user simplicity, safety and speed at the forefront. A typical M76 multi-jackbolt tensioner can have up to twelve individual jackbolts, whereas the M76 Superbolt® NXT achieves the same secure preload with just eight.

Nord-Lock points out that this, plus a new knurling grip layer to support with handling during installation and removal, as well as a host of other user-friendly features, elevates Superbolt® NXT to the ‘easiest to use’ bolt tensioner in the world.

“It started with a strategic initiative to improve the customer experience when using a Superbolt® multi-jackbolt tensioner,” says Sébastien Bruyas, strategic sales manager at Nord-Lock Group. The key improvement has been reducing the number of jackbolts required to tighten the bolt, as a small decrease in jackbolts can deliver a large decrease in the tightening time. To

We can offer an equivalent preload with less jackbolts, so it’s faster and easier to install...”

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achieve this, design engineers had to rethink this critical component.

“We worked with some of the best steel mills and heat treatment partners in the world to get the right materials and processes to increase the strength of our jackbolts. Now, we can offer the customer an equivalent preload with less jackbolts, so it’s faster and easier to install with less torque,” says Max Bastiaansen, R&D project manager at Nord-Lock Group.

“Take two products side-by-side, and you will see a visible difference between Superbolt® NXT and a competitive multijackbolt tensioner – it might have two, four or six fewer jackbolts,” adds Sébastien Bruyas.

Superbolt® NXT also features a black oxidised coating for corrosion protection, laser markings to guide installation, as well as an anti-slip knurling grip layer. It is instantly recognisable in comparison to the grey tensioners available on the market.

“To design something that just looks good, is a bit limited, but we’ve added features that bring a great benefit to the user. Superbolt® NXT is easy to recognise, but it’s even easier to use,” concludes Sébastien Bruyas. www.nord-lock.com

SUPPLIER TO THE OEM AND AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY An “ISO 9001 Approved Supplier”

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PRODUCTS + TOOLS TAPES + ADHESIVES FEATURE

Are hot melt adhesives replacing mechanical fasteners?

Across a number of industries, manufacturers are noticing the benefits of using adhesives over mechanical fasteners. Here, Beardow Adams Ltd, a UK-based hot melt adhesive manufacturer explains how adhesives can help improve product performance, as well as the manufacturing process.

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nlike mechanical fasteners, adhesives do not damage a surface during the manufacturing process. Instead they distribute stress evenly along the length of the bond, reduce the weight of a product, as well as help manufacturers increase their production speed.

Adhesives are used in almost every industry with transportation – aerospace, automotive and marine – with manufacturers in these industries leading the way in adopting the latest adhesive technologies since realising that adhesives are better for the environment and can reduce costs, time, and weight while preserving and/or improving performance.

Manufacturers are recognising when to choose adhesives over mechanical fasteners by looking for indicators in the manufacturing process and a product’s environment. Examples of some important indicators are when there is a need to bond different metals, and for metals to be exposed to thermal cycling. Adhesives are also preferred when products will be exposed to water and/or chemicals that may damage or penetrate other mechanical fasteners.

Another popular reason to choose an adhesive over a mechanical fastener is to lower the weight of a finished product. Adhesives can be a lot lighter than mechanical fasteners – up to 15%. For transportation industries reducing weight is very important. A slight reduction in an aircraft’s weight leads to a significant reduction in operational costs over the lifetime of a plane. Lowering the weight of cars and boats can lead to significant fuel savings. Any weight reduction could

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make a product more portable, reduce shipping costs, and enable the installation of additional component parts that give a product new abilities and/or a competitive advantage.

Furthermore, adhesives help to rigidify individual components with mechanical stress being evenly distributed along the full length of the bond whilst other mechanical fasteners focus the stress at the bond points. This concentration of stress creates problems for the substrates, requiring the entire component to be thicker or needing additional material to support the stress focused on each point.

Cost savings from using a hot melt adhesive can also be realised in several ways. Adhesives may offer lower material costs per application than mechanical fasteners, as well as labour costs being less when compared to other fastening methods. Using adhesives can also reduce ordering, shipping and stocking costs, as they eliminate the need to stock screws and bolts of different shapes and sizes.

Hot melts are also preferred by many manufacturers because they can cool down quickly and dry almost instantly, unlike water-based and solvent-based adhesives, providing an ultra-fast method of bonding. This gives manufacturers the option to increase their production line speed, making the entire manufacturing process more efficient. This is perhaps one of the biggest selling points for adhesives. Furthermore hot melt tanks can be turned on and off easily, or even left on standby, without the need to completely clean down or flush the system – another manufacturing advantage.

Beardow Adams offers two ranges of hot melt adhesives that are suitable for use in construction and automotive industries – the Prodas™ hot melt range and the Pressen™ hot melt pressure sensitive range.

The Prodas™ range of high performance hot melt adhesives has set new standards in product assembly – meeting the demands of designers and engineers in the production of domestic, commercial and industrial products. The adhesives provide manufacturers with high adhesion, high temperature resistance, as well as the ability to bond cleanly and securely to most engineering materials. Hot melts also enable manufacturers to noticeably improve product quality and appearance because they can dispense with nails, screws and other unsightly fixings.

Prodas™ adhesives can be found in a number of different applications including the filter industry, where they have helped to provide cleaner air and functional filtration products. Furthermore, Prodas™ hot melts are used for tile spacing where they are used to separate tiles to protect the tile surface. The adhesives are made with non-staining material, as decorated surfaces must not be left with any residual marks, providing sufficient adhesion to remain in place during the production process, storage and transportation, and are easy to remove on use. Prodas™ adhesives can also be found in gasketing, construction and insulation, as well as mattress and furniture assembly applications.

Also available from Beardow Adams are Pressen™ hot melt pressure sensitive adhesives (PSA), used to produce self-adhesive tapes, label stock, closures, seal-strips, insulation, and other self-adhesive coatings. With only light pressure from a machine or by hand, PSA materials form a bond, making them ideal for use in temporary and permanent applications.

The availability of bio-based materials makes them a sustainable gluing option.

The natural elasticity of the PSAs lets them move and flex within use; to absorb and then dissipate energy upon impact, making them great for security closures as well as industrial uses. These features also enable PSAs to excel at bonding dissimilar materials such as metals to plastic, foam to card, or wood to glass.

The bonding of such materials can be done at different times and locations. For example tapes or a self-adhesive coating can be applied in a factory then bonded at site – simply by peeling and sticking.

Pressen™ adhesives are also used for insulation, which involves a diverse range of substrates. Pressen™ 2007 is ideal for bonding plasterboard to insulation as it has good cold temperature performance and produces a good level of adhesion on a variety of substrates.

Other uses include in the automotive industry, where the PSAs can be used for foam bonding and assembly, acoustic and vibration damping membranes, self-adhesive coil isolators, water shedders and gasketing.

Adhesives can be a lot lighter than mechanical fasteners – up to 15%”

PRODUCTS + TOOLS TAPES + ADHESIVES FEATURE

Stronger bonds with water-based adhesives ProAqua from Chemique Adhesives is a range of water-based sprayable adhesives, which is being used across a number of industries.

The range consists of one and two component water-based adhesives, whereby the active component of the adhesive uses water as the carrier.

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roAqua adhesives share many common advantages.

They are solvent-free, so do not release any VOCs (volatile organic compounds) and although extraction is required when spraying, once filtered, the air can be recirculated due to the removal of particulates. They are also easy to store and as long as they are not allowed to freeze, they can be safely kept in ambient conditions. As the adhesives are water-based, application equipment is easy to clean and maintain, as any wet adhesive can be cleaned using water rather than harsh solvents.

The ProAqua range of one component water-based adhesives – ProAqua 1 includes a one component water-based adhesive that works due to the colloid being broken down through shear forces in the spray nozzle. These forces can be controlled by changing the amount of atomising air and adhesive. Specialist equipment is not required as ProAqua 1 can be applied using a pressure pot and spray gun or by simply being gravity fed, which requires the vessel holding the adhesive

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to be at least 1.5m above where it is being applied.

This type of adhesive and application method is popular in foam fabrication and the mattress market, with benefits including a soft glue line, excellent heat resistance and fast application.

Also available is the range of two component water-based adhesives – ProAqua 2. The range includes a two component water-based adhesive, which features a second component, often called the activator or ‘part B’, which forces the polymer out of the water. The activator is then sprayed directly into the atomised spray of ‘part A’ during application. This adhesive exhibits the softest of bond lines and has high initial tack. It is ideal for a variety of foam types or densities and can hold difficult to bond substrates in place, even under high tension.

ProAqua 2 has been specially formulated for foam converting, upholstery, mattress manufacturing, soft furnishings, and automotive seating. As well as this, each adhesive in the range has been specially formulated to adhere to a wide range of substrates including foam, cloth, polyester fibre, wood, plastics and metals.

Both one component and two component ProAqua adhesives can be easily applied and require very little equipment, aside from the spray gun and the adhesive, which can be gravity fed. ProAqua 2 adhesives generally bond to more substrates, provide stronger bonds, as well as have higher initial tack.

PRODUCTS + TOOLS TAPES + ADHESIVES FEATURE

MasterSil 323AO-LO meets NASA specifications Ideal for use in the aerospace, electronic, opto-electronic and speciality OEM industries, Master Bond MasterSil 323AO-LO is a two component silicone elastomer with a self-priming feature, designed for bonding, sealing and gap filling applications.

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lectrically insulating and thermally conductive, MasterSil 323AO-LO meets NASA low outgassing specifications with a thermal conductivity of 1.15 – 1.30 W/(m•K). It is highly flexible with a low tensile modulus of 500 psi – 700 psi, an elongation of 50% – 60%, and a hardness of 70 – 75 Shore A. This combination of properties enables it to withstand aggressive thermal cycling and mechanical shock. It also has a relatively high strength profile for a silicone with a tensile lap shear strength of 250 psi – 350 psi at room temperature and bonds well to a wide variety of substrates, including metals, composites, glass, ceramics, plastics, and other silicones, without imparting residual stress when heat cured. Serviceability is from -65°F to +400°F (-54°C to +204°C).

MasterSil 323AO-LO features a paste-like consistency, which allows it to be used as a gap filling material where minimum flow after application is desired. This formulation offers a variety of cure schedule options, with the optimum being overnight at room temperature followed by 3 – 5 hours at 125°F – 175°F (51.6°C – 79°C). It does not require exposure to air for complete cross-linking. The elastomer has an easy to use 1:1 mix ratio and is available for purchase in standard containers or gun applicator kits, making it convenient for manual or automated dispensing.

TAPES + ADHESIVES FEATURE

Peak performance in demanding applications The RockeTape™ family of products, now available from Digi-Key Electronics, features Blueshift’s patented AeroZero® structured air polymeric aerogel technology to deliver a combination of low thermal conductivity and diffusivity.

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hen compared to traditional polyimide film tape, the RockeTape™ line of thin and lightweight thermal insulation tapes deliver peak performance in some of the most demanding applications. With its thin flexible film and standardised narrow width roll format, RockeTape™ is also easy to apply onto sensitive devices and surfaces to provide protection from extreme temperature fluctuations and overheating.

Available across Europe through Digi-Key Electronics, the initial launch includes the AZS: AeroZero® polyimide aerogel + silicone adhesive, GRS: AeroZero® polyimide aerogel + graphite + silicone adhesive, and the PIS: AeroZero® polyimide aerogel + polyimide + silicone adhesive.

“Digi-Key Electronics is pleased to offer Blueshift’s RockeTape™.

We are always looking for ways to bring the latest advancements of thermal insulation technology to our customers. Blueshift will help Digi-Key penetrate market segments that have a need for an insulative high temperature tape,” said Anissa Lauer, senior product manager at Digi-Key Electronics.

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TAPES + ADHESIVES FEATURE

REINZOSIL universal sealant now in the cartridge REINZOSIL, a universal sealing compound for the automotive sector, is now available in a new 310ml cartridge, which unlike the pressure can equivalent does not represent dangerous goods – enabling worldwide shipping.

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n addition to the 70ml tube and 200ml pressure can, the new 310ml cartridge is approved for worldwide shipping without restrictions – by post, ship and air freight. The cartridge option also enables more extensive applications to be carried out in one operation as it can fit into standard guns meaning no separate dispensing unit is required.

REINZOSIL, a brand from German-based REINZ-Dichtungs GmbH, is suitable for sealing surfaces in engines, transmissions, axles, cylinder liners and plastic housings. The silicone mass seals flat component connections with sealing gaps from 0.15mm and is suitable for use with all engines and vehicles.

Earlier this year REINZOSIL was also updated to include a short-term temperature resistance of 320°C, along with a ‘Sensorsafe’ label which means it is not harmful to sensors. The sealant is also permanently temperature resistant from -50°C to +250°C.

VOOA Design

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PRODUCTS + TOOLS TAPES + ADHESIVES FEATURE

Henkel opens adhesive inspiration centre With an investment of 130 million euros, the Henkel Adhesive Technologies business unit has built a state of the art and unique global innovation and customer centre – the Inspiration Centre Düsseldorf (ICD).

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ith a floor area of 47,000m2, the ICD provides space for 30 laboratories, 4 technology centres and more than 650 Henkel experts. At the same time, the new building serves as a global customer centre where Adhesive Technologies presents its entire technology portfolio of adhesives, sealants and functional coatings and works on new solutions together with customers from over 800 industry segments.

“The ICD marks the largest single investment in our company’s history and is a key element of our strategic framework for purposeful growth. With this building, which is unique in the industry, we have created the infrastructure to take the innovation capabilities of Adhesive Technologies to the next level,” said Carsten Knobel, CEO at Henkel AG & Co KGaA. “In 1922, Henkel started producing adhesives for its own use – today we are very proud to celebrate another milestone in the 100 year success story of Adhesive Technologies, which will further expand our leading position in the adhesives business.”

With the ICD, Henkel has designed a unique innovation building. On a total of seven levels, in addition to office workplaces and conference rooms, it comprises 30 laboratories with various research and testing facilities, as well as four technology centres with double height rooms that house, among other things, pilot production lines and equipment for large-scale applications such as in the automotive industry or for engineered wood. The laboratories are modular and can be adapted quickly and flexibly depending on the research and development task and to support collaboration between teams.

The ICD also has a modern, data-driven laboratory where new formulations are automatically prepared, tested and verified around the clock.

This enables a faster product development cycle and reduced time to market for new products by transforming data into valuable insights that lay the foundation for innovative new technologies.

TAPES + ADHESIVES FEATURE

New adhesive tape with exceptional ‘GRIP’ Developed to provide the printing industry with a more process safe and sustainable adhesive solution, Lohmann has launched DuploFLEX® 5 GRIP adhesive tape, using 50% less solvent during the coating process, making it more sustainable than a classic plate mounting tape.

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s a substructure during the printing process, plate mounting tapes make a significant contribution to the quality of the print through reliability and dampening properties. With its unique adhesive formulation, DuploFLEX® 5 GRIP provides excellent adhesion to the sleeve side.

The new adhesive tape combines the viscoelastic properties of a polymer foam with a specially developed, solvent-free pure acrylic adhesive that is suitable for easy mounting and demounting. The composite structure ensures excellent print quality and prevents edge lifting and plate damage during demounting.

At the same time, a plate mounting tape must meet the increased demand for sustainable products and processes.

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No edgelifting in the running process, machine downtime due to makeready and generally high material consumption were key factors considered in the formulation of GRIP tapes. With leading equipment manufacturers, DuploFLEX® 5 GRIP has been measured to have significantly higher reusability for the first time.

“The solvent-free adhesive and 100% recyclable packaging are part of our corporate strategy for sustainability,” explains Peter Nissing, head of market management graphics at Lohmann GmbH & Co KG. “The increased reusability of the adhesive tape is an important argument in the discussion about resource conservation and responsible use of raw materials. The improved GRIP adhesive package is also characterised by its low sensitivity to temperature and humidity fluctuations.”

TAPES + ADHESIVES FEATURE

Adhesives for sensitive areas With occupational health and safety becoming increasingly important in all industries, the market is looking for alternatives to the traditional hazardous anaerobic adhesives. With the WEICONLOCK range, WEICON offers a range of special products that meet both the high health standards and the qualities that the respective applications require.

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any of the anaerobic adhesives traditionally used are classified as hazardous and must be labelled with several H and P hazard statements due to the fact they irritate the skin, eyes and respiratory organs of the users. In addition, they cause odour pollution, which makes daily work with these substances very unpleasant, especially in closed rooms.

In comparison, WEICONLOCK adhesives from WEICON GmbH & Co KG have received approvals from the National Sanitation Foundation (NSF) and the German Technical and Scientific Association for Gas and Water (DVGW) making them suitable for use in drinking water applications.

These adhesives also have a so called ‘white’ safety data sheet, which means they are classified as non-hazardous. This means that these products do not have to be labelled with hazard symbols or H-phrases according to the strict EC regulations No 1907/2006 – ISO 11014-1. These qualities make the adhesives particularly suitable for the food, cosmetics and pharmaceutical industries, but they can also be used for securing or sealing in all other areas.

PRODUCTS + TOOLS TAPES + ADHESIVES FEATURE

tesa turns recycled PET bottles into tapes tesa is expanding its product portfolio of high performance packaging tapes, which are partly made from recycled materials and bio-based raw materials, with the new tesa® 60412 packaging tape made up of 70% recycled (PCR) PET and a water-based acrylic adhesive system.

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ith its elevated tear resistance, tesa® 60412 is comparable to PVC or biaxially oriented polypropylene (BOPP) tapes and is suitable for both manual and automatic dispensers. The packaging tape is certified according to INGEDE Method 12 and can be disposed together with the packaging without compromising the cardboard recycling process.

For most companies and industries, the topic of sustainability has long been of great importance. When packing or sending goods and products, it is important to be as sustainable as possible. tesa SE is therefore supporting its customers with the tesa® 60412, as the production process is completely solvent-free by using PET products, including bottles, as raw material for the backing.

“The development of products that help promote sustainability is a strategically important goal for tesa. Our new tesa® 60412 PET packaging tape was therefore developed in a way that reduces environmental pollution as much as possible and at the same time guarantees high performance. By choosing a more sustainable packaging tape, our customers can get one step closer to their goals. We are proud to support them on this journey,” says Andreas Walkembach, head of industrial trade and converting Europe at tesa SE. The new tesa® 60412 is available in transparent or, on request, in brown and white versions.

TAPES + ADHESIVES FEATURE

New UV anaerobic adhesive from Panacol In response to growing market demand for UV anerobic adhesive systems, Panacol has expanded its portfolio of dual-curing adhesive systems with Vitralit® UD 4292 F, for structural bonding and sealing in automotive and electronic applications.

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itralit® UD 4292 F is a transparent acrylic adhesive that cures in just a few seconds with light in the UVA or visible range when using LED curing devices from Dr Hönle. These devices provide light curing energy in wavelengths and intensity that optimise absorption by the adhesive’s photoinitiators for highly efficient UV light curing cycles. In shadowed areas, this adhesive reacts with metal ions in the absence of oxygen to ensure full cure.

The secondary anerobic curing can be accelerated by adding heat or by applying a chemical activator to one of the surfaces to be bonded. When properly cured, Vitralit® UD 4292 F exhibits very high pull out forces on various metals.

“These properties make Vitralit® UD 4292 F particularly desirable for a wide variety of electric motor assembly applications, including the structural bonding of ball bearings or shaft hub connections on rotors and stators,” comments Panacol-Elosol GmbH. The high glass transition temperature of over 130°C also ensures that the adhesive system retains its bond strength under temperature fluctuations and dynamic stress.

For visual process control, the composition of Vitralit® UD 4292 F contains a fluorescent marker that glows bright blue when exposed to low intensity UV light, making it visible in very thin gaps.

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TAPES + ADHESIVES FEATURE

T-Rex® tape sets records Designed for heavy-duty projects that require intense strength, durability and power, T-Rex® Brute Force® tape has secured the GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ title for the strongest duct tape for the second consecutive year.

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eaffirming its strongest tape title, T-Rex® Brute Force® – available from Shurtape Technologies LLC – was put through a strength test against the top 10 competitive duct tapes of similar material and quality claims from around the world. The results showed that Brute Force® produced a tensile strength at break of 273.1lbs per inch – outperforming the other tapes by more than 50%.

“Setting the GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ title for a second consecutive year is a monumental moment for T-Rex® Brute Force® tape,” said Ashley Luke, senior product manager at Shurtape Technologies. “Achieving this coveted title reinforces that this tape will hold up against any pressure.”

Brute Force® is built with Forge-Link™ extreme tensile technology and an aggressive, double-thick adhesive with a durable water-proof backing so it can quickly secure, fasten and hold all sorts of materials for any project, whether that’s pulling trucks or simple repairs.

PRODUCTS + TOOLS TAPES + ADHESIVES FEATURE

New adhesive for transportation IPS Adhesives, a global manufacturer of structural and surfacing adhesive products, has launched the SCIGRIP SG800 adhesive, specifically formulated to meet the exacting specifications of the transportation industry.

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G800 provides a primerless metal bond, requiring little to no surface preparation by the user. It also has excellent flow characteristics and stays put with no sagging or dripping during product application.

Featuring excellent fatigue and impact resistance – especially at high temperatures, the new adhesive also performs well in industry specific tests for lap shear strength and heat resistance, including ASTM D3163 and PACCAR’s CMT038.

“We’ve created a truly essential product with the strength and heat resistance transportation manufacturing requires, especially bus, truck, and rail,” said Anne Hultgren, vice-president of marketing for IPS Adhesives. “SG800 adapts easily to any workflow and its flexible working times help keep assembly lines moving at the customer’s pace.”

The availability of formulations with different working times (4 – 16 minutes) provides enough flexibility for a variety of transportation and industrial assembly operations.

SG800 is available in 490ml cartridges, as well as in bulk.

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PRODUCTS + TOOLS

The importance of the grip length to bolt diameter ratio

By Dr Bill Eccles, Bolt Science

Conical washers are frequently used to mitigate the effects of embedding loss...”

You may have come across before a vague statement that joints consisting of long bolts are superior to those having short bolts. Or, more technically, a joint grip length to bolt diameter ratio of four or more is advisable. So why are long bolts to be preferred over short bolts?

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igure One illustrates the terms L and D, so for example if an M10 bolt was used in a joint whose grip length is 40 than the L to D ratio is 40 / 10 = 4. One aspect of tightened bolts to appreciate is that the stretch of the bolt when fully tightened is relatively small. For example, an M10 bolt of property Class 8.8 when fully tightened in a joint whose thickness is 40mm will stretch about 0.1mm. The stretch is resisted by the bolt material producing the preload. This is important in that preload losses can occur in the joint subsequent to assembly.

One type of preload loss is embedding. This is the collapse of the surface asperities between the joint interfaces and between the contact surfaces of the fastener. For the joint shown this loss would be Figure One in the order of 0.01mm to 0.02mm. The preload loss from embedding occurs when the joint sustains external loading. So, in this case the loss can amount to between 10% to 20% of the initial preload.

Now consider the two joints shown in Figure Two. Both bolts are the same size and strength and tightened to the same torque. Here the bolts are the same size but on one the grip length L, is half that of the other, say L is 40mm with the other 20mm. When both are tightened to the same torque value the bolt in the 20mm joint will stretch less, roughly, by half as much. (It is actually closer to 0.064mm due to some non linearity in the calculation).

So, when embedding loss occurs after the joint sustains external loading, a significantly larger loss in preload occurs, between 15% – 30% preload loss. For joints with a very low L/D Figure Two ratio, comprising perhaps multiple layers of joint material, the preload loss from embedding can exceed 50%. Hence, the general rule of thumb, inserted under the bolt head, it would now be that joints with a large L/D ratio are to be subtracted from 0.364mm. So subsequently preferred over those with a small L/D ratio. the embedding loss would reduce the system’s Conical Many joints have an intrinsically small deflection to 0.342mm, resulting in a preload spring L/D ratio due to the nature of the parts drop of around 5%, compared to 15% to 30% washer being clamped. Putting spacers in the joint without the washer. will increase the L/D ratio but packaging, The loss of preload from embedding being weight, aesthetic, as well as cost limitations significantly reduced by the use of this type of can preclude their use. washer in short grip length joints. Such washers are Conical washers are frequently used to specified in DIN 6796 (conical spring washers for bolt mitigate the effects of embedding loss on joints nut assemblies). with small L/D ratios. The washers are thick Belleville There is another advantage that long grip length ratios washers that deflect under a compressive load. They are have over short; long grip length bolts are inherently more resistant to designed so they will fully compress at the target preload of the bolt. loosening than short bolts. Under small transverse joint movements, The deflection is relatively small, in the order of 0.3mm, but they the bolt will bend rather than suffer slip of the head or thread bearing significantly increase the stretch present in the bolt joint assembly. surfaces. The amount of joint movement needed to initiate slip of the bolt So instead of the 0.02mm being subtracted from the bolt stretch of bearing surface is referred to as the ‘critical slip distance’.

0.064mm, as in the previous example, with a single conical washer www.boltscience.com

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COLLATED NAILS

Your Plastic Fasteners

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PRODUCTS + TOOLS

FEIN launches magnetic core drill FEIN has released a new magnetic core drill, the KBE 32, for the UK’s metalworking market, with a 1,200W high power motor reliable for drilling holes up to 32mm.

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eveloped with a real focus on accessibility from each a size, weight and control standpoint, FEIN points out that with its 1,200W motor and light weight of 10.8kg, the KBE 32 offers a revolutionary power-to-weight ratio with high magnetic holding force, as well as optimum control accessibility for those working in tight spaces.

“We’re expecting the KBE 32 to rapidly become a market leader, thanks to its groundbreaking power-to-weight ratio and ergonomic design. Equipped with innovative FEIN technology, the tool is the first of its kind in terms of both weight and functionality,” comments Andy Mills, managing director at FEIN UK Ltd. “Easy to use, robust and extremely lightweight, the KBE 32 will make the perfect aid for the steel metal industry.”

With over 150 years’ experience in manufacturing power tools, FEIN has a rich history of innovation, providing application-based solutions for end users in the metalworking and construction sectors.

“Here at FEIN, we pride ourselves on our application-based approach and providing trusted expertise to our customers, which ultimately enables them to source the best solution for each job they undertake. The KBE 32 has been designed with this philosophy in mind. Its entire development has focused on accessibility. To add to this, the new tool has been built to stand the test of time, while its mechanical components have been designed for up to 70,000 drill holes,” concludes Andy.

We offer a complete range of drywall screws 26 years of experience in the field of fasteners

WT WINTECH a.s. www.wtwintech.eu export@wtwintech.eu +420 739 002 390

PRODUCTS + TOOLS

New Howmet battery powered installation tools

Two new battery powered installation tools – the BV13 and BV17 – for use with large diameter lockbolts and blind rivets, have been launched by Howmet Fastening Systems.

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eveloped in conjunction with Makita®, the two products have been specifically designed by Howmet Fastening Systems for use in the installation of larger Huck® lockbolts up to 14mm (BV17) and structural blind rivets up to 12.7mm (BV13). Like the Huck® Range Force™ BV4500, the two new tools also feature an electronically adjustable pulling force for the installation of pintail-less lockbolts.

The tools are aimed at a variety of industrial sectors, including agriculture, rail, renewable energy, production line fastener installation, in-field repair, as well as in-situ machinery assembly, and both the BV17 and BV13 hold sufficient power to deliver up to 1,000 installations per charge.

Joël Melquiot, Huck® product manager at Howmet Fastening Systems, said: “The new BV13 and BV17 tools are available to solve issues our customers were facing around the need to install large diameter fasteners in locations unsuitable for bulky equipment, or trailing hoses and cables.”

Embossed band clamps EFC International has introduced embossed band style, worm gear clamps – often known as European style clamps – to one of its customers, in response to various challenges it faced when using the previous slotted band style for numerous applications. he customer had become aware of certain practical and safety issues with the clamps that needed resolution. As a result, EFC engineers introduced the embossed band style, worm gear clamps which are higher quality clamps with better performance, as well as having a better torque to clamping force conversion than the slotted band style items.

Not only did the embossed product offer improved hose protection and have no sharp edges or slots, its smooth edges and lack of a protruding long tail also eliminated the risks of cutting hands to assembly line workers and consumers.

The icing on the cake was that by making the change to embossed style clamps, the customer has also saved costs through EFC’s skilled sourcing network and supplier partnerships.

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HellermannTyton meets unique demands HellermannTyton is showcasing its entire portfolio of industry specific product ranges including fasteners and fixings designed to meet the unique demands of various industries, in its latest product catalogue.

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lso featuring HellermannTyton’s latest product launches, the catalogue includes the Soft Grip Series which provides flexible fastening options for fluid management, the HelaCon Plus resealable connectors for electrical installations, and the EVO KR manual tensioning tool which works as an application tool to offer high vibration resistance ideal for the rail and automotive industries.

The comprehensive catalogue also features a digital upgrade on its predecessors with QR codes and URLs at the bottom of each product page enabling customers to visit a product’s dedicated page online.

“We are delighted to announce the launch of our latest product catalogue which gives our customers, both new and established, an insight into the products we are introducing,” says John Banks, head of product management and marketing at HellermannTyton. “We have made digital advancements to this year’s catalogue to improve its useability which is an example of our commitment to improving our solutions to help our customers and make their jobs that little bit easier by using our products.”

188 FASTENER + FIXING MAGAZINE ≡ ISSUE 138: NOVEMBER 2022

Withstanding the toughest loads Significantly increasing passenger numbers and a consistent shift of freight traffic to environmentally friendly rail will inevitably lead to acute strains on the rail infrastructure. In order to make the rail infrastructure more durable and resistant, Vossloh has introduced its new M-Generation tension clamps.

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ith the development of the M-Generation, Vossloh AG is presenting rail customers worldwide with two major innovations. Firstly, guaranteed safety on all tracks despite increasing demands and greater load levels, and secondly, an improved carbon footprint over the entire service life.

Compact in design, the outwardly curved spring arms are the most striking feature of the new tension clamps. Their geometry, which resembles an ‘M’ in cursive, provides both a larger contact area to the rail base and reduced contact stress. Increased fatigue strengths are achieved by accommodating the three dimensional stress directions in a unique geometry.

Vossloh points out that the high natural frequency – two to three times higher than previous tension clamps in the respective application area – strengthens the robustness of the new type of tension clamps against external influences. This lowers lifecycle costs on a comparative basis and allows the use of more elastic rail fastening systems to further reduce vibrations. This is because, thanks to their excellent load and deflection characteristics, M-Generation tension clamps maintain rail stability over a long period of time, even under extreme conditions.

Vossloh has also enhanced the material used, with a micro-steel alloy optimising the tried and tested properties. A low stress bending

process and an improved hardening process are used in production, so that CO 2 emissions can be significantly reduced in conjunction with the compact product design. Ready for use in all areas of application, the clamp is available in M3, M7 and M9 variants.

PRODUCTS + TOOLS

The benefits of reusable packaging After more than 27 years on the market, Kronus offers a range of wooden packaging including pallet collars, pallets, lids, and various wooden packaging accessories for a safe and environmentally friendly solution. Here, the Latvian manufacturer of pallet collars and pallets discusses the benefits of reusable packaging.

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s there an advantage greater than saving money? The ability to reuse packaging reduces costs compared to one way packaging. Businesses see a larger return on an investment, but the cost-effectiveness does not end there, as traditional packaging options must be disposed, requiring more manpower to manage. The benefits of reusable packaging are tremendous. They can directly save costs and of course reduce the effect that an organisation is having on the environment.

How do your customers see your business? While many companies haven’t completely switched their attention entirely to environmental concerns, many customers have. A customer’s, or potential customer’s, perception of a company will ultimately determine how well it performs.

Switching packaging to reusable options is a great and free marketing strategy, with other businesses liking the idea of being affiliated with a company that works hard to protect the environment.

Kronus Ltd is a wooden packaging manufacturer offering quality pallet collars, pallets and accessories for industry. Wooden packaging protects a product, and its lifecycle lasts for up to ten years, making it a safe, convenient, and ultimately environmentally friendly solution. It’s never been more important and it’s time to change. Reduce, reuse, recycle is our message to all sustainable manufacturers and end users in the world. www.kronus.eu

anbanservis.cz info@kanbanservis.cz +420 465 520 555

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PRODUCTS + TOOLS

GESIPA® Birdie® cordless riveting tool GESIPA® has introduced what it says is ‘the smallest, lightest cordless riveting tool in its performance class’ – the Birdie®, which weighs in at only 900g without a battery.

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he new GESIPA® Birdie® covers a large working range, with a setting force of 10kN and a tool stroke of 25mm, helping it make light work of setting blind rivets with a diameter of up to 5mm in all materials. It has an ergonomic balanced centre of gravity with non slip handles and functions with a simple tap. Its 100% ball bearing mounted components in the drive unit, together with its wear-free BLDC motor, ensure efficient operation and an integrated light ring precisely illuminates the nosepiece and riveting point for use under poor lighting conditions.

Power recuperation allows the Birdie® to work longer, as much of the energy that might normally be lost is fed back into the battery, providing power for further riveting.

If the battery does empty, the control system signals the need to recharge, both visually and acoustically.

The tool was developed to offer maximum practicability; it had to be simple though high-quality and cost-effective, while at the same time offer users the greatest possible freedom.

One result of this approach is the tool’s use of the proven Cordless Alliance System (CAS) battery.

The CAS battery is now incorporated by over 30 manufacturers into more than 300 tools for

various trades and means that multiple tools, including the Birdie®, can be operated using the same battery.

The new 18V tool also comes with a non slip stand, or can be hung on a balancer using a standard karabiner; a transparent spent mandrel container also enables users to stay organised and tidy and see when it’s time to dispose of obsolete bits.

With jaws that can be cleaned and replaced and nosepieces changed without the need for tools, the Birdie® is also easy to care for and its colour-coded nosepieces make the matching of blind rivets an easy task. The tool comes in either a GESIPA® L-BOXX, or a sales box, and includes one, two or no batteries, as well as being available with or without a charger. Further accessories, such as custom nosepieces and retaining nosepieces are also available.

Our range available on www.acton.fr

Deck screws

3 Bis rue du Faubourg de Couzon - 42152 L’Horme - France +33 (0)4 77 73 35 43 - export@acton.fr www.acton.fr

PRODUCTS + TOOLS

The powerful yet compact PULSA 27E Part of ITW Construction Products, SPIT has recently launched the PULSA 27E compact gas nailer designed to instantly fix all sorts of cable, conduit, trunking, junction/back boxes, directly into concrete, steel, timber and block.

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esigned specifically for electrical contractors, SPIT PULSA system removes the need to drill and fix, making it up to eight times faster than traditional fastening methods. This tool also benefits from SPIT’s range of specialist cable management and conduit accessories, including 18 th edition compliant metal fixings that can be installed handsfree with a magnetic nosepiece.

The SPIT PULSA 27E will replace the PULSA 40E as it is a more powerful and compact model, which is 400g lighter with an additional battery capacity to fire 10,000 shots per single battery charge.

“We are proud to share that the SPIT PULSA 27E is the result of 70 years’ worth of customer led tool innovation. This constant partnership with our tool users makes it easy for us to guarantee tool reliability with a three year warranty on the tool for that added peace of mind,” comments Meg Herrera, product manager at SPIT.

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ADVERTISER’S INDEX 3 Star Rivet ................................................. 177 310 Express.................................................. 192 Abbey Clamps............................................... 15 Achilles.............................................................11 Acton.............................................................. 193 Advance Spares......................................... 171 Albert Pasvahl............................................... 9 Alloy & Stainless Fasteners..................196 Ambrovit.................................................... 1, 13 Apex................................................................ 167 APM Hexseal............................................... 159 Astrotech Steels Private Limited....... 185 Atlantic Man................................................. 82 Atotech.......................................................... 131 Avon Stainless Fasteners Ltd..............196 Beijing Jinzhaobo High Strength Fasteners............................. 191 Bendfast........................................................ 171 Berardi Fasteners........................................81 Berdan Bolt.................................................. 195 BHH Mikrohuta......................................... 193 Birlik Baglanti Elemanlari San............. 95 Bonfatti Filettature.................................... 57 Bontempi Vibo SpA......................................41 Bossong...........................................................69 Bralo................................................................. 89 Brighton Best International................. 182 Brugola OEB Industriale SpA................. 59 Bülte Plastiques France SAS................ 185 Carlo Salvi...................................................... 67 CEIA.................................................................. 43 CELO Befestigungssysteme GmbH.....117 Cermac Srl...................................................139 Cetin Civata................................................... 23 Chavesbao...................................................... 21 Chiao Chang Pneumatic Tool Corp.......105

Colombo Special Fasteners.................... 35 Dell’Era Ermanno Srl................................. 53 Dimac............................................................... 45 Don Quichotte B.V..................................... 113 DS Fasteners............................................... 171 Ecoclean........................................................134 Fabory............................................................103 Fastbolt..............................................................2 Fastener + Fixing Magazine................... 87 FastFixSearch.com..................................109 FastFixTechnology.com......................... 155 Fastener Fair Global................................ 107 Fiminox SpA................................................ 101 Fixi Srl.............................................................. 15 Fong Prean Industrial Co Ltd.............. 191 Fontana Fasteners .................................... 47 G & B Fissaggi Srl........................................ 53 Gala Precision Engineering.................. 181 Growermetal SpA....................................... 55 Hafren Fasteners Ltd.............................. 168 Halfmann Schrauben GmbH............... 175 Harrison Silverdale.................................164 Haspl.............................................................. 125 Hassmann.................................................... 177 Hisener.......................................................... 153 HS Automazioni........................................... 83 Hu Pao Industries Co Ltd....................... 179 Index....................................................................3 Industrial Recense..................................... 95 Inoxdadi.......................................................... 36 Instron........................................................... 143 Jiangsu Yongyi Fastener Co .................. 29 Jiaxing Kinfast Hardware Co Ltd...... 173 Johan Smit...................................................186 Joker Industrial Co Ltd........................... 185 Jubliee Clips (L Robinson & Co)........... 195

Kadimi Tools ...............................................129 Kanban Servis s.r.o.................................. 191 Kilton................................................................ 57 Kinfast Hardware (Shenzhen) Ltd.... 194 Kistler............................................................ 145 Klimas............................................................ 119 Kronus SIA...................................................190 Kwantex........................................................ 193 Lederer..................................................... 20, 22 Litnaglis JSC............................................... 183 Marposs.......................................................... 77 Mayes & Warwick.....................................134 MEAPFORNI Srl........................................... 63 Mecavit............................................................ 27 Merlin Business Software Ltd............. 151 MI.ME.AF. SpA...............................................51 National Machinery................................ 133 ND Industries...................................... 4, 5, 25 Ningbo Londex................................................7 NOF Metal Coatings Europe................. 135 Nord Lock..................................................... 198 Norm Civata.................................................. 19 OBER SpA........................................................ 62 Omnitechnik............................................... 161 Owlett-Jaton...................................................17 pgb International........................................ 91 Pinstructure................................................. 15 Proton Fasteners S.L............................... 183 Puehl................................................................111 Remaches Factory Srl............................. 151 Rexlen Corp................................................. 149 Reyher............................................................ 165 rfks.................................................................... 93 Rivit................................................................ 197 Rosmil Industrial S.A.............................. 143 S.M.T Srl........................................................140

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