Global Fastener News

Taiwan Fastener Manufacturers Urged to Develop High Value-Added Products

John Wolz

T.Y. Huang, China Steel’s second division sales leader, urged Taiwan fastener manufacturers to concentrate on high value-added products as steel price increases can be expected at the beginning of 2008. CSC Taiwan’s primary steel supplier – will set up a new evaluation system to allocate steel to manufacturers based on R&D ability, product quality and pricing, Huang announced.
T.C.Tsai vice chair of the Taiwan Industrial Fastener Institute, also encouraged members “to take this great opportunity to readjust the pace and embrace the coming challenges though under the vicious competitive environment.”
Tsai said CSC “could have increased prices but did not do so in order to lighten the burden of the industry” (see FastenerNews.com August 31, 2007, News Brief).
“Up to July this year the export quantity of fasteners from Taiwan was just about the same as last year, but the total value increased,” Fastener World magazine reported. “This was a good sign because it meant there were more value-added products.”
CSC vice president T.H Chen emphasized, “it is not a long-term solution to keep prices unchanged.” From January to June the average export price from Taiwan was US$2.329 per KG and while China was US$1.083 per KG. From January to May, total export quantity of Mainland China was around 1.5 million tons and Taiwan was around 0.6 million tons.
“It is clear that Mainland China wins on quantity and there is no way for Taiwan fastener industries to compete with Mainland China over price,” Chen advised.
Starting from next year, CSC will evaluate the downstream customers and give priority to customers who produce high value-added products, Chen explained. Customers who only produce lower value fasteners will get less supply. �2007 FastenerNews.com and Fastener World