Although fasteners go unnoticed in the course of our day to day activities, they lay the foundation of a lot of machines surrounding us. From holding a table to the heavy-duty automobiles, fasteners are an essential component. A fastener is used to join or fix two or more objects in a way that they can be separated or dismantled without damaging the objects.
The fasteners industry is co-existing along with industries like aircraft, agricultural machinery, automobiles, infrastructure, appliances, and commercial construction.
More than 90 % of fasteners are made of carbon steel, owing to its high durability, excellent workability, and low cost when compared to other materials used for fasteners.
Here are some of the most interesting things you should know about the fasteners industry:
Fasteners Industry Market Segmentation
The global fasteners market is highly fragmented. It is segmented based on raw material, applications, and product type. Each segment is further subdivided into the following:
Segmentation Based on Raw Material
- Plastic Fasteners: In recent years, plastic fasteners have found an increased utility in automotive applications. Properties such as relatively low cost and lightweight as compared to their metal counterparts, have boosted their demand furthermore.
- Metal Fasteners: Despite the growing popularity of plastic fasteners, the resistance and ductility of the metal variants are likely to help it secure a larger market share in heavy industries such as shipbuilding, railways, and industrial machinery.
Segmentation Based on Product Type
- Externally Threaded: They are considered as fundamental components in several structural and non-structural applications. They are in high demand from the heavy equipment manufacturing, automotive, electronics, and railway, industries.
- Non-Threaded: They are mainly used for cable management and wire harnessing in construction applications. Non-threaded fasteners are expected to witness a high demand due to their light weight and low cost.
- Aerospace Grade: These fasteners are classified separately from their industrial counterparts. They have excellent quality, high performance, and other technical specifications, which makes them different from the other fasteners. They are in high demand in the aerospace maintenance and repair sector.
- Internally Threaded: These primarily include inserts and nuts and are generally used in combination with bolts to affix two or more parts together. Commercially, its variant products such as flange serrated nuts, hex finish nuts, cap nuts, square nuts etc. are available in the market.
Segmentation Based on Applications
On the basis of applications, this segment is subdivided into industrial machinery, automotive, home appliances, aerospace, construction, lawn & garden, pumps & motors, furniture, and plumbing products. The aerospace application segment is anticipated to be the fastest-growing segment in the APAC region. The second segment slated for growth is the construction segment that widely uses nails, nuts, and bolts.
Industry Drivers for the Global Fasteners Industry
With a shift in production trends towards manufacturing products that are innovative, like the miniature, hybrid fasteners, and specialty, the fastener industry has transformed in response to the ever-changing consumer demands. The urbanization and industrialization of the emerging economies like China, Thailand, India, Brazil, and South Korea, have further fuelled the growth of the construction industry and the automotive industry which in turn, have driven the demand for fasteners.
APAC Emerging as the High Demand and Supply Region
The ease of raw material procurement, skilled labor procurement, and friendly government policies in the APAC region, have made the region the world’s largest fastener producer.
According to the global fastener industry overview, the Asia Pacific region is expected to have a high market demand for standard fasteners in the next few years. This demand is primarily because of the increasing requirement for construction activities, maintenance and repairs activities, and automotive growth.
Regional Scenario of the Fasteners Industry
In North America, the application that holds the highest market share is the automotive application. The plastic fasteners are gaining high preference in the automotive industry due to growing electrical vehicles. It is projected that North America will lead the global market for fasteners because of high stability in the end-use industries.
In Europe, because of increasing residential gardening, the widespread need for gardening and lawn equipment like small tractors and land mowers has contributed to a boom in the production of fasteners.
Due to the high demand for fasteners locally, Indonesia, one of the major global importers of fasteners has its import revenue leading the export revenue. Thailand, Japan, Taiwan, and Singapore are the key suppliers of fasteners in Indonesia.
End-use industries such as industrial equipment, automotive, and construction, have increased the demand for fasteners in Thailand and their market is likely to grow exponentially in the coming years.
The Market Dynamics for the Fasteners Industry
The major end-users industries like building, marine, automotive, construction, electrical and electronics, etc. account for the majority of market share in the fasteners industry.
The prime manufacturers in the industry are securing their position in the market by concentrating on the R & D initiatives by investing in innovative trends such as improvement in the procurement of raw materials and developing fasteners to increase strength, durability, and resistance towards temperature and pressure.
With increasing competition in the global fasteners industry, many companies such as Precision Castparts Corp., Alcoa, NIFCO, Stanley Black & Decker are aiming to obtain global standard certifications to withstand their competitors. Opting for stringent quality control and certification standards like AS9100 and NADCAP has become one of their prime strategies to gain a competitive edge in the market.
