By Maggie Chen| 2014-05-14 00:00:00

Shares in fastener maker Gem-Year Industrial fell by 2% as of midday today at the Shanghai Stock Exchange after the Taiwan family that controls the company said it had lowered its holding in the business.Chin Champ Enterprise, controlled by Tsai Yung-Lung and his family, sold 20 million shares Gem-Year shares last Friday for 8.55 yuan each, for a total of 171 million yuan, or $27.6 million, according to company announcement today.  Chin Champ didn’t say why it sold the shares. Chin Champ Enterprise still owns 53.6% of Gem-Year, compare with a previous 56.1%. Gem-Year’s share price is little changed from a year ago. The Tsais ranked No. 46 on the 2013 Forbes Taiwan Rich List with wealth of $750 million. (The tital of the artical was re-edit by CFM)  

By CFM| 2014-05-13 00:00:00

The Ministry of finance in Zhejiang province reported first quarter sales of $210 million, an increase of 2.65% compare to the same period a year ago. It remarked the first quarter gain over the previous year since early 2012. Fasteners contributed 4.15% to the total export volume in Q1. America and EU accounted for 47.57% of Jiaxing’s sales value, increased 6.88% from last year . Export value of America was 56.9 million, up 25.99% from the same period 2013. The export value of EU was 12.93% up to 43.2 million. As the third largest market of Jiaxing fastener, Russia’s contribution to export volume was 34.4% down to 18.8 million while the BRICS( Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) members dropped 17.2% to 37.4 million. The unit price of fasteners showed a slightly down tendency. Average unit price of steel fasteners deceased 0.15% to $1314 per ton. Unit price of Brass fasteners reduced by 13.69% and is $10260 per ton now. The price of aluminum fasteners up 9.87% to $2727 per ton.

By Ruters| 2014-05-12 13:44:11

TOKYO (Bloomberg) -- Toyota Motor Corp. forecast profit will fall from last year’s record as demand slumps in Japan, competition intensifies in the United States and the yen is no longer the boon it used to be. Net income will probably slip to 1.78 trillion yen ($17 billion) in the fiscal year ending March 31, Toyota said in a statement today. For the fourth quarter that ended in March, Toyota's net profit fell 5.4 percent to 297.0 billion yen. Net profit for the 12 months ended on March 31 grew an unprecedented 89.5 percent to 1.82 trillion yen as a weaker yen boosted the value of sales from Prius hybrids and Lexus vehicles exported from Japan. As the currency edge fades, Toyota and Honda Motor Co. are predicting smaller-than-estimated earnings and are among Japanese automakers bracing for a record decline in domestic demand because of the nation’s first sales-tax increase in 17 years. "The tailwind is over," Tatsuo Yoshida, a Tokyo-based automotive analyst for Barclays, said by phone before Toyota released its results. "Unlike in a usual year, we cannot assume flat sales or even growth in Japan because of the hangover from last fiscal year." Toyota led a surge in the nation’s corporate earnings as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s economic policies helped weaken the yen by 8.7 percent against the dollar in the 12 months ending in March. In the year earlier period, the yen fell 12 percent. As prospects dim for a further benefit from the yen, Toyota faces a number of challenges. Safety defects have led to mounting global recalls, including one last month affecting more than 6 million vehicles to fix top sellers such as the Camry sedan and RAV4 SUV, and another involving 1.9 million Prius hybrids in February. In March, Toyota agreed to pay a $1.2 billion penalty to end a U.S. criminal probe into sudden unintended acceleration problems with the company’s vehicles, which were tied to 10 million recalls in 2009 and 2010. Toyota’s sales have increased in the United States at a slower pace than the total market in the first four months of 2014 as deliveries slipped 0.2 percent for the Camry, the top-selling car for the last dozen years. Sales of the Prius, which last underwent a major overhaul in 2009, have slumped 18 percent this year, putting the company on course for a second-straight year of lost market share.

By Claudia Carpenter| 2014-05-12 00:00:00

Nickel prices, poised to enter a bull market, climbed to the highest since April on speculation that Russian faces more political sanctions, exacerbating supply concerns after Indonesia banned unprocessed ore exports. Russia’s move to annex Ukraine’s Crimea will be met with global opposition and result in isolation, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden said today. The U.S. and the European Union yesterday imposed a round of sanctions. Indonesia, the world’s biggest miner of nickel used to make stainless steel, banned shipments of unprocessed ore on Jan. 12. The price of the metal has climbed 16 percent this year as Indonesia’s ban curbed supply of the raw material used by China in nickel pig iron. OAO GMK Norilsk Nickel, Russia’s largest mining company, accounts for 17 percent of world output, according to Morgan Stanley. The global surplus will narrow to 68,000 metric tons this year from 207,000 tons in 2013, Barclays Plc forecast on Feb. 12. “Comments from the rest of the world leaders just add to continued concerns about potential trade sanctions against Russia and supply constraints for nickel,” Mike Dragosits, a senior commodity strategist at TD Securities in Toronto, said in a telephone interview. “We still have the Indonesia supply concerns and the underlying demand continues to be there.” Nickel for delivery in three months advanced 1.9 percent to $16,180 a ton at 4:15 p.m. on the London Metal Exchange. The metal earlier reached $16,235, the highest since April 12. The price was poised to post a gain at the settlement topping 20 percent from a Nov. 27 closing low, entering a bull market. Premiums Jump Premiums added to LME immediate-delivery prices for nickel full plates in Europe jumped 73 percent last week to $65 a ton, the highest since July 2012, according to Metal Bulletin data. Surcharges for cut material and briquettes in the region are at the highest in two years. Orders to withdraw the metal from warehouses, or canceled warrants, climbed to a record yesterday and are up 31 percent this year. “There has been a lot of consumer buying over the last week,” David Wilson, an analyst at Citigroup Inc. in London, said in a telephone interview. “Premiums have surged in the last week. It’s got more to do with that than any concern over Russia. No one is talking about trade sanctions.” Copper for delivery in three months rose 0.2 percent to $6,491 a ton ($2.94 a pound) on the LME. Aluminum, zinc, lead and tin gained in London. On the Comex in New York, copper futures for May delivery gained 0.2 percent to $2.9565 a pound.  

By Donna Howell| 2014-05-08 00:00:00

Tesla Motors (TSLA) shares fell sharply after hours Wednesday as the luxury electric car maker's first-quarter earnings and revenue only modestly beat the average of some wildly divergent analyst views. CEO Elon Musk also announced that Tesla has a signed letter of intent with Panasonic to build a battery "Gigafactory," with groundbreaking expected to start next month. Tesla delivered 6,457 Model S vehicles in Q1, slightly ahead of its guidance for 6,400. Wall Street expected a mild beat but the company couldn't blow much past that number, said Dougherty & Co. analyst Andrea James earlier in the day, because its battery cell supply from Panasonic is currently constrained. Yet analyst views for Q1 performance had been "all over the place" which made the consensus "kind of irrelevant," James said. With revenue predictions ranging from $637 million to $808 million, "you could drive how many Teslas through that gap?" The variance was about 1,710 cars if you assume an average selling price of $100,000, she figured. Ultimately for Q1, Tesla took in $713 million in revenue ex items, up 27% year over year and ahead of analyst consensus for $699 million, according to a Thomson Reuters poll. That's a big deceleration from prior quarters. (GAAP revenue rose 10% to $620.5 million.) Adjusted earnings per share came in flat at 12 cents. That was two pennies ahead of consensus — the estimates ranged from a loss of 7 cents to a gain of 40 cents. With Tesla failing to blow out the consensus, shares fell 7% late after closing down nearly 3% to 201.35 in the regular session. No Shanghai Surprise For Tesla "estimates always are all over the place — let's call a spade a spade," said Wedbush Securities analyst Craig Irwin, who told IBD ahead of the release that he didn't think it would be a "juicy quarter." The only thing he knew of that could've potentially pushed the stock back to the highs of a few months ago was if Tesla predicted some outsized number of deliveries into China for the year, such as beyond 5,000, he said. Tesla did not, though Musk said in the shareholder letter that "we plan to expand in China as fast as possible because we believe the country could be one of our largest markets within a few years."   On the conference call with analysts, Musk said, "I really don't think we've got any kind of demand challenge in China ... actually I think we'll have to limit the number of cars we send to China."

By MDM| 2014-05-07 11:20:13

Germany-based Würth Group has acquired fastener distributor Timberline Fasteners, Commerce City, CO. The distributor has five branch locations in addition to its headquarters.Würth Timberline is now a part of the industry division as a sister company of Würth Industry of North America. This acquisition is the first step in the Würth Group’s plans to double its industry presence in the U.S. by 2020. The addition of Würth Timberline expands WINA's presence in the Western U.S. and adds market penetration and diversification.“As we implement our expansion plans, the geographical locations that Würth Timberline occupies will help us be a more complete supplier to our target customer base," says Marc Strandquist, executive vice president of the Würth Group.  

By CFM| 2014-05-07 10:33:57

Fasteners, nuts, bolts, screws, clamps, etc. – they hold things together and their finishes are critical to this function. Fasteners are coated to protect against corrosion or to achieve special properties. Industries such as automotive, construction or electronics have specific requirements for fasteners and it is ATOTECH's challenge to match all those specific needs. Established in 1993, ATOTECH is one of the world's largest suppliers of metallization production solution for general metal finishing, whose electroplating business can trace back to 1901. It is headquartered in Berlin with branches spreading over 35 countries and regions across Asia, America, and Europe, owning 18 technology centers and 4,000 employees around the world. ATOTECH insists on THINK GLOBAL, ACT LOCAL and keeps developing a series of electroplating products and zinc flake products. The automotive industry is the largest fastener consumer. Automotive fasteners are a very sophisticated application for corrosion protection coatings and have to meet specifications. ATOTECH is the unique supplier who can supply both electroplating solutions and zinc fake products, enjoying a high popularity at home and abroad, with customers scattering in every region, whose major customers include Volkswagen, GM, BMW, Fiat, Peugeot Citroen, BYD, SAIC, FAW, GAC, DFM, GWM, Changan Auto, Chery etc.        No matter the foreign-funded enterprises or the local companies in China, they all choose ATOTECH as their cooperative partners. Which products are their favorites? What are the characteristics of these products? What makes ATOTECH can always keep its leading role in industry? And how does ATOTECH think of the relationship among production, environmental protection, and development? With these questions, reporters of ChinaFastener.com interviewed Mr. Ricky LAM, Corrosion Resistance Department Manager of ATOTECH and Dr. Leo Liu, Zinc Flakes Technology Manager of ATOTECH to learn ATOTECH in details. Electroplating and zinc flake products complement each other and strengthen competitiveness ATOTECH’s electrogalvanizing applied in fastener industry enjoys a long history. It keeps introducing green environment-friendly electrogalvanizing techniques and provides a series of professional technology service from technique design, management process, to production verification. According to the introduction of Mr. Ricky LAM, ATOTECH’s electrogalvanizing is characterized with absolute green production, stable quality, high corrosion resistant (for example, the corrosion resistant of zinc-nickel alloy can be over 1,000 hrs), controllable friction coefficient property, and so on. In addition, in respond to the rigorous requirements on production process by automotive industry, ATOTECH designs a series of auxiliary equipments like TRICOTECT ion-exchange equipment used in trivalent passivation and the MEMBRANE ANODE of zinc-nickel alloy, which can monitor plating chemicals on full automation, decrease the generation of harmful substance, extend the life of plating chemicals, lower the emission and consumption volume, increase the stability of production, and reduce the rate of return. Zinc flake products, also called Cr-free dacromat, is a real green revolution. According to the introduction of Dr. Leo Liu, ATOTECH started to provide zinc flake products for fastener industry in China since 2007, the main products were pre-sales training and after-sales technology service of coating and coating equipments; in 2009, ATOTECH introduced the most advanced fastener planetary dip coating equipments from Europe for the first time; in 2010, ATOTECH upgraded and updated the coating product, making it become much adaptable to the application in China. The zinc flake products are the perfect complement of electroplating on corrosion protection, whose major characteristics include: ● Without the problem of hydrogen embrittlement, requiring no additional heat treatment of hydrogen removal  ● Suitable for the bolts demanding high tension (PC 10.9 above) ● Even the thinnest coating can provide enough corrosion protection （8-12 μm）（> 1000 h NSS）    ● Zero Cr and non-toxic ● Using the sealants with lubricants can realize the accurate control on torque tension ● Good chemical stability  ● No wastewater treatment problems, belongs to clean production technology ● Low cost (technique is simple) While compared with industry counterparts, ATOTECH is the unique supplier who can firstly conduct zinc-nickel alloy electroplating and then dip coating on fasteners. It can provide better and much stable corrosion resistance solution with the increasing requirement on corrosion resistance by automotive industry, especially in the periodic test on climate. Combining the advantages of these two techniques to achieve the best effect of salt spray also makes ATOTECH differ from the ordinary metal surface treatment suppliers.    Strong R&D force and sales office in everywhere guarantee solutions in time    Being the leading supplier for general metal finishing in the world, ATOTECH owns in house pilot line with production scale and R&D labs in Shanghai and Guangzhou, establishes two technical centers which conform to national laboratory certification ISO/IEC17025, provides physical & chemical analysis and electroplating knowledge training, and makes samples. It is the strong scientific research technical force that makes ATOTEC keep developing new products and obtains market.  Chinese major automotive production bases spread in Changchun, Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Chongqin, Wuhan, Guangzhou etc. In order to better meet market demand, acquire convenient and fast logistics, and facilitate Chinese-foreign information and technologies communication, ATOTECH set up production base in Guangzhou in 1998, established branch offices in Shanghai, Nanjing, Tianjing, Wenzhou and Chongqing successively after that, and founded technical service points in Huizhou, Dongguan, Zhongshan, Wuhan, Qingdao, Changchun and Chengdu. All of the technical centers are equipped with electroplating lines of production capacity, making samples for customers, developing electroplating chemicals, and conducting various training. This kind of manufacture, sales and service varying from place to place makes ATOTECH be closer to users, being able to provide various electroplating solutions and zinc flake products for customers in time and win more market shares.              Environment-friendly techniques, catering to future development demand   It is a well-known truth that electroplating is a heavy pollution industry. The severe outbreak of hazy weather in China in 2013 further intensifies people’s environmental awareness. Environment –friendly industries and products will be much preferred and become the development mainstream in future. ATOTECH has been regarding safety operation, health and environment protection as the top priority in enterprise management. The goal of ATOTECH is not only meeting the present demand on technologies and chemicals, but also satisfying the future demand. That’s developing various kinds of new products which can enhance product life and improve energy consumption as well as new techniques which can reduce water consumption and energy consumption, controlling pollution emission, and restricting the final wastes volume.        While talking about the relationship of environment protection and production, Mr. Ricky Lam expressed the electroplating solutions and zinc flake products provide by ATOTECH are environment-friendly techniques. Though electroplating is usually misunderstood as a pollution industry, ATOTECH learns the successful experience of Germany, America and Europe on environment protection and introduces the most advanced electroplating technologies into China, reaching the emission load and consumption requirements by country. In 2009, ATOTECH successfully completed the plan GREEN ELECTROPLATING TECHNOLOGY SYSTEM with China Environment Protection Industry Association, introducing the most advanced green techniques and equipments of galvanization and zinc-nickel alloy electroplating, which were used in four different electroplating plants, achieved the economic, technological and the most import environment protection index, and proved it was a breakthrough in comparison with traditional technique. ATOTECH’s relation with customers is not the simple buy and sell, but provides a whole set of electroplating solutions and zinc flake products for markets.                             Future Development In regard to the future, Dr. Leo Liu expresses that we are full of confidence on Chinese market. We will enhance the proportion of home-made coating in China, strengthen promotion and help to improve the corrosion resistance quality of self-own brand automobiles; that increasing efficiency, lowering cost, and reducing pollution will still be the development strategy of ATOTECH in future.

By MDM| 2014-05-06 00:00:00

Building materials distributorUS LBM Holdings LLC, Green Bay, WI, has acquired Desert Lumber & Truss and Desert Fastener & Supply, both of Las Vegas, NV, and Integrity Truss, Cedar City, UT.Desert Lumber & Truss is a provider of lumber, OSB, panels and EWP, as well as roof and floor truss systems to the Las Vegas market, primarily serving the residential homebuilder and contractor. Desert Fastener & Supply was founded to expand the company’s product line into fasteners, connectors, waterproofing products and adhesives, as well as a range of tools and equipment for Las Vegas roofing, framing and specialty contractors. Integrity Truss provides roof and floor trusses to southwestern Utah homebuilders.“The Desert family of companies is a key strategic addition to US LBM. The success we’ve experienced by partnering with leading building material businesses in the Midwest and Northeast is beginning to take shape in the Southeast and West Coast with the acquisitions of the Desert companies, Jones Lumber and Coastal Roofing & Supply,” said L.T. Gibson, president & CEO of US LBM.

By The TEX Report| 2014-05-05 00:00:00

Negotiations on blast furnace steel wire rods for Asia seem to have passed the peak for June shipment at levelling off of prices from May shipment. Within the month, all negotiations are expected to end. Most of customers accepted an increase in prices by around USD 10 for April and May shipment. For other customers, prices were increased by USD 10 for June shipment. As a consequence, a slight increase in prices by USD 10 is to have been accepted in this quarter. After the consecutive holidays in May, from the middle of June, negotiations will be commenced for shipment of the next quarter, and the Japanese blast furnace mills of wire rods have a policy to raise their prices ongoingly by offering a slight price increase for July shipment as well considering the tightened balance of supply and demand centering demand for automobiles. Demand for automobiles was brisk in negotiations for June shipment in China, Indonesia and so on except Thailand. In Korea as well, demand is said to be steady. In case of Japan, as the domestic production plan of automobiles has been revised upward, production of some blast furnace mill was reduced due to revamping of facilities and equipment and so on, the mill was forced to select orders on wire rods for steel cords to be used for tires. In China, the major mills of Wuhan Iron & steel and Anshan Iron & Steel starting with Baoshan Iron & Steel (Baosteel) left their domestic prices of wire rods unchanged for May shipment. Baosteel cut its prices of steel sheets and coils but left those of wire rods unchanged. And also, Taiwan's CSC revealed to leave its domestic prices of wire rods for June shipment. Korea's POSCO is said to have raised its domestic prices and to have made forced aggressive sale. And, the company's cheap prices for export were not found. The top management of that company is said to have set out a focus on profitability, of which effect is appearing in the export market. Although supply of wire rods is tightened in Asia, an increase in prices is difficult the same as other steel products. It is because Chinese products have been put on the market. As a result that the USA determined to be affirmative on the antidumping case, 600,000 tonnes a year were shut out and have been circulated to Asia especially to Japan. In near future, Indonesia's safeguard on wire rods is implemented. On Japanese products, as the plaintiff exempted those for automobiles, 80% of them are not to suffer a damage. However, there is a possibility for Chinese products to be shut out. If so, a feeling of excess in supply becomes strong further. For the next quarter as well, the Japanese mills are likely to face difficulties.    

By MDM| 2014-04-25 10:30:55

B/E Aerospace, Inc. (NASDAQ: BEAV), Wellington, FL, reported first quarter sales of $1.01 billion, an increase of 20.1 percent compared to the same period a year ago. Profit increased 21.2 percent to $109 million.First-quarter commercial aircraft segment sales increased 24.6 percent; operating earnings of $93.1 million increased 25.5 percent compared with the prior-year period, and operating margin of 17.8 percent expanded 10 basis points. Consumables management segment sales increased 12.2 percent; operating earnings of $71 million increased 9.6 percent, and operating margin, adjusted to exclude first quarter acquisition costs was 19.6 percent.Business jet segment sales increased 26.9 percent while operating earnings of $21.1 million increased 45.5 percent from the prior-year period. Operating margin of 17.4 percent expanded 210 basis points as compared with the prior year period, reflecting an improved mix of revenues and ongoing operational efficiency initiatives