NORTH AMERICAN NEWS
Volt Industrial Plastics relocates to boost capacity Volt Industrial Plastics has relocated its manufacturing operations to a larger facility in Yellville, Arkansas.
V
olt purchased the former SLM Electronics building and customized the facility for its plastic fastener manufacturing operation. The new 65,000 square foot plant is over two and a half times larger than Volt’s former facility, enabling it to expand its production range. Stock at the new location will double to approximately one billion parts, allowing for same-day order fulfillment
for catalog items. Shipping and receiving facilities are also expanded at the new location. “The new facility not only enhances the efficiency of our operations, it allows for increased production, inventory, and shipping capabilities to benefit our customers,” stated Volt COO Heidi Volltrauer-Skiver.
SPECIAL REPORT What sells fasteners in South Africa
GlobalFastenerNews.com recently visited three fastener companies in South Africa: a manufacturer and a master distributor in Johannesburg and a Cape Town-based national distributor.
P
rice competition, importing from Asia, a recession, tariffs, multi-generation family companies and corporate acquisitions were all familiar issues. Compared with the US, though, fewer companies
use barcoding, there are almost no trade associations and few outside sales people. South Africa is the 25th
28th by population. Its GDP is the 28th
largest country by geographic size and largest. At 24%, South Africa’s
unemployment rate for its nearly 50 million people is staggering compared with American and European industrial nations. Except for “safety-critical” applications, fasteners
manufactured in Europe and the U.S. are generally too expensive for the South African market. Asia is the major fastener supplier to South African distributors. There is growing interest in importing from India and Malaysia.
Manufacturer: Competing with imports Just as in North America and Europe, a South African
manufacturer notices the price competition from imported fasteners and the problem is the first mentioned by Anthony Diamond. “In South Africa, we are faced with problems from imports and the ever increasing challenges we face with skills development in our industry,” the managing director of Impala Nut & Bolt SA (Pty) Ltd., told
GlobalFastenerNews.com. Impala answered the skills
development issue by training internally. Located in the Wadeville, Germiston industrial section of Johannesburg, Impala Bolt & Nut is an independent cold-forming manufacturer of large range of bolts, nuts and screws for a wide variety of industries – including
construction, engineering, automotive and mining. Products include metric hexagon head bolts and screws; metric round head bolts, hexagon nuts, washers and specials. Steel comes from ArcilorMittal SA, which annually produces 5.8 million tons of steel in South Africa from iron ore sourced there.
Impala Bolt was founded in 1995 by Anthony Diamond’s
father, Aubrey Diamond. The senior Diamond had been in the fastener industry for more than 40 years, owning IFM for many years before its merger with National Bolts, where he became managing director. Anthony Diamond entered the fastener business in 1995. He
began “moving the business in the direction of supplying good quality manufactured products with the service and care of a merchant – effectively passing all the benefits of dealing with a factory to the client and also keeping that personal touch that clients want”. He adds: “The key to success has always been customer service and priority above all else.” Most of the fasteners Impala manufactures are sold in Africa.
“Impala’s focus has always been to sell to end users, although we have aligned with certain distributors whom we assist in increasing their market share. We have an understanding of cooperating with our distributors entirely so we do not compete at any stage.” Ultimately, the key to success in manufacturing fasteners in Africa is “knowing the market you are competing in and making sure you are always up for the challenges that manufacturing presents in South Africa.” While more Americans know of “Impala” as a model of the
Chevrolet produced since 1958, the bolt manufacturer is named after the southern African reddish-brown antelope with the characteristic “M” rear white marking.
Master distributor: India & Malaysia growing as suppliers “Price, price and price,” master distributor Rob Simes described as the key to the South African fastener market. Simes, managing director of Johannesburg, South Africa-based UPL Socket Screws (Pty) Ltd., and his brother, Richard, are second generation in the fastener industry. Their father, Edward Simes, spent a career in the fastener industry and in finding niche markets. Today the UPL Group supplies fasteners to a variety of
distributors in South Africa. The keys to success in the South African fastener market
are led by “being very aggressive on pricing,” Simes told
GlobalFastenerNews.com. “You can’t just open up and wait for customers.” Simes rated delivery on time as the second most
28 Fastener + Fixing Magazine • Issue 71 September 2011
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