Chen Kun said that FOGO Fasteners has invested heavily in the development of a variety of 10.9-rated high-strength bolts for the VW EA211 engine. The matching standards are consistent with those in Germany, and there are two types of mass production. Liu Kai, deputy general manager of Jiangxi Isuzu Engine Co., Ltd., said that the high-strength bolts of Isuzu Diesel have been purchased domestically, and their procurement standards are in line with the Isuzu Japan procurement standards. Sun Jingyu, Deputy Director of Quality Control Department of Qingte Group Co., Ltd., told reporters: “The high-strength bolts used in Qingte Axle are not all imported. Some domestic fastener companies can also meet our process requirements.”
The strength of domestic enterprises is still lacking
“High-strength bolts require high manufacturing processes, especially high-strength bolts for vehicles, and any flaws will seriously affect traffic safety.” Chen Yuanzhi, director of the International Department of the China Automobile Industry Association, told reporters.
Chen Yuanzhi stated that some fastener companies in China have the technology to develop high-strength bolts and can manufacture high-strength bolt samples. However, if high-volume production is difficult to guarantee the quality of each product, the main reason is that product consistency does not meet batch requirements. In addition, the domestic advanced alloy material is insufficient or there is no better material available. Therefore, some high-strength bolts still rely on imports.
It is understood that the domestic general fastener companies can supply 8.8 bolts, and a lot of companies can mass produce 10.9 bolts, but there are not many companies that can produce 12.9 bolts. According to Chen Kun, in fact, there are only about 5 fastener companies that have the ability to produce high-strength bolts, but at the same time they can do well and are recognized by the industry. It is noteworthy that this only a few companies also include joint ventures and wholly foreign-owned enterprises.
According to the analysis, domestic companies have insufficient incentive to develop high-strength bolts.
Chen Kun said that compared with ordinary bolts, the profit of high-strength bolts is not obvious, and with the large investment in the previous period, some small-sized companies may be able to make up for the high-strength bolts. The requirements for high-strength bolts vary from one auto company to another. This makes it more difficult to match this product, the cycle becomes longer; joint venture brands are very cautious about localization of high-strength bolts, localization will only choose the companies within its supporting system, domestic fastener companies rarely have matching opportunities.
The production chain can not escape imports
Although some high-strength bolts can be selected for domestic procurement, this appears to be a domestic fastener company has a certain degree of production strength, but in fact each high-strength bolt production process is difficult to separate from imports. Chen Kun said that the difficulty in the production of high-strength bolts lies in the following aspects: The cold heading molding process requires high product tolerances, which requires more sophisticated production equipment. These cold heading equipments must be imported from abroad or imported from Taiwan; Product hardness uniformity depends on the heat treatment process, high-end heat treatment furnace also needs to be imported; product surface treatment is also the key, and the required solution is also introduced overseas.
The huge investment in equipment purchases has determined that some small fastener companies cannot join the ranks of high-strength bolts. Chen Kun said that Fool Fasteners has developed high-strength bolts for the VW EA211 engine for two years, investing tens of millions of dollars in the installation of general-purpose equipment, special heat treatment furnaces for car fasteners, and a series of testing equipment. The final product must also be tested and certified by a foreign agency.
The raw materials for high-strength bolts are also inseparable from imports. It is understood that China's automotive fastener materials based on materials produced by Baosteel Group, many domestic vehicle companies to Baosteel as a designated manufacturer of special standard steel. A small number of high-strength bolt raw materials with special needs need to be imported from Japan and South Korea. "This huge investment is because we are aiming at the localization of high-strength bolts for domestic vehicle companies or domestic procurement. Although there will not be a surge in demand in the short term, this demand will exist for a long time," said Chen Kun.