Issue: #114 November 2018

Editorial

Will Lowry Content Director t: +44 (0) 1727 743 888
Highway to growth 13 November 2018

As I travelled around Poland for our special ‘Made in…’ feature what became abundantly clear is this is a country that has received a lot of investment in its infrastructure and economically has grown significantly over recent years – especially when it comes to fastener production.

With this in mind, we commissioned a special report from Marek Łangalis to look at the growth of the fastener industry in Poland and the prospects for Polish fastener manufacturing in the future. It highlights some very interesting trends and underlines the country’s potential to become a key fastener supplier.

To add to this, we also have a range of articles from some of the main players within the Polish fastener market, including an interview with Anders Karlsson, managing director of Bulten Polska (pictured right) – who talks about the company’s 20th anniversary and the benefits to the Bulten Group of having a Polish factory. Marcopol also underlines its capabilities as a trusted and reliable business partner; and pgb-Polska explains how the significant investment in its facility in 2017 has positioned it to target new markets.

During my trip I also had the opportunity to visit Śrubena-Unia’s vast production facility and see first-hand its impressive cold and warm forging processes, as well as learn about its strategy of continuously improving its technology in order to provide better, more durable, and more precise, solutions.

There are also articles from DROMET Fastener Systems and how its new high bay warehouse has enabled it to expand its production and distribution departments; and we find out about HAMAR and its new range of direct fixings.

For our Cover Story we spoke to Jorge Cámara, export manager at Chavesbao, about how the Spanish wholesaler established itself as a reference within the market and the chllenges of meeting customers’ increasing requirements.

There is also a preview of the first edition of Fastener Fair France, which takes place on 28th – 29th November at the Paris Expo, Porte de Versailles.

In the Construction Fixings section, we have an article from John Muir, technical manager at Construction Fixings Association, who focuses on ‘the cutting edge of anchoring’ – concrete screws.

Plus, we have articles from Böllhoff Group – looking at how lightweighting and the automotive industry combine to create modern multi-material designs; Weighpack concentrates on the introduction of a complete customised packaging solution at HEICO; and Keller & Kalmbach explains how, through its close partnership with Jungheinrich, it has been able to consistently expand its central warehouse, whilst still providing a first class service.