Interview- Hebei Province Branch Shaped Fasteners Welding Co., Ltd.

1. Please specify the history, service range, factory area, production & QC facilities, average capacity, market distribution, and major applications of products of the company.

Hebei Province Branch Shaped Fasteners Co., Ltd. was established by Hebei Electric Welding Machine Co., Ltd. in 1995. We have been certified by the quality management systems of ISO 9001 and ISO/TS 16949 and mainly produce GB, ANSI, DIN standards compliant rivet nuts, clinching nuts, riveting studs, and other non-standard fasteners. Our annual capacity is over 0.3 billion pcs.

We have a team of highly qualified managing staff for technical R&D and have introduced some advanced manufacturing and inspection equipment from the international market in order to produce high quality products with reliable guarantee. Our products can be used in various applications and we are capable of working with various users to develop new products. Our products are well known in the U.S., Europe, and Southeast Asian countries/regions.

2. What is the bestseller in your products? Please specify from which material your products can be made and its major application?

Developed through solid technical power and complete quality control methods, rivet nuts and riveting studs are two main bestsellers of our company. Both kinds of products have been approved by the provincial authorities and obtained national patents (patent no. ZL97216014.0 for rivet nuts and patent no. ZL99213975.9 for riveting studs). No other companies in China are allowed to produce these kinds of products. As a result, we can satisfy the Chinese domestic demand for similar products in the non-standard fasteners sector.  

Rivet nuts and riveting studs made of 304 stainless steel are well received among a majority of customers. They can be used in the assembly of mechanical/electrical and lightweight products for automotive, aerospace, railways, air-conditioning, elevators, switches, instrument, furniture, and decorative applications. Thin sheet metal and thin-wall weld nuts are prone to smelting, base materials are prone to deformation in welding, and threads are prone to being stripped. In order to solve the problems, we developed these products. Our products do not require use of internal threads and weld nuts. They can be efficiently fixed with ease of use.

3. As a specialist of non-standard parts, would you introduce your ability of R&D, manufacturing, and quality control?

I’ve got some examples to prove our ability. Our products applied to “motorcycles” and “air-conditioning” have proved to be very successful. 

The domestically-made HXD1 electric motorcycle is one of the examples. Our technicians cooperated with the R&D department of an electric motor company in the development of stainless steel rivet nuts, which are applied to the 2mm thick sheet metal. These products are mainly used for the assembly of small parts and do not need to withstand too much axial and torque loading. In a small area, more bolts will be required to achieve firm bolted joint. Our rivet nuts not only eliminate the concerns on deformation caused by hexagonal weld nuts, but also increase our work efficiency. In addition, the change in assembly sequence also improves the performance of products and satisfies the demand for high part precision.

Our rivet nuts are also used in Gree Air Conditioners, as they can effectively deal with the problem of rusty water leakage on the outer coverings and ineffectual welding, making great contributions to energy saving and cost reduction of enterprises.

4. China’s “One Belt One Road” policy has been a hot issue recently. It more or less promotes the industrial upgrade to a certain level. What is your opinion about localization of fastener production? In which industry are you interested? Have you had any future plan now? 

Fasteners are widely used in the aerospace, numerical control machines & robotics, marine engineering, railways, electricity, new energy cars, agricultural machines, and medical device applications, so these industries have become the main targets of China’s promotion in localization of fastener production.

Through the examples above, we are greatly admired by users. In the future, stainless steel products will be our focus in promotion. On the other hand, our products are also widely used in the installation of lights, sunshades, small-size electrical parts, ventilation grid panels, etc. With the well-established sales network, we have had our own plans for 8 major industries and have received critical orders from aerospace, electricity, automobiles, agricultural machines, and medical device industries.

5. The global fastener market keeps changing. Do you see any challenge or trend in the future global market? In addition to China, is there any other country or regional market (e.g., Europe, USA, Latin America, Asia, etc.) you’d like to tap into? If yes, please specify why.

The market varies from minute to minute. Take the continuously growing China for example, its domestic industries have great demand for fasteners. That is why we focus our major sales in China, but we do not reject overseas orders. Every year we participate in various shows around the world, such as Fastener Expo Guangzhou, Fastener Expo Shanghai, Aviation Expo, etc.

6. In terms of Chinese market in the last few years, its competition in the same industry became more fierce and the substantial domestic demand began to attract foreign investment. What is your opinion about these changes? Will you also create a new supply line for domestic demand?

The current competition in Chinese industries is very fierce and the substantial domestic demand also began to attract foreign investment, so the internationalization of the Chinese market is a natural process. Facing the fierce competition, we have figured out some concrete measures (investment in technical research and R&D of high quality fasteners for example) through the effort of the internal management to reduce production cost, increase production volume, reduce prices of products, offer staff training, and elevate the professional knowledge of our employees.