Member Innovation

It is always a pleasure to tell a story about South African innovation and the local development of specialised stainless steel products. This is especially so in the case of stainless steel fasteners as South Africa currently lacks the ability to manufacture high volumes of these fasteners and most fasteners used in the stainless steel industry are imported from abroad.

It is therefore exciting to announce that a long-standing Sassda member, Nikkei Bolt and Engineering Supplies in KwaZulu Natal, can now manufacture and supply bolts and nuts made from the duplex grade 2205 stainless steel, as well as the super-austenitic grade 904L. These fasteners would typically be used for higher tensile applications and highly corrosive conditions. Applications would include anchor bolts and various marine applications.

Yogan Moodley from Nikkei Bolt and Engineering Supplies tells Sassda that their specialised fasteners are a truly 100% local product with the input material being procured from another Sassda member, Wire Products Stainless Steel. He states that the company is a leading supplier of isometric and unified threaded bolts, screws, nuts, and washers, in various materials, including stainless.

The good news is that there is great potential for the use of locally made stainless steel fasteners in a variety of industries. The high volumes of these items required in the manufacture and maintenance of processing equipment in the food and beverage industry alone, involves staggering numbers.