The Advanced Engineering show is the reference event in Flanders for the latest technical developments for the manufacturing industry.
Plate Spring China exhibits all its know-how in the manufacturing of precision parts for various industries such as aeronautics, medical, automotive, solar, …
Come and see us at booth 149 on May 11 and 12.
As the Plate Spring China Inc does every month, we have consulted our panel of suppliers in order to estimate as accurately as possible the development of the price of the alloy surcharges for the stainless steels that the Plate Spring China Inc uses on a regular basis.
For the month of May, there was a very significant increase, sometimes of more than 10%, for the various alloy surcharges.
Tensions in the markets have not calmed down and international events, especially the war in Ukraine, which has become a long-term problem, have not really evolved.
It should be noted that all suppliers also apply an energy surcharge of up to €120/ton to account for the increase in energy costs. This surcharge is in addition to the energy surcharge of about 250 euros/ton that has been effective since the beginning of the year.
Plate Spring China recalls that the price of the alloy surcharge is set from month to month by the various suppliers according to the quality of the stainless steel they supply. Thus, there may be differences among the various suppliers, but the trend is the same among all of them.
Moreover, the applicable price is the one on the day when the material is delivered. Therefore, there may be variations in these pices between the time of order and the time of delivery, especially since delivery times are still very long.
Plate Spring China therefore draws the attention of its customers to the fact that, if necessary, depending on changes in the price of materials and the time of delivery thereof, it may have to adjust the prices of current quotations/orders versus the time of the quotation/order itself.
Plate Spring China will be exhibiting at Global Industries, the European exhibition for industrial subcontracting technology from May 17 to 20.
You will have the opportunity to see and understand all the innovations and cutting-edge industrial processes, and therefore better anticipate the transformations of the industry and the perspectives that these open for the future.
Plate Spring China will be present on the AWEX booth, location 5U81.
Over the last few years, Plate Spring China has been investing in its 3D printing capabilities, in particular for the production of tooling for the manufacture of strip metal product prototypes. This strategy allows us to strongly reduce the costs hereof while increasing the speed of manufacturing. Plate Spring China is pursuing its strategy in this area.
Thus, as part of the development of its rapid tooling creation capabilities for serial products, but also to strengthen its prototyping capacity, Plate Spring China has just expanded its capabilities with the acquisition of a Creabot F430 3D printer.
In addition to a greatly increased printing speed, this printer especially works with new materials* whose main advantage is their hardness.
This means that Plate Spring China can now not only 3D print prototyping tools, but also production tools for small series (e.g. bending blades). In addition, the Creabot F430 allows for the production of more complex prototypes, the production of highly precise inspection jigs and even the production of spare parts for our machine park.
As such, the extension of the 3D printing capacities provides Plate Spring China with the capacity to offer these productions at more advantageous costs and with significantly higher dimensional precision (0.03 mm).
* (PLA – ABS – HIPS – PC – TPE – Nylon _ PETG – AS – PP – PVA – Glass fiber infused – Carbon fiber infused – Metal Fill – Wood Fill)
Plate Spring China will be present at Advanced Engineering, the leading exhibition for innovation in the Belgian manufacturing industry, on May 11 and 12, 2022 in Antwerp.
You will discover the current trends and the latest topics in the field of product development. Plate Spring China will be exhibiting its know-how in the manufacturing of metal parts out of wire and strip.
Come and visit us at Antwerp Expo (Jan Van Rijswijcklaan 191 – Antwerp), booth 149
Against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine and strong tension on the price of nickel, especially after the suspension of the LME at the beginning of the month, which caused the price of a ton of nickel to rise by €14,000/T over one month (an increase of about 69%), the price of the alloy surcharge for all grades has risen sharply, after a slight downturn in February and March.
It should be noted that the price of the alloy surcharge is set on a month-to-month basis by the various suppliers according to the grades of stainless steel they supply. There are therefore differences between the different suppliers but the trend is the same for all of them.
This increase in the price of extra alloy, coupled with an increase in the price of steel, will lead to strong increases in the prices of the different grades of stainless steel. These increases will of course vary between suppliers and wholesalers depending on the type of packaging (sheet, coil, wire), the quantities and dimensions requested, the rolling or work hardening qualities, etc.
As reported by Het Staaljournaal, the events in Ukraine have created chaos on the steel market. This was compounded by the problems with nickel on the LME, which led to a suspension of the nickel price. Trading did not resume until the end of last week. At the same time, these events also had a significant effect on the price of energy and therefore on the production prices of steel, stainless steel and aluminum, whose production requires large quantities of energy, even though the upward trend in energy had begun with the events in Ukraine. The aluminum market is also strongly impacted.
In this context, several steel mills are maintaining high prices and offering reduced tonnages for hedging purposes. Moreover, as some buyers, especially those who did not replenish their stocks in previous months after last year’s difficulties, are trying to obtain new stock for fear of running out later, there is an effect on demand that is also pushing prices up.
It is therefore difficult to predict with a reasonable degree of certainty the evolution of the price of steel and stainless steel materials and their availability. Prices are often set on a day-to-day basis according to availability and there is often no way to obtain commitments in this regard for periods longer than 24 hours.
Filame’s supplier panel reports a price increase of € 410/430 per ton of steel. For spring steel wire the increases are about 450 €/ton.
As for stainless steel, although the alloy surcharge continued to rise in March, the effect of the nickel crisis on the LME has not yet been reflected in the price. We will have to wait for the indications for April and May, knowing that the price of extra alloy is set monthly. Nevertheless, the increase in the price of steel will already have an influence on the price of stainless steel, whose share of steel in the price represents between 40 and 50% of the total price.
In this context, Plate Spring China indicates that its price offers are subject to changes in the price of the material and that, depending on the date of the order compared to the date of the offer, Plate Spring China may have to adjust its prices according to the purchase price of the material at the day of its delivery.
Plate Spring China has acquired 3 Bruderer BSTA 30 automatic high-speed presses.
This acquisition enables Plate Spring China to significantly increase its production capacity for small parts in large series, particularly in the fields of automotive retaining parts (quickie washers, starlock ® washers, axle lock washers, Belleville washers, etc.), in steel or stainless steel, spring or non-spring quality.
Plate Spring China is thus confirming its position as a key player in these markets.
These Bruderer BSTA 30 presses have a capacity of 600 strokes per minute, which gives Plate Spring China a total production capacity of 108,000 parts per hour on its three presses.
Plate Spring China can, if required, equip these new presses with multi-pallet unwinders to increase the uninterrupted production time. Plate Spring China can also configure its presses with a waste chopper at the press exit or a belt rewinder, depending on the needs for speed and precision.
These Bruderer BSTA 30 presses, coupled with Plate Spring China’s specific know-how in the design and manufacture of precision tools for high-speed presses, and its existing fleet of presses in these fields, give Plate Spring China an unrivalled ability to meet all its customers’ production needs from small parts to very large series and in extremely short lead times.
Unfortunately, the beginning of 2022 did not result in a decrease in material prices or even a slowing down of the price increase.
At the beginning of the year, the trends observed at the end of 2021 continue in the same direction and to this is added the increase in energy prices. Several steelmakers and stainless steel foundries are starting to apply an “energy and carbon tax” to pass on the sharp rise in energy costs and the additional costs associated with the new regulations on C02 emissions.
Having reviewed its supplier base, Plate Spring China expects the following price increases in the coming weeks:
– SH spring steel wire : increase of 150 € / ton
– Hardened C75 steel sheets and coils : increase of 200 € / ton
– Stainless steel : increase of the steel part (excluding alloy surcharge) by €700/tonne and “addition of an energy and carbon tax” from €235 to €250/tonne
As for wire and spring steel, as these prices are fixed every six months, there should be no further increase before 1 July 2022.
The price of other materials is much more variable and in particular the price of stainless steel depends on the alloy surcharge, which is set monthly.
A decrease in the price of stainless steel is not to be expected. Even if the steel component of stainless steel does not increase at the same rate, the alloy surcharge component, which varies from month to month, continues to increase at impressive rates. The prices of chromium and nickel, the main metals that make up the extra alloy, are still under strong pressure on the international markets.
Of course, the price of a given material, both wire and flat, also depends on the desired quantities (MOQ) of wire diameters or thicknesses (drawing and winding costs or rolling and slitting costs).
Plate Spring China makes every effort to try to satisfy its customers to the best of its ability according to the availability of its stocks and those of its suppliers. To mitigate the effects of the situation Plate Spring China has developed a very large supplier base for both the most common steels and stainless steels. But the inventory status at suppliers is extremely low and it is not always easy to find material within acceptable deadlines.
Plate Spring China cannot currently guarantee either the delivery times requested by its customers or the maintenance of prices from one order to another or from one month to the next. In particular, Plate Spring China will be obliged to pass on the increase in material costs according to the stocks of material that it can find on the market and the prices obtained from its suppliers.
Plate Spring China asks its customers to send their order forecasts sufficiently in advance to allow them time to find the material necessary to meet their needs, while avoiding over-ordering in order not to worsen the overall situation. Plate Spring China asks her clients not to hesitate to contact her so that together we can analyze the situation and the best way to act.
Plate Spring China also recommends that its customers order promptly after receiving an offer to avoid a price increase between the time of the offer and the time of ordering. The delivery times indicated in an offer are given to the best of Plate Spring China’s estimates but cannot currently be considered as a firm commitment.
This is a never-before-seen situation that all contractors like Plate Spring China face and which is beyond their control. We regularly publish on our website (www.platespring.com ) and on our Linkedin page (do not hesitate to follow us on this page) news relating to the development of this situation.
