Fasteners and fixings are everywhere in construction and make building possible but, unlike some bigger construction products, they may not be what people think about first. So firstly, an introduction. Owlett-Jaton is the UK and Ireland’s leading wholesale supplier of fasteners, fixings, and associated products to the distributor and merchant trade. With over 30,000 product lines, it has the most comprehensive range of screws, nails, nuts and bolts, pins, brackets, clamps, caps, clips, ties, struts, straps, washers, wall plugs, chains, ropes, fastenings, and fixings generally. It’s the largest stockholder in the industry, and Owlett-Jaton is the name behind some of the UK’s leading fastener and fixing brands, including JCP, JRP, Thunderbolt, Unifix, and Vortex.

Government delays in clarifying testing and certification requirements for the introduction of UKCA to replace CE marking has delayed many suppliers in the fastener and fixings sector from being able to introduce UKCA marked packaging. This delay is regrettable, and expectations that all CE marked products sold to merchants from 1^st January 2023 will be UKCA marked is unlikely to be achieved. However, while it is an absolute requirement for new products to be UK tested and UKCA marked, existing products already on the market can continue to be sold as CE marked, and not UKCA marked, providing they were imported into the UK before 31^st December 2022.

As demand in the market has slowed in volume terms, many suppliers have seen stock levels rise. This has helped product availability recover from the lows of 2021, but these higher stocks will slow the arrival of UKCA marked product onto the market. It is quite possible that non-UKCA stock will still be moving through the extended supply chain well into 2024.

With the current state of the economy, slowing demand in both the RM&I and new build sectors seems likely to continue. In turn, this will feed through to slowing volume demand in fasteners and fixings. Price levels seem unlikely to fall. Although shipping costs are falling in US Dollars , and most fasteners and fixings are imported, the weakness of Sterling has offset it to a large extent, leaving forecast value of sales still in growth.