Global Fastener News

Experts: Mismarked Grade 5.2 Cap Screw End Users Not At Risk

Jason Sandefur

News that U.S. Customs is reportedly investigating allegations of nonconforming Grade 5 cap screws imported from Thailand prompted fastener veterans to recall the Congressional process that led to the U.S. Fastener Quality Act process during the 1990s.

“Buy and sell cheap is and has always been too much of a priority in the import game,” reflected one insider who has held key positions with two well-known fastener companies.

“I am appalled that veterans in our industry who lived through the 1990s and the government intervention regarding counterfeit markings could allow this to happen so blatantly,” said an industry leader who was directly involved in the FQA amendment process, which lasted the entire decade.

While the FQA does not apply to fasteners from accredited manufacturers such as Tycoons, a government probe could lead to Customs violation charges.

The allegations reportedly center on Grade 5.2 cap screws incorrectly marked as Grade 5 cap screws with a manufacturer’s mark of TY. TY is the symbol used by Tycoons Group Enterprise Co. Ltd. of Taiwan, which operates factories in Thailand and Vietnam.

As stated in SAE J429, Grade 5 specifications require a medium carbon steel marked with a three-line “sunburst” evenly spaced on the bolt head. The Grade 5.2 is made of low carbon boron steel with a 3-line mark on one side of the bolt head.

Fastener experts agree that Grades 5 and 5.2 are completely interchangeable from an applications standpoint. “There is absolutely no reason to think that there are any dangerous situations out there just waiting to occur,” a fastener expert asserted.

In a letter obtained by FastenerNews.com, IBECA Technologies Corp. president Salim Brahimi reassured fastener executives that the issue appeared to be limited to the incorrect markings on the cap screws.
“It is important to emphasize that the parts are not defective or ‘bad,'” Brahimi wrote. “Rather, they are incorrectly identified. The parts fully conform to SAE J429 Grade 5.2.” Web: cbp.gov �2009 FastenerNews.com