Steel applying standards is difficult to sell

Enterprises producing steel for concrete reinforcement that have applied Standard 7 (National Technical Regulation on Steel for Concrete Reinforcement) are complaining about unsold products, while a series of products that have not applied Standard 7 are selling better.

Tighten the quality of construction steel

Before the production of steel for concrete reinforcement had not applied Standard 7, steel manufacturing enterprises often self-announced the standards they applied, which means that each enterprise chose a standard for production, they could even build their own set of standards and register. For example, this company produces according to TCVN1651/1985 or 2008, but another company produces according to TCVN 1651/2008... Of course, when applying different standards, the construction steel products brought to the market have different quality and weight.

However, the competition in the steel industry is currently very fierce, even facing the face of steel of unknown origin, or some imported from China containing Boron elements mixed into poor quality construction steel, affecting construction works. Therefore, to protect domestic production, protect consumer rights, and at the same time eliminate small, fragmented and dishonest businesses, the Ministry of Science and Technology, directly the General Department of Standards, Metrology and Quality has drafted and issued Standard 7 to force businesses producing steel for concrete reinforcement to bring qualified steel to the market, and Standard 7 has been applied since January 1, 2014.

Inconsistent application of Standard 7: many shortcomings

However, after a short time of application, some steel manufacturing enterprises that applied standard 7 said that the application "does not outweigh the disadvantages". Products applying the standard are difficult to sell and are unsold. The reason is that applying standard 7 must comply with technical requirements, dimensions, weight per 1m length; steel grade and mechanical properties according to TC1601-2008; even the label must be clear, not erased, on the label must be printed full information, name and address of the manufacturing facility, product name, standard number announced by the manufacturer to apply, conformity mark, steel grade, weight of steel bundle or steel coil, production time...

To apply this standard, businesses are forced to change equipment to produce reinforced concrete steel according to the correct standards, the cost price for each product increases by about 3 to 5%. Therefore, the cost price of steel applying standard 7 is higher than steel that has not applied the standard, so it is more difficult to sell.

Substandard steel must be rejected.

While products that apply standards and products that do not apply standards are still confusing and are present on the market, it is difficult for consumers to distinguish. Normally, if the steel product name is the same, buyers will buy it if they see a cheap price. But in reality, if consumers are alert, they will choose steel products that meet standards, ensuring quality and safety for the project. However, it takes time for users to be able to distinguish steel products according to quality standards.

According to the experience of manufacturers, for every 100 kg of steel that a company produces according to standard 7, the "positive" (sufficient) rolling only corresponds to 100 steel bars. However, if the same 100 kg of steel is rolled "negatively" as before, when Standard 7 was not applied, the number of steel bars will be more, up to 120 bars, with 20 extra bars - this is a benefit for businesses, because they often buy by weight, and selling bars will be more profitable. But because of this, steel produced according to Standard 7 will be "more unsold".

Many steel enterprises have proposed that, in order to bring fairness among steel manufacturing enterprises and protect the interests of consumers, management agencies need to strictly control the application of Standard 7, impose heavy penalties, and avoid the situation of "beating the drum and abandoning the stick". At the same time, it is necessary to shorten the time for steel that has not applied Standard 7 to circulate on the market. Quickly eliminating steel that does not apply Standard 7 will bring fairness to manufacturers.

According to baocongthuong