“Building a relationship with manufacturers is much more valuable, rather than choosing for single shot earnings,” Martijn Wirken. -- Bodegraven Metaal N.V. (Bomet)

Established in Lommel City of Belgium, Bomet (or “Bodegraven Metaal N.V.” known by the Belgians or “BM” known in Asia) specializes in producing threaded rods which it distributes worldwide to Europe, Scandinavia, the Middle East, USA, South Africa, Russia and even China. Bomet does not sell directly to end users but rather to wholesalers and OEMs, where its products (including private label packed threaded rods) are used in a mixture of products and resold to end users. Managing director Martijn Wirken said, “Bomet already exists for 34 years. Initially our customers were particularly located around the factory. We didn’t know we would eventually grow to be the largest manufacturer of DIN976-1 threaded rods (old DIN975) in Europe.”

Quality Strength & Surface Treatment Service
Bomet’s biggest strength is the reliable quality that sets it apart from others. Its product program has the quality for Grade 4.8, Grade 8.8, Grade 10.9, AISI 304, AISI 316 and brass (B7 coming up soon). “A threaded rod mainly serves as a fixture in a hanging construction. The products do not hang on the wire itself, but mainly on the threads where a connection is formed between nut and rod. The Chinese invented a different top angle of thread to reduce the steel that is used. The actual difference which you barely see is a strength reduction by more than 60%! This is what we call inferior quality where the nut can be easily ripped off the thread. We have seen many accidents due to this phenomenon. At Bomet you can rely on proper quality, short delivery times and worldwide shipping,” said Martijn.

Joining with Duroc
In 2014 Bomet was bought by Duroc. They have been working together for 30 years. Duroc offers zinc-plating, zinc-flake coating, (in)organic coating and PTFE coating for threaded rods and fasteners. All threaded rods from the competitors are also plated at Duroc. “Sometimes customers need rods coated in PTFE blue for recognition under water or offshore. At Duroc we offer fastener coating for offshore, automotive, construction, oil-gas, etc. to a very wide market.”

Europe & World Market Business Prospect
Europe has been through a lot for the past two years. Martijn told me, “When the economy falls back, construction projects are delayed, cancelled and companies bankrupt. Despite this situation Bomet had managed to stay on a steady level with even a small growth due to more overseas customers. Now that the EU begins to resettle, it is time for extra growth in 2017. I’m looking forward to market development. We can’t influence, but we can adjust our sails.” He added, “Our domestic sale is only 1.2% of our turnover. We are export orientated. Our future focus is to expand the knowledge about inferior rods in the EU, finalize our Chinese manufacturing plant, and develop further in the US market, with a possible production facility also in the US. I believe in serving global demand with global manufacturing.”
In 2015 Bomet exhibited for the first time ever in 34 years at Fastener fair Stuttgart. “All larger companies know how to find us. Now it is time that we be more visible to international companies. That means you will see us more in the coming years at different fairs!”