Bekaert, the world's largest manufacturer of drawn steel wire products and Bedford Heights, Ohio-based American Spring Wire Corp., the largest manufacturer of valve and commercial quality spring wire in North America and a major supplier of PC Strand, have entered into a joint supply agreement to send engine valve spring quality (VSQ) wires to Asian markets.
Bekaert said Monday that last month the companies entered into a Definitive License Agreement establishing the terms of technology to transfer to Bekaert's Jiangyin wire plant in China's Jiangsu Province. Accordingly, ASW will provide Bekaert technical assistance in equipment design as well as the knowledge to develop the VSQ wire markets in Asia, China and India in particular. In addition, it establishes ASW as Bekaert's representative for VSQ wires sold in North America.
The new VSQ wire line in Bekaert's Jiangyin wire plant will be modeled after ASW's US operation located in Bedford Heights. Both partners believe the new capacity will produce the first qualification coils in the course of the second half of 2012.