Recently, as a fundamental category in the field of metal fasteners, the steel flat and smooth nail industry has achieved a transformation and leap from scale growth to quality improvement by relying on standard revisions, technological breakthroughs and market expansion. From raw material optimization to the implementation of intelligent manufacturing, from domestic standardization to international expansion, the industry's development trajectory is clear, and its high-quality characteristics are prominent.
The innovation of the standard system has become the core driving force for the development of the industry. In September 2025, the National Technical Committee for Standardization of Hardware Products initiated the revision of the national standard "Steel Nails" in Xingtai, clearly integrating scientificity and forward-looking into the standard, with a focus on regulating mechanical properties, environmental protection indicators and testing methods. This revision was jointly advanced by 10 authoritative institutions. It established quantitative standards for key indicators such as the geometric parameters of the head and the performance of the coating. For instance, it is recommended that the fillet radius of M6 grade products be controlled within 0.4-0.6mm, which not only alleviates stress concentration but also ensures support stability. This will set a clear technical boundary for the development of the industry.
Technological upgrades comprehensively address industry pain points. At the material end, the application of high-strength cold heading steels such as ML35CrMo and B610L has become mainstream. Through deformation heat treatment processes, the fatigue life of the products has increased by 32%, and the tensile strength has exceeded 1000 MPa. In the field of surface treatment, breakthroughs have been made in Dacromet composite coatings and zinc-nickel alloy co-deposition technology. The salt spray corrosion resistance time generally reaches 520 hours. The Fe/Al/MAO three-layer structure product developed by Baowu Group has even exceeded 1,000 hours, making it suitable for extreme service environments. On the manufacturing end, the cold heading and thread rolling production line optimized by digital twins has increased the cycle time from 198 pieces per minute to 236 pieces per minute, with a stable yield rate of over 99.5%.
Market demand shows a structured growth trend. In 2024, the domestic output of large flat head stainless steel machine nails (a core category) reached 428,000 tons, increasing by 6.4% year-on-year. Among them, the demand growth rate in emerging scenarios such as battery pack fixation for new energy vehicles and installation of photovoltaic brackets exceeded 20%. Region-level, Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Guangdong provinces contribute over 65% of the national production capacity. Leading enterprises in the Yangtze River Delta region have deployed online texture inspection systems, achieving quality monitoring of 1,200 nail bodies per minute. The export market was also outstanding. In 2024, the export volume reached 137,000 tons, accounting for 32% of the total output. Southeast Asia and the Middle East were the core markets, and the average export price increased by 17.6% compared with 2020.
Green manufacturing and international certification have become the key to competition. Under the impetus of policies, enterprises have adopted ASP? In 2053, technologies such as powder metallurgy molds and precise control of lubricating films have achieved a 13.5% reduction in energy consumption per unit product. Meanwhile, 213 enterprises have obtained international certifications such as DNV and TUV. The proportion of high value-added products exported exceeds 75%. Although the average export price is still only 43% of that of similar products in Japan, the room for upgrading is clear.
Although the current industry is confronted with the challenge of fluctuating raw material prices, structural opportunities are clear. Enterprises that master high-strength material processing techniques and have obtained international certifications are gaining an advantage. With the implementation of the new national standards and the industrialization of technologies such as atomic layer deposition, the steel flat and smooth nail industry will unleash greater potential in high-end manufacturing support and global market competition.