Sweden's Bulten, China's ZJK team up to make micro screws in Vietnam

Sweden’s Bulten and China’s ZJK Precision Parts will jointly manufacture micro screws in Vietnam, targeting production from 2025, the former said Wednesday.

The two sides will establish joint venture Bulten ZJK Vietnam Company Ltd., with the Swedish firm holding a 51% stake and the Chinese one holding the remaining 49%, according to the statement. The joint venture will seek to rent production facilities.

The move is in line with the growing demand for domestically-produced micro screws from international customers in the electronics industry, who have located their production in India and Vietnam.

The investment is similar to Bulten’s cooperation in 2023 with China’s ZJK and India’s Radium Fasteners Private Ltd to cash in on the trend.

The expansion is also in line with Bulten’s strategy to grow its customer groups beyond its strength of the automotive sector, the firm added, while highlighting the consumer electronics segment in Asia.

“We see that establishing ourselves in Vietnam will increase Bulten’s sales volumes and benefit our profitability,” said Christina Hallin, acting president and CEO of Bulten.

The localization rate of Vietnam's industry is low, at 15% for the information-communications-technology (ICT) sector and 5% for the electronics-high tech sector, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

The figures are higher at 40-45% for the apparel-textile sector, 68-75% for footwear, 55% for automobile, 40% for electronics serving automobile, and 30-35% for consumer electronics.