Quality concerns halt steel sales for two Auckland suppliers

UPDATED: Steel mesh makers re-test products after ComCom concern

Two Auckland companies have agreed to stop selling steel mesh for concrete reinforcement as the Commerce Commission investigates whether they comply with required standards.

The companies are Euro Corporation, majority owned by Maui Capital, and Brilliance Steel, owned by Donghui and Guanghui Wu of East Tamaki.

A Commerce Commission spokeswoman said the regulator had begun investigating the quality of the products from the two companies after a complaint “from someone who was concerned the products did not meet the standard” late last year.

The Commission said its initial testing of the grade 500E ductile steel mesh sheets found they did not meet standards in relation to elongation, designed to ensure the steel can stretch under pressure or movement such as in an earthquake.

One of the companies had challenged the Commission’s finding, it said, and further work would be done to test the products.

Euro Corporation managing director Randal McKenzie was not immediately available for comment, but a spokesman said part of its quality control process involved testing by an independent laboratory and the company had challenged the Commission’s finding.

In a statement, Brilliance Steel said it “takes its responsibilities very seriously and has ceased all supply and distribution of this particular product until the issue is resolved. The company has written to its customers regarding the Commerce Commission's enquiry and advised all customers not to use or supply any stocks of the 147E Ductile Mesh until further notice.” 

The products are used to reinforce concrete floor slabs. The specific mesh products subject to the regulatory action are:

Euro Corporation – SE615-500STD (SE615);
Brilliance – 147E G500E ductile mesh (147E).

The Commission said pending the outcome of its inquiries any builder who had already bought the affected product should not install it if a resource consent specified grade 500E.

Separately, the Ministry for Business Innovation and Employment issued a statement saying the product was not a safety risk.

The Ministry’s general manager of building system performance Derek Baxter said steel mesh was one of several factors contributing to a building’s resilience.

 “In 2011, following the Canterbury earthquakes, the ductility level for concrete slabs was increased to a minimum elongation of 10%. Before then, mesh in concrete slabs generally had an elongation of about 2%.

“The Commerce Commission’s investigations cover the period from mid-2012 onwards. The test results of this product so far average around 8%. These homes will still be more resilient than the many of thousands of houses built prior to 2011.

“This is an issue of standards, not safety. Whatever the outcome, people don’t need to worry if they’ve built a house with a concrete slab in it since mid-2012 and one of these products was used.”

MBIE said neither of the companies were dominant players in the market for steel mesh. Euro Corporation had sold about 380,000 sheets since mid-2012, while Brilliance had sold about 20,000.

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