Fletcher steel in spotlight

A complaint about steel sold by Fletcher Building subsidiary Easysteel is being investigated by the Commerce Commission.

The complaint relates to rectangular hollowed section (RHS) steel and was received in October.

A commission spokeswoman said she could not reveal any more details of the complaint while it was being investigated.

The unnamed complainant is reported as saying that its independent testing found that samples of the Australian-sourced steel differed markedly from the certification tests undertaken by the Tonghua Iron and Steel Testing Centre in China.

A Fletcher spokeswoman said the same steel, manufactured by Steelforce, was sold to other New Zealand companies.

She said the company had not been asked to quarantine or stop selling the steel, and that Steelforce was a reputable supplier.

‘‘Easysteel is not aware of any product quality issues for RHS product supplied by Steelforce … Easysteel is confident the RHS steel provided by Steelforce meets New Zealand standards.’’

Steelforce has been approached for comment.

The complaint is unrelated to the Commerce Commission’s investigation into steel mesh.

In December, it said it had completed its investigation into seismic steel mesh from five companies. There had been complaints that the mesh did not comply with new, higher standards.

Three had been advised that the commission would issue criminal proceedings under the Fair Trading Act. Those companies were not named.

Fletcher Steel was given a warning and United Steel was issued compliance advice.