More steel mesh under scrutiny
Steel & Tube has told building stores to quarantine its seismic steel mesh, as questions surface about how it is tested and its strength.
The company told the NZX it would only supply seismic mesh that has been tested by an external laboratory.
Chief executive Dave Taylor told the stock exchange the company was confident in its seismic mesh, but to reassure customers it would have to pass dual testing. ‘‘We wanted to provide our customers with the same assurances we have in our testing regime,’’ he said.
‘‘We had been in discussions with our existing testing provider but due to delays, Steel & Tube had to have discussions and engage other external laboratories to carry out testing and this has taken a little while.’’
But in a memorandum to ITM, obtained by RNZ, Steel & Tube said it was putting a hold on supplying its four main types of the concrete mesh.
The building industry has been disrupted because two of the country’s four biggest suppliers now do not sell the mesh, due to concerns about its strength.
Taylor said despite the laboratories testing against the same standard, Steel & Tube has been surprised by the varia- bility in the results, including results provided by the Commerce Commission, and has encountered significant ambiguity around the interpretation of the testing standards.
‘‘Given this, we want to supply mesh that is tested both internally and externally to remove any doubt around the product’s compliance,’’ he said.
‘‘While we follow through a robust validation process, we will only be selling our seismic mesh range that has been passed as compliant by an external testing agent. That may mean some disruption in supply in the short term, but we will not accept anything less than absolute validation.’’
Taylor said he supported statements made by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, that this is a question of standards.
‘‘Given the ambiguity and interpretation encountered by Steel & Tube, perhaps it’s time to review the standards regime through the establishment of an industry [and] Government working group.’’