Fletcher's steel product in spotlight after Commerce Commission complaint
Tuesday, 9 May 2017
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.
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A spokeswoman for Fletcher Building said the same steel, manufactured by Steelforce, was sold to other New Zealand companies.
She said it had not been asked to quarantine or stop selling the steel.
'Whenever the New Zealand Commerce Commission requests information about the products sold by Easysteel the company always fully cooperates with these requests,' she said.
'Easysteel was asked for information about RHS steel manufactured by Steelforce and this was provided to the Commerce Commission. Easysteel is not aware of any product quality issues for RHS product supplied by Steelforce.'
She said Steelforce was a reputable supplier that had been in the market for years. '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.
Lawyer Adina Thorn, whose firm is putting together a class action against Steel and Tube and other steel manufacturers over the steel mesh concerns, said the new complaint was concerning.
She said it was critical that steel used in construction complies with the relevant standards – particularly in regards to its performance in the event of an earthquake.