The European Commission published in its Official Journal on 17 February 2022 a decision on imposing a definitive anti-dumping duty on imports of certain iron or steel fasteners originating in the People's Republic of China. The code of the Regulation is EU 2022/91.
Many years of tireless research and analysis by the European Industrial Fasteners Institute (www.EIFI.org), a part of which is the DIV Group Ltd, one of the largest manufacturers of standard fasteners, have finally borne fruit. The European Commission has issued a regulation on imposing an anti-dumping duty of up to 86.5% to neutralize the unfair competitive position of Chinese manufacturers, which finally gives European manufacturers, the DIV Group Ltd. in Croatia, a chance to compete in the open market race.
In 2013, when a similar regulation was in force, we invested a total value of 55 million euros in production facilities. This enabled the employment of about 500 people in the town of Knin and it was a sign of further development, investment, and prospects. The regulation was withdrawn in 2016 due to a procedural error, but we continued to actively participate in the preparation of the return of the anti-dumping duty and the continuation of the growth phase of production, employment, and exports to EU countries through the European Institute of Industrial Fasteners, which proved to be a lengthy but successful endeavor. After almost 6 years of painstakingly maintaining the status of a sustainable producer and managing to improve our quality and safety management system despite the unfair competition, we are finally facing a phase in which we will achieve the maximum profitability previously planned after the return of such a large investment.
Considering our current capacities and the market needs in EU countries, we are facing a new period in which we will be able to implement our plans with maximum production performance values and offer our customers within the EU a continuous supply of standard fasteners and the possibility of much shorter delivery times by avoiding today's very unstable, expensive and time-consuming transport routes and roads.
DIV Group Ltd. will enrich its business by continuing to invest in additional new production capacities, already developed at a cost of up to 50 million euros, and most importantly, in maximizing output from existing resources, which will enable the continuation of the success of our overall business by laying the foundations for further growth. We are pleased to point out that all our efforts, persistent maintenance of a very difficult position of a standard fastener manufacturer in recent years have paid off, providing us with virtually unlimited opportunities for progress, the final conquest of hard-earned positions, and market roles.
The estimates of the DIV Group Ltd. indicate that the future exports of standard fasteners will double to over 60 million euros per year, with a long-term plan and further investments to over 100 million euros per year, which will significantly increase the value of our plant in Knin, not only in Croatia but also in Europe and the world.
DIV Group Ltd. would like to take this opportunity to thank all business partners, long-term customers, and suppliers, as well as financial institutions for their support and understanding during the last 6 years when European fastener manufacturers were exposed to unfair Chinese competition.