Wire nails rust, their business doesn’t

One of the most demandable hardware -- wire nail -- continues to move upscale as a handy product even amid the pandemic.

An instrumental component in every sector from construction to manufacturing, the nail has kept a steady growth over the years.

However, a series of building projects getting underway in the metropolis as well as in the capital have shot up the demand of the pointed steel wire.   

The business insiders said the use of wire nail is multifarious, making its presence felt in every work and everywhere.

From connecting wood to fixing anything for decoration such as stages for seminars, marriage ceremony, and the like, this is an essential component, they maintained.

There are various kinds of nails -- coil nails, paper tape collated nails, common nail, wire nail, steel nail, iron nail, etc. Among all these types, wire nails are the most appealing to customers.

Similarly, the sizes and shapes of wire nails are different from each other ranging from 1 inch in length to 6 inches, and so does the price that hinges on its sizes.

The retailers and small hardware shop owners make sale in small amount like a kilogramme or some pieces as per the consumer demand, but the wholesalers sell by ‘hondor’. (5okg of wire nails is equal to 1 hondor).

Talking to a number of hardware businesses, it was found that the wire nails sell at Tk 100 to Tk 200 per kg depending on their size and quality.

“The price of half an inch to two-inch slim wire nail is priced at Tk 3, 900 per hondor whereas the price of two-inch to six-inch wire nails Tk 4, 500 a hondor,” they said.

According to the sector people, there are more than 20,000 hardware shops, and in every area across the capital, the number of hardware shops could be more than 20 while in Tejgaon Industrial area, there are around 15-20 small factories producing nails.

In Shyampur, Keraniganj and outskirts of the capital, there are also some factories. In total, the number of hardware and metal factories goes around 50.

A customer, Anup Krishna Roy, who works as project coordinator for a private interior firm in the city, shared his experience about wire nails with The Business Post.

“As a project coordinator and as a civil engineer by profession, I have a good idea about all these hardware products, and wire nail is the most essential among all,” he explained.

“I buy wire nails and other hardware products from here -- Molla Enterprise, a wholesaler at Imamganj in Chawkbazar. The shop offers a reasonable price.”

Md Yeakub Patowari, a retailer from Merul Badda in the city, said he has been in this business for 10 years. The name of his hardware shop is Allahr Dan.

“I have not seen the demand for wire nails fall in my business career,” he claimed.

According to a wholesaler Md Enayet Islam at Jamuna Hardware at Imamganj, “There are more than hundred wholesale hardware shops in this lane and every day we sell products worth around Tk 70,000 to Tk 80,000 to retailers from inside and outside the capital.”

“We made a good profit even during the pandemic. So there is a slim chance of incurring loss in this business.”

Md Arman Khan, proprietor, Sunny Metal Work, one of the most popular hardware factories at Shyampur in the city, told The Business Post, “This hardware sector is mushrooming day by day. The expansion of the sector is big, but our unity is small. We have an association in name only.”

“Every day we supply around 2 metric tons of wire nails to wholesalers. Because of increasing Vat and price of raw materials, the price of wire nail and other hardware products has also gone up.”