Aircraft Specialty Fasteners Market Growth Analysis | 2023-2028

Market Highlights

The Aircraft Specialty Fasteners Market is likely to grow at a healthy CAGR of 7.6% over the next five years to reach an estimated value of US$ 1.1 Billion in 2028.

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In the aerospace industry, specialty fasteners refer to a specific family of fasteners whose usage is to address distinct industry requirements. Specialty fasteners address challenging requirements, such as high-speed/automated assembly, sandwich panel installation, thin sheet assembly, mounting to surfaces that cannot accept through-hole technology, blind assembly, frequent joint access, and optimization of preload in highly loaded joints. Specialty fasteners often save time in the assembly process and eliminate the need for additional fastening components, which results in an overall reduced cost.

Fasteners play a vital role in the aircraft industry and are among the most essential hardware components. They are situated across the aircraft and are used not only to join different parts of the aircraft together, such as the aircraft structure to skin, but are also used to install and affix components such as seats, stowage bins, and panels to the aircraft body. They have the highest count among all the components. For instance, an A380 aircraft program is made of six million components, out of which more than three million are fasteners.

COVID-19 Impact

The COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on the aircraft industry. The decline in air travel, subsequent grounding of aircraft, halt in manufacturing plants, and supply chain disruptions hampered the market. The aircraft specialty fasteners market could not escape from those challenges and witnessed a decline of 23.5% in 2020. This has compelled all major industry players to realign their strategies to maintain liquidity to face current market challenges and meet future demand.

The market further declined in 2021 but a steep recovery from 2022 onward. The major factor underpinning the growth of aircraft specialty fasteners is an incessant increase in air passenger traffic all around the world, which is triggering an incessant increase in the production rates of the key programs, such as the A320neo, B737 Max, A220, B787, and A350XWB; the market entry of new players, such as COMAC and Irkut; and increasing aircraft fleet size.

Apart from the organic growth of the aircraft industry, the demand for specialty fasteners is also fueled by a wide array of factors. Among these, the benefits of using specialty fasteners over traditional fasteners, such as faster assembly and accessibility to surfaces that can’t accept holes, are one of the factors that are pushing the airframers, especially Airbus, to switch from traditional fasteners to specialty fasteners, especially blind fasteners.

Recent Market JVs and Acquisitions:

• In December 2021, TriMas Corporation acquired TFI Aerospace, a manufacturer of specialty fasteners used in a variety of applications for aerospace and other industrial end markets. This acquisition helped expand TriMas Aerospace’s fastener product lines with the addition of complementary niche products.

• In January 2020, Consolidated Aerospace Manufacturing, LLC (CAM) agreed to be acquired by Stanley Black & Decker, Inc.  This acquisition helps to further diversify the growth of Stanley Black & Decker, Inc.’s industrial business segment.

Segments Analysis

By Aircraft Type

Based on the aircraft type, the aircraft specialty fasteners market is segmented into commercial aircraft, regional aircraft, helicopters, military aircraft, and general aviation. Commercial aircraft is expected to remain the market's largest and fastest-growing aircraft type during the forecast period. Both major commercial aircraft OEMs: Boeing and Airbus, are increasing the production rates of their best-selling aircraft to meet a huge pile of order backlogs. Also, COMAC and Irkut are entering the commercial aircraft industry with their C919 and MC-21 aircraft programs, returning in the service of B737Max, and rising aircraft fleet size. All these factors are likely to create a sustainable demand for specialty fasteners for the commercial aircraft segment in the foreseeable future.

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By Product Type

Based on the product type, the market is segmented into blind rivets, blind bolts, solid rivets, studs and inserts, panel fasteners, and others. Blind rivet is expected to remain the largest product type in the market during the forecast period, propelled by its installation efficiency and ergonomic benefits over traditional fasteners. The rivet type is also estimated to grow at the fastest rate in the coming five years. Blind Bolt, another member of the blind fastener family, is subjected to growth at an impressive rate for the same period.

By Application Type

Based on the application type, the market is segmented into the airframe, flight control surfaces, interior, engine, and others. Airframe is expected to remain the most dominant segment of the market during the forecast period. Airframe is the largest structure in the aircraft, where specialty fasteners are used in a wide array of applications, including wings and fuselage, leading to its dominance in the market.

By Material Type

Based on the material type, the market is segmented into titanium, aluminum, steel, and others. Titanium is expected to remain the dominant material type in the market during the forecast period. In the aircraft industry, there has been an incessant replacement of steel and other heavy metal-based fasteners with titanium fasteners, owing to their excellent performance at a relatively low weight. Also, titanium fasteners are highly compatible with composite parts, which are increasingly being used in next-generation aircraft, including the B787, A350XWB, and B777x.

Regional Analysis

In terms of regions, North America is expected to remain the largest market for aircraft specialty fasteners market during the forecast period. The region is dominated by the USA, owing to the presence of major aircraft OEMs, specialty fastener suppliers, airlines, and MRO companies. Asia-Pacific is expected to expand at the highest rate during the forecast period, with China, Japan, and India being the key sources of growth. Substantial growth in air passenger and freight traffic in China and India is compelling aircraft manufacturers and tier players to open their manufacturing plants in the region. Major companies in the Asia-Pacific region are striving hard to develop commercial and regional aircraft to meet the huge indigenous demand and mitigate the level of dependency on Boeing and Airbus. COMAC C919 is one example of such efforts, which have already been successful in piling up excellent unfulfilled orders.

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Key Players

The market is highly concentrated, with the presence of some regional and global players. Development of lightweight and durable specialty fasteners, forming strategic alliances with aircraft OEMs, and execution of mergers & acquisitions are the key strategies adopted by the major players to gain a competitive edge in the market. The following are the key players in the aircraft specialty fasteners market.

• Howmet Aerospace Inc.
• Precision CastParts Corp.
• TriMas Corporation
• Lisi Group
• Stanley Black & Decker, Inc.
• National Aerospace Fasteners Corporation 

Research Methodology

This strategic assessment report, from Stratview Research, provides a comprehensive analysis that reflects today’s aircraft specialty fasteners market realities and future market possibilities for the forecast period. The report segments and analyzes the market in the most detailed manner to provide a panoramic view of the market. The vital data/information provided in the report can play a crucial role for market participants as well as investors in the identification of the low-hanging fruits available in the market as well as to formulate growth strategies to expedite their growth process.

This report offers high-quality insights and is the outcome of a detailed research methodology comprising extensive secondary research, rigorous primary interviews with industry stakeholders, and validation and triangulation with Stratview Research’s internal database and statistical tools. More than 1,000 authenticated secondary sources, such as company annual reports, fact books, press releases, journals, investor presentations, white papers, patents, and articles, have been leveraged to gather the data. We conducted more than 15 detailed primary interviews with market players across the value chain in all four regions and industry experts to obtain both qualitative and quantitative insights.

Report Features

This report provides market intelligence most comprehensively. The report structure has been kept such that it offers maximum business value. It provides critical insights into the market dynamics and will enable strategic decision-making for the existing market players as well as those willing to enter the market.

What Deliverables Will You Get in this Report?

Customization Options

With this detailed report, Stratview Research offers one of the following free customization options to our respectable clients:

Company Profiling

• Detailed profiling of additional market players (up to three players).
• SWOT analysis of key players (up to three players).

Competitive Benchmarking

• Benchmarking of key players on the following parameters: Product portfolio, geographical reach, regional presence, and strategic alliances.

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