Business Mirror reported that the Philippine Iron and Steel Institute has vowed to multiply test buy operations to report manufacturers and retailers slipping in substandard steel in the market by exploiting quarantine restrictions. Pisi will intensify its test buy operations to expose firms and retailers selling substandard steel to unsuspecting buyers. Likewise, the group will work with the DTI in enforcing laws on product standards.
Joel T. Ronquillo, vice president for technical affairs at Pisi, relayed to the Department of Trade and Industry the sale of substandard rebars in hardware stores in Central Luzon. Further, he alleged the products were made by Real Steel Corp. and Metrodragon Steel Corp, both of which are known to use induction furnace for steelmaking.
According to Pisi, samples from the test buys were sent to the Bureau of Philippine Standards. The agency then sent them to the Metals Industry Research and Development Center, of the Department of Science and Technology, for quality and safety evaluation. Citing MIRDC’s findings, Pisi argued the lug height and mass variation of the samples failed to conform with what the government requires to guarantee the integrity of a rebar.
Source: STEELGURU
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