Posted on 04/24/2025 5:35:29 PM PDT by Red Badger
The steel scandal behind the collapse of Thailand’s State Audit Office (SAO) building has deepened after fresh test results revealed another failure by Chinese manufacturer Xin Ke Yuan Steel — marking the second time its materials have failed to meet Thai industrial standards.
Yesterday, April 23, Industry Minister Akanat Promphan confirmed the findings, citing results from the Iron and Steel Institute of Thailand (ISIT). The substandard steel sample was taken from the collapsed SAO building on April 11 and subjected to rigorous testing.
“The Chinese company’s SD40T 20-millimetre steel bar failed the mass-per-metre test, consistent with the previous results,” said Akanat.
Akanat explained that the steel in question had been produced using induction furnace (IF) technology, which has already drawn criticism for its inconsistent quality.
Pictures courtesy of The Nation The minister added that the test results will be submitted to the Department of Special Investigation (DSI), which is overseeing the broader investigation into the building’s collapse. However, he stressed that this new test is separate from any existing legal proceedings related to the previous batch tested on March 31.
“A fail is a fail, a pass is a pass,” Akanat said, emphasising the integrity of ISIT’s testing, which he confirmed aligns with benchmarks set by the Thai Industrial Standards Institute (TISI).
Interestingly, not all of the company’s steel failed. The 32-millimetre steel bar from the same source, which previously failed to meet yield strength standards, has now passed. Regardless, Xin Ke Yuan Steel is expected to provide a formal explanation to the DSI.
“This is just one part of the broader effort to crack down on zero-coin industries, those that contribute no real value to Thai society,” Akanat said, referring to companies accused of corner-cutting and compromising public safety.
The minister also revealed a wider crackdown on substandard IF steel, stating that over the past seven months, officials had seized 384.4 million baht worth of IF steel intended for use in Thai construction projects, reported The Nation.
With IF technology under the microscope, the Industry Ministry has proposed scrapping IF steel certification standards entirely, a proposal set to be discussed at the next Industrial Product Council meeting.
The controversy is raising tough questions about quality control in Thailand’s construction sector and who is building the foundations of the nation.
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ALWAYS.....................
BUY AMERICAN STEEL!!!!!!....................
Belt and Road crap.
They call Chicom construction tofu dregs.
I think I heard somewhere that it's better to test your materials before actually using it.
I guess they do things in reverse on the other side of the world.
Hey, it came with a certificate!...................
If you don’t mind what you build collapsing on you buy Chinese
They love you long time!...............
We need a program like that here.
Yes, “tofu dregs.” There are oodles of Youtube videos of shoddy Chinese buildings collapsing, new condo owners poking holes in their walls, finding bricks to be hollow, etc. We hear endlessly of the huge and growing Chinese military, but their equipment is sure to be “tofu dregs” as well. And those fancy new “tofu dregs” jet fighters and battleships will be manned by Chinamen . . .
Remember the Chinese tires on the Russian trucks when they first entered Ukraine?
No, what happened?..................
And we’re supposed to believe all the hype about their navy, 5th gen fighters, and hypersonic weapons.
They submit samples prior to use for testing during the materials acquisition phase of the bid. They send the good stuff for testing and then substitute crap after getting the contract
Probably Harbor Freight caliber.
Most might work one time, some fail immediately, and a few actually work for a while.
Right and they want to bring that into the US.
You think their steel is bad, you ought to try their pharmaceuticals .... oh, never mind.
Chinee steer not so good
Gold bars filled with tungsten.
Dry rot from the factory. Looked worse than the ones on a ‘58 DeSoto on blocks bown the road from me.
They must have left out a key ingredient..................
I’m sure China was the lowest bidder.
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