| TOKYO
(May 19, 2003) - Kobe Steel, Ltd. and JFE
Steel Corporation agreed today to shift production
of welding wires to a new joint venture they
will establish. The company is anticipated
to be formed on October 1, 2003.
This decision arose out of an alliance
created in May 2002 between the two companies
to improve their welding businesses. Under
the alliance, Kobe Steel (hereinafter called
Kobe) and JFE Steel (hereinafter called JFE)
said areas for consideration would include
research and development of welding materials,
which are called consumables in the industry;
production; and procurement.
Details
of the agreement
Kobe and JFE will establish a joint venture
company to produce solid welding wires. Production
of solid welding wires currently undertaken
at Kobe's Fukuchiyama Plant in Kyoto Prefecture
and at JFE's West Japan Works in Kurashiki,
Okayama Prefecture will be transferred to
the new joint venture for consignment production.
Both Kobe and JFE will continue to market
the welding wires themselves.
Profile
of the joint venture
| Name: |
KOBE·JFE
Welding Co., Ltd. |
| Establishment: |
Anticipated to
be established on October 1, 2003 |
| Head office: |
Fukuchiyama, Kyoto
Prefecture (current Kobe Steel Fukuchiyama
Plant) |
| Capital: |
About 300 to 500
million yen (Majority share to be held by
Kobe Steel) |
| Product |
Solid welding
wires |
| Annual
sales: |
6 billion yen |
| Employees: |
Approximately
175 |
Advantages
Kobe and JFE anticipate production costs will
decrease as manufacturing consolidation is
expected to improve operating rates.
Material procurement costs and distribution
costs are also anticipated to go down due
to the expanded scale of operation.
Background
For many years, Kobe has supplied welding
consumables for steel pipe and plate to the
former NKK Corporation. The two companies
also actively pursued joint research and development
on welding consumables. After the former NKK
and the former Kawasaki Steel Corporation
decided to create JFE, Kobe and the former
Kawasaki Steel decided to explore cooperative
relationships covering broad areas of their
welding businesses. In July 2002, the two
companies reached agreement to conduct joint
research and development on welding consumables
for steel plate and steel pipe. Kobe and JFE
further decided they would benefit from lower
costs by combining production for common products,
material procurement, and distribution. This
led to agreement on establishing a production
joint venture for solid welding wires.
Profile
of Kobe Steel's Welding Business
| Sales: |
38 billion yen
(fiscal 2002) |
| Products: |
Covered welding
wires, MAG and MIG solid welding wires, flux-cored
welding wires, submerged arc welding wires
and fluxes, welding robots and systems |
| Facilities: |
Ibaraki Plant
(Osaka), Saijo Plant (Hiroshima), Fukuchiyama
Plant (Kyoto), Fujisawa Industrial Operations
(Kanagawa) |
| Employees: |
641 (fiscal 2002) |
| Overseas
locations: |
Thailand, Singapore,
Malaysia, Indonesia, United States, South
Korea, Netherlands, China |
| Business
scope: |
Integrated system
covering R&D, production and marketing |
Profile
of JFE Steel's Welding Business
| Sales: |
4.4 billion yen
(fiscal 2002) |
| Products: |
Covered welding
wires, MAG & MIG solid welding wires,
flux-cored wires, submerged arc welding wires
and fluxes |
| Facilities: |
East Japan Works
(Chiba), West Japan Works (Kurashiki) |
| Employees: |
99 (fiscal 2002) |
| Business
scope: |
R&D and production
by JFE Steel. Marketing by JFE Welding Rod
Co., Ltd. |
Media
Contacts:
| Gary I. Tsuchida
|
Tel +81
(0)3 5739-6010 |
| Communication
Center |
Fax +81
(0)3 5739-5971 |
| Kobe Steel, Ltd. |
E-mail
www-admin@kobelco.co.jp |
9-12 Kita-Shinagawa
5-chome Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo 141-8688
Japan |
Web site
http://www.kobelco.co.jp/index_e_wi.htm |
| |
|
| JFE Steel Corporation |
Tel +81
(0)3 3597-3166 |
| Public Relations
Sec. |
Fax +81
(0)3 3597-4911 |
|
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