Kobe Steel establishes steel processing venture in eastern China

Tokyo, December 17, 2007 - Kobe Steel, Ltd. has established a joint venture called Kobe Special Steel Wire Products (Pinghu) Co., Ltd. to process special steel wire rod in Pinghu, Zhejiang Province in China, the company announced on its official website last week.

The joint venture will turn special steel wire rod into cold heading quality (CHQ) steel wire for use in high strength nuts and bolts, which are critical parts in automobiles. The processed wire will be supplied to Japanese automotive parts manufacturers in China. Plans call for the new company, which will start production in April 2009, to have a production capacity of 2,100 metric tons per month.

Capitalized at 1.2 billion yen, Kobe Special Steel Wire Products (Pinghu) is 50% held by Kobe Steel and 30% by trading firm Shinsho Corporation. Japanese secondary steel processors Osaka Seiko Co., Ltd. and Meihoku Kogyo Co., Ltd. each hold a 10% share. Total investments are anticipated to be about 2.6 billion yen.
 
The joint venture, established in November 2007, will employ approximately 80 people. The chairman is Hiroyoshi Tsumura, an officer at Kobe Steel. The president is Takashi Matsunaga, deputy general manager of the Planning and Administration Department in the Iron and Steel Sector at Kobe Steel.