Kobe Steel Focuses Capex for Copper Sheet and Strip in F2007

Kobe Steel announced on Tuesday the firm increases capital expenditure for aluminium & copper business unit by 7.1% to 15 billion yen in fiscal 2007 started April compared with previous year. The capex is targeted mainly for renewal of cold rolling mills and introduction of a new plating line at Chofu plant in Shimonoseki City, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan. The firm will expand output capacity of copper sheet and strip used for connector pins to strengthen competitiveness of the products.Renewal of cold rolling mills will complete within this month, while construction of a new plating line will complete in June 2007. Kobe Steel plans capex of 2.2 billion yen for these constructions in fiscal 2007. The total capex will add up to 2.5 billion yen because the firm started the cold rolling mill renewal in 2005 and the plating line construction in 2006.Kobe Steel carried out capex of 3.1 billion yen in 2004-2005 for Daian plant in Inabe City, Mie Prefecture and Moka plant in Moka City, Tochigi Prefecture to introduce a new forging facility and renew hot- and cold-rolling mills. The firm improved productivity for aluminium plate and forging by the capex. In fiscal 2007 the firm focuses capital expenditure on improvement of productive equipment for copper sheet and strip, which are recently used more for automobiles and semiconductors.