Nisshin Steel Builds up Production Capacity of Special Steel in Kure Iron Works

Nisshin Steel will complete the build up plan of the upstream process in Kure Iron Works such as the No.1 steel making equipment improve for special steel products or the expanding capacity of sintering plant in June and makes the production of the special steel products more efficient. In downstream, the firm plans such as continuous pickling line. The production capacity of the special steel products expands by about 30%. Total investment is about 9.5 billion yen. The firm will optimize the process capacity and will improve the response capability for the demand.The firm plans the expanding sales of the strategic products rate to 47% by 5% of the sales in new mid-term plan from fiscal 2006 at the ended of March. Consequently, the firm will carry out the investment to Kure Iron Works and refresh the equipment superannuated.In the upstream process, the firm carried out the engineering works copper stave for cooling of No.1 blast furnace which has 2,650 cubic meters. Blast furnace age is able to extend to about 30 years from 10-15 years in now and become reduce the production cost and can the operation stably in high production level on the investment price at 2.7 billion yen. Moreover, the firm will refresh the steel making equipment on the investment at 1.9 billion yen. The production capacity increase and casting time is reduced. The production capacity of the special steel products would expand to over 400,000 tonnes per year from at 300,000 tonnes.In material process, the firm will build up No.1 sintering equipment on the investment at 2 billion yen. The firm will increase powder coal injection volume to 160 kilogram per tonne of pig iron by 40 kilogram by the improvement of the injection equipment for the blast furnace and coal crash equipment. Continuous pickling line is refreshed in June, 2006. After few years, the firm will raise the rolling speed of the hot rolling mill which is bottleneck process in now.Kure Iron Works has 2 blast furnace, No.1 steel making equipment which make the high quality steel, No.2 steel making equipment which make common steel, the hot rolling mill and continuous pickling line. Crude steel volume in the first half of fiscal 2005 was at 1.7 million tons of high-record. In the second half of fiscal 2005, the works is advancing the production adjustment from December 2005 for reducing of the products stock. Crude steel volume in fiscal 2005 is expected to decrease to about 3.3 million tonnes.