Tokyo Steel Manufacturing’s director Kiyoshi Imamura said at press meeting held in Tokyo on Wednesday the firm will start larger sized concrete reinforcing steel bar production in April 2012. The firm decided to idle Takamatsu plant, which makes rebar with 22-38 millimeters diameter, and shift the rebar production to Okayama plant, which makes rebar with 10-19 mm. He said the firm studies options including conversion of Okayama mill and transferring Takamatsu mill to Okayama for the production shift.
Mr. Imamura said rebar output at Okayama plant is less than 20,000 tonnes per month. He said the plant has enough capacity to increase the output instead of around 5,000 tonnes of rebar output at Takamatsu plant. He expects cost reduction through the optimization of production. He said the firm decided to withdraw from wire rod business when the firm’s wire rod output is small at less than 1,000 tonnes per month at Takamatsu plant. The firm cannot increase wire rod sales when the import increases from China and other countries.