Mr. Tsuyoshi Kasuya, senior managing director of Kobe Steel, explained at an interview with Japan Metal Bulletin that said domestic demand for welding materials maintained low from construction fields while hit bottom from automobile and construction machine industries. Thus Kobe Steel’s welding material sales volume for domestic market recovered to 80% of pre Lehman Shock level, he told, while the demand in overseas markets recovered to the peak level of pre Lehman Shock mainly in China and Asia. The overseas demand has also recovered from chemical industrial machine, oil and energy industries in Europe and the U.S.A.
After Japan Earthquake, Fujisawa works shifted to flexible operation along TEPCO’s planned power outage in March, he explained. Order volume for welding materials hit bottom in May along output recovery of automobiles and construction machines in domestic and overseas markets while, Mr. Kasuya said, the impact of electric power shortage for July-September is unclear. Mr. Kasuya viewed the sales trend is forecasted would not change largely in fiscal 2011 ending in March 2012 compared with fiscal 2010. He suggested the division plans to increase the welding material sales for export and overseas market by 10% or more to above 200,000 tonnes in fiscal 2011 while keep the sales for domestic market at around 130,000 tonnes. He pointed out continuous cost down efforts are needed when imported welding materials are increasing mainly from South Korea under strong yen trend and the users are requiring low price products for cost reduction. Kobe Steel tries to offer cost down solutions by total technologies to control welding process while utilizes partnership with Kobe Steel Group’s dealer organization, Shinyokai, with many staffs acquiring welding engineering standard, WES.