Nippon Steel to Send Professionals for Tinplate JV with WISCO

Nippon Steel sends more than 15 persons to tinplate making fifty-fifty joint venture with Wuhan Iron and Steel (Group) Corporation, WISCO-Nippon Steel Tinplate. The support team is as large as the firm launched Chinese joint venture, Baosteel-NSC/Arcelor Automotive Steel Sheets. Nippon Steel launched the project team for the joint venture on August 1 while the firm seeks the approval from Chinese authorities. Nippon Steel started facilities order to build new plant with state of the art process and technology.

WISCO-Nippon Steel Tinplate plans to start production in summer of 2013. The plant has annual 400,000 tonnes of output capacity for continuous annealing and 200,000 tonnes for electrolytic tinning. Nippon Steel sends the management including the president and staffs including technology, facilities and sales experts.

WISCO-Nippon Steel Tinplate procures all of sheet material from Wuhan Iron and Steel while Nippon Steel has exported steel material to the other offshore operations. The firm launches the business with new model when historical high yen rate reduces the international cost competitiveness.

After the start of WISCO-Nippon Steel Tinplate, total tinplate production capacity of 4 offshore operations with Nippon Steel’s interest reaches around 800,000 tonnes per year against 1-1.2 million tonnes of Nippon Steel’s domestic output capacity. Nippon Steel could use more partners’ steel sources for the offshore operations when the firm expands the offshore business under high yen rate.