Nippon Steel & Sumikin Metal Products to Launch Taiwan JV

Nippon Steel & Sumikin Metal Products announced on Thursday the firm agreed with Taiwan’s largest steel structure fabricator, China Steel Structure, which is group company of China Steel of Taiwan, Marubeni-Itochu Techno Steel and Taiwan Marubeni-Itochu Steel Enterprise to establish steel products making joint venture to serve civil work. They agreed on Tuesday to establish the joint venture with 15 million New Taiwan Dollar of capital in January 2011 at China Steel Structure in Kaohsiung. The venture targets annual 1 billion yen of sales by developing the market.

Nippon Steel & Sumikin Metal Products launches the joint venture, which is the first offshore venture for Japanese construction steel products makers. The subsidiary of Nippon Steel and China Steel Structure have each 45% share in the venture with 5% share each by Marubeni-Itochu Steel’s group companies. China Steel Structure sends chairman of the venture while Nippon Steel & Sumikin Metal Products sends the president.

Taiwan suffers from many typhoons and earthquakes. The country tries to improve the ability to cope with the natural disaster. The companies from Taiwan and Japan have talked for a year to establish the joint venture to provide civil work related processed steel products including steel slit dams in the country.

China Steel Structure and the group companies make the products with domestic steel. China Steel Structure fabricated annual 230,000 tonnes of structure in 2009. The joint venture deals civil work related processed steel products including dams, walls and frames along with building products and environmental friendly products.

Nippon Steel and Sumitomo Metal Industries, both of which have interest in Nippon Steel & Sumikin Metal Products, have strong relationship with China Steel through steel making joint venture, East Asia United Steel. The new civil work products joint venture will contribute to strengthen the relationship between the major steel companies.