Sumitomo Metals Enhances Steel Sheet Pile Sales for Civil Engineering

Sumitomo Metal Industries aims to increase steel sheet pile sales for civil engineering. The firm plans to increase the sales of hat shaped steel sheet pile 900 to 10,000 tonnes per annum in fiscal 2010 ending in March 2011 as for 10H type whose inertia moment is 10,500 cm4. At the same time, the firm will start commercial sales of 25H type with 24,400 cm4 inertia moment within fiscal 2010. The firm also eyes to appeal “SM-J pile,” non-deadspace steel sheet pile, to lease market of temporary structures.

Hat shaped steel sheet pile 900, whose effective width is 900 millimeters, was jointly developed by Nippon Steel, JFE Steel and Sumitomo Metals in 2004. The pile is widely adopted to shore protections, retaining walls, sinkage preventions and water stop walls. Hat shape realizes 7-29% steel weight saving and one-third pile usage number decrease compared with U-shaped sheet pile. Construction costs and lead times can be reduced as a result.

SM-J pile has been adopted to water channels, river improvement works and railroad elevation works in Japan and at overseas. The cumulative shipment is 50,000 tonnes. Sumitomo Metals now aims to appeal SM-J pile usage as temporary structural material. SM-J pile enables Zero Clearance Method which increases building’s effective area by 10% and reduces civil engineering cost by 20%.