Sumitomo Corp Builds Up Coil Centers in Asia

Sumitomo Corporation, Japanese major general trader, enhances capacity of coil centers in Asia. The firm aims to expand the sales by reinforcement of steel processing and inventory system. The firm decided expansion of coil centers in Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand with investment of about 1.6 billion yen. The firm will also implement capital expenditure for a coil center in China.

Sumitomo Corp introduced a large size leveler at Sumiputeh Steel Center in Malaysia, which is for colored steel sheet with 0.3-1.2 millimeters of thickness applied to flat television. The investment was 300 million yen. The leveler starts operation soon.

In Indonesia, the firm constructs new 2 factories at Super Steel Karawan to complete in June 2011 and introduces a large size slitter to process steel sheet with 9 millimeters of thickness. The investment totals 900 million yen.

In Thailand, Sumitomo Corp constructs a new factory building in Siliracha area of Thailand Steel Service Center (TSSC). TSSC processes steel sheet mainly for automobiles. TSSC enlarges the space along increasing car production in Thailand. The investment is 300 million yen.

In China, the firm introduces a press robot for appliances at Shanghai High-Tech Metal Products. The automation is expected to contribute to capacity expansion and saving of workers. The facility starts operation in October 2010. The firm examines other capital expenditures to follow demand growth for automobiles and appliances.