Nippon Kinzoku Targets 20t/m Mg Alloy Plate Output in F2009

Nippon Kinzoku, Japanese largest supplier of magnesium alloy, plans to quadruplicate output volume of magnesium alloy plate to 20 tonnes per month by the end of March 2011. The firm aims to increase the sales for cases of notebook computers and cellular phones mainly in overseas markets including South Korea and China. The firm will start commercial production of magnesium alloy material plate at 5 tonnes per month in fiscal 2009 starting April in order to ship bound for South Korea. The firm will raise the overseas sale ratio of magnesium alloys to 30% in future from current 10%.Nippon Kinzoku manufactures magnesium alloy AZ31, purchased from outer alloy makers, into material plate by warm rolling, annealing and thermal refining at Itabashi plant, Tokyo, Japan. The material plates are used for cases of notebook computers and cell phones. The firm tries to improve the yield of the refining process in order to meet the output expansion.At Fukushima plant, Fukushima, Japan, Nippon Kinzoku runs a servo press machine and fabricates the material plate into speaker parts by warm forming method with the facility. The firm examines production of other IT related parts at Fukushima plant in future.The firm has provided samples of magnesium alloy material plate to several ten consumers in South Korea since 2006, where large cell phone makers such as Nokia and Samsung operate many plants. The firm has also tried to cultivate the demand in China and Europe preparing for the commercial output start of magnesium alloy plate in fiscal 2009.