Maruichi Steel Tube to Launch Vietnamese Cold Rolling Mill in April

Maruichi Steel Tube’s Vietnamese joint venture, Sun Steel Corporation will start new cold rolling mill in April after test running in March and completion of the setting in December 2007. The firm launches the pickling line in August. The firm launched steel pipe plating line in January and restarted idling concrete reinforcing steel bar rolling line in February refreshing the companywide operations.The Vietnamese venture is testing the reverse-6 high cold rolling line with 250,000 tonnes of annual output capacity. The firm plans to produce monthly 10,000 tonnes of output to feed downstream operations including continuous galvanizing lien and color coating line. The firm finishes setting work for new pickling line with 50,000 tonnes of annual output capacity in the month to launch the operation in August. Maruichi Steel Tube tries to improve the Vietnamese operation with cooperation with Taiwanese shareholders. The Vietnamese venture operates new pipe plating line with annual 30,000 tonnes of treatment capacity at monthly 2,000 tonnes level to ship the products for fence as a part of diversification of the products line. The firm also restarted rebar rolling line with 250,000 tonnes of annual output capacity to ship monthly 10,000 tonnes of rebar for domestic market.Taiwanese companies established the firm in 1996 and changed the name to Sun Steel Corporation in 2002. The Vietnamese venture was suffered from severe market and depreciation burden after launching continuous galvanizing line. Maruichi Steel Tube accepted the capital increase holding 35.8% of the Vietnamese venture in 2006. Maruichi Steel Tube increased the share to 40.9%.