Nisshin Steel to Expand Ferrite Stainless Flat Steel Output by 25%

Nisshin Steel’s Shunan works expands the supply capacity of the strategic item, DNA-SUS. The firm expands the output capacity of high purity ferrite stainless flat rolled steel by 25% to annual 180,000 tonnes. The firm completes the 1.5 billion yen expansion for transport equipment of hot rolling facility at Kure works in March. The firm also finishes more than 2 billion yen of work for the stainless making shop in first half of fiscal 2008. The firm tries to improve the productivity for high valued item to increase the DNA-SUS rate to 35% of the stainless sales. Shunan is stainless steel making plant for the firm. The works has 2 large electric furnaces, 4 smaller electric furnaces, 2 converters and continuous caster. The works ships stainless slab to Kure works and Kure ships hot rolled stainless to Shunan for cold rolling process. The firm produced record 687,000 tonnes of stainless steel and record 460,000 tonnes of stainless cold rolled flat products in fiscal 2004. The firm expects the output reaches more than 660,000 tonnes of stainless steel and 430,000 tonnes of cold rolled stainless for fiscal 2006 after the output reduction in fiscal 2005. Nisshin Steel tries to expand the sales for strategic items including stainless, special steel and special coated steel under the 3-year plan to fiscal 2008. The firm increases the DNA-SUS sales to 35% of stainless sales in fiscal 2008 from 30% in fiscal 2005. The firm also tries to meet the shifting demand to chrome series stainless from nickel series under surging nickel ingot price. The firm will expand chrome series sales mainly for the high purity ferrite stainless while the firm keeps the sales volume of nickel series stainless mainly for the original items.