Sumitomo Metals to Produce 8.3 million tonnes of Steel at Kashima

Sumitomo Metal Industries will complete the strategic expansion to annual 8.3 million tonnes of integrated output capacity at Kashima works in 2007 for 70 billion yen. The works will increase the raw steel output capacity from 7.8 million tonnes to 8.3 million tonnes through the expansion of blast furnace and steel making shop while the works will add new continuous galvanizing line for automotive grade products and will expand the capacity of continuous pickling line and plate mill to make higher grade products more. The works tries to expand the profitability through the expansion to meet growing demand for high valued steel products. The works will start the 29 billion yen of building no.3 blast furnace with 5,370 cubic meters of capacity in May 2007 while the works will stop the operation of no.2 blast furnace. With expansion of no.1 steel making shop and no.1 continuous caster, the works can make annual 500,000 tonnes more raw steel in June 2007. The works can feed the steel for itself though the works now get annual 500,000 tonnes of slab from Wakayama works. Kashima works starts the commercial operation of new no.3 continuous galvanizing line with annual 300,000 tonnes of capacity in early December 2007 expanding total galvanizing capacity to 900,000 tonnes. The works also starts the operation of continuous pickling line in September 2007 after the expansion to annual 4.2 million tonnes. With the more capacity, the works can make high valued sheet steel more. The works completes plate mill expansion from 1.9 million tonnes to just more than 2 million tonnes in November 2007. The works try to meet growing demand of high valued plate for energy industry and shipbuilding. Kashima works operates no.1 blast furnace with 5,370 cubic meters of capacity and no.2 furnace with 4,800 cubic meters and 2 steel making shops with 3 continuous casters. The raw steel output increased to 7.73 million tonnes in fiscal 2005 ending March 2006 compared with 7.42 million tonnes in fiscal 2004 and 7.02 million tonnes in fiscal 2002.