NGK Insulators to Start Copper Link Price for Beryllium Copper Items

NGK Insulators introduces official copper ingot price linkage price mechanism for beryllium copper products, which are used for materials of conductive spring, to hedge surging copper price when the firm couldn’t cover the higher cost price through traditional fixed price system. The firm already started the notification for the users in mid-May and most of the users accepted the system by mid-June. The firm shifts the new system in July. The firm tries to cover higher price of copper, which represents more than 98% of beryllium copper, through the new system. The new system changes the selling price depending on the averaged official copper price of previous month. Japanese official copper price is still as high as 840,000 yen per tonne even after 20,000 yen drop on June 20 though the price is apparently peaked out. The higher copper price could increase the selling price of beryllium copper products by averaged 20%. The firm kept fixed price system weighing heavily on higher priced beryllium despite of the small portion of weight while the copper price linked price system is normal for other rolled copper products. However, the firm decided to change the system with recent jump of copper price. The firm is the domestic largest maker of beryllium copper products and shares world market with Brush Wellman of USA. NGK Insulators produces monthly 300 tonnes of the products at domestic facilities under the firm demand for information technology industry and automobile. The firm expects the sales will increase by 1 billion yen to 17 billion yen for the metals business in fiscal 2007 ending March 2008 compared with estimated 16 billion yen in fiscal 2006.