CSC to Increase Sales of High-Grade Steels by 10% in 2006

China Steel Corporation aims to increase the sales of high-grade steel products when the firm prospects that the competition would become severer in ordinary steel products market due to output capacity expansion by Chinese steel makers in mid and long term. CSC plans around 10 million tonnes of steel products sales this year and would increase the selling volume of high-grade steels to 1.65 million tonnes by 10% from a year ago. The firm advances material development with consumers mainly for tool, high-grade bolt and nut, automobile components and motors.CSC also advances capital investment for high-grade steels. The firm would complete no.2 CGL (continuous galvanizing line) at Kaohsiung works in March 2007 to produce galvannealed (GA) sheet and hot-dipped sheet with 300,000 tonnes of output capacity per year. The firm aims to expand GA production to 250,000 tonnes per year after starting operation of no.2 CGL, increasing by 100,000 tonnes from the current volume. The firm targets the sales expansion mainly for domestic automakers.CSC will start the operation of no.2 electric steel sheet factory in June 2007, increasing the output capacity by 200,000 tonnes to 800,000 tonnes per year from the current volume. The firm closely meets electric steel sheet demand from Chinese and Taiwanese consumers.CSC also plans large improvement of its billet plant, the upstream of steel bar and wire rod production, to increase high-grade products ratio for steel wire rod. The firm will improve mainly the conversion furnace and the billet continuous casting line in order to raise the surface quality of billet for wire rod. The firm aims to reinforce the stand of rolling mill after the billet plant improvement.CSC examines construction of no.3 cold-rolling mill with 1-1.5 million tonnes of output capacity per year at Kaohsiung works to supply high quality steel sheet for automobiles, appliances and computers.