Hitachi Metals, Daido Steel Agree for Comprehensive Alliance

Hitachi Metals and Daido Steel announced on Monday they reached agreement for comprehensive alliance mainly for special steel business. They try to improve the efficiency of utilization of their management resources to improve the international competitiveness when the market condition is getting severe. They seek synergy by original equipment manufacturing and joint research and development of steel products. They also agreed to have 1% share each other for the first step to enforce the partnership. Special steel makers have to improve the efficiency and speed of products development at home and abroad when the industry is getting global and the users seek higher quality. The makers also have to focus the resource on the core business to keep and improve the high-level manufacturing ability under severer international competition. Under the agreement, Hitachi Metals and Daido Steel seek OEM to utilize their upper stream operation more efficiently. They also launch joint research and development to improve the production technology. They will start joint procurement of raw materials and equipments stable and efficient manner. They seeks another opportunities for the alliance in order to bring merit for both companies. The alliance is the first tie-up for Japanese major special steel dedicated makers though Nippon Steel and Sanyo Special Steel agreed for partnership in special steel business and more holding share each other in February.