Sumitomo Metals Resumes Operations at All Plants

Sumitomo Metal Industries restarted Kashima works large shape mill on Sunday after the stoppage since the major earthquake in March to make H-beam and sheet pipe. With the large shape mill, the works restarted the all hot rolling mills. The works resumed operations at all 12 plants after No.1 sheet steel plant resumed the operation on Monday. The works blows into all 40 tuyeres at each No.1 and No.3 blast furnaces on April 30 to recover normal operation by end May.

Kashima works’ general manager Kinya Yanagawa briefed the recovery situation on Monday. The plate mill will increase the operation rate from current 60-70% level of daily 6,000 tonnes of output capacity to 90% in May and 100% by end May. The No.2 sheet plant resumed the operation last week to restart of production and shipment of automotive flat steel. The sheet steel operation is running at around 50%. The works expects the operation will be normal level in mid-May. The works expects the upstream operation including 2 blast furnaces, 2 coke ovens and sinter plant by end May.

The earthquake collapsed 3 cranes of 7 cranes at the works. Sumitomo Metals transports a crane from Wakayama works to Kashima to secure monthly 200,000-300,000 tonnes of shipping capacity at Kashima.

The works expects the raw steel output in April is around 40% of around 700,000 tonnes of output capacity at Kashima compared with just less than 250,000 tonnes in March. The works expects the output reaches 70% in early May and normal level by end May.

Kashima Kyodo Electric Power, which has 4 power plants with each 350,000 kilowatt of output capacity, stopped the operation after the quake while the firm usually operates 3 plants. The firm resumed the operation of No.1 on April 16 and expects normal 3 plants operation in the summer to provide 1 million kilowatt power.

Kashima works stopped the all operations after the quake. The works restarted the blast furnaces blowing by March 26 and the coke ovens by April 13. The works restarted the plants step by step to resume normal operation as early as possible.