JFE Steel to Launch China Color Coating JV

JFE Steel and JFE Shoji Trade Corporation are talking with Suzhou based colored flat steel maker, Suzhou Hesheng Special Material of China for potential joint venture to make colored flat steel. Suzhou Hesheng Special Material announced the talk on Wednesday and JFE Steel confirmed the talk. They talk detail on the venture when Suzhou Hesheng Special Material tries to shift higher grade products including materials for Japanese appliances makers along with more volume and JFE Steel tries to secure stable sales route from Japanese plant and Guangzhou JFE Steel Sheet.

Suzhou Hesheng Special Material announced potential joint venture with JFE Steel and JFE Shoji Trade’s Shanghai subsidiary to make colored flat steel. They talk potential cooperation including JFE Steel’s technical support and cold rolled and galvanizing steel supply. Suzhou Hesheng Special Material would have more than 50% of the venture with balance by JFE Steel group.

Suzhou Hesheng Special Material has 2 colored flat steel plants in Suzhou and Hefei, Anhui to supply mainly for appliances makers. The production was 100,000 tonnes with 665.1 million yuan of sales in 2009. The sales increased by around 60% to 1.06 billion yuan. The firm has 2 color coating lines at Suzhou while one of the line just started operation in January and second line will start operation in April at the new Hefei plant. The total output capacity reaches annual 200,000-240,000 tonnes.

JFE Steel tries to expand export business through more manpower for cold rolled export, flat steel for appliances and electrical steel to follow growing offshore demand. The firm expands the output capacity at the joint venture, Guangzhou JFE Steel Sheet, which launches new cold rolling mill in spring, new continuous annealing line in summer and No.2 continuous galvanizing line by end of the year.