Kobe Steel’s Kakogawa Works Eyes Plate Heat treating, Sheet Annealing

Kobe Steel’s Kakogawa works promotes growth strategy by investing in high valued products to accelerate development of only one products. The works eyes expansion of heat treatment capacity for plate steel and expansion of continuous annealing facility of sheet steel in and after fiscal 2011 starting April 2011. The works also plans to expand pig iron treatment facility for dephosphorization to improve quality and productivity.

The works has expended annual 20-30 billion yen in years mainly for safety and environmental action, better efficiency and renewal. The works seeks growth strategy more aggressively when Kobe Steel launched new mid-term business plan, KOBELCO Vision G in the year, in which the firm tries to accelerate the growth strategy including only one products and technology, better manufacturing base and capturing growing market.

The works tries to increase heat treating capacity to expand high performance plate products including products with better workability, weldability and corrosion resistance. The works also tries to expand ultra high tensile sheet steel capacity through expansion of continuous annealing facility.

The works also eyes expansion of pig iron treatment facility for dephosphorization to improve the quality and productivity. The works now dephosphorizes at half through pig iron treatment facility for dephosphorization and half through converter. With the expansion, the works tries to dephosphorize all volume through pig iron treatment facility for dephosphorization to improve the efficiency.

The works also adds dust collector at the pellet plant in the year for better environmental treatment. The works plans another step to remove dust by May 2011.