Yieh United Expands Stainless Sheet Capacity to 3 Million Tonnes

Yieh United Steel, Taiwanese largest stainless steel maker, started the operation of no.2 electric furnace in Lian Zhong Stainless Steel (LZSSCO) in China on December 3th, 2009. LZSSCO’s capacity doubled to 2 million tonnes per year. The capacity of Yieh United’s Taiwanese plant is 1 million tonnes. The Group established total 3 million tonnes output capacity for 8 years since LASSCO’s start.

Yieh United’s holding company is E United, Taiwanese major steel group. E United started the steel wire rod plant in 1978, the steel tube plant in 1980, the zinc coated sheet plant of Yieh Phui Enterprise in 1986 and Yieh United in 1988. E United operates 4 business, steel manufacturing, medical service, education and real estate development.

Yieh United’s Takao plant has 2 electric furnaces with capacity at 1 million tonnes per year, a hot rolling mill and 4 cold rolling mills. The plant supplies stainless sheet to domestic market and overseas market. The current production is 80,000 tonnes per month, about 90% compared with the level before Lehman Shock.

Yieh United established LZSSCO in December 2001. The firm selected South China because Taiyuan Iron & Steel has the plant in North China and Bao Steel in East China. Mr. Chung-Chi Kuo, president of Yieh United said low nickel series stainless sheet would become major in the market in the future and, with the expectation, the firm introduced the second electric furnace in LZSSCO to increases 200 series products. LZSSCO gets the profit by cost competition power and low employment cost.

International stainless steel makers have expanded their capacities for scale merit. Acerinox, a large stainless steel maker in Spain, grew the top maker in the world. Acerinox, Taiyuan and ThyssenKrupp Stainless hold each capacity at 3 million tonnes per year. Capacity of Nippon Steel and Sumikin Stainless, Japanese largest stainless makers, is 1 million tonnes per year.

Yeih United is trying to expand its capacity, especially for downstream processes.

Yieh Phui Enterprise produces cold rolled sheet, zinc coated sheet and colored sheet. Its 2 plants’ capacity in South Taiwan totals 1 million tonnes per year. The firm can produce 5% or 55% aluminum and zinc coated sheet, and exports 80% of all products.

The firm’s output increased by 50,000 tonnes to 950,000 tonnes in 2009 from 2008. The operation is full in January-March 2010. The firm expects the output could exceed 11 million tonnes in 2010.

Yieh Phui Enterprise established Sino Leading Technomaterial (SLTCO) in 2001. SLTCO has 3 zinc coated lines with the capacity at 900,000 tonnes per year, supplying the products to Chinese market. The sales of Yieh Phui and SLTCO increased to US$ 1.74 billion in 2008 from US$ 510 million in 2001. The capacity of the 3 colored lines totals 350,000 tonnes per year in Taiwan. The firm plans to increase the capacity to 470,000 tonnes in October-December 2011. SLTCO has 2 productive lines at 360,000 tonnes per year.