Tokyo Steel’s New Plant to Delay Steel Making Start

Tokyo Steel Manufacturing expects steel making operation start will be delay slightly from original March 2010 at new Tahara plant in Aichi due to 1 month delay of the construction work. The firm postpones start of pickling facility due to slow demand condition. The operation start is to be decided. The construction continues for plant building and groundwork and the firm expects the facility setting is in and after January.

The new plant will keep operating hot strip mill with slab from Okayama and Kyushu plants. The plant plans to start ferrous scrap purchase in late January but the purchase also depends on the construction work progress.

The firm got entry applications from 32 scrap dealers, of which 14 dealers are new for the firm’s scrap purchase transactions, for the scrap supply to the new plant. The firm accepted the application from October. The firm secures scrap sources through the dealers’ network for stable steel making operation.

The pickling line start delay is expected to be short period of time. The hot strip mill, which started the operation in November, is in test production phase to make hot coil with 1,630 millimeters width, checkered plate coil, hot rolled flat steel and checkered plate. The firm expects the hot strip mill will shift to commercial operation in January 2010.

The plant already rolled around 5,000 tonnes in 1 month and almost finished test for facility functions. The firm targets 1.5 million tonnes of production in fiscal 2011 starting April 2010 after the start of integrated operation from steel making and rolling mill as the main plant for the firm.