Furukawa Electric to Sell Electrode Brass Wire Unit to Oki Electric Cable

Furukawa Electric sells electrode brass wire unit to Oki Electric Cable. Furukawa Electric will keep only material wire making operation while the firm has made from castings to finished products. Oki Electric Cable will make the wire with material wire from Furukawa Electric.

Furukawa Electric tries to improve the profitability by increasing the operation rate through material wire supply for Oki Electric Cable while the business suffered from higher fixed cost under shrinking domestic demand and slow economy. Oki Electric Cable also gains from higher operation rate and higher sales volume.

They sign the sales and purchase agreement in the month. Furukawa Electric will close the wire making plant at Nikko plant in Tochigi in the month. Oki Electric Cable succeeds Furukawa Electric’s brand for the wire.

Furukawa Electric’s brass wire production is estimated to be monthly 100 tonnes in 2008. Around eighty five to ninety percent of the wire is used for electrode wire. Oki Electric Cable makes finished wire products at Okaya plant in Nagano.

The brass wire demand was strong for mold makers and parts makers in early 1990s. However, the competition got severe when Sumitomo Electric Industries and Chiba Techno entered into the market and the domestic market shrunk due to production shift to offshore plant by the users.