Nippon Metal Industry Eyes Restart of Ni Stainless Hot Cut Plate

Nippon Metal Industry is preparing to restart sales of nickel series stainless hot rolled cut plate in the year. The firm tries to supply the plate with 5 feet width and more than 10 millimeters thick for domestic distributors after the firm establishes the route to hot coil process at a Chinese reroller including pickling, annealing and leveling. The firm plans around 400 tonnes per month sales for the first plate sales attempt in 5 and half years. The firm produced hot coil cut plate at former Sagamihara plant by 2003 but the firm stopped the operation through restructuring to focus the operation into Kinuura plant. The firm tries to restart the sales of cut plate, which is made with hot coil from Steckel mill. Japanese largest stainless plate maker of Nippon Steel & Sumikin Stainless Steel (NSSC) produces around 130,000 tonnes per year of plate. NSSC, JFE Steel and Sumitomo Metals (Naoetsu) make wider plate products at 4-high plate mill. Nippon Yakin Kogyo is only domestic maker for hot coil cut plate with 5 feet width and more than 10 mm thick.