No Damage on Steel Operations by Earthquake in Northeast Japan

Nippon Steel restarted wire rod rolling mill at Kamaishi after temporally stoppage for checking damage after major earthquake in the area midnight on Thursday. Galvart Japan Company, which is galvanizing steel wire making joint venture of Metal One and Nippon Steel, keeps operation. Kamaishi works has system to stop the rolling operation with more than 4 grade of Japanese earthquake intensity. The works checked the damage during 4 hours long stoppage. The works tries to restart the coal based power plant for independent power producer business. Steel related operations have no damage by the earthquake. Electric furnace steel bar maker, Tokyo Tekko’s Hachinohe plant and ferronickel major, Pacific Metals keep the operations in Hachinohe, Aomori. Electric furnace steel maker, JFE Bars & Shapes’ Sendai plant and electric furnace steel bar maker, Itoh Iron & Steel’s Ishinomaki plant in Miyagi also keep usual operation. Electric furnace steel bar maker, Tohoku Steel is in regular maintenance outage.