* New continuous caster to be built at
Kobe Works * No. 3 blast furnace at Kobe Works to be relined * No. 2
blast furnace at Kakogawa Works to be remodeled with an
increased inner volume
TOKYO, September 9, 2004 - Kobe Steel, Ltd. plans to
make major capital investments in its steelmaking facilities to increase
its competitiveness in distinctive, value-added products.
Plans call for the construction of a new continuous bloom
caster at Kobe Works in Kobe, Hyogo Prefecture to increase the
productivity of specialty steels. With a production capacity of 720,000
metric tons per year, the new caster is scheduled to go into operation in
September 2006. Capital investment is anticipated to be 8.5 billion yen,
including remodeling of the building and related work.<
Kobe Steel has also begun a detailed study on relining
Kobe Works' No. 3 blast furnace, which is currently in operation. The
relined blast furnace is anticipated to go into operation in fiscal
2007.
At Kakogawa Works, also in Hyogo Prefecture, Kobe Steel
plans to bring back into service the No. 2 blast furnace, after blowing
out the No. 1 blast furnace. The No. 2 blast furnace will be rebuilt to
have an inner volume of about 5,400 cubic meters. Work is to be completed
by March 2007. The No. 3 blast furnace will remain in operation. Capital
expenditure is expected to reach 40 billion yen, which includes remodeling
the old No. 2 blast furnace and installing new equipment. The remodeled
No. 2 blast furnace will be blown in, based on the condition of the No. 1
blast furnace, which has been in operation since January 1988.
Production System at Kobe Works The new No.
5 continuous caster will produce high quality blooms, a semi-finished
product, to make specialty steels. The new equipment will enable
distortions to be kept to a minimum during the solidification stage. It
will also maintain top-class surface and internal quality under high-speed
casting. When the No. 5 caster goes into operation, the No. 4 continuous
caster, one of two in operation, will be shut down. The No. 5 caster is to
start up in September 2006.
Another project is the relining of the No. 3 blast furnace
at Kobe, which has been in operation for the past 21 years. The company
has put together a project team to work on the details of the project. The
relined No. 3 blast furnace is expected to go back into service in fiscal
2007.
Wire rod and bar are core products of Kobe Steel. The main
production facility for these products is Kobe Works. Kobe's wire rod and
bar products are processed into numerous automotive parts. Typical
examples are bolts, nuts and shafts; engine valve springs; suspension
springs; gears; and bearings. To make each part with the same uniformity
requires advanced production technologies to produce high-quality
specialty steels.
Supported by the steady growth of finished automobiles in
Japan and knock-down production overseas, demand for high-quality
specialty steel is currently strong. With the rise in automobile
production in Asia, centered mainly on China, Kobe Steel intends to
increase its presence as a reliable supplier of high-quality specialty
steel in the Asian market.
To meet these requirements, Kobe Steel has already
completed work on its downstream operation in 1999, the remodeling of the
No. 7 wire rod mill. The mill now provides higher dimensional accuracy,
high loads at low rolling temperatures, and improved cooling through the
use of a 90-meter conveyor.
Production System at Kakogawa Works The No.
1 blast furnace at Kakogawa Works has been in operation since January
1988, a period of 16.5 years. Plans call for the remodeling and restart of
the inactive No. 2 blast furnace, blown out in 1996. The No. 2 blast
furnace will have an inner volume of about 5,400 cubic meters, in
comparison to the No. 1's 4,550 cubic meters.
The inner profile of the blast furnace will be optimized
to ensure stable operation at a higher coal injection rate and lower coke
rate, and to enable greater usage of lower-cost raw materials, thus
contributing to greater cost reductions.
Kobe Steel aims to extend the working life of the blast
furnace to 25 years by adopting high thermal conductive carbon refractory
bricks at the bottom of the furnace, copper staves in the cooling
equipment, and fully utilizing its operational know-how.
Kakogawa Works, Kobe Steel's main steelworks, makes a wide
variety of distinctive products including sheet, plate and wire rod.
Representative sheet products are high strength steel sheet, which
contributes to lighter vehicles and improved safety, and special
chemical-treated sheet with new functions such as fingerprint resistant
and heat-releasing properties. As for steel plate, Kakogawa produces high
strength TMCP plate noted for its high control of residual stress. Less
deformation arising in gas-cutting and welding operations contributes to
more precise fabrication accuracy. In the wire rod field, Kobe Steel
supplies ultra clean wire rod for steel cords in tires. As the wire rod is
eventually drawn to a diameter of 0.2 mm, inclusions must be thoroughly
eliminated.
Increase in Distinctive Steel Products These
projects at Kobe and Kakogawa Works are part of Kobe Steel's ongoing
Fiscal 2003-2005 Medium-Term Business Plan to increase its ratio of
distinctive, high-quality steel products to 40% in fiscal 2005, from 30%
in fiscal 2002.
In addition to improving business earnings by
strengthening the supply of distinctive, high-quality steel products,
these strategic investments will increase the cost competitiveness over
the medium- to long-term future as blast furnaces need to be rebuilt about
once every 20 years. Kobe Steel intends to carry out these strategic
projects, which will improve the business earnings, or flow, of its
distinctive, high-quality steel products.
Diagram of Continuous Caster
No. 3 blast furnace at
Kobe Works, Kobe Steel, Ltd.
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