Kobelco Angang Auto Steel begins operations

TOKYO, April 26, 2016 — Kobelco Angang Auto Steel Co., Ltd. held an opening ceremony on-site yesterday to mark the start of operations in Anshan, Liaoning Province, China.

Established in 2014, Kobelco Angang produces and sells advanced cold-rolled high-strength steel sheet for automobiles. Kobelco Angang is a joint venture between Kobe Steel, Ltd. and China’s Angang Steel Company Limited, a leading subsidiary of Anshan Iron & Steel Group Complex.

Participating in the opening ceremony was Chairman and President Hiroya Kawasaki from Kobe Steel and Chairman Tang Fuping from Anshan Iron & Steel Group Complex. About 100 guests attended the ceremony including representatives from Japanese, Chinese, American, European and Korean automakers and parts manufacturers, as well as financial officials.

China is the world’s largest automobile market, and car production is anticipated to steadily grow. Governmental guidance is strengthening safety standards and environmental initiatives. Automakers are working to ensure passenger safety by making car bodies stronger, while reducing the weight of cars to improved fuel consumption. As a result, demand for automotive high strength steel is anticipated to increasingly expand in the future.

In the United States, Kobe Steel produces hot-dipped galvanized steel sheet through PRO-TEC Coating Company, a joint venture between Kobe Steel and United States Steel Corporation. In addition to its two production lines for hot-dipped galvanized steel sheet, PRO-TEC has a continuous annealing line that began operation in May 2013. In Europe, Kobe Steel has a technical alliance with Austria’s voestalpine Group for automotive steel sheet. With the start-up of its joint venture in China, Kobe Steel has created a global supply network for high-strength steel sheet covering Japan, North America, Europe and China.