Japanese steelmaker Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corporation (NSSMC) has announced its 2017 mid-term management plan which includes a plan to optimize its iron-making production framework at its Yawata Works, consisting of three areas, Yawata, Tobata, and Kokura.
Accordingly, NSSMC will install a new state-of-the-art continuous caster in the Tobata Area, integrating production of steel blooms for rails and bars and wire rods to the new caster. NSSMC has also decided to cancel the construction of a private railway for transportation of molten iron from the Tobata Area to the Kokura Area, announced in 2014. In addition, the cessation of operation of the Kokura blast furnace No. 2 will be postponed by two years to the end of the fiscal year 2020.
According to the company’s statement, it is determined to promote the above plans to enhance competitiveness and improve its strength, technology and costs, and achieve sustainable profit growth.