SteelNews.com Article
Kobe Steel Opens Steel Equipment Sales Unit in India
Jul. 1, 2009 Kobe Steel, Ltd. has opened a new subsidiary company in Kolkata, West Bengal, India, to market its steel production machinery in India.
The new marketing company—Kobelco Machinery India Private Limited (KMI)—will sell steel rolling mills, continuous casters, nonferrous rolling mills and presses, with the main focus on marketing Kobe Steel’s bar and wire rod rolling mills. Capitalized at 4 million rupees, KMI has five employees and will operate under the direction of Managing Director Yutaka Nakamoto.
Although the Heavy Machinery Dept. in Kobe Steel's Machinery & Engineering Co. has traditionally marketed steel production machinery primarily in Japan, the company’s recent establishment of the new marketing office in Kolkata supports a focus on capitalizing on the growing market in India.
“New steel plant projects are concentrated in the eastern part of India along the Bay of Bengal," said Managing Director Yutaka Nakamoto. "We selected Kolkata because of its excellent location".
Although it has slowed due to the worldwide economic crisis, Indian steel production still continues to grow, rising dramatically in recent years. India's apparent steel use reached 52.6 million tonnes in 2008 and is projected to rise to 53.5 million tonnes, according to the World Steel Association. India's Ministry of Steel anticipates crude steel capacity will reach some 200 million tonnes by 2020.
Kobe Steel holds a 90% equity share in the newly established KMI, while trading firm Shinsho Corp., a Kobe Steel affiliate, has a 10% share. KMI is the first unit in India in which Kobe Steel directly holds an equity share.
Kobe Steel, Japan's top supplier of steel bar rolling mills, supplies steel bar and wire rod mills, continuous casters, nonferrous metal rolling mills (primarily copper and stainless steel), hot and cold isostatic presses, and metal presses. Annual heavy machinery sales amount to roughly 10 billion yen. Applying its know-how from the construction of its first bar plant in 1924, Kobe Steel has supplied over 50 plants over the years.