Information contained in this news release is current as of the date of the press announcement, but may be subject to change without prior notice.
October 14, 2010
- Iron Manufacturing Equipment Sales Increase Expected in Booming Indian Market -
Tokyo, October 14, 2010 --- Sojitz Corporation, Mitsubishi-Hitachi Metals Machinery, Inc. and Hitachi, Ltd. (NYSE:HIT/TSE:6501) received an order for upgrading of existing pickling line tandem cold mill (PL-TCM) from Tata Steel Ltd. and Kick Off Meeting was held at Sojitz Head Office, Tokyo under the presence of Mr. H.M. Nerurkar, Managing Director of Tata Steel. This project is expected to complete in 2013 Tata Steel is a core business of the Tata Group, the largest conglomerate in the Republic of India, and is India’s largest private steel corporation.
The former Nissho Iwai Corporation (the current Sojitz Corporation), Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. and Hitachi, Ltd. received an order in 1998 for the PL-TCM, which began operating in 2000. Following upgrading of the facility, the production scale of the PL-TCM is expected to increase from 1.3 million tons to 2.04 million tons. The PL-TCM is designed to manufacture high tensile strength steel sheets, and the upgraded facility will serve as a rolling mill for high-quality steel sheets for motor vehicles, and feed CAPL (Continuous Annealing and Processing Line) to be established and operated under J/V between Tata Steel and Nippon Steel. The upgrading order is as a result of Tata’s recognition of Mitsubishi-Hitachi Metals Machinery world-leading pickling and rolling technologies, Hitachi’s highly-reliable electrical control technology for rolling mills, and Sojitz’s comprehensive capabilities as well as the past delivery track record.
Tata Steel acquired Corus, an Anglo-Dutch steelmaker, in April 2007 and currently has the world’s 10th highest steel manufacturing productions, with more than 81,000 employees and annual sales of US$22.8 billion (approximately 2 trillion yen) in fiscal 2009. Tata Steel plans to expand its crude steel production at its leading steel plant in Jamshedpur, Jharkhand State to 10 million tons and to construct a new integrated steel plant (with capacity of 6 million tons) in Orissa to meet increasing demand for steel both around the world and in India as its economy grows.
India has been enjoying rapid economic growth over the past few years with a GDP growth rate at about 7%. A large number of new projects are planned by domestic and foreign steel companies as there are good prospects for mid- to long-term growth and development that will boost infrastructure requirements and demand for high-quality steel sheet for vehicles. Sojitz, Mitsubishi-Hitachi Metals Machinery, and Hitachi are committed to working towards obtaining more orders for steel plants in the expanding Indian market.
Reference
| Established | August 26, 1907 |
| Start of operations | December 2, 1911 (the first cast of pig iron produced) |
| Head Office Location | Mumbai, Maharashtra State, India |
| Plant Location | Jamshedpur, Jharkhand State, India |
| Capital | 62.03 billion Rupee (Approximately 118 billion yen) |
| Shareholder | The Tata Group (31.25%) (listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange) |
| Chairman | Ratan. N. Tata |
| Managing Director | H. M. Nerurkar |
Sojitz Corporation is a sogo shosha (general trading company) created through the merger of Nichimen Corporation and Nissho Iwai Corporation, both of which have over a century of trading history. Sojitz conducts its operations in around 50 countries worldwide through roughly 540consolidatedsubsidiaries and affiliated companies in Japan and overseas. The Company's business activities are wide-ranging, covering machinery, energy and metal, chemicals and functional materials, and consumer lifestyle business. Sojitz aims to be an innovative and function-oriented trading company that commands industry-leading competitive advantages and earnings.
For more information on Sojitz, please visit the company web site at http://www.sojitz.com
In anticipation of the globalization of the steel market, the steel production machinery divisions of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Hitachi were combined in the year 2000 to create Mitsubishi-Hitachi Metals Machinery, establishing a worldwide leading company for steel production machinery. This union resulted in a powerful synergistic fusion of the sophisticated design techniques, manufacturing technologies and human resources that had been cultivated at both companies throughout their long histories. This synergy has been combined with a broad product line-up that allows us to provide and coordinate every aspect of a plant. This has made us an ever-evolving company occupying a wholly unique position in the worldwide steel production machinery market. .For more information on Mitsubishi-Hitachi, please visit the company web site at http://www.m-hmm.co.jp
Hitachi, Ltd., (NYSE: HIT / TSE: 6501), headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, is a leading global electronics company with approximately 360,000 employees worldwide. Fiscal 2009 (ended March 31, 2010) consolidated revenues totaled 8,968 billion yen ($96.4 billion). Hitachi will focus more than ever on the Social Innovation Business, which includes information and telecommunication systems, power systems, environmental, industrial and transportation systems, and social and urban systems, as well as the sophisticated materials and key devices that support them. For more information on Hitachi, please visit the company's website at http://www.hitachi.com.
