SUMITOMO STEEL I

closed

The Sumitomo Metal Industries Ltd. Blast Furnace and Blooming Mill Project consists of a construction program that encompasses works at the Wakayama, Amagasaki, Osaka, and Kodura steel plants, including the installation at Nagoya, of new equipment for manufacturing copper alloy tubes, and light alloy sheets. The blast furnace program includes works in its steel plants concerning the harbor, the unloading and raw material yard facilities, coke oven plants, as well as improvements of steel-making facilities, rehabilitation works, and the installation of a new wheel mill at Osaka, to specialize in forgings, and castings. Construction of the blast furnace will enable Sumitomo to decrease its annual scrap purchases from the present level of about 330,000 tons to 215,000 tons in 1962, while increasing its annual production rate of steel ingots during the same period. Furthermore, the whole construction program should increase efficiency, and reduce the costs of production of finished goods, thus improving the company's competitive position in the export market.