South Korea-based Kobe Steel Ltd has announced that the company together with the other shareholders of their Chinese joint venture Kobe Special Steel Wire Products (Pinghu) Co. Ltd (KSP) have agreed to increase the production capacity of the JV, which processes special steel wire rods into steel wires. The other joint venture partners are Shinsho Corporation, Osaka Seiko Limited, Meihoku Kogyo Co. Ltd., Metal One Corporation and Kyoto Shaft Co. Ltd.
KSP was established in 2007 to supply steel cold heading (CH) steel wires to automotive parts manufacturers in China. In its statement, Kobe Steel said that it provides all of the special steel wire rods used by KSP, so that the same high quality material available in Japan can be used to manufacture high quality parts in China.
KSP has so far increased its production capacity four times. According to the statement, the fifth increase will help meet the needs of customers who expect an increase in demand. About JPY 900 million ($7.92 million) will be invested to install three additional wire drawing machines and two more heating furnaces. The new equipment is scheduled to be commissioned in March and June 2020, respectively. Monthly production capacity will be 5,500 mt.