On July 28, Japanese steelmaker Nippon Steel Corporation announced that its steel wire manufacturing subsidiary Nippon Steel Bar & CH Wire (China) Co., Ltd. (NBC China) plans to increase its production capacity and expand its local facilities.
NBC China is operating at full capacity, with an existing capacity of 7,000 mt per year, thanks to the growth of auto production in China. With capacity expansion, NBC China aims to respond to the continuing growth of demand for cold-heading wire in China. With the construction of a new integrated plant having pickling, wire-drawing and heat-treating equipment, NBC China's production capacity will rise to 42,000 mt per year.
The expansion project with an investment of JPY 2.7 billion ($34.7 million) is scheduled to be put into operation in March 2013.