The world's second biggest steelmaker Japan-based Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp. (NSSMC) has announced that it has signed an agreement with Japan-based Katakura Steel Tube Co., Ltd., an equity-method affiliate of NSSMC (with a 24.9 percent shareholding), to acquire additional shares of common stock of Katakura Steel Tube and make it a subsidiary with a stake of around 80 percent. NSSMC stated that after the transaction of shares, Katakura Steel Tube, as a subsidiary of NSSMC, will be better positioned to develop and provide high-grade products which satisfy its customers’ requirements.
According to NSSMC’s statement, in the area of steel tubes for automobiles and construction machinery, strengthened environmental regulations and other reasons are expected to increase manufacturers’ requirements for high-performance components, including those of lightweight and high-fatigue-durability products. To satisfy such requirements, NSSMC and Katakura Steel Tube have agreed that it should be best for both companies to bring their technological strengths together: namely, NSSMC’s strength in manufacturing steel tubes and Katakura Steel Tube’s strength in cold drawing processing.