Sumitomo plans to process coils in Czech Republic

Sumitomo plans to process coils in Czech Republic

Japanese trading house Sumitomo Corporation is planning to build a coil-processing center in the Czech Republic. According to reports, the plant will most likely be located in Brno, eastern Czech Republic and will start operations in early 2004. With this project Sumitomo aims to supply local Japanese and European automotive manufacturers, that are currently setting up preparations in the country. Total capacity is designed to be 70'000 tons per year and the coils will be provided from Czech mills. For higher grades, coils from European mills will be looked for. It appears that Sumitomo is planning to set up more service centers in Central or Eastern Europe. The company has 19 centers in Asia and 7 in North America, at present.