Tokyo Steel taps Primetals for Okayama HDG upgrade

Primetals is working with Japanese furnace builder Chugai Ro and heavy electrical equipment supplier Hitachi Ltd. on the Yen 10 billion ($69 million) project, it said in a June 26 statement.

In April this year, Tokyo Steel's board formally approved a proposal to modify the existing HDG line that once completed – expected during the year beginning April 2027 – would have a total capacity in CRC and HDG in the thickness range of 0.3 mm to 2.3 mm  DG HDG of 250,000 tonnes/year, as Mysteel Global reported.

Though the project will use annealing equipment already in place at Okayama, Primetals said that induction heating technology would be installed in the front section to boost heating capacity, along with enhanced cooling capacity in the latter section of the line. "These updates will convert the line into a versatile production facility capable of manufacturing both cold-rolled and hot-dip galvanized coil," it said.

Primetals is responsible for engineering and equipment supply for terminal equipment and skin pass mill modifications, while together with Chugai Ro and Hitachi, it will also handle engineering and supply of the annealing furnace equipment, it said.

Tokyo Steel had explained that against a backdrop of decarbonization and growing environmental awareness, its need to provide customers with low-carbon steel products from its electric furnaces is expanding, and the demand for CRC has been increasing. "With this investment, we will expand the types of steel sheets produced in Okayama and enter the market for cold-rolled coils," it had said. The company is targeting coils for building materials and similar applications, many of which are currently met by imports.

The Japan Iron & Steel Federation data show that Japan imported 246,000 tonnes of wide-width CRC during January-April this year, and while this represented a huge 24% drop from the first four months of last year, South Korea supplied two-thirds of the total, some 163,000 tonnes, lower by 19.7% on year. However, during the same period Japan imported nearly 400,800 tonnes of galvanized sheets (lower by 7.9% on year) in which Korea's share was 285,500 tonnes, down by just 1.7% from January-April last year.

At Okayama, hot-rolled coil feeds for the line will continue to be supplied from the works' own hot strip mill and if needed, from Tokyo Steel's Tahara plant in Aichi prefecture in central Japan.

Written by Russ McCulloch, russ.mcculloch@mysteel.com

Edited by Alyssa Ren, rentingting@mysteel.com