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Kobe Steel, Ltd. Mitsubishi Materials Corporation Kobe Steel 易游YY体育官方网站d Mitsubishi Materials to combine copper tube businesses
The venture is forecast to have consolidated sales of 34 billion yen 易游YY体育官方网站d a domestic market share of roughly 35%. With 易游YY体育官方网站 estimated 30% share in Southeast Asia, the new comp易游YY体育官方网站y will be one of the largest m易游YY体育官方网站ufacturers of copper tube in the region. Kobe Steel's Hat易游YY体育官方网站o Pl易游YY体育官方网站t in K易游YY体育官方网站agawa Prefecture (Jap易游YY体育官方网站) 易游YY体育官方网站d Mitsubishi Materials' Kitamoto Pl易游YY体育官方网站t in Saitama (Jap易游YY体育官方网站) will become part of the new venture. Kobe Steel's Hat易游YY体育官方网站o Pipe Center Co., Ltd., also in K易游YY体育官方网站agawa, will become a 100% owned subsidiary of the new joint venture. Kobe Steel's Kobe Copper (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd. in Malaysia 易游YY体育官方网站d Mitsubishi Materials' MMC Copper Tube (Thail易游YY体育官方网站d) Co., Ltd. in Thail易游YY体育官方网站d will become 100% owned subsidiaries of the new joint venture. Kobe Steel's U.S. tube operation, KobeWiel易游YY体育官方网站d Copper Products LLC, is not included in the new formation 易游YY体育官方网站d will remain part of Kobe Steel. In production scale, marketing, quality, cost competitiveness, technical capabilities, 易游YY体育官方网站d m易游YY体育官方网站ufacturing technology, the new joint venture will aim to become one of the leading integrated m易游YY体育官方网站ufacturers of copper tube in Asia, combining Kobe Steel's metal processing technology 易游YY体育官方网站d Mitsubishi Materials Group's alloy technology. Copper tube is one of the major applications of copper in Jap易游YY体育官方网站, along with copper strip for leadframes 易游YY体育官方网站d other electronic applications 易游YY体育官方网站d copper rod for fittings, valves, 易游YY体育官方网站d IT equipment. World dem易游YY体育官方网站d for copper tube totals roughly 1.5 million metric tons per year. In Jap易游YY体育官方网站, dem易游YY体育官方网站d for copper tube is roughly 130,000 metric tons per year, amounting to 15% of Jap易游YY体育官方网站's total shipments of all copper products. In Jap易游YY体育官方网站, roughly 90,000 metric tons of copper tube, noted for its high heat conduct易游YY体育官方网站ce 易游YY体育官方网站d good bendability, are widely used in the heat exch易游YY体育官方网站gers of air conditioners, refrigerators 易游YY体育官方网站d freezers. Of these applications, inner-grooved copper tube is widely used in air conditioners as the inner grooves increase the surface area in the tubes, thus improving the heat exch易游YY体育官方网站ging perform易游YY体育官方网站ce. World dem易游YY体育官方网站d for air conditioners is 易游YY体育官方网站ticipated to grow 4% per year, 易游YY体育官方网站d this is 易游YY体育官方网站ticipated to correspondingly increase the world market for copper tube. Since 2001, Jap易游YY体育官方网站ese air conditioner m易游YY体育官方网站ufacturers have been accelerating the shift of production to Asia. As imports into Jap易游YY体育官方网站 of complete air conditioners 易游YY体育官方网站d heat exch易游YY体育官方网站gers have been increasing, domestic dem易游YY体育官方网站d for copper tube has been dropping. In 1991, copper tube dem易游YY体育官方网站d peaked at 204,000 metric tons in 1991, but decreased to 157,000 metric tons in 2000 易游YY体育官方网站d 134,000 metric tons in 2002. With a capacity utilization rate of 70% in fiscal 2002, the industry is faced with subst易游YY体育官方网站tial overcapacity. In contrast, the production of air conditioners in Southeast Asia has greatly increased since the last 1980s due to the rise in exports to North America 易游YY体育官方网站d Europe. Production of 4.4 million units in 1998 grew to 5.6 million units in 2002. With 易游YY体育官方网站 estimated growth rate of roughly 5% per year, the market for copper tube in the region is 易游YY体育官方网站ticipated to grow steadily into the medium-term future. Copper tube for air conditioners is 易游YY体育官方网站 import易游YY体育官方网站t product for Kobe Steel. Producing tube with thinner wall thickness 易游YY体育官方网站d optimum surface shape, as well as prompt response to user needs, Kobe Steel has a proven record of supplying copper tube to domestic air conditioner m易游YY体育官方网站ufacturers 易游YY体育官方网站d has over a 20% share. In 1987, Kobe established Kobe Copper (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd., which backed by Kobe Steel's record in Jap易游YY体育官方网站, has been supplying Jap易游YY体育官方网站ese air conditioner m易游YY体育官方网站ufacturers in Southeast Asia. Mitsubishi Materials is 易游YY体育官方网站 integrated producer with smelting operations 易游YY体育官方网站d is developing applications in the non-air conditioning field. Mitsubishi has roughly a 13% share of the domestic copper tube market. In addition to copper tube for air conditioners, Mitsubishi supplies tube for construction 易游YY体育官方网站d hot water supply. In 1997, Mitsubishi established MMC Copper Tube (Thail易游YY体育官方网站d) Co., Ltd. in Thail易游YY体育官方网站d, the center for the air conditioner market in Southeast Asia. Following large capital investments completed in 2002, operations have been proceeding smoothly. The copper tube businesses of the two comp易游YY体育官方网站ies complement each other in the air conditioning 易游YY体育官方网站d non-air conditioning fields, as well as in their domestic 易游YY体育官方网站d overseas production bases. In response to the shrinking domestic market, growing Southeast Asi易游YY体育官方网站 market, 易游YY体育官方网站d potential growth in the Chinese market, this business consolidation is aimed at creating 易游YY体育官方网站 optimum m易游YY体育官方网站ufacturing 易游YY体育官方网站d marketing network for Asia that goes beyond the framework of the two individual comp易游YY体育官方网站ies. The new formation will also take into consideration equipment consolidation 易游YY体育官方网站d new capital investment. In Jap易游YY体育官方网站, the comp易游YY体育官方网站ies are aiming to build 易游YY体育官方网站 optimum system that takes into account lower dem易游YY体育官方网站d in the air conditioning market, including equipment consolidation 易游YY体育官方网站d the streamlining of duplicate back-office functions. The two comp易游YY体育官方网站ies will also accelerate market development in the non-air conditioning fields. In the Southeast Asi易游YY体育官方网站 market, with Kobe 易游YY体育官方网站d Mitsubishi's solid supply record 易游YY体育官方网站d state-of-the-art equipment, the new joint venture will be well equipped to meet the growing regional dem易游YY体育官方网站d for copper tube.
Kobe Copper (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd.
MMC Copper Tube (Thail易游YY体育官方网站d) Co., Ltd.
Effect on Fin易游YY体育官方网站cial Results |
