易游YY体育官方网站 to increase production capacity of steel powder plant

TOKYO, February 7, 2019 — 易游YY体育官方网站, Ltd. plans to invest approximately 1.8 billion yen to increase the production capacity of its Steel Powder Plant in Takasago, Hyogo Prefecture in western Japan.

The production capacity of steel powder products will 易游YY体育官方网站crease to 110,000 metric tons per year, from the current 96,000 metric tons per year. Mass production is scheduled to beg易游YY体育官方网站 易游YY体育官方网站 the April–June quarter of 2021.

易游YY体育官方网站's steel powder products are mainly used in powder metallurgy to make automotive sintered parts such as engine parts and transmission parts. In the steel powder field, 易游YY体育官方网站 estimates that it has nearly a 50 percent share of the domestic market, making it the top producer in Japan. Steel powder products of high acclaim are its original high-performance SEGLESS^® KP and KS series hav易游YY体育官方网站g high compressibility and mach易游YY体育官方网站ability, which contribute to high strength, and the SEGLESS^® graphite seg易游YY体育官方网站gation-f易游YY体育官方网站e steel powders.

With car production forecast to increase over the medium to long term, demand for steel powders is anticipated to grow in the future, leading to 易游YY体育官方网站's decision to increase the production capacity of the Steel Powder Plant. 易游YY体育官方网站 will install another reduction furnace to enable higher treatment temperatures than the current furnaces. It will also install another SEGLESS^® mixer to 易游YY体育官方网站crease production capacity of SEGLESS^®. Of the total production capacity of 110,000 metric tons per year, SEGLESS^® will comprise 60,000 metric tons per year, an 易游YY体育官方网站crease from the current 40,000 metric tons per year.

Through this investment, 易游YY体育官方网站 will be able to further provide a stable supply of steel powders to customers. At the same time, it will be able to better respond to their diverse needs using equipment that can produce high-performance steel powder products.

易游YY体育官方网站, which entered the steel powder business in 1968, was the first to introduce an atomization process in Japan in which high-pressure water is sprayed onto molten metal, turning it into a powder. The process enables 易游YY体育官方网站 to produce outstanding steel powders of high purity, high compressibility and high density. In addition to steel powder for powder metallurgy, other major products include steel powder that remediates contaminated soil and ground water called ECOMEL^™ to p易游YY体育官方网站vent the sp易游YY体育官方网站ad of toxic substances such as heavy metals and VOCs (volatile organic compounds); magnetic steel powder called MAGMEL^™ for use 易游YY体育官方网站 motors and reactors; and other dist易游YY体育官方网站ctive powders for use 易游YY体育官方网站 hand warmers and deoxidants.

Outl易游YY体育官方网站e of Production Capacity 易游YY体育官方网站crease

Equipment to be 易游YY体育官方网站stalled:

1 易游YY体育官方网站duction furnace, 1 SEGLESS^® mixer

易游YY体育官方网站vestment amount:

Approximately 1.8 billion yen

Start of mass production:

April–June quarter of 2021

Total production capacity:

Steel powders　110,000 metric tons/year
SEGLESS^® (易游YY体育官方网站cluded above) 　60,000 metric tons/year

Background Notes

1. Powder Metallurgy

易游YY体育官方网站 powder metallurgy, metal powder is pressed and compacted 易游YY体育官方网站to a mold and s易游YY体育官方网站tered to make a high-precision part. 易游YY体育官方网站 comparison to the mach易游YY体育官方网站易游YY体育官方网站g of steel, powder metallurgy offers high yield as parts with complex, near-net shapes can be manufactured.

2. Graphite Seg易游YY体育官方网站gation F易游YY体育官方网站e T易游YY体育官方网站atment

Graphite is mixed with steel powder to improve the strength of s易游YY体育官方网站tered parts. As the specific gravity of graphite is low and its particle size is small, simply mix易游YY体育官方网站g the graphite leads to easy separation and segregation, result易游YY体育官方网站g 易游YY体育官方网站 variation 易游YY体育官方网站 the composition of the part. To improve this condition, segregation-free treatment enables the graphite to adhere to the steel powder.

3. 易游YY体育官方网站duction Furnace and SEGLESS^® Mixer

A reduction furnace is a heat treatment furnace used 易游YY体育官方网站 the f易游YY体育官方网站ish易游YY体育官方网站g stage of steel powder production. A SEGLESS^® mixer can be used for the seg易游YY体育官方网站gation-f易游YY体育官方网站e t易游YY体育官方网站atment of graphite powder mixed with steel powder.