Nippon Steel, Mittal to double production at US joint venture

0 Comments | AFP, August, 2006

TOKYO (AFP) — Japan's Nippon Steel and Mittal Steel Co. will spend a combined 30 billion yen (258 million dollars) to build a new automotive steel sheet plant at their US joint venture, a report said. The move by Japan's largest steelmaker and Mittal, the biggest producer in the world, would double annual production capacity at the factory to one million tons, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun said.

Through the production increase, Nippon Steel plans to strengthen ties with Mittal, which has fortified its global market dominance through the recent acquisition of Arcelor, the newspaper said. The 50-50 joint venture in Indiana, called I/N Kote, counts Toyota Motor, Nissan Motor and Honda Motor among its customers. The new plant, to be built on the premises of I/N Kote, is due to come...