Kobe Steel signs agreement to form a joint venture company producing automotive aluminum panels in China｜KOBELCO Kobe Steel Group (2024)

Kobe Steel, Ltd. announces that it has reached a formal agreement with Baowu Aluminum Technology Co., Ltd. (Baowu Aluminum), a Chinese company that is majority-owned by China Baowu Steel Group Corporation Limited (China Baowu Steel Group), the largest steel producer in China, and Baoshan Iron & Steel Co., Ltd. under China Baowu Steel Group to form a joint venture company by integrating Kobe Steel’s wholly owned subsidiary Kobelco Automotive Aluminum Rolled Products (China) Co., Ltd., which manufactures and sells aluminum panels in Tianjin, China, with Baowu Aluminum’s continuous heat treatment and finishing lines for aluminum panels. The three companies signed the joint venture agreement at Kobe Steel’s Tokyo Head Office on August 8. The joint venture company will be formed once each nation’s regulatory authorities have approved it.

Prior to this agreement, Kobe Steel and Baowu Aluminum agreed on the implementation of a detailed feasibility study on a joint venture company focused on the manufacturing and sale of aluminum panels, with the goal of expanding the automotive aluminum panel business and responding to automakers’ CO₂ reduction needs in China, as announced on February 26.

The joint venture company will manufacture and sell aluminum panels for automakers in China. As part of its CO₂ reduction initiatives, the company will promote recycling of scrap generated by itself and its customers. As the demand for aluminum panels continues to rise in China, the company is committed to doing its part to reduce automotive weight and realize a decarbonized society.

Profile of the Joint Venture Company

(1) Company name:

Kobelco Baosteel Automotive Aluminum Rolled Products Co., Ltd. (tentative name)

(2) Ratio of shareholding:

50% by Kobe Steel, Ltd. (via its China headquarters Kobelco (China) Holding Co., Ltd.)
50% jointly by Baoshan Iron & Steel Co., Ltd. and Baowu Aluminum Technology Co., Ltd.

(3) Capital:

Approx. 900 million yuan (Approx. 18.0 billion yen)

(4) Location registered:

Shanghai, China

(5) Manufacturing bases:

Two locations at Sanmenxia (Henan Province, China) and Tianjin

The Kobe Steel Group, also known as the Kobelco Group, aims to further strengthen its efforts to address the materiality (medium- to long-term priority issues) by pursuing the Group’s uniqueness while utilizing internal capital, such as its technologies, human resources, and know-how cultivated in diverse businesses, in combination with external capital such as relationships with a wide variety of customers and business partners. Through this, the Group will strive to realize a world in which people, now and in the future, can fulfill their hopes and dreams while enjoying safe, secure, and prosperous lives.

Company Profiles

Company name:

Kobelco Automotive Aluminum Rolled Products (China) Co., Ltd.

Founded:

January 2014 (Mass production started in April 2016.)

Business:

Manufacture and sale of aluminum panel materials for automobiles

Location:

Xiqing Economic and Technological Development Area in Tianjin, China

Capital:

884 million yuan

Ratio of shareholding:

100% by Kobe Steel (via Kobelco (China) Holding Co., Ltd.)

Production facilities:

Continuous annealing line (CAL) and surface treatment line

Production capacity:

Approx. 100,000 tons per year

Employees:

245 (as of January 31, 2024)

Company name:

Baowu Aluminum Technology Co., Ltd.

Founded:

2011

Business:

Production, sale, and research and development of high-performance, high-alloy aluminum plates, aluminum strips, aluminum foil products, and other aluminum and aluminum alloy finishing products, as well as technical development, technical consulting, technology transfer, technical services, and import/export operations of cargo (equipment, raw materials and finished products)

Location:

Sanmenxia, Henan Province, China

Capital:

3.5 billion yuan

Ratio of shareholding:

51% by China Baowu Steel Group Corp., Ltd.
37.57% by Henan Energy Group Co., Ltd.
11.43% by Sanmenxia Investment Group Co., Ltd.

Production facilities:

Integrated aluminum rolled products production line (melting, casting, rolling, heat treatment equipment, etc.)

Production capacity:

Approx. 300,000 tons per year (including approx. 80,000 tons of automotive aluminum panels)

Employees:

Approx. 940 (as of February 2024)

Company name:

Baoshan Iron & Steel Co., Ltd.

Founded:

2000

Business:

Manufacture of cold-rolled carbon steel sheets and coils, hot-rolled carbon steel sheets and coils, steel pipe products, steel bar and other steel products, processing and delivery services, and other businesses such as information technology and carbon business

Location:

Shanghai, China

Capital:

22.262 billion yuan

Employees:

Approx. 43,126 (consolidated, as of December 31, 2023)

Company name:

Kobe Steel, Ltd.

Founded:

1905

Business:

Manufacture and sale of iron and steel, nonferrous metals and alloys; Manufacture and sale of steel castings/forgings and non-ferrous alloy castings/forgings; Electricity supply business; Manufacture and sale of industrial machinery equipment, transport machinery equipment, electric machinery equipment, and other machinery equipment; and Engineering and construction for various plants

Location:

Kobe, Hyogo, Japan

Capital:

250.9 billion yen (as of March 31, 2024)

Employees:

38,050 (consolidated, as of March 31, 2024)

Joint venture agreement signing ceremony, held at Kobe Steel Tokyo Head Office on August 8, 2024