Nippon Steel plans to double steel production in the US in 5 years – CEO

Nippon Steel plans to double steel production in the US within 3-5 years. This was announced in an interview with The Yomiuri Shimbun by Eiji Hashimoto, chairman of the board of directors and chief executive officer of the Japanese company.

The company plans to achieve this by improving production efficiency at US Steel, the acquisition of which was finalized in June this year.

Nippon Steel plans to invest $11 billion in modernizing US Steel’s outdated production facilities by 2028. The Japanese steel manufacturer also intends to improve the American company’s product range by offering advanced production technologies, such as high-performance electrical steel sheet, which is used, in particular, in electric vehicle motors.

The CEO of Nippon Steel did not express concern that the US government owns a “golden share” in US Steel, which gives it the right to veto key management decisions. According to Hashimoto, the US administration’s goal of reviving the manufacturing industry is consistent with Nippon Steel’s management strategy.

Overall, Nippon Steel plans to increase its global steel production from the current 58 million tons to 100 million tons. In particular, it plans to add 15 million tons of steel through ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel, a joint venture in India, where one of the world’s largest steel mills is expected to be built. The capacity of US Steel’s assets in Slovakia may also be more than doubled, and investments are planned in Thailand.

In this way, the company aims to secure a larger market share and become the world’s leading steel producer.

Hasimoto also raised the issue of cheap Chinese steel exports to the global market.

“To avoid negative impacts from China, we can’t allow it to dominate crucial markets like the United States, India, Europe and Thailand,” he stressed.

As GMK Center reported earlier, Nippon Steel will raise $5.6 billion to finance the deal with US Steel. The Japanese company will receive two subordinated loans to repay loans and partially finance the $14.9 billion deal.