Japan's Kobe Steel will build an aluminum sheet rolling plant in the US with around 100,000 mt/year capacity together with trading firm Toyota Tsusho, as it focuses on producing 6000-series aluminum-magnesium-silicon alloy sheets for the US car market, Chief Executive Officer Hiroya Kawasaki said Wednesday.
In a media briefing in Tokyo, Kawasaki said the aluminum sheet rolling plant is expected to go on-stream in 2017 and details will be finalized with Toyota Tsusho by September.
"We will start expansion in the area we do well, and once that is stabilized, we will look around us for further opportunities," Kawasaki said.
Automotive aluminum sheets are either 5000-series aluminum-magnesium alloys, used for inner panels, or 6000-series aluminum-magnesium-silicon alloys, used for exterior panels.
"We will go for 6000-series ... they have better strength properties than 5000-series," Kawasaki said.
The 6000-series panels are used for exterior of car models such as Toyota Motor's Prius that is manufactured in the US.
"The 5000-series has a problem with creases generated during the pressing process. The 6000-series is better suited as exterior panel material," said Tadao Nakano, manager of technology development at Japan Aluminium Association.
Kobe Steel offers three main products for cars: high-tensile steel sheets, aluminum sheets for exterior and interior panels, and suspensions made of forged aluminum.
It plans entry into structures that require weight reduction but maintains strength against collisions.
In April, Kobe Steel has created a new team in the research and development division to develop new material for car structures, using both aluminum and high-tensile steel.
The team, dubbed Multi-Material Structure and Welding Research Unit, is composed of four or five core members with background in aluminum, steel and welding technologies.
"Aluminum and steel will be used in places that are most appropriate for their properties ... mixing them, and welding them together," Kawasaki said.
Source: Platts
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