Japanese steelmaker Nippon Steel has completed construction of a new hot-rolling line at its plant in Nagoya, according to BigMint.
The investment totalled around 300 billion yen ($1.8 billion). Commercial production is set to begin as early as August this year. This marks Nippon Steel’s first complete replacement of a hot rolling mill in 42 years.
The new hot-rolling mill has an annual production capacity of around 6 million tonnes, which is approximately 20% higher than that of the existing facility. The investment was initially planned at 270 billion yen, but ultimately increased – mainly due to rising material and labour costs since the investment decision was made in 2022.
The new line is equipped with a rolling mill capable of withstanding one of the world’s highest rolling loads; its capabilities have been significantly improved compared with the existing equipment, allowing for more precise control of the steel’s microstructure. Nippon Steel expects this to ensure stable mass production of high-quality steel products, whilst reducing production costs.
The company also plans to improve the efficiency of production of ultra-high-strength steel for the automotive industry – which had previously been limited by the capabilities of the equipment on the existing line. The new line will also be used to develop next-generation products.
Nippon Steel intends to develop Nagoya Works as a ‘flagship plant’ for automotive steel, using it as a base for rolling out technologies at domestic and overseas production sites to strengthen its global competitiveness.
Once production has been fully transferred to the new equipment, the plant’s existing hot-rolling line, which has been in operation since 1963, will be shut down – this is expected to take place during the 2026/2027 financial year.
It should be noted that Nippon Steel forecasts a 14% increase in steel production to 57.5 million tonnes for the 2026/2027 financial year.
Source:GMK Center
