President of Palau Visits Tsu Works
President Nakamura of Palau (left) tours NKK's Tsu Works on March 25.
President Kuniwo Nakamura of the Republic of Palau, a group of islands in the North Pacific, visited NKK's Tsu Works in Mie Prefecture on March 25. He was accompanied by three ministerial officials. The Palauan president's visit to the Tsu Works was not a chance encounter. Palau and Mie Prefecture formed a friendship alliance in July 1996 because the president's father came from a shipbuilding family from the prefectural city of Ise. Since then, Mie and Palau have actively promoted cooperative exchanges of personnel. After being welcomed by Tsu Works Director Takehiko Kamijo, the Palauan president toured the shipbuilding yard and bridge factory. He took a close look at NKK's advanced bridge construction technologies, which he hoped would be of use in the reconstruction of Palau's K/G Bridge connecting the airport and the capital. The existing bridge collapsed in September 1996. While observing NKK's automated bridge production systems and actual bridge girders being fabricated, the president asked many questions about welding methods, quality assurance systems, weight/strength comparisons of steel and concrete bridges, and many other technical issues.
|
