NKK, Siderca to Launch Seamless Pipe Joint Venture
NKK and Siderca S.A. of Argentina have reached a formal agreement to establish a seamless pipe joint venture by spinning off the seamless pipe division of NKK's Keihin Works. The two companies have been working out the details of a preliminary agreement reached last November for a strategic alliance for manufacturing and sales of seamless pipes. The joint venture, NKKTUBES, with headquarters at the Keihin Works will begin operations in Augustust. The company is capitalized at ¥3.2 billion, with Siderca holding 51% and NKK the remaining 49%. With about 220 employees seconded from Keihin's small- and large-diameter pipe mills, the joint venture will be led by two chief executive officers: Juan Carlos Agoglia, formerly director of export marketing at Siderca, and Yuzo Matsushita, formerly senior general manager of NKK's steel division. The company will have an annual production capacity of 260,000 tons of seamless pipes, 75% of which will be high-grade alloy products. All the products will be sold under the brand name of the new company, which will aim for ¥26 billion in sales in its first year of operation. Since 1997 NKK has promoted a sales/marketing alliance with Siderca and other affiliates of its parent company, the Techint Group, in order to better serve worldwide major oil companies in the highly competitive seamless pipe supply market. Siderca is the core company of the Techint Group, the world's largest seamless pipe supplier. Capitalizing on past collaborations, the new joint venture will combine NKK's leading-edge technology for high-grade alloy pipes and its ability to develop high-strength premium joints with Techint's world-leading production capacity (2 million metric tons per year) and strong cost competitiveness. The launch of the joint venture establishes the world's most powerful seamless pipe supply base, with a global production and sales network covering Japan, other Asian countries, Latin America and Europe. NKK will continue to supply high-quality billets as raw materials to the new company and support its research and development activities. The joint venture will function as a core company of the Techint Group, while maximizing the synergistic effect of the whole NKK-Techint group companies.
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