Kokan Drum, Kawasaki Steel Container
Agree to Form JFE Container
As NKK and Kawasaki Steel move forward with the creation
of the new JFE Group and reorganization of their entire business areas,
NKK subsidiary Kokan Drum Co. and Kawasaki Steel Container Co. have
reached a basic agreement to merge and will form JFE Container Co.,
Ltd. on April 1, 2003.
JFE Container's head office will be located in Itami,
Hyogo Prefecture, where Kawasaki Steel Container is now headquartered.
Toru Kondo, currently president of Kawasaki Steel Container, will become
president of the new company, with Isao Taniguchi, currently president
of Kokan Drum, serving as executive vice president. The amount of capital
stock for JFE Container will be determined at a later date. With about
670 employees and total assets of ¥30 billion, JFE Container is
expected to achieve some ¥26 billion in consolidated annual sales,
making it the top supplier of 200-liter steel drums in Japan with more
than a 40% share of the market.
Inheriting Kokan Drum's two manufacturing plants and
Kawasaki Steel Container's three plants operating in eastern and western
Japan, JFE Container will aim to maximize the synergistic effects of
the merger by optimizing production allocation, reducing distribution
and other costs and improving fund efficiency.
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