Explosion of Nagoya Works Coke-oven-gas Holder: Its Effect toon Production， Prospects of Restoratio

We wish to take this opportunity to express our sincere apologies to the people in the local community， customers and associated companies， as well as the public authorities and those concerned， for the great trouble， anxiety and inconvenience caused by the explosion of the coke-oven-gas (COG) holder of our Nagoya Works on September 3rd.

The cause of the explosion is currently under investigation by the authorities concerned with our full cooperation and at this stage it has not been specified. We will devise all possible safety measures to prevent similar accidents in the future and are determined to do our utmost to resume production as soon as possible.

Fifteen of our company and associated firm employees suffered injuries due to the explosion. Of the injured， fourteen returned home the same day after receiving medical treatment and one still remains in hospital. This patient is recovering steadily and expected to be released from hospital within a few days.

Regarding the effect to our production facilities， a total of three gas holders were incapacitated by the explosion， namely， in addition to the subject 40，000 cubic meter COG holder， one adjacent 100，000 m3 COG holder (which was under inspection at the time of the accident) and another 100，000 m3 blast furnace gas (BFG) holder. As a result， the supply of hot blast to blast furnaces has had to be suspended.

Also， processes such as reheating furnaces of hot strip and plate mills， continuous annealing furnaces and continuous galvanizing lines that utilize COG and BFG as fuels have been forced to suspend operations temporarily due to the stoppage of gas supplies. However， no related problems have occurred at facilities beyond those affected by the gas holders. Therefore， the operations of processes such as steelmaking， cold rolling， finishing and shipment have not been affected even with the halt of gas supplies.

As a result of our all-out efforts to start immediately after the accident， coke ovens restarted operation on the following September 4th. As this has enabled the supply of COG gas， nearly all production lines have resumed operations by now. We expect that， after some start-up period， all lines will be able to return to normal levels of operation by the end of September.

Until the full-scale restoration of gas holder operations， we will focus our efforts on the stabilization of BFG and COG generation. At the same time， we will ensure the smooth operation of major production lines while carefully controlling the gas balance within Nagoya Works. At this stage， we consider that we will be able to restore the two-blast-furnace set-up by the middle of September， and achieve 90% of the normal operating level by the end of the month. To our regret， however， due to the effect of the starting-up time required， pig iron production at Nagoya Works in September is likely to be 200，000-300，000 tons below the 580，000 ton target. By the end of the third (Oct-Dec) quarter， a total of approximately 500，000 tons is expected to be lost.

As for the incapacitated gas holders， we are doing our best to restore them as soon as possible with the kind cooperation of the equipment and machinery makers involved， while implementing thorough safety measures.


Reference: State of plant operation

Process Resumption Present state
Coke oven Sept 4 Returned to normal levels
Blast furnace Sept 6 Starting-up (at present one BF is operating)
Steelmaking Sept 6 In operation (production is rising in line with increasing pig iron supply)
Plate mill Sept 9（est.） Start-up in preparation
Pipe mill Sept 4 In operation
Hot rolling mill Sept 8 Operation start at 8:55 on Sept 8
Cold rolling mill Sept 4 In operation
Continuous annealing line Sept 6 In operation
Galvanizing line Sept 6 No. 1 to No. 6 CGLs: 23:00 on Sept 6EGL: 9:00 on Sept 7
Tinning line Sept 4 In operation


Regarding the situation concerning our customers and related companies， the current steel market is extremely tight， reflecting the robust demand from China and other Asian countries. The recent accident is a serious hindrance to our production at such a critical time and we deeply regret the great inconvenience caused to our customers and the companies concerned.

As explained above， the September pig iron output at Nagoya Works is expected to be considerably below the planned amount. In view of this decline in pig iron output， we will step up company-wide production rearrangements to utilize rolling and other downstream capacities to the fullest extent. Regarding steel products where delivery time is imminent， we are taking all possible measures such as diverting production to our other steelworks， requesting the assistance of other steelmakers or asking for readjustments of lead time. We are doing our best to obtain the understanding and cooperation of our customers and those concerned in these matters.

As we will strive for the earliest possible resumption of normal operations at Nagoya Works， your kind understanding will be sincerely appreciated.


For further information: P.R.Center +81-3-3275-5021