【Ｇ】World’s first Sn-added ferritic stainless steel grade， the “NSSC　 FW 1” has been awarded the ”Nikkei Business Daily Awards for Excellence” of ”2010 Nikkei Superior Products and Services Awards”.

NSSC (Nippon Steel & Sumikin Stainless Steel Corporation; president: Hiroshi Kinoshita) has announced that, regarding 2010 Nikkei Superior Products and Services Awards created by Nikkei Inc., it has been awarded Nikkei Business Daily Awards for Excellence for its NSSC FW1 (Forward One) stainless steel, which hit the marketplace in July 2010.

Nikkei Superior Products and Services Awards is one of the most prestigious and time-honored prizes in the field, given each year to only one distinct product screened from among numerous new products and new services reported to Nikkei Inc. during the year. The prize is only given after overall evaluation, regarding such aspects as “R&D novelty”, “cost-effectiveness”, “contribution to business”, “growth potential”, “uniqueness”, and “impact on industry and society”.

The winner of this year’s prize, NSSC FW1 (14%Cr-0.1%Sn), is the world’s first Sn-added high-purity ferritic stainless steel, realized through revolutionary technology that can dramatically improve the corrosion resistance of ferritic (chromium system) stainless steel (compared to that of TP430 [18%Cr]) through the addition of trace amounts of Sn (tin). At the same time, NSSC FW1 can also realize improved formability by reducing chromium—a basic element of stainless steel. Now, after almost 100 years since the invention of stainless steel, NSSC FW1 is expected to be counted as a candidate for a third representative grade most likely to be ranked with the existing two major representative grades, namely, TP304 (18%Cr-8%Ni) and TP430 (18%Cr), which together currently account for a little over half of all stainless steel grades. As for NSSC FW1, subsequent to our announcement of its market release, we have been inundated with more than 2,000 enquiries from customers both at home and abroad (as of December 2010), accompanied by mounting delivery records and a very high reputation all around.

As further development of this technology, we have commercialized another grade of high-corrosion resistance, high-purity ferritic stainless steel, NSSC FW2 (Forward Two, 16%Cr-0.3%Sn), in December 2010.

Upholding the idea of “contribution to society through stainless steel manufacture”, and as a manufacturer firmly rooted in and true to the principles of building manufacturing capabilities and R&D strengths, we are planning to continue the development and commercialization of new products that can offer good value to our customers.