SSC Establishes New Coil Center in Iwate Prefecture
- Contribution to reconstruction of Tohoku region and Toyota Motor's production -

SSC Co., Ltd. (President: Takao Nishino, Sumitomo Metals Senior Managing Executive Officer r) (*1) will acquire a new plant site after deciding to advance into Iwate Prefecture. SSC is a coil center that is owned and operated by Kanpoh Steel Co., Ltd., Sumitomo Metal Industries (Sumitomo Metals), Sumitomo Corporation, and Sumikin Bussan Corporation.

Toyota Motor Corporation is promoting its Keiretsu auto engine and auto body manufacturers to advance into the Tohoku region, which is regarded as Toyota’s third domestic manufacturing base, with the aim of enhancing its monozukuri (manufacturing based on highly skilled craftsmanship) in Japan. Following this move, many component makers have already moved into the area.

Against this backdrop, SSC will build a new coil center in Iwate Prefecture and aim to establish a steel sheet processing base that improves delivery times, reduces transportation costs, and stabilizes supply of steel sheet to component makers. At the same time, SSC will promote business so as to help reconstruct the Tohoku region.

1. Profile of the New Coil Center

(1) Location:	94-4 Aza Yanagisawa, Iwayado, Esashi-ku, Oushu City, Iwate Prefecture (site area: 12,500 m2)
(2) Equipment:	One slitter (processing capacity: 7,000 tons/month) (at the start of operation)
(3) Start of operation:	June 2012 (planned)
(4) Features:	(a)	The coil center is located near the Kanto Auto Works, Ltd. Iwate plant (Kanegasaki-cho, Isawa-gun, Iwate Prefecture), the Central Motor Co., Ltd. Miyagi plant (Ohira-mura, Kurokawa-gun, Miyagi Prefecture), and Toyota Motor Tohoku Corporation (Taiwa-cho, Kurokawa-gun, Miyagi Prefecture.)
	(b)	Quality and delivery capabilities that were accumulated in Nagoya will be transplanted to the Tohoku coil center in order to make it a central base of steel processing in the Tohoku region. (For example, SSC’s “specification mismatch prevention system” will be introduced.)

2. SSC Group’s Expansion into the Third Base
After establishing its main plant in Aichi Prefecture, SSC established SSC Kyushu Co., Ltd. (*2) in Fukuoka Prefecture. That was the expansion of its coil center business and tailor welded blank (TWB) business (*3) to contribute to stable production at Toyota Motor Kyushu Inc. (Miyawaka City, Fukuoka Prefecture) and related auto component makers.

In accordance with Toyota Motor’s domestic production system in three areas, SSC will link its network of three bases resulting from the new coil center with Kashima Steel Works, and contribute to Toyota Motor’s production system based on the motto of SQCD (safety, quality, cost, and delivery).

Notes:
1) SSC Co., Ltd.
Main plant: 4-banchi, Kanaoka, Tobishima-mura, Ama-gun, Aichi Prefecture
Established: December 1987
Capital: 30 million yen
Shareholders: Kanpoh Steel (51%), Sumitomo Metals (19%), Sumitomo Corporation (15%), Sumikin Bussan (15%)
Processing capacity: 30,000 tons/month

2) SSC Kyushu Co., Ltd. (KSSC)
Main plant: 2305-1 Yamada, Hisayama-cho, Kasuya-gun, Fukuoka Prefecture
Established: December 2006
Capital: 70 million yen
Shareholders: SSC (70%), Kanpoh Steel (25%), Hanwa Co., Ltd. (5%)
Processing capacity: 10,000 tons/month

3) Tailor Welded Blank (TWB)
Tailor welded blanks (TWB) are a technology used to manufacture automobile parts by welding steel sheets with varied thickness and strength and then by press-forming them into a part. The new technology enables to reduce weight and cost in manufacturing parts.