2012 New Employees’ Initiation Ceremony and President’s Message

Sumitomo Metal Industries, Ltd. (Sumitomo Metals) held its initiation ceremony for new employees on Monday, April 2, 2012. The ceremony for 97 new employees in the General Work Group was held at the Osaka head office and the ceremonies for 226 employees in the Basic Work Group were held at their respective steelworks and plants, such as the Kashima Steelworks.

1. Outline of New Employees’ Initiation Ceremony (General Work Group)
1) Date:                           Monday, April 2, 2012, from 11:30 to 11:45
2) Place:                          Conference Room on the 12th floor of Osaka head office
3) Attendees:

2. Number of New Employees

		2012	201１
General Work Group	Administrative workers	28	25
	Engineers	69	71
Total		97	96
Basic Work Group		226	247

3. President’s Message (Summary)
(1) Greetings
I would like to welcome you all to Sumitomo Metals. Congratulations.
I am sincerely pleased to have a total of 97 fresh new colleagues today. I wish you all to thrive and achieve success with your work.

(2) Sumitomo’s Business Spirit
I would like you to keep in mind, first and foremost, that we appreciate Sumitomo’s Business Spirit that has been inherited, refined, and shared for 400 years up to the present. This is quite unique and unprecedented in the entire world. But this has been the underlying spirit behind Sumitomo Metals’ manufacturing history and assets for over 100 years.

(3) Present business environment
In the midst of the challenging business environment for the steel industry in Japan, the Great East Japan Earthquake of March 2011 imparted severe damage to Sumitomo Metals’ Kashima Steelworks. However, thanks to corporate-wide efforts at business improvement, we are now expecting to generate consolidated ordinary profit of 55 billion yen in fiscal 2011. I would like you to know that the steel industry is a growth industry globally in the medium- to long-term, meaning what I hope will be your entire career at our company. Steel is an indispensable material for happiness of human beings.

(4) Business integration with Nippon Steel Corporation
This year will be our year of particularly important progress. We will integrate with Nippon Steel in October to start a new era in our history as Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corporation.

Nippon Steel Corporation has long been a leader in the global steel industry and has greatly contributed to Japan’s industrial development. I have no doubt that the two companies, once merged, will enhance its domestic competitiveness and expand overseas more widely, deeply, and speedily.

The new company will be the world’s second largest in crude steel production. Our goal is to become the top steelmaker by all other criteria, including profit, technology, costs, speed in decision-making and operation, evaluation by customers, and contribution to the environment and society.

To work at Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corporation means that the stage on which you perform will become more global and that you will be a part of making a new chapter in the history of a company that contributes to Japan’s and global economic development. Let’s all share our goal and endeavor toward our big target.

(5) My wish list to all new employees
I would like you all to try and keep in mind four things.

First, I want you to become a person to be trusted. This is the basis for Sumitomo Metals to be a truly trusted company.

Second, I want you to take up your work as a challenge, and with a strong sense of mission, aspiration, and passion, and become the best in the world in your respective field of work. Please be constructive and energetic and do your best as professionals.

Third, I want you to work with your colleagues in a team. We all face a time of trouble or doubt from time to time. In those times, don’t try to solve the problem by yourself. Please overcome it by consulting with others.

Fourth is your safety and health. Being a manufacturing company, we find that safety and health are essential. In the future, you may be in a supervisory position where you must look after the lives and daily life of tens or hundreds of staff. I want you all to train yourselves with this in mind and become keenly conscious of safety and health.

(6) In closing
In closing, I would like to give you my words based on my experience. “The work front is a gold mine. To dig or not to dig. That’s up to yourselves.” The work front is where things are actually happening. It refers not only to a manufacturing workplace. Everyone in our company, such as in sales, accounting, and general affairs, has his or her work front. Please go to your work front and tackle your assignment by using all five senses, rather than relying on indirect hearsay information.

We are prepared to offer you many big work stages on which to perform, and opportunities to grow. Please make your best efforts, challenge these opportunities, and be fulfilled and happy. Let’s strive together to contribute to our customers in Japan and overseas and toward achieving our goal of developing the world’s and Japanese economy and building a better society.