OREANDA-NEWS. June 06, 2011. JFE Steel Corporation announced plans to integrate four group companies with electric furnace-based production operations—JFE Bars & Shapes Corporation, Daiwa Steel Corporation, Tohoku Steel Corporation and Toyohira Steel Corporation—on April 1, 2012.

As the business environment in Japan grows increasingly severe due to sharp falls in the demand for construction steel materials, electric-furnace steelmakers are finding it necessary to reorganize their operations. The JFE Steel group has determined that integrating its electric furnace operations will enable the group to remain a viable producer of reinforcing steel bars, thereby helping to ensure sustainable growth going forward.

Among the group’s electric-furnace operations halted by the Great East Japan Earthquake, Tohoku Steel will not resume production but will retain its sales function. Products will be supplied to Tohoku Steel by JFE Bars & Shapes Kashima Works in Ibaraki Prefecture and Daiwa Steel Tobu Works in Saitama Prefecture, both of which manufacture reinforcing steel bars. All possible efforts will be made to transfer Tohoku Steel employees formerly involved with production to JFE Steel and other group companies.

JFE Bars & Shapes Sendai Works in Miyagi Prefecture, which also had to halt production, will restart its steel bar plant in mid-July and wire rod plant in early August. The steelmaking plant and slabbing mill will come online sequentially in mid-August, and overall production is expected to return to pre-earthquake levels by October.

Going forward, the JFE Steel group will consider other possible strategic consolidations to further optimize its production and sales structure.