OREANDA-NEWS. Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corporation (NSSMC) announced today that it will take measures to realize the full capabilities of AM/NS Calvert, a US based 50/50 joint venture between NSSMC and ArcelorMittal (AM), to manufacture Ultra High Tensile Strength Cold-rolled and Coated Steel sheets with High Formability by the end of 2016. AM/NS Calvert will begin producing such materials up to 1.2 gigapascals (GPa) of tensile strength to be used for cold pressed structural car body parts.  

AM/NS Calvert is already capable of producing High Tensile Strength Steel up to 1.2 gigapascals (GPa) with its existing facilities. In addition to the existing production capabilities, these new measures will make AM/NS Calvert the first overseas manufacturing site for NSSMC that is capable of producing Ultra High Tensile Strength Steel sheets with High Formability. Currently, such steels are produced only at NSSMC manufacturing sites in Japan.  Through these new capabilities, AM/NS Calvert will further contribute to strengthening NSSMC's global supply network of high-end products for automotive customers.

I/N Tek and I/N Kote, the existing joint manufacturing sites of NSSMC and AM for automotive steel in the United States, have certain limitations in its capability to produce High Tensile Strength Steel.  At the same time, however, North American automotive customers increasingly need to achieve lighter and safer car bodies, and thus they have long requested for Ultra High Tensile Strength Steel with High Formability to be manufactured in North America.

NSSMC is ready to transfer its own technology and process for optimally controlling the metallurgical structural formation at the sub-micron level in order to establish production capability for such materials at AM/NS Calvert by the end of 2016.

NSSMC will continuously endeavor to meet the needs of society and customers through the development and supply of environmentally-friendly steel materials and by contributing to reductions in car body weight while further enhancing the competitiveness of steel materials over other possible substitute materials.