Kobe Steel

Kobe Steel, Ltd. (株式会社神戸製鋼所, Kabushiki-gaisha Kōbe Seikō-sho), operating worldwide under the brand Kobelco, is a major Japanese steel manufacturer headquartered in Chūō-ku, Kobe. Kobe Steel also has a stake in Osaka Titanium Technologies.[3] The company supplies about half of the global market of the wires used in valve springs of auto engines.[4]

For the construction equipment subsidiary, see Kobelco Construction Machinery America.
Kobe Steel, Ltd.
Native name
株式会社神戸製鋼所
TypePublic KK
TYO: 5406
OSE: 5406
NAG: 5406
Nikkei 225 Component
IndustrySteel
FoundedKobe, Japan
(September 1, 1905 (1905-09-01))
Headquarters2-4, Wakinohama-Kaigandori 2-chome, Chūō-ku, Kobe, Hyōgo, 651-8585, Japan
Key people
Mitsugu Yamaguchi, (CEO and President)
Products
Revenue$ 15.87 billion (FY 2016) (¥ 1.696 trillion) (FY 2016)
$ -216 million (FY 2016) (¥ -23.045 billion) (FY 2016)
Total assets$ 2.233 billion (as of March 31, 2019)
Number of employees
39,341 (consolidated) (as of March 31, 2019)
WebsiteOfficial website
Footnotes / references
[1][2]

It was formed on September 1, 1905. Its location in a major city port was useful for importing and exporting iron ore and coal. It is one of Kobe's oldest industrial companies.[5] Its main production facilities are Kakogawa Steel Works and Kobe Steel Works. Kobe Steel is the owner of the rugby team Kobelco Steelers.

The company is listed on the Tokyo and Nagoya Stock Exchange, on the Osaka Securities Exchange and is a constituent of the Nikkei 225 stock index.[6] As of March 31, 2019, the company had 218 subsidiary and 52 affiliated companies across Japan, Asia, Europe, the Middle East and the US.[1]

Kobe Steel is a member of the Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFJ) keiretsu.

History

Japanese prime minister Shinzō Abe worked at Kobe Steel before entering politics.[5]

In 2016, Kobe Steel lost ¥23 billion due to cheap aluminium and steel imports.[5]

Scandal

In October 2017, Kobe Steel admitted to falsifying data on the strength and durability of its aluminum, copper and steel products.[5][7] The scandal deepened when the company said it found falsified data on its iron ore powder, which caused its shares to fall 18%. By 11 October, shares had fallen by a third.[5] After testing the parts of their bullet trains, the Central Japan Railway Company announced that 310 components were discovered to contain sub-standard parts supplied by Kobe Steel.[8][9]

Following further news in October 2017 that car makers Toyota, Nissan, and General Motors, and train manufacturer Hitachi, were among 200 companies affected by the Kobe Steel's mislabelling, which had potential safety implications for their vehicles, the CEO of Kobe Steel conceded that his company now had "zero credibility".[10] Other affected companies include Ford, Boeing and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.[5] CEO Kawasaki promised to lead an internal investigation.[5] On 13 October 2017, Kobe Steel admitted that the number of companies misled was over 500.[11]

Despite the costs of dealing with the scandal, Kobe Steel issued a revised profit forecast in February 2018 announcing that it expects to generate a net profit of ¥45 billion ($421 million) for the full 2017 fiscal year, marking its first net profit in three years.[12][13]

Business segments and products
Kobelco crane in Dubreka (Guinea)

Manufacturing locations
  • Kakogawa Works
  • Kobe Steel headquarters
  • Entrance to Kobe Works

See also

References
  1. "Corporate Profile". Kobelco.co.jp. Retrieved April 13, 2014.
  2. "Consolidated Financial Results for Fiscal 2012" (PDF). Kobelco.co.jp. Retrieved April 13, 2014.
  3. "Key events". Osaka Titanium Technologies. Retrieved 15 August 2011.
  4. Inajima, Tsuyoshi; Stapczynski, Stephen (12 Oct 2017). "Kobe Steel Scandal Expands Into Core Business Overseas". Bloomberg. Retrieved 21 October 2017.
  5. "Kobe Steel admits falsifying data on 20,000 tonnes of metal". The Economist. 12 October 2017.
  6. "Components:Nikkei Stock Average". Nikkei Inc. Retrieved April 13, 2014.
  7. "Kobe Steel's Falsified Data Is Another Blow to Japan's Reputation". The New York Times. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
  8. "Bullet Train Parts Failed Quality Tests: Steel Scandal Deepens". Bloomberg News. Retrieved 11 October 2017.
  9. "Kobe Steel scandal deepens over quality of products used in cars and aircraft". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 October 2017.
  10. McCurry, Justin (12 October 2017). "Kobe Steel chief admits scandal has hit trust as car checks spread". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 October 2017.
  11. McLain, Sean; Tsuneoka, Chieko (2017-10-13). "Kobe Steel Admits 500 Companies Misled in Scandal". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2017-10-13.
  12. Obayashi, Yuka (2018-02-01). "Japan steelmakers' profits surge; Kobe Steel reinstates forecast". Reuters. Retrieved 2018-02-26.
  13. "Kobe Steel expects net profit for fiscal 2017 despite data fabrication scandal". The Japan Times. 2018-02-02. Retrieved 2018-02-26.
  14. "Business Activities". Kobelco.co.jo. Retrieved April 13, 2014.
  15. "Facts & Figures Report 2012" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on December 3, 2012. Retrieved April 13, 2014.
  16. "Kobe Precision Introduces Copper Wafer Recycling Process". Laboratory Network.com. July 14, 1999. Retrieved April 13, 2014.
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