Business Introduction
Raw Materials & Machinery
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- Business Introduction
- Raw Materials & Machinery
We are always striving to strengthen our relationships with our existing suppliers and cultivating new ones to help ensure stable operations within the JFE Group as well as to improve its cost-competitiveness. We also leverage the knowhow we have accumulated in businesses related to steelmaking to create new businesses, including proposing new supply chains in other fields and other methods.
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Main Steel Raw Materials
Our primary focus is on maintaining a stable supply of the iron ore and coal essential to the ironmaking business to JFE Steel. We are also expanding our imports, exports and cross-border business involving raw materials such as blast furnace slag*1 .
As demand for coking coal fluctuates according to the market environment and customer coal grade needs at the time, we collect information on a daily basis to meet customer needs. We are currently prioritizing coal that is more in line with environmental measures. We procure iron ore from suppliers operating mines in Australia and Brazil, where there are abundant resources. To reduce CO2 emission, we are also focusing on raw materials manufactured using hydrogen and other methods*2 .
*1 A blast furnace byproduct primarily used to make cement. *2 ronmaking materials, reduced iron, etc. -
Metallic Materials
We procure ferrous alloys, nonferrous metals and special metals—auxiliary raw materials that determine the properties of steel—from suppliers around the world, and sell them to JFE Steel and domestic and overseas steelmakers.
As various risks emerge, we leverage our global network to diversify sources and countries of purchase to ensure a stable supply of competitive raw materials to steelmakers in Japan. As demand increases overseas, especially in Asia, we are strengthening our procurement capabilities through such means as participating in a ferrosilicon manufacturing project in Malaysia and trilateral transactions.
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Metal Recycling
Many countries have declared their intention to become carbon neutral by 2050. As a company, we are contributing to the rise of a low-carbon society by engaging in steel scrap trade in Japan and overseas.
Using steel scrap as a raw material can reduce the amount of CO2 generated during steelmaking Steel mills around the world are therefore increasing the amount of steel scrap consumption. We provide steel scrap via various kinds of trade including domestic trade, export trade and offshore trade leveraging our purchasing and sales networks and storage yards in Japan and overseas.
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Chemicals
We leverage our domestic and overseas networks to sell a wide variety of raw materials produced mainly via coal chemistry to various industries in Japan and overseas.
The raw materials we carry are used in various applications. Examples tires, agricultural fertilizers, electrodes for secondary lithium-ion batteries, and electronic components used in 5G base station antennas. We also sell argon gas, which is essential for manufacturing semiconductors. All of these products incorporate byproducts generated during the steelmaking process.
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Biomass Fuel
The Japanese government has set a policy goal of virtually eliminating greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. As the JFE Group’s core trading company, we will help reduce CO2 emissions throughout society to keep pace as the trend toward a decarbonized society accelerates.
We import carbon-neutral products from Southeast Asia such as palm kernel shells generated as byproducts during the manufacture of palm oil, wood pellets made from thinned wood and wood waste and sell them to various biomass power generation business operators in Japan. Besides, we consider importing torrefied pellets (with particular attention as a coal substitute) from North America, and increase the type of our products.
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Machinery & Materials
We are offering materials and facilities to steelworks in Japan and overseas, in particular, ASEAN, India, South America and Europe. With Taking advantage of strong relationships with suppliers across multiple industries, we aim for proposal-based sales from the customer’s point of view.
Our attempts are now not limited to the steel industry, but also entering the electric power industry and contributing to the spread of renewable energy. Focusing on the deposits on piping and equipment that affect the power generation efficiency of geothermal power generation, we are working with electric power companies and suppliers to propose the best chemicals to reduce the deposits and it is effective now. This proposal-based sale has been highly evaluated by many electric power companies, and we are expanding our activity to thermal power, hydraulic power, nuclear power plants in all over Japan.
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Ships & Fuel
We contribute to a low-carbon/decarbonized society through the sale of “Environmental Friendly” ships and fuels.
In the field of shipping, we handle new building, chartering, sale and purchase of secondhand ships and ships recycling, and also have a ship-owning business of car carriers and bulk carriers. In the fuel field, we primarily engage in transactions involving fuel and lubricants for ships. We will be developping the next-generation fuel business in anticipation of the decarbonization of society.