Kobelco
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Always operating with a progressive edge, Kobe Steel Ltd. penetrated specialty steel markets in the early years of its inception and was one of the first steel makers in the country to diversify its holdings into other areas including machinery and plant engineering. To adapt to global demands, the company also set out to establish a strong presence in foreign markets by opening offices in New York, the U.S., and Dusseldorf, Germany as early as the 1960s.[1] Kobe Steel Ltd. today incorporates businesses in welding, urban infrastructure, plant engineering services, and industrial machines, and recently added high-tech businesses in electronics and information systems to its portfolio.
One stream of business is construction machinery. The company's construction business, formerly known as Kobe Steel's Construction Machinery Division, founded in 1930 with the development of the 50K electric mining shovel, was renamed Kobelco Construction Machinery Co. Ltd. in 1999 and became recognized as an independent entity from Kobe Steel. The 1930s’ 50K electric mining shovel stood as a replica in design and capability of an earlier excavator prototype. Today, Kobelco Construction Machinery Co. Ltd. specializes in the manufacture, sale, and service of construction and transportation equipment, with excavators actually being its mainstay product.[2]
As well, Kobelco Cranes Co. Ltd, once a crane division within Kobe Steel and then Kobelco Construction Machinery Co. Ltd., was founded in 2004 and now operates as a separate entity as well. Kobelco Cranes Co. Ltd. develops, manufactures, sells, and services crawlers, cranes, rough terrain cranes, civil engineering machines, work vessels, and other machines.[3]
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[edit] History
Kobe Steel, founded in 1905, began as Kobe Steel Works after being acquired by the Japanese trading firm Suzuki and Company. In 1911, the company was incorporated as Kobe Steel Works, Ltd. Within the first 15 years of its incorporation, Kobe Steel Works, Ltd., enjoyed a considerable spurt of growth as Japan's primary industry switched from textiles to heavy industry. Between 1917 and 1921, Kobe Steel was able to open four new plants and grow its capital substantially.[4]
[edit] Economic Hard Times
When the Depression hit in the 1930s, Kobe Steel Works was in a precarious and volatile position. With some scrupulous financial wrangling to ensure its survival, the company took its remaining cash flow to establish a shipbuilding subsidiary, Harima Zosenjo Ltd., in 1929.
In the early 1930s, Japan's government and industry were in state of flux. A group of militant nationalists dominating the country's government sought to embark on a military adventure. This eventually resulted in an embittered all-out war when Japan invaded Manchuria in 1931, followed by China in 1937. To support war efforts the Japanese government stepped up the rapid development of heavy industry and quickly began to coordinate the distribution of raw materials. This inevitably gave Kobe Steel Works the leverage it needed to increase its production capacity; between 1937 and 1945 the company opened an additional eight new plants.[5]
[edit] Post-war Growth
After the war ended, the 1950s marked a period in Japan of frantic rebuilding. The Japanese government initiated two five-year plans to heighten steel production levels. As a result, Kobe Steel Works expanded production and began supplying materials to many of Japan's "peacetime" industries that manufactured everything from television sets, to fridges, to washing machines.
At the same time, due to the high costs associated with importing raw materials from outside the country, Japanese steel manufacturers began to explore new methods of streamlining production in an effort to control and decrease costs. For example, Japanese manufacturers developed a way of reducing the amount of coke used in production since coal had to be imported. Other factors that precipitated the rapid growth of Japan's steel industry were a focus on exporting steel goods, lowering labor costs, the opening of new plants, and technological development. By 1960, Japan was the fourth largest steel producer in the world.
Kobe Steel Works also secured a unique place amongst Japanese steel producers. As early as 1961 it was the sixth largest steel manufacturer in Japan, and yet, the city of Kobe was only one of eight leading manufacturers that did not supply steel sheets or plates, but rather focused on the production of steel pipes, tubing, wire rods, and specialty steels. The company's steel bars also became commercially popular for their superior quality.[6]
[edit] A Focus on Foreign Markets
In the 1960s Kobe Steel Works opened up affiliate offices in New York and Dusseldorf to handle sales abroad. China and Australia, markets close by, proved to be viable. The largest importer of Japan's steel at this time was the U.S., accounting for one third of all of Japan's steel exports. The company also acquired a number of other steel companies and then sold some. By the 1970s, however, Kobe Steel operated a number of highly productive steel making factories around the world.
Due to the oil crisis of 1973, a recession hit the world and severely compromised heavy manufacturing. Kobe Steel Works streamlined the iron and steel facets of the business and expanded its machinery division. The company also opened up more overseas offices.[7]
[edit] Global Competition Challenges
With the '80s came a maturing of the world's steel industry. Other countries such as Korea were also breaking into steel manufacturing with a high degree of success. Korean plants were modern, labor cheap, and as a result, able to pump out more steel than their Japanese counterparts. This increased pressure on Japan. Kobe Steel Works responded by focusing on its machinery and engineering divisions, meanwhile reducing the manufacture of basic steel products, focusing instead on higher value steel.
Other challenges posed problems for the steel giant. A surging yen against the dollar had a damaging impact on the company's revenues. By the mid '80s, the company, reporting heavy losses, was forced to close five of its plants and lay off up to 6,000 workers.[8]
While steel products sales were flat lining, Kobe Steel reacted by venturing into new areas relevant to its principal business of steel. In 1981, the company became the largest shareholder in a Wisconsin-based construction equipment company, the Harnischfeger Corp. In 1983, Kobe acquired a U.S. engineering company, Midrex Corp., and Yuti Heavy Industries Ltd. Through the '80s Kobe would continue to diversify its business operations, enter into a number of joint ventures with U.S.-based firms, expand its global network into China and Russia, and focus more intensely on research and development with the opening of a Biotechnology Research Laboratory in Kobe in 1985.[9]
[edit] Ventures and Diversification
With the steel business spiraling downward, Kobe Steel looked for new opportunities to stay afloat and competitive. Through the '90s, for example, Kobe formed many new ventures with the Aluminum Co. of America (Alcoa). Kobe was all of sudden capitalizing on the aluminum materials industry, creating new companies to produce and market aluminum products such as tubes, can stock, and sheet products. Kobe Steel also branched off into electronics when it formed a joint venture with Texas Instruments to create a company that could manufacture semiconductor chips in Japan. In 1995, the company, in reaction to changing world market conditions, entered into the electricity business.[10]
[edit] The Company Today
[edit] Kobelco Construction Machinery Co.
Kobelco Construction Machinery Co. employs 710 people at its plants in Hiroshima and Ogaki. Acting CEO is Hiroo Shimada. The company also has an overseas subsidiary in the U.S., Kobelco Construction Machinery America LLC.[11]
In 2001, Kobelco Construction Machinery Co. formed a global alliance with CNH. The deal enabled CNH to exclusively develop, produce and market Kobelco's crawler excavators worldwide. As the fourth largest manufacturer of hydraulic excavators in the world, the deal was beneficial and transpired with CNH occupying a 20 percent share in the Kobelco Construction Machinery Co. and a 65 percent share in Kobelco America.[12]
[edit] Kobelco Cranes Co. Ltd.
Kobelco Cranes Co. Ltd. employs close to 400 people at its Okubo plant. Acting CEO is Yoshihiro Tanno. The company has the following overseas subsidiaries: Kobelco Cranes North America Inc. (U.S.), Kobelco Cranes Europe Ltd. (U.K.), and Kobelco Cranes South East Asia Pte. Ltd. (Singapore). Though the company is independently operated, Kobe Steel Ltd. still assumes 100 percent ownership.[13]
[edit] Equipment List
- Electric mining shovel
- Hydraulic excavator
- Lattice boom mobile crane
- Mini excavator
- Pile driver
- Rough terrain crane
- Telescopic lattice boom crawler crane
- Wheel loader
[edit] References
- ↑ Kobe Steel. Reference For Business. 2008-09-23.
- ↑ Corporate Info. Kobelco-Kenki. 2008-09-23.
- ↑ Corporate Info. Kobelco Cranes. 2008-09-23.
- ↑ Kobe Steel. Reference For Business. 2008-09-23.
- ↑ Kobe Steel. Reference For Business. 2008-09-23.
- ↑ Kobe Steel. Reference For Business. 2008-09-23.
- ↑ Kobe Steel. Reference For Business. 2008-09-23.
- ↑ Kobe Steel. Reference For Business. 2008-09-23.
- ↑ Kobe Steel. Reference For Business. 2008-09-23.
- ↑ Kobe Steel. Reference For Business. 2008-09-23.
- ↑ Corporation Info. Kobelco-Kenki. 2008-09-23.
- ↑ CNH Global, Kobe Steel, and Kobelco To Set Up Global Alliance in Their Construction Equipment Business. BNet. 2008-09-23.
- ↑ Corporate Info. Kobelco-Cranes. 2008-09-23.
