Company Description
When it comes to steel, Nippon Steel rates as Japan's heavy lifter. The company, the world's second-largest steelmaker after ArcelorMittal, manufactures pig iron and ingots, steel bars, plates, sheets, pipes, and tubes, as well as specialty, processed, and fabricated steel products. Nippon Steel's annual crude steel output is roughly 31 million tons. The company's operations include engineering, construction, chemicals, nonferrous metals, ceramics, electricity supply, information and communications, and urban development (theme parks and condominiums). Nippon Steel also provides energy, finance, and insurance services. In 2011 it agreed to acquire Sumitomo Metal Industries to form a global metals giant.