Japan-based JFE Steel Corporation (JFE) has announced that it has signed an agreement with Kawasaki Kokan Co., Ltd. (Kawasaki Kokan), Marubeni-Itochu Steel Inc. (MISI) and Taiwan's largest cold drawn pipe manufacturer Shuan Hwa Industrial Co., Ltd. (Shuan Hwa Industrial) to establish a joint venture company in Zhejiang Province, China.

The joint venture company, Jiaxing JFE Precision Steel Pipe Co. Ltd., will manufacture and sell small-diameter electric resistance welding (ERW) pipes for automobile parts and construction machinery, as well as cold drawn steel pipes.

The pipe plant which is scheduled to start production in January 2015 will have a monthly production capacity of 2,000 mt. Main facilities will include the production facility for ERW pipes, the cold drawing facility and a heat treatment facility including a bright annealing furnace.

JFE Steel also stated that with automobile production forecast to continue growing in China, demand for automotive steel pipes is expected to expand steadily.