Titanium

Overview

Main Products

• Cold-rolled sheets and coils, welded pipe and tubes, hot-rolled sheets and coils, plates, bars and wire rods, foils and fabricated products

Uses

• Titanium products are used in chemical plants (reaction vessels, tube-type heat exchangers, plate-type heat exchangers, pipes and pipe joints); in power plants (condenser tubes and tube plates); in electrolysis (electrodes, electrolyzers and copper foil drums); in automobiles (mufflers, suspension springs, engine valves and connecting rods); in consumer products (golf clubs, watches, eyeglasses and IT equipment exteriors); and in building construction and civil engineering applications (roofs, walls, monuments and corrosion protection for offshore structures).

Market Trends

Demand for titanium is extremely strong in both major markets for this material: general industrial applications and aerospace. As a result, the supply of titanium is consistently tight despite growth in the supply of the raw material sponge titanium. Nippon Steel has been focusing on measures to raise sales of titanium for general industrial applications. These activities led to very high sales of titanium, particularly for heat exchangers used in the energy-related equipment, ships and for automobile parts.

Titanium of Nippon Steel

Comprehensive skills in rolling technology acquired through our steelmaking operations give us a valuable competitive edge in the titanium business. This includes expertise in manufacturing, production equipment and research programs. In the mainstay titanium sheets and plates sector, we use the world’s largest titanium slabbing mill to supply products of exceptional quality. The product line extends from wide, thin-gauge cold-rolled materials to heavy plates. Heat exchangers are a key market for our titanium products indeed. However, we are establishing ties with new customers in the automobile, IT and construction materials industries as well. These strategic marketing activities have enabled us to preserve our position as one of the world’s greatest suppliers of titanium mill products for general industrial applications. We plan to reinforce ties with suppliers of titanium raw materials to further strengthen our integrated production system. This will provide a base for tapping more sources of demand in order to continue the expansion of our titanium operations.