Tyrone73H144 at 19:31, 25 March 2026

2026-03-25T19:31:29Z

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{{for|the construction equipment subsidiary|Kobelco Construction Machinery America}}
{{short description|Japanese steelmaker}}
{{update|date=November 2017}}
{{Infobox company
| name = Kobe Steel, Ltd.
| trade_name = Kobelco
| native_name = 株式会社神戸製鋼所
| native_name_lang = ja
| romanized_name = Kabushiki gaisha Kōbe Seikō-sho
| logo = Kobelco logo.svg
| logo_size = 200px
| image = 東京本社ONビル.jpg
| image_caption = Tokyo Head Office
| type = [[public company|Public]] (''[[Kabushiki gaisha]]'')
| traded_as = {{TYO|5406}}<br>{{NAG|5406}}<br>[[Nikkei 225]] component (TYO)
| foundation = Kobe, Japan<br />({{start date and age|1905|9|1}})
| founder = Suzuki Shoten<br/>Seiichiro Kobayashi
| location = 2-4, Wakinohama-Kaigandori 2-chome, [[Chūō-ku, Kobe|Chūō-ku]], [[Kobe]], [[Hyōgo]], 651-8585, Japan
| key_people = Mitsugu Yamaguchi, ([[CEO]] and [[President (corporate title)|President]])
| industry = [[Steel]]
| products = {{Unbulleted list|[[Steel & Aluminum]]|[[Advanced Materials]]|[[Welding]]|[[Machinery]]|[[Engineering]]|[[Construction Machinery]]|[[Electric Power]]}}
| revenue = {{increase}} [[Japanese yen|¥]]106.8 billion (FY 2022)
| net_income = {{increase}} [[Japanese yen|¥]]72.5 billion (FY 2022)
| num_employees = 38,106 (consolidated) (as of March 31, 2022)
| homepage = {{Official URL}}
| footnotes = <ref name="KP">{{cite web |url=https://www.kobelco.co.jp/english/about_kobelco/kobesteel/profile/index.html |title=Corporate Profile|website=Kobelco.co.jp |access-date=April 13, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.kobelco.co.jp/ir/library/fncl_results/2022/__icsFiles/afieldfile/2022/08/09/220809_hosoku.pdf |title=Financial statements for the first quarter of 2022 |website=Kobelco.co.jp |access-date=August 28, 2022 |archive-date=August 28, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220828053824/https://www.kobelco.co.jp/ir/library/fncl_results/2022/__icsFiles/afieldfile/2022/08/09/220809_hosoku.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>
| assets = [[Japanese yen|¥]]250.9 billion (as of March 31, 2022)
}}

'''Kobe Steel, Ltd.''' (株式会社神戸製鋼所, ''Kabushiki gaisha Kōbe Seikō-sho'') is a major [[Japan|Japanese]] [[Steel producers|steel manufacturer]] headquartered in [[Chūō-ku, Kobe|Chūō-ku]], [[Kobe]]. '''Kobelco''' is the unified brand name of the Kobe Steel Group.

Kobe Steel has the lowest proportion of steel operations of any major steelmaker in Japan and is characterised as a conglomerate comprising the three pillars of the Materials Division, the Machinery Division and the Power Division.<ref name="収益構造">{{Cite web|url=https://www.kobelco.co.jp/about_kobelco/outline/integrated-reports/index.html |title=統合報告書 |work=KOBELCO：神戸製鋼所グループ |publisher=株式会社神戸製鋼所 |accessdate=28 August 2022}}</ref>

The materials division has a high market share in wire rods and aluminium materials for transport equipment, while the machinery division has a high market share in screw compressors. In addition, the power sector has one of the largest wholesale power supply operations in the country.<ref name="市場シェア">{{Cite web|url=https://www.kobelco.co.jp/about_kobelco/outline/integrated-reports/index.html |title=統合報告書 |work=KOBELCO：神戸製鋼所グループ |publisher=株式会社神戸製鋼所 |accessdate=28 August 2022}}</ref>

Kobe Steel is a member of the [[Mizuho Financial Group|Mizuho]] [[keiretsu]]. It was formerly part of the [[DKB Group]], [[Sanwa Group]] keiretsu, which later were subsumed into Mizuho.
The company is listed on the [[Tokyo Stock Exchange|Tokyo]] & [[Nagoya Stock Exchange]], where its stock is a component of the [[Nikkei 225]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://indexes.nikkei.co.jp/en/nkave/index/component?idx=nk225#17 |title=Components:Nikkei Stock Average |publisher=[[Nikkei Inc.]] |access-date=April 13, 2014}}</ref>

As of March 31, 2022, Kobe Steel has 201 subsidiaries and 50 affiliated companies across [[Japan]], [[Asia]], [[Europe]], the [[Middle East]] and the [[US]]. Its main production facilities are [[Kakogawa Steel Works]] and Takasago Works.<ref name="世界展開">{{Cite web|url=https://www.kobelco.co.jp/about_kobelco/outline/integrated-reports/index.html |title=統合報告書 |work=KOBELCO：神戸製鋼所グループ |publisher=株式会社神戸製鋼所 |accessdate=28 August 2022}}</ref>

Kobe Steel is also famous as the owner of the rugby team [[Kobelco Steelers]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-01-16 |title=How Dan Carter's Kobelco Steelers are setting the new standard in Japanese rugby |url=https://www.rugbypass.com/news/how-dan-carters-kobelco-steelers-are-setting-the-new-standard-in-japanese-rugby/ |access-date=2023-09-04 |website=www.rugbypass.com |language=en}}</ref>

==History==
[[File:Suzuki_&_Co_1918.jpg|thumb|left|Suzuki Shoten headquarters (formerly [[Mikado Hotel]], before 1918)]]
In 1905, the general partnership trading company Suzuki Shoten acquired a steel business in Wakinohama, Kobe, called Kobayashi Seikosho, operated by Seiichiro Kobayashi, and changed its name to Kobe Seikosho. Then, in 1911, Suzuki Shoten spun off the company to establish Kobe Steel Works, Ltd. at Wakinohamacho, Kobe.<ref name="鈴木商店">{{Cite web|url=http://www.suzukishoten-museum.com/footstep/history/cat3/cat3/post-158.php |title=神戸製鋼所設立の歴史① |publisher=鈴木商店記念館 |accessdate=28 August 2022}}</ref>

After the Russo-Japanese War, as the Imperial Japanese Navy adopted a policy of fostering private factories, Kobe Steel received technical guidance and orders from the Kure Naval Arsenal and other arsenals in Maizuru and Yokosuka, and expanded its scale.<ref name="日本海軍との関わり">{{Cite web|url=http://www.suzukishoten-museum.com/footstep/history/cat3/cat3/post-155.php |title=神戸製鋼所設立の歴史③ |publisher=鈴木商店記念館 |accessdate=28 August 2022}}</ref>

Around 1914, the company started making machinery for naval vessels and began its journey as a machine manufacturer. Its business performance expanded, partly due to the shipbuilding boom during World War I. In 1918, it acquired the rights to manufacture diesel engines from Sulzer of Switzerland, helping to speed up the Japanese naval, marine, locomotive and automobile transport sectors.<ref name="大戦景気">{{Cite web|url=http://www.suzukishoten-museum.com/footstep/history/cat3/cat3/post-152.php |title=神戸製鋼所設立の歴史⑤ |publisher=鈴木商店記念館 |accessdate=28 August 2022}}</ref>

Engineers from Kobe Steel played a major role in the establishment and early operation of [[Planta de Pellets]] in the [[Chilean Iron Belt]] in 1978.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Historia de la minería del hierro en Chile|language=Spanish |last=Millán |first=Augusto |publisher=[[Editorial Universitaria]] |year=1999 |isbn=956-11-1499-2 |location=Santiago de Chile|page=163}}</ref><ref name=crisolpelet>{{Cite web |title=Planta de Pellets de CMP en Huasco cumplió 45 años delineando nuevos desafíos |url=https://revistacrisol.cl/planta-pellets-de-cmp-en-huasco-cumplio-45-anos-delineando-nuevos-desafios/ |date=2023-03-20|access-date=2025-07-15 |website=Revista Minera Crisol |language=es}}</ref>

In the Great Hanshin Earthquake of January 1995, the Kobe head office building and company housing collapsed, and the No. 3 Blast Furnace at the Kobe Steel Works was also damaged, resulting in an emergency shutdown, causing approximately JPY 100 billion in damage, the largest for a private company. The Third Blast Furnace, which restarted only two and a half months after the earthquake, had become a 'symbol of recovery', but was suspended in October 2017 in order to strengthen competitiveness.<ref name="第三高炉">{{Cite news |title=神戸製鋼、神戸の高炉休止震災復興の象徴、歴史に幕 |newspaper=朝日新聞 |date=31 October 2017 |url=https://www.asahi.com/articles/ASKB002YJKBZPLFA00W.html |accessdate=28 August 2022 |archive-date=27 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220827165927/https://www.asahi.com/articles/ASKB002YJKBZPLFA00W.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> In recent years, the company has been focusing on fields other than steel, such as aluminium, machinery, and electric power, and is clearly aiming to change from being a 'steelmaker' to a 'manufacturer that also handles steel'.<ref name="事業展開">{{Cite web|url=https://www.kobelco.co.jp/about_kobelco/outline/integrated-reports/index.html |title=統合報告書 |work=KOBELCO：神戸製鋼所グループ |publisher=株式会社神戸製鋼所 |accessdate=28 August 2022}}</ref>

Former prime minister [[Shinzō Abe]] worked at Kobe Steel before entering politics.<ref name="veconomist">{{cite news |date=12 October 2017 |title=Kobe Steel admits falsifying data on 20,000 tonnes of metal |newspaper=[[The Economist]] |url=https://www.economist.com/news/business/21730244-it-latest-long-list-scandals-have-befallen-corporate-japan-kobe-steel-admits}}</ref>

In August 2024, China’s Baoshan Iron and Steel (Baosteel) and Baowu Aluminum partnered with Kobe Steel to establish a joint venture for producing aluminum sheets for the automotive industry.<ref>{{Cite web |title=China's Baosteel, Baowu Aluminum, and Japan's Kobe Steel unite for automotive aluminium sheet manufacturing |url=https://www.alcircle.com/news/chinas-baosteel-baowu-aluminum-and-japans-kobe-steel-unite-for-automotive-aluminium-sheet-manufacturing-111662 |access-date=2025-02-18 |website=alcircle |language=en}}</ref>

Today, the KOBELCO Group operates a broad range of business fields that cover Steel & Aluminum, Advanced Materials, Welding, Machinery, Engineering, Construction Machinery, and Electric Power.<ref name="事業展開"/>

== Main locations ==
Source:<ref name="主な事業所">{{Cite　web|url=https://www.kobelco.co.jp/about_kobelco/outline/integrated-reports/index.html |title=統合報告書 |publisher=株式会社神戸製鋼所 |accessdate=28 August 2022}}</ref>
===Domestic Locations===
* Kobe Head Office [[File:Kobe Steel co,ltd.jpg|thumb|right|Kobe Steel Kobe headquarters]]
* Tokyo Head Office
* Takasago Works
* Kobe Corporate Research Laboratories
* Kakogawa Works [[File:Kobe_Steel,_Ltd-神戸製鋼所加古川製鉄所_1172657.jpg|thumb|right|Kakogawa Works]]
* Research & Development Laboratory
* Kobe Wire Rod & Bar Plant [[File:Kobelco Kobe Works 20120928-001.jpg|thumb|right|Kobe Wire Rod & Bar Plant]]
* Fujisawa Office
* Ibaraki Plant
* Saijo Plant
* Fukuchiyama Plant
* Moka Works
* Chofu Works
* Daian Works

===Overseas Regional Headquarters and Offices===
* Kobe Steel USA Inc. (U.S. headquarters): 19575 Victor Parkway, Suite 200 Livonia, MI, 48152, USA
* Kobelco (China) Holding Co., Ltd. (China headquarters, investment company): Room 3701, Hong Kong New World Tower, No.300 Middle Huai Hai Zhong Road, Huangpu District, Shanghai, 200021, People's Republic of China
* Kobelco (China) Holding Co., Ltd. (Guangzhou Branch): Room 1203, #285 East Linhe Road, Tianhe District, Guangzhou City, Guangdong Province, People's Republic of China
* Kobelco South East Asia Ltd. (Regional headquarters for Southeast Asia and South Asia): 17th Floor, Sathorn Thani Tower ll, 92/49 North Sathorn Road, Khwaeng Silom, Khet Bangrak, Bangkok, 10500, Kingdom of Thailand
* Kobelco Europe GmbH (Regional Headquarters for Europe and the Middle East): Luitpoldstrasse 3, 80335 Munich, Germany

== Business Units & Main Products ==

{{Multiple image|perrow = 2|total_width=375|align=right
|image1 = EXCON 2025, Bangalore International Exhibition Centre (724).jpg
|width1 = 125px
|image2 = EXCON 2025, Bangalore International Exhibition Centre (721).jpg
|width2 = 125px
|footer = Kobelco at [[EXCON]] 2025, [[Bangalore International Exhibition Centre|BIEC]]
}}

Source:<ref name="事業領域">{{Cite　web|url=https://www.kobelco.co.jp/about_kobelco/outline/integrated-reports/index.html |title=統合報告書 |publisher=株式会社神戸製鋼所 |accessdate=28 August 2022}}</ref>
===Steel & Aluminum===
* Steel Sheets
* Wire Rods and Bars
* Aluminum Plate
* Steel Plates
===Welding===
* Robots and Electric Power Sources
* Welding Materials
===Advanced Materials===
* Steel Castings and Forgings
* Titanium
* Copper Sheet and Strip
* Steel Powder
===Machinery===
* Standard Compressors
* Rotating Machinery
* Tire and Rubber Machinery
* Plastic Processing Machinery
* Advanced Technology Equipment
* Rolling Mill・Press Machine
* Ultra High Pressure Equipment
* Energy & Chemical Field
===Engineering===
* Iron Unit Field
* Advanced Urban Transit System
===Electric Power===
* Wholesale Power Supply

==Scandal==
In October 2017, Kobe Steel admitted to falsifying data on the strength and durability of its aluminium, copper and steel products.<ref name="veconomist" /><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/10/business/kobe-steel-japan.html|access-date=10 October 2017|title=Kobe Steel's Falsified Data Is Another Blow to Japan's Reputation |newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=10 October 2017 |last1=Soble |first1=Jonathan |last2=Boudette |first2=Neal E. }}</ref> The scandal deepened when the company said it found falsified data on its iron ore powder, which caused its shares to fall 18%. By 11 October, shares had fallen by a third.<ref name="veconomist" /> After testing the parts of their [[Shinkansen|bullet trains]], the [[Central Japan Railway Company]] announced that 310 components were discovered to contain sub-standard parts supplied by Kobe Steel.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-10-12/bullet-train-wheel-parts-made-by-kobe-steel-failed-quality-tests|access-date=11 October 2017|title=Bullet Train Parts Failed Quality Tests: Steel Scandal Deepens |work=Bloomberg |publisher=[[Bloomberg News]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/oct/11/japan-kobe-steel-scandal-ford-toyota-honda-mazda-boeing|access-date=11 October 2017|title=Kobe Steel scandal deepens over quality of products used in cars and aircraft |newspaper=[[The Guardian]]}}</ref>

Following further news in October 2017 that car makers [[Toyota]], [[Nissan]], and [[General Motors]], and train manufacturer [[Hitachi]], were among 200 companies affected by the Kobe Steel's mislabelling, which had potential safety implications for their vehicles, the CEO of Kobe Steel conceded that his company now had "zero credibility".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/oct/12/kobe-steel-scandal-car-general-motors-auto-train-aircraft|title=Kobe Steel chief admits scandal has hit trust as car checks spread|first=Justin|last=McCurry|date=12 October 2017|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|access-date=12 October 2017}}</ref> Other affected companies include [[Ford Motor Company|Ford]], [[Boeing]] and [[Mitsubishi Heavy Industries]].<ref name="veconomist" /> CEO Kawasaki promised to lead an internal investigation.<ref name="veconomist" /> On 13 October 2017, Kobe Steel admitted that the number of companies misled was over 500.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/kobe-steel-admits-500-companies-misled-in-scandal-1507901631|title=Kobe Steel Admits 500 Companies Misled in Scandal|last1=McLain|first1=Sean|date=2017-10-13|work=Wall Street Journal|access-date=2017-10-13|last2=Tsuneoka|first2=Chieko|language=en-US|issn=0099-9660}}</ref>

Despite the costs of dealing with the scandal, Kobe Steel issued a revised profit forecast in February 2018 announcing that it expects to generate a net profit of ¥45 billion ($421 million) for the full 2017 fiscal year, marking its first net profit in three years.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-steel/japan-steelmakers-profits-surge-kobe-steel-reinstates-forecast-idUSKBN1FL4GE|title=Japan steelmakers' profits surge; Kobe Steel reinstates forecast|last=Obayashi|first=Yuka|date=2018-02-01|work=Reuters|access-date=2018-02-26|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2018/02/02/business/corporate-business/kobe-steel-expects-net-profit-fiscal-2017-despite-data-fabrication-scandal|title=Kobe Steel expects net profit for fiscal 2017 despite data fabrication scandal|date=2018-02-02|work=The Japan Times|access-date=2018-02-26|language=en-US}}</ref>

==Gallery==
<gallery mode="packed" heights="180px">
神戸製鋼所寄贈戦艦「陸奥」スクリュー.png|Screw of IJN Battleship Mutsu, donated by Kobe Steel (Yamato Museum)
Yukikaze ikari 01.jpg|Main anchor of IJN destroyer Yukikaze with the engraving 'KOBE STEEL WORKS LTD' (JMSDF the First Service School)
Kobeseiko Te-Gō.jpg|IJA Kobeseiko Te-Gō
</gallery>

==See also==
{{Portal|Japan|Engineering|Companies}}
* [[Kobeseiko Te-Gō]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{Official website}}
* [https://www.kobelco.co.jp/english/about_kobelco/group/index.html Kobe Steel Group of Companies]
* [https://www.kobelco.co.jp/english/about_kobelco/outline/history/index.html History of Kobe Steel Group]
* [https://www.kobelco-europe.com/ Kobelco Construction Machinery Europe]

{{Nikkei 225}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Steel companies of Japan]]
[[Category:Crane manufacturers]]
[[Category:Construction equipment manufacturers of Japan]]
[[Category:Companies listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange]]
[[Category:Companies listed on the Nagoya Stock Exchange]]
[[Category:Companies listed on the Osaka Exchange]]
[[Category:Companies in the Nikkei 225]]
[[Category:Manufacturing companies based in Kobe]]
[[Category:Manufacturing companies established in 1905]]
[[Category:Japanese companies established in 1905]]
[[Category:Defense companies of Japan]]
[[Category:Japanese brands]]
[[Category:Midori-kai]]
[[Category:Industrial machine manufacturers]]

Kobe Steel - Revision history

Tyrone73H144 at 19:31, 25 March 2026