Description
JFE Holdings, Inc. is a corporation headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. It was formed in 2002 by the merger of NKK and Kawasaki Steel Corporation and owns JFE Steel, JFE Engineering and Japan Marine United. JFE is from Japan, Fe (the chemical element symbol of iron) and Engineering.
Mergers and Spinoffs
At the time JFE Holdings was created in 2002, NKK Corporation was Japan's second largest steelmaker and Kawasaki Steel was the third largest steelmaker. Both companies were major military vessel manufacturers during World War II.
JFE's main business is steel production. It also engages in engineering, ship building, real-estate redevelopment, and LSi business. The company also operates several overseas subsidiaries, including California Steel Industries in the United States, Fujian Sino-Japan Metal in China, and Minas da Serra Geral in Brazil. Other than steel, they are also known for products such as the bicycle tree.
JFE Holdings owns JFE Steel, the fifth largest steel maker in the world with revenue in excess of US$30 billion. JFE Holdings has other subsidiaries including JFE Engineering, JFE Steel and JFE Shoji, and part-owns Japan Marine United, a major shipbuilding company.
NKK and Siderca S.A. of Argentina established a seamless pipe joint venture by spinning off the seamless pipe division of NKK's Keihin Works in 2000. In November 2009, JFE agreed to partner with JSW Steel, India's third-largest steel producer, to construct a joint steel plant in West Bengal. In July 2010, JFE acquired a 14.9% stake in India's JSW Steel Ltd.
Its shipbuilding unit, Universal Shipbuilding was created in 2002 when NKK Corporation a predecessor of JFE, merged its shipbuilding unit with that of Hitachi Zosen. In 2012, JFE merged its ship building unit, Universal Shipbuilding Corporation, with Marine United Inc. of IHI after discussion started in April 2008 to form Japan Marine United Corporation It aims to become Japan’s largest shipbuilder.
