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July
18, 2000
Nisshin Steel Co., Ltd. |
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| Sekisui
Chemical Co., Ltd. Decides Use of Nisshin Steel's "ZAM" New Coated Steel
as a Construction Material for Next-Generation Houses. |
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In May 2000,
Nisshin Steel's Toyo Works (Ehime Prefecture) commenced production of the
environment- and people-friendly "ZAM" new coated steel. We are pleased
to report that long-term customer Sekisui Chemical Co., Ltd. (Head office:
Kita-ku, Osaka; President: Naotake Okubo) has adopted ZAM as the structural
material to be used in its Sekisui Heim steel frame prefabricated houses.
Sekisui Chemical has hitherto employed our "Star Galfan" (zinc-5% aluminum coated steel) for such uses as the girders and beams that comprise the structure of steel frame prefabricated housing. Sekisui Chemical will be replacing Star Galfan with ZAM for all of these applications. This development will mark ZAM's first use as a structural material for prefabricated housing, and its implementation into Sekisui Heim structures - to take place within 2000 - will coincide with the commencement of housing material labeling as prescribed by Japan's Law to Promote the Quality Assurance of Housing Materials (the "New Housing Law"). Sekisui Chemical expects to greatly enhance the quality of its Sekisui Heim housing with the application of ZAM. ZAM is a hot-dipped zinc-aluminum-magnesium-alloy-coated steel (for which 20 patents are pending), and succeeds (1)zinc, (2)aluminum, and (3)zinc-aluminum products as the fourth generation coated steel. Due to the effects of magnesium and aluminum contained in the coating layer, as time passes a fine and firmly adherent film of dual construction forms on the coated surface, which suppresses oxidation. With superb corrosion and weather resistance, ZAM is the construction material for the 21st century. ZAM possesses five to eight times the corrosion resistance of zinc-5% aluminum-coated Star Galfan, and has far superior in sacrificial corrosion at cut end and processed parts compared to zinc-55% aluminum-coated "Galvastar". The reputation of ZAM's corrosion and weather resistance to satisfy requirement of "houses that last 100 years" factored prominently in Sekisui Chemical's decision to adopt the material. ZAM helps reduce the burden on the environment with its longevity and is also an apt response to the shift from the use of wood to steel in construction material. Thus, this environment- and people-friendly ZAM, a contributor of forestry resource protection, is the primary product of the new coating line at Nisshin Steel's Toyo Works, which has a monthly capacity of 40,000 metric tons. To position ZAM as the mainstay of its coated steel business, Nisshin Steel is actively developing new applications including substitution for hot dipped galvanized and other post-coated products. |
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