Kobelco opens new compressor manufacturing plant in the U.S.

Kobe Steel, Ltd. has announced that subsidiary Kobelco Compressors America, Inc. (or KCA) is opening a new $20 million factory complex that will double its manufacturing capacity of compressor systems.  KCA has also moved its headquarters to the new facility.

Formerly known as Kobelco EDTI Compressors, Inc., KCA is anticipated to play a leading role in the Kobe Steel Group’s process gas compressor business covering North, Central and South America. Based in Corona, California, 48 miles (about 80 kilometers) east of Los Angeles, KCA designs, manufactures and sells compressor systems.  Among its customers are Exxon Mobil Corporation, Petróleo Brasileiro S.A (Petrobras) of Brazil, oil refining companies and petrochemical firms.  The company is 100% owned by Kobe Steel and is capitalized at $5 million. The business began in 1990 and Kobe Steel first took an equity share in 2003.  KCA employs about 200 people, and the president is Tetsuya Kakiuchi.  Sales in 2010 reached $51 million. 

Since Kobe Steel’s initial investment in KCA in 2003, the company has steadily expanded its operations.   In 2008, KCA completed the No. 2 Plant, increasing production capacity to $50 million dollars.  Business conditions continued to remain strong in 2010, resulting in orders totaling $86 million.  The facility is currently in full production and even warehouses outside the premises are being used to store parts.  Construction of the No. 3 Plant began in August 2009.  With the start-up of the new facility, manufacturing capacity has doubled to $100 million.