OREANDA-NEWS. March 29, 2012. Kobe Steel, Ltd. announces that it plans to change the name of its subsidiary in Singapore, Kobe Welding (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., to Kobelco Welding Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd. effective April 1, 2012.

Kobe Steel’s Welding Business was the first in the Kobe Steel Group to establish an overseas base. In 1968, the Welding Business formed a company to manufacture and sell welding electrodes in Thailand. For the ASEAN region, Kobe Steel formed Kobe Welding (Singapore) Pte. Ltd. in 1979 in Singapore to make and sell welding consumables. Kobe Steel now has five locations, including Indonesia and Malaysia, and also provides technical assistance.

Economic growth in the ASEAN countries has been remarkable, and demand is anticipated to further increase in the coming years. Competition in these countries is expected to become tougher. Demand is also anticipated to rise in Vietnam, Myanmar, Cambodia and other countries.

To date, each of Kobe Steel’s welding companies in the ASEAN region has been managed independently of each other. But aiming to become the top comprehensive welding company in the region, Kobe Steel decided to turn its Singapore unit into a regional headquarters to provide optimal business operations in the area, instead of having each unit run on its own.

In the ASEAN region, Kobelco Welding Asia Pacific will be responsible for overall sales, marketing, technical services and other business functions. It will also strengthen manufacturing capabilities and improve product development. The new company will also look into the possibility of doing business in Indonesia, Vietnam and Myanmar.

With the addition of these new functions, Kobe (Welding Singapore) will change its name to Kobelco Welding Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd.