OREANDA-NEWS. Nippon Steel & Sumikin Fine Technology Co., Ltd. and Nippon Tubular Products Co., Ltd. are pleased to announce that Nippon Steel & Sumikin Fine Technology Co., Ltd. and Nippon Tubular Products Co., Ltd., each a 100% subsidiary of Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corporation, have agreed to merge as of July 1, 2016 to form Nippon Steel & Sumikin Precision Machining Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as the "Merger"), whereupon Nippon Steel Sumikin Fine Tech shall be the surviving company. Today the two companies have signed a merger agreement.

Over many years both of the aforementioned companies have been contributing to the Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal group as a group company with high technological capabilities in charge of manufacturing/machining of couplings used in oil well tubular products. The two companies have also applied their precision machining technology related to tubular couplings to other fields. This wider application of their technology has been highly appreciated by a wide range of customers.

The oil well tubular business is currently experiencing a tough situation due to low oil prices worldwide. In such circumstances, by means of the Merger the two companies are seeking to amalgamate their respective precision machining technology and know-how that have been developed over the past years and thereby build an optimum system for the production of oil well tubular couplings and to realize high cost-competitiveness. The two companies also seek to be capable of meeting customers' versatile needs in fields of machining other than well tubular products.