Kobe Steel Ltd. intends to establish a new company in Shanghai, China, to market its welding products and welding robot systems in that country. It also hopes improve customer relations in the market and strengthen its sales network there, Kobe Steel stated.

Kobe Welding of Shanghai Co. Ltd. (KWSH) will be a wholly owned subsidiary of Kobe Steel and start operation next March, with a market capitalization of $800,000

The goal is for KWSH to market welding consumables and welding robot systems and related parts, as well as provide robot maintenance service to welding operations in China.

Kobe’s welding consumables business will benefit by being closer to the Chinese market, especially that nation’s energy sector, which has a significant need for storage equipment for petroleum and liquid natural gas.

Kobe Steel already supplies welding systems for China’s construction equipment manufacturers, notably in its supply of robot systems for welding medium-steel plate. The supplier says demand from China’s construction sector is increasing, particularly for hydraulic excavators. “There is a great need for better after-sales services to customers,” Kobe stated in a release. “In the future, demand for construction machinery in China is expected to continue being firm, and customers are requiring better maintenance and an improved parts supply network.”

Kobe Steel already has two subsidiaries in China’s welding market. Kobe Welding of Tangshan Co. Ltd., in Tangshan, Hebei Province, manufactures solid welding wire. Kobe Welding of Qingdao Co. Ltd., in Shangdong Province, makes flux-cored wire for carbon steel.