Covid-19 infections forced Kobelco’s Aluminium extrusion plant in Japan to shut down temporarily

The Japanese metal products maker Kobelco has been forced to shut down temporarily its aluminium product plants after discovering a group of Covid-19 infections.

On 19^th January’2021, Kobelco is planning to close its aluminium extrusion plant at Chofu works in western Japan's Yamaguchi prefecture. The aluminium extrusion plant is will remain closed for three days until 21^st January 2021, allowing the firm to focus on quarantine measures and Covid-19 tests on more than 900 plant staff.

However, Kobelco stated: “The closure is unlikely to affect shipments and customer deliveries of aluminium products at this stage because of ample stocks.”

 The company has confirmed 12 cases of Covid-19 at the Chofu works.

The new rise in infections has led to tighter Covid-19 measures, with Japan expanding its second state of emergency to 11 prefectures, incorporating the major business and industrial centres of Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya and Fukuoka. Several local governments outside the emergency-affected areas have also carried out equally tough quarantine measures to halt new infections.

Kobelco has forecasted that sales of extruded aluminium products will plunge by 12% on the year to around 30,000 tonnes in the April 2020-March 2021 fiscal year, as Covid-19 pandemic slow downed the manufacturing demand, though sales of rolled aluminium products are expected to upswing by 4% on the year to around 310,000 tonnes in 2020-21, due to strong demand from beverage can and semiconductor producers, as well as a strong regain in car production.