Japan's Kobe Steel says violated statutory standards, losing customers
Kobe Steel Ltd. sank deeper into crisis on Friday as the embattled company said it had lost some customers to competitors because of widespread data falsification that had extended to its mainstream steel sheet business.
Japan's third-largest steelmaker, which supplies the world's top airline and automobile manufacturers, also said it had violated statutory standards set by the industry ministry, pushing the scandal beyond failure to meet specifications agreed with customers.
Until now, the 112-year-old company had said products it sold with falsified data met safety and other standards but did not meet contract specifications agreed with customers. It had also said the problem was mainly with aluminum and copper products.
Kobe Steel has an extensive role in global supply chains - the company produces engine valve springs found in half the world's cars, according to its website.
Kobe Steel executive vice-president Naoto Umehara said the company had found a breach of industrial standards at its Hatano copper plant southwest of Tokyo, along with a new case of falsification of data at a unit that cuts and processes steel plate.
'Lost credibility'
"There has been also some impact on our business as we have lost credibility" Umehara told a news conference, citing cases that the company lost orders and customers switched to its competitors. "But we can't quantify the impact at the moment."
He said the Hatano plant did not meet Japanese Industrial Standards for quality management after it faked data on tensile strength and other properties of copper and copper-alloy piping.
Kobe Steel has stopped shipping about 43 per cent of copper products from the plant over the problems with the statutory standards, a company spokeswoman said.
Kobe Steel said it also found, as the result of a whistleblower, that a plant in western Japan had been "obstructing company's voluntary inspection" by concealing data.
After getting a tip that workers at the Chofu plant failed to report data falsification on aluminum extrusion products, the company decided to set up a panel of outsiders, replacing an in-house panel led by the company's president.
The Ministry of Trade and Industry believes "the data concealment by its employees has hurt the credibility of Kobe Steel's voluntary investigation," said Yasuji Komiyama, director of the industry ministry's metal industries division.
The ministry ordered the company on Friday to expedite its probes and report results as soon as possible.
Kobe Steel previously said that it found widespread falsification of data on the strength and durability of copper and aluminum products sent to customers. The falsifications stretch back for more than 10 years, a senior executive told Reuters this week.
Justice probe
Global automakers, aircraft companies and other manufacturers have scrambled to identify potential hazards in their products because of the falsification, although four Japanese carmakers said on Thursday they have found no safety issues with aluminum parts supplied by Kobe Steel.
The company is now subject to a U.S. Justice Department probe while checks continue at hundreds of its clients involved in complex supply chains spanning the globe.
No safety problems have surfaced as Kobe Steel attempts to confirm the extent of the data tampering. But in Europe, aviation safety authorities earlier this week issued a directive advising aircraft manufacturers to avoid using Kobe Steel products if they can until checks are completed.