Midrex Commemorates 40 Years As Part of Kobe Steel Group

This year marks the 40th anniversary of Midrex becoming a member company in the Kobe Steel Group. Throughout 2023, we will hold several events to commemorate the acquisition of the assets of Midrex Corporation by Kobe Steel, Ltd. (KSL) from Korf Industries, Inc. in 1983. The first of these took place on June 5, when representatives of KSL and former Midrex teammates joined in a Q&A session at Midrex Headquarters to share their experiences with current teammates and later visited the Midrex Research & Technology Development Center to tour the upgraded facilities.

The purchase of Midrex was the first time Kobe Steel had obtained outright ownership of a foreign company. It resulted from KSL’s first-hand experience with the MIDREX® Process in designing, building, and managing an integrated electric arc furnace-direct reduced iron (EAF-DRI) steel mill for Qatar Steel Company in 1978.

Kobe Steel saw the potential of direct reduction and the role of Midrex in its growth, which was evident in the decision to acquire “the assets of Midrex” – the people with the knowledge and experience in developing, engineering, and implementing the technology on the global stage.

At the time of the acquisition of Midrex, Kobe Steel Vice Chairman Taisuke Mori said, “The technical excellence of the MIDREX Direct Reduction Process is testimony to the research & development and engineering capabilities of Midrex people. We see Midrex as our marketing and engineering arm in the United States.”

“Some relationships define the partners. Others are defined by the partners. In the case of Midrex and Kobe Steel, both of these statements are true,” Midrex CEO Stephen Montague observed. “With the backing of Kobe Steel, Midrex has strengthened its commitment to innovation and continuous improvement on which the company was founded.”