CONTENT BY THE WORLDFOLIO

Committed to contributing to the realization ofa sustainable society through iron recycling

For more than a century, Fuwa Metal has contributed to the recycling of resources
and the development of the recycling industry as a leading company in the collection,
processing and sale of steelmaking raw materials.

“As a member of the ironrecycling industry, wewould sincerely like tocreate a carbon-neutral
society and occupy anhonorable position.”
Masaaki Katsuyama,President,
Fuwa Metal Co., Ltd.
With the immediacy of the climate crisis, it is easy to thinkof recycling companies as recent ventures, but some such
as Japanese iron recycler Fuwa
Metal Co. has over a century ofexperience.
Founded in 1908, in the decades after Japan first began tomodernize after the fall of theEdo shogunate, Fuwa Metal waspushing innovation in the ironrecycling sector as the country’s
domestic steel production grew
to surpass even that of the United States in the 1970s, until it

Expanding the business overseas
was surpassed by China aroundthe start of the 21st century.
Due to Japan’s scarcity of natural resources, manufacturers

have always placed importanceon efficiency and recycling, withthe country striving to makethe most out of every manufacturing process. Fuwa Metal
encompasses this philosophy
perfectly, collecting, sorting,and processing scrap iron fromshipyards, automobile manufacturers, and other sources. This
scrap is then made into steelmaking raw materials for new
products, creating a sustainable
life cycle for the iron after its
initial use.
Given the decrease in Japan’s
consumption of steel in the1990s, Fuwa Metal diversified
into the trading business andhas now grown into a threeoffice operation in the UnitedStates since establishing Fuwa
Metal USA in 2007. Company

Speedy processing ability
president Masaaki Katsuyama
explains that Fuwa Metal helped
revolutionize logistics in theUSA when it focused on theidea of using empty shipping
containers being sent to Asia
to transport iron scrap, and it
now offers local companies cost
minimization solutions throughits nationwide alliances built
from its offices in New York,
Los Angeles, and Texas.
Mr. Katsuyama understands
the rapidly changing market
and has an eye on setting up
an office in Southeast Asia.
Having first began importingfrom Southeast Asia in 1982,
the company has strong ties in
the area and its overseas division collects information fromeach country before conveying
it to the entire company soquick decisions can be made. As

Pursuing the highest quality
Mr. Katsuyama explains: “When
we have a big contract or ameeting, we try to spread theknowledge both in Japan andoverseas by appointing our own
employees without outsourcing.
Based on this ‘circle of trust’,
we would like to foster good
relationships with overseas
business partners.”
As part of the recycling
industry, Fuwa Metal understands the need to move towards a more sustainable,
carbon neutral world. Indeed,recycling iron scrap raw materials using electric furnaces results in a quarter of the carbon
dioxide emissions caused by
the blast furnace manufacturing method that manufactures
steel from iron ore. This means
iron scrap is not simply a sustainable resource, but a trumpcard to becoming a carbonneutral world.
At its core, Fuwa Metal isa modern family business,with Mr. Katsuyama the firstnon-member of the family tobecome president as the company modernized in 2016. Thebusiness retains the strong ties
between employees that a family company creates, but withthe added benefit of listening
to wider views to make decisions. As Mr. Katsuyama details:“The philosophy inherited fromthe former president is ‘do nothesitate to challenge and don’t
be afraid of failure.’ I would
like employees to take on thischallenge positively.” This philosophy has put the company
in good stead, with transactions increasing from 800,000
tons in 2020 to 1.2 million tons
in 2021, and projections for a
100,000-ton increase a year for
the foreseeable future.
As companies and industries
around the world look to shift
to more sustainable practices,most are looking forward to findsolutions. However, companies
such as Fuwa Metal that havethe ability to look back on along history of creating sustainable solutions to help create thefuture will be key. Fuwa Metal’sidea that “people can change
the environment” is fundamental and enables the company
to coexist and develop withthe societies around it. As thecompany continues to grow, thesocieties which can benefit fromits innovation will also expand,which is for the good of all.

www.fuwa.co.jp/en