Nippon Steel Kobelco Metal Products Co., Ltd.
Japanese manufacturer of road guard fences, disaster-prevention and soundproofing products, bridge railings, marine products and steel fibers, rooted in Kobe Steel and now part of the Nippon Steel group.
Last updated September 29, 2026
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Overview
Nippon Steel Kobelco Metal Products Co., Ltd. (日鉄神鋼建材株式会社) is a Japanese manufacturer of civil-engineering and road-safety metal products. Its catalogue spans guard fences and vehicle protective barriers, slope-protection and disaster-prevention products, soundproofing panels, bridge railings, artificial reefs and other marine products, tie rods, anti-slip steel plate and steel fibers for concrete reinforcement. The company is headquartered in the Amagasaki area of Hyogo Prefecture and serves the Japanese domestic market, supplying public works, road administration and construction customers. The company traces its origins to 1949, when it was established as Amagasaki Kōki Co., Ltd. Over the following decades it changed names several times — Amagasaki Kenzai, Nittetsu Kenzai, Amaken Sash Kōgyō — and in 1965 it became affiliated with Kobe Steel (株式会社神戸製鋼所). In 1967 it took the name Shinko Kenzai Kōgyō Co., Ltd. (神鋼建材工業株式会社), under which it built much of its modern product line, taking over businesses such as gratings, anti-slip steel plate, guard fences, aluminium road materials and steel fibers from Kobe Steel. On 1 December 2021 the company changed its name to Nippon Steel Kobelco Metal Products Co., Ltd. and became affiliated with Nippon Steel Kenzai Co., Ltd., reflecting the reorganisation of the Nippon Steel group's construction-materials businesses. The current name combines the Nippon Steel and Kobe Steel (Kobelco) legacies. Today the company markets well-known product families including the EcoQon soundproofing panels, Rock Defense rockfall-prevention fences, High-Joule Net and High-Ten Net disaster-prevention products, Lane Opener removable guard fences, TMS-type guard pipes and the Dramix steel-fiber line. It continues to exhibit at construction and disaster-prevention trade fairs and to register products under public technical evaluation schemes such as NETIS.
History
The company was established in 1949 as Amagasaki Kōki Co., Ltd. (尼崎工機株式会社). In 1950 it obtained a construction business licence, and in 1954 it changed its name to Amagasaki Kenzai Co., Ltd. (尼崎建材株式会社). A further renaming in 1960 made it Nittetsu Kenzai Co., Ltd. (尼鉄建材株式会社). In the 1960s the company expanded its manufacturing base: an aluminium sash factory was completed in 1961 and an assembled grating factory in 1963. In 1965 it changed its name to Amaken Sash Kōgyō Co., Ltd. (アマケンサッシ工業株式会社) and became affiliated with Kobe Steel, Ltd. (株式会社神戸製鋼所). In 1967 it adopted the name Shinko Kenzai Kōgyō Co., Ltd. (神鋼建材工業株式会社). Under the Kobe Steel umbrella the company progressively took over product lines from its parent: grating sales operations in 1968 (with a pressure-welded grating factory completed the same year), anti-slip steel plate in 1970, and in 1979 fifteen product categories centred on guard fences and tie rods together with IB grating. In 1981 it received the Minister of Construction's construction business licence for civil engineering, tobi civil engineering and steel structure works, followed by a building works licence in 1982. In 1983 it began selling Kobe Steel-type steel artificial reefs under licence from the Fisheries Agency. Aluminium road materials such as aluminium railings and aluminium guardrails were transferred from Kobe Steel in 1986. The late 1980s and 1990s saw continued investment in guard-fence production: new manufacturing equipment at the head office plant in 1987, vertical-bar guard-fence equipment in 1989 and new can-making equipment in 1991. Steel fiber production and sales were taken over from Kobe Steel in 1994. In 1997 the company was selected in a Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism technical-proposal competition for vehicle protective fences, leading to development of the TMS-type guard pipe, whose manufacture and sale began in 1998. The 2000s brought new product families: a welfare building ('Refresh Center') and a second guard-fence coating line in 2007, the EcoQon soundproofing product and High-Joule Net disaster-prevention product in 2007, the Riviewra and Prokkal railing products in 2009, Rock Hold 100 in 2010, and EcoQon Clear plus a JUDI Public Design Award product prize for the TMS-type guard pipe in 2011. A new head-office building was completed in 2013, the Milaine railing product launched in 2015, and the Shinko Kenzai Alumni Association was founded in 2016. The company held a 70th-anniversary celebration in 2019. On 1 December 2021 the company changed its name to Nippon Steel Kobelco Metal Products Co., Ltd. (日鉄神鋼建材株式会社) and became affiliated with Nippon Steel Kenzai Co., Ltd. (日鉄建材株式会社), marking its transition from the Kobe Steel group to the Nippon Steel group's construction-materials organisation.
- 2010
Rock Hold 100 disaster-prevention product launched
- 2009
Riviewra and Prokkal railing products launched
- 2007
Refresh Center welfare building and second guard-fence coating line completed; EcoQon and High-Joule Net launched
- 1998
Began manufacture and sale of TMS-type guard pipe
- 1997
Selected in MLIT vehicle protective fence technical-proposal competition; developed TMS-type guard pipe
- 1994
Steel fiber transferred from Kobe Steel
- 1991
New guard-fence can-making equipment completed
- 1989
Vertical-bar guard-fence manufacturing equipment completed
- 1987
New guard-fence manufacturing equipment installed at head office plant
- 1986
Aluminium road materials transferred from Kobe Steel
Products and positioning
A specialist Japanese supplier of road-safety, disaster-prevention and civil-engineering metal products, combining the Nippon Steel and Kobe Steel industrial legacies.
EcoQon standard soundproofing panel
All-metal sound-absorbing panel using micro-porous aluminium instead of conventional fibre sound-absorbing material.
Rock Defense (500 kJ rockfall-prevention fence)
Rockfall-prevention fence installable at the roadside, using double steel-pipe posts to handle rockfall energy of around 500 kJ.
Lane Opener
Guard fence for motorway emergency openings that can be quickly attached, detached and moved without cranes or tools.
High-Joule Net / High-Ten Net
Disaster-prevention products displayed at the Construction Technology Exhibition Hall.
Stone FIX System
Disaster-prevention product registered with NETIS.
Dramix steel fiber
Steel fiber for concrete reinforcement.
TMS-type guard pipe
Landscape-conscious protective fence developed after selection in an MLIT technical-proposal competition.
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