Kobelco

The are welding process was first employed in Japan in 1914; though covered electrodes were mostly imported, leading shipyards and machinery fabricators were able to produce them for their own uses. Even Kobe Steel produced its own covered electrodes in-house. However, because of the poor quality of domestic welding consumables at that time, only imported consumables were specified for building heavy-duty ships. Later on, it became difficult to import industrial goods from overseas on account of deteriorating international trade