Kobe Steel Ltd. announced that its aluminum forging subsidiary in China inaugurated the start of full-scale operation. Kobe Aluminum Automotive Products (China) Co. Ltd. (KAAP China) was established in September 2010 to produce and sell aluminum forgings for automotive suspensions in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, China. With production beginning in August 2012, KAAP China embarked on a second-phase expansion, which now enables integrated production from melting to forging. KAAP China's integrated operations – consisting of a melting furnace, casting line, two forging presses and two heat-treatment lines – are currently in full-scale production. The company now has the production capacity to make 250,000 pieces of aluminum forgings per month.