JFE Shoji Trade Corporation

JFE Shoji Trade Corporation ( Head Office: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, President and CEO: Mikio Fukushima) is engaged in domestic Metal Recyclingand trading transactions, mainly of products generated in Japan. News is hereby announced that JFE Shoji Corporation of America, a wholly owned subsidiary of JFE Shoji Corporation, has acquired 8% of the shares of Advanced Steel Recovery, LLC. ("ASR"), a leading Metal Recyclingsupplier in the United States.

[About JFE Shoji's Metal Recyclingbusiness

ASR handles approximately 3 million tons per year, and its main basic policy is to provide a stable supply to the JFE Group in Japan and to expand trade (especially between the three countries). In trade, we are mainly engaged in bulk exports of domestically generated products to Korea and China.

With the acquisition of ASR's shares, the company will expand its Metal Recyclingprocurement sources in the U.S. through ASR's scrap business and capture the expanding Metal Recyclingdemand in Asia through trilateral transactions.

About ASR Corporation in the U.S.A.

Based in southern California, USA, ASR has established itself as a world leader in the collection and distribution of containerized Metal Recycling　The company's patented FASTek, the first bulk container loading system, reduces damage to containers and measures the quantity loaded during loading and unloading, enabling loading and unloading of containers in less than five minutes per container.

ASR is currently deploying the FASTek system throughout the U.S. and plans to expand the system to Europe and other countries.

Company Profile

Company name: Advanced Steel Recovery, LLC.

Head office: California, U.S.A.

Representative: Nathan Frankel (President and CEO)