K&I Specialty Pipe Sales (hereinafter referred to as "K&I"), a JFE Shoji Group company, held the "K&I 25th Anniversary Party" at the Hotel Monterey Ginza to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the company's founding. This event was attended by all five of the company's past presidents, including Hidehiko Ogawa, the first president, and a total of 34 people, including alumni and employees.

K&I was established in 2000 as a trading company specializing in the export of specialty pipes, with JFE Shoji Trade holding a 60% stake and Marubeni-Itochu Steel Inc. 40%. K&I was the first company in the steel trading company industry to integrate businesses between different trading companies, although only one division, steel pipes, was involved, and this was the first of many integrations that would follow.

On the day of the event, we introduced the changes in sales volume from 2000, the year of the company's founding, to the present, along with the tenure of successive presidents. As the former presidents shared their memories of those days and talked about important events, all the employees were able to feel the passion that went into the founding of the company, as well as the peaks and valleys of its history since then.

This gathering of past presidents and current employees renewed K&I's determination to carry on these traditions and to make further strides toward the next 30-year anniversary.