NACHI-FUJIKOSHI CORP. / News Releases

January 10, 2006
NACHI-FUJIKOSHI CORP.

NACHI-FUJIKOSHI CORP. will revise the sales prices of carbide cutting tools, which are main products for cutting tool business.

Sharp rise in material prices for carbide cutting tools

Demand for rare metals including tungsten, vanadium and cobalt is rapidly increasing, and balance of supply and demand is very tight from 2004 in the global market. Tungsten is main material for carbide cutting tools. Prices of materials for carbide cutting tools are rapidly rising, so we are obliged to increase prices of finished cutting tools.
The price of tungsten: average in 2003, ¥750/kg→average in 2005, ¥3,300/kg (over four times)
Up to now, we have worked on reduction of total cost by improving production lines to enhance productivity, and we made efforts to stabilize prices of carbide cutting tools.
However, in mainly automotive industry, market is expected to continue to expand, and improvement of demand circumstance and calming of material prices for carbide cutting tools are not expected. Therefore, we decided to revise the sales prices of carbide cutting tools.
(As for high-speed steel cutting tools, we have sequentially revised their prices from March 2005.)

Target products: carbide cutting tools including drills, end mills and indexable cutting tools
Percentage of price revision: increase by 5 to 10%

Carbide drills 10%

Carbide end mills 5 to 10%

Indexable cutting tools 10%
Start of price revision: from the delivery on March 1, 2006