Nippon Steel &Sumitomo Metal Corp. said April 8 that its Nippon Steel & SumikinFine Technology Co. Ltd. and Nippon Tubular Products Co. Ltd. units have agreedto merge as of July 1 to form Nippon Steel & Sumikin Precision Machining Co.Ltd.

The decision to combine the companies' respective precision machiningtechnologies was driven by a tough market situation due to weak oil prices worldwide,according to the statement.

Through the merger, the units would be able to build an optimumsystem for the production of oil well tubular couplings.

In addition, the companies seek to be capable of meeting theneeds of their clients in other fields of machining.