Nippon Steel Trading Corporation (NST) announced on 30 October 2026 that it will acquire 100% of CLN Slovakia s.r.o. (CLN SK), the steel service centre that operates inside the Nippon Steel Slovakia works at Košice. The deal, to be effected via NST’s European arm NIPPON STEEL TRADING AUSTRIA GmbH, was described by NST as part of its medium‑to‑long‑term plan to expand overseas operations and strengthen local steel processing in Europe.
Deal details and plant capacity
CLN SK, formed in 2007, processes steel coils into narrow strip and sheet mainly for the automotive sector and has a processing capacity of approximately 220,000 tonnes per year. The service centre currently employs 69 people and is located within the premises of NIPPON STEEL SLOVAKIA s.r.o. at Košice. After closing and regulatory approval, NST says the unit will change its corporate name to “NST Service Center Slovakia s.r.o.”.
CLN Group’s announcement underlined that CLN SK is an accredited automotive supplier with longstanding relationships across regional OEMs and Tier‑1s; the company described the asset as a specialised slitting and leveling processor focused on automotive applications. NST’s release emphasised the transaction will allow closer integration with the Nippon Steel group’s European mill and trading operations.
What this means for the market
For Central and Eastern Europe’s car industry the acquisition tightens the link between a major mill, the Košice works, and the local processing capacity that many parts suppliers rely on. By bringing the service centre under the Nippon Steel trading umbrella, NST says it intends to “further localise its operations within Europe” and strengthen high‑value processing and supply‑chain resilience — a point NST made in its 30 October statement.
