Furukawa Elec. skips mandatory quality tests on copper products

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Furukawa Electric Co. said Tuesday that it had skipped required quality tests for some copper sheets and pipes manufactured between October 2007 and July this year.

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The major Japanese electric cable maker failed to comply with mandatory testing procedures for the copper products, which totaled 2,301 tons, specified in the Japanese Industrial Standards. The products, worth 2,530 million in sales, were all manufactured at its plant in Amagasaki in the western Japan prefecture of Hyogo.

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Instead, the company only conducted simple tests in order to slash costs.

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Furukawa Electric reported the deception to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and was slapped with a nullification of JIS certification on the products the same day.

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The discovery of the illicit conduct was made during an in-house investigation Furukawa Electric carried out following revelations that began in late May that Japanese steelmakers, including JFE Steel Corp., a JFE Holdings Inc. unit, and a Nippon Steel Corp. subsidiary, had fabricated steel pipe testing data.

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Corporate Senior Vice President Chikamasa Ujihira said at a press conference that the company will review its quality control system.

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Chairman Hiroshi Ishihara, President Masao Yoshida and Ujihira will voluntarily relinquish 10 pct of one month’s pay to take responsibility, according to Ujihira.

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