Nippon Steel is consolidating its European operations by taking direct ownership of US Steel Kosice in Slovakia, renaming it Nippon Steel Slovakia from October first, twenty twenty-six, and integrating Sweden's Ovako after April twenty twenty-seven. The combined capacity of five point five million metric tons per year makes Nippon a top ten European Union steelmaker by capacity, the first Japanese company to reach this position. The move targets long-term demand growth in Central and Eastern Europe and leverages Nippon's advanced technology to upgrade the product mix of both facilities.