High-carbon steel has a wide range of uses. It is mainly used in chains, saw blades, knives, tape measures, hardware manufacturing, and other industries. Rizhao Steel's ESP high-carbon steel has the advantages of high dimensional accuracy, uniform head and tail control, no decarburization layer, high-performance stability, and thin specifications. As of 2023, the thinnest specification of ESP high-carbon steel (65Mn) is 1.65mm, and the thinnest specification of RE50 and below is 1.4mm.

Through market research, the ESP High Carbon Steel Division found that the huge demand for high-carbon steel is below 1.5mm and has high-profit growth. Therefore, the ESP Division regards the breakthrough of ESP high carbon thin specifications as the focus of research, and development. After efforts from all parties, Rizhao Steel has made breakthrough progress in the research and development of ESP high carbon steel thin specifications. Among them, the RE50 variety achieved a breakthrough of 1.35mm on March 27 and 1.2mm on April 26; the 65Mn variety achieved a breakthrough of 1.4mm on April 16 and a historic breakthrough of 1.2mm on May 4. This also marks that the entire series of ESP 65Mn and below high-carbon steels of Nippon Steel have achieved a breakthrough of 1.2mm.

In the next step, the ESP Division will further coordinate sales, research, and production with the Technical Quality Department and the Production Planning Department, promote the market application and feedback of ultra-thin high-carbon steel, accelerate market expansion, and contribute to improving the company's efficiency.