Sumitomo Metal Industries is one of several companies diversifying following the long depression in the steel industry – both Nippon Steel and Kobe Steel have established their own software development companies – and has signed as a value-added reseller for minis from Prime Computer Japan, taking the company’s entire range of workstations, superminis and minisupers for resale with software developed in-house, and the two will also develop custom software: Prime is interested in such tie-ups to remedy its lack of Japanese language software; it already has reseller agreements with about 10 companies, but Sumitomo Metals stands out because of its technical expertise in the fields of factory and laboratory automation, and CAD/CAM/CAE.