Ispat, Nippon Team Up On Technology
28 October 2003 - 3:30PM
PR Newswire (US)
Ispat, Nippon Team Up On Technology EAST CHICAGO, Ind., Oct. 27
/PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Two of the world's leading steel
companies, Ispat International N.V. and Nippon Steel Corp., have
reinforced and expanded their joint commitments to serving
automakers in North America with excellence. Through a new
memorandum of understanding, Ispat and Nippon are renewing their
long relationship to ensure that they will continue to meet ever-
increasing customer demands, particularly those of the automotive
industry. "Nippon is the recognized leader in steel technology,"
said Louis L. Schorsch, president and chief executive officer of
Ispat Inland Inc., an Ispat International subsidiary that is also a
signatory to the agreement. "As Nippon's chosen partner for serving
the North American market, Ispat Inland will benefit significantly
from our joint efforts to set new standards in quality and service
for our customers." "We are drawing upon NSC's resources to provide
the ultra-strong, light steels that will make tomorrow's vehicles
safer and more fuel-efficient. At the same time, Ispat Inland's
product-application scientists and technicians are interpreting
customers' requirements and applying the most effective steel
products to their design and manufacturing processes." Already, the
U.S. and Japanese companies are partners in two successful
ventures, dedicated to the production of top-quality sheet and
galvanized sheet, in New Carlisle, Ind. The new agreement will
enhance their capabilities as well as those of Ispat Inland's East
Chicago plant, which supplies them. I/N Tek, started in 1990, is a
continuous cold-rolling plant that produces sheet steel of
unmatched quality and consistency. A 60-40 Ispat-Nippon venture, it
enables the combination of five processes that take 12 days or more
to perform via traditional batch methods. I/N Kote, started
adjacent to I/N Tek in 1991, is a 50-50 venture with separate lines
producing hot-dip galvanized and electrogalvanized sheet. With
these facilities and its continuous annealing line in East Chicago,
Ispat Inland is uniquely capable of making the advanced
high-strength steels that the company has developed and that
automakers are designing into tomorrow's vehicles. "Today, these
plants are the best in North America at what they do," said
Schorsch. "But customers' requirements and the competitive
environment are only getting tougher. Now I'm even more confident
that we'll be able to continue providing the products, the quality,
and the delivery that our customers need tomorrow. "Ispat Inland's
partnership with Nippon Steel provides us with technical strengths
and resources unmatched in North America. Through our parent, Ispat
International, we are linked to The LNM Group - one of the largest,
most successful steel companies in the world. Together, these two
relationships give us a strong, solid foundation for improved
performance." Ispat Inland Inc. is a subsidiary of Ispat
International N.V., one of the top 10 steel companies in the world,
with integrated steelmaking facilities in six countries and annual
shipments in 2002 in excess of 15 million tons. Ispat Inland
manufactures a broad range of semifinished and finished flat and
bar steel products and is one of the world's lowest-cost steel
producers. In addition to Ispat Inland in East Chicago, Ind., USA,
Ispat International has major steelmaking facilities in Canada,
Mexico, Trinidad, France and Germany. Ispat International is a
member of The LNM Group, the world's second-largest and most global
steel group, which also operates in Algeria, the Czech Republic,
Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Romania and South Africa. DATASOURCE: Ispat
Inland Inc. CONTACT: David C. Allen of Ispat Inland Inc.,
+1-219-399-5430
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