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Kobe Steel, United States Steel announce commercial production begins at continuous annealing line of PRO-TEC joint venture in Ohio

May 14, 2013

TOKYO, May 14, 2013 - Kobe Steel, Ltd. and United States Steel Corporation announced that the continuous annealing line at their joint venture, PRO-TEC Coating Company, has commenced commercial production of advanced high-strength steel sheet for automobiles.

Based in Leipsic, Ohio, USA, PRO-TEC commissioned the continuous annealing line on May 13, marking the start of operations at the new facility, which has an annual production capacity of 500,000 short tons. Attending the ceremony were Kobe Steel President and CEO Hiroya Kawasaki, United States Steel Chairman and CEO John P. Surma and PRO-TEC President Bryan P. Vaughn. Executives from the Detroit Three, Japanese and other automakers, state officials, representatives from financial institutions, and state and local elected officials also participated in the opening of the new facility.

New car sales in the United States have made a strong recovery in recent years, reaching about 14.5 million units in 2012. Car sales are projected to continue rising to over 15 million units in 2013. More stringent CAFE (corporate average fuel economy) standards are increasing the need for automakers to make lighter cars. Advanced high-strength steel reduces vehicle weight without sacrificing collision safety. These trends are accelerating demand for high-strength steel sheet for automobiles.

Kobe Steel and U.S. Steel’s equal partnership joint venture has been supplying automakers in North America since 1993 with hot-dipped galvanized steel sheet, which contributes to reducing the weight of the car underbody or “platform.” PRO-TEC’s two lines have an annual production capacity of 1 million tons.

The new continuous annealing line has an annual capacity to produce 500,000 tons of advanced high-strength steel sheet. The combined capacity of 1.5 million tons per year makes PRO-TEC one of the world’s largest facilities producing high-end steel sheet products for the automotive industry.

The continuous annealing line is equipped with both advanced water quench equipment and a rapid gas jet cooling system, which enables the new facility to produce a wide range of cold-rolled high-strength steel currently used in the automobile industry. The new line will be able to make next-generation high-strength steel products with outstanding formability. A major product is steel sheet with a tensile strength of 590 MPa.

The line will be capable of producing ultra high-strength steel of 780 MPa and 980 MPa and higher. These steel products also help decrease fuel consumption by reducing the weight of cars and help lower greenhouse gas emissions.

Outline of the Continuous Annealing Line

Total investment

Approximately $400 million

Production capacity

About 500,000 short tons per year

Product

Cold-rolled high strength steel sheet for automotive use (tensile strength of 590 MPa and higher)

Source of substrate coils

U. S. Steel

Profile of PRO-TEC

Name

PRO-TEC Coating Company

President

Bryan P. Vaughn

Location

Leipsic, Ohio, USA

Equity share

Kobe Steel 50%, U. S. Steel 50%

Production capacity

1.5 million short tons per year

Established

March 1990

Employees

310 (as of December 2012)

Products

Hot-dipped galvanized steel sheet (pure zinc) and zinc-alloy hot-dipped galvanized steel sheet (for automotive outer panels & automotive high strength steel).
Cold-rolled high strength steel sheet for automotive use.

Start-up

May 1993: No. 1 hot-dipped galvanizing line
November 1998:No. 2 hot-dipped galvanizing line
May 2013: Continuous annealing line

Main customers

U.S., Japanese, other car makers in North America

Profile of U.S. Steel

Name

United States Steel Corporation

Chairman & CEO

John P. Surma

Headquarters

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA

Raw steel capability

29.3 million net tons

Founded

1901

Employees

About 39,000

Main operations & divisions

Gary Works, Great Lakes Works, Mon Valley Works, Granite City Works, Fairfield Works, U. S. Steel Tubular Products, U.S. Steel Kosice, U.S. Steel Canada (Lake Erie Works, Hamilton Works)