March 2006 — Arcelor recently inaugurated its new Carinox steel plant at Charleroi, Belgium. The facility has a yearly production capacity of one million tonnes of stainless steel.

Located upstream of Arcelor's Carlam hot rolling mill, the Carinox steel plant forms, together with the Genk steel plant, a competitive, integrated upstream production complex. Carinox replaces two smaller, non-integrated steel plants.

The Carinox steel plant was built in only 26 months. The new facility created 200 direct jobs as well as a year-long training program of about 150,000 hours. Subcontractors employed about 200 workers on the Carinox site. Qualification tests show the quality of the first carbon steel custom slabs for all applications, in particular for the ferritic stainless products.

The Carinox steel plant is in line with UGINE & ALZ’s new organization, which focuses on markets and customer service. It constitutes the cornerstone for the strengthening of the culture of excellence of Arcelor's flat stainless steel business in Europe.

"Carinox, one of the most important investments of Arcelor, is the result of a long-term anticipating and deploying vision focusing on the profitability of the relevant activity. Carinox is a small step for Arcelor, but a huge step for Arcelor's stainless business" stated Guy Dollé.

Following the ramp-up phase, the steel plant should reach full capacity at the beginning of 2007.

Arcelor holds leadership positions in its main markets: automotive, construction, household appliances and packaging as well as general industry. The company — number one steel producer in Europe and Latin America — endeavors to further expand internationally in order to capture the growth potential of developing economies and offer technologically advanced steel solutions to its global customers. Arcelor employs 96,000 associates in over 60 countries. The company places its commitment to sustainable development at the heart of its strategy and ambitions to be a benchmark for economic performance, labor relations and social responsibility.

UGINE & ALZ is the European subsidiary of Arcelor's Stainless Steel Business Unit specialized in flat stainless steel products. With a turnover of 2.66 billion euros in 2005, a production volume of 1.21 million tonnes and a workforce of 5,320 employees, U&A operates four production sites in Europe recognized for their efficiency: Isbergues (France), Gueugnon (France), Genk (Belgium) and Carinox (Belgium). Its main markets are the automotive, household appliances, industry and construction sectors.