Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. recently announced the companies selected for its Supplier Excellence Award. The nine companies selected are participants in Cliffs' Alliance Suppliers Program. Top suppliers were honored for their high-quality products, excellent service, competitive pricing and ongoing commitment to provide value to Cliffs-managed mines.

Recipients of Cliffs’ Suppliers Excellence Award included:

• KA Steel Chemical of Lemont, Ill., a provider of bulk caustic soda shipments.
• Neo Solutions Inc. of Beaver, Pa., a provider of custom chemicals engineered to specification.
• A Lindberg & Sons of Ishpeming, Mich., a provider of construction and rock-crushing services.
• Hewitt Equipment Limited of Point-Claire Quebec, Canada, which sells, rents and services Caterpillar heavy equipment.
• Esco Corp. of Portland, Ore., a manufacturer of cast alloy and specialty plate and fabricated products.
• Northern Tire, Inc., of Ishpeming, Mich., which distributes and services large off-the-road tires.
• Bridgestone Off Road Tire Co. of Nashville, Tenn., a manufacturer of large off-the-road tires.
• Tufco, Inc. of Eveleth, Minn., which distributes and services tires.
• Malton Electric Co. of Virginia, Minn., which sells, services and repairs electric motors.

Hewitt, Esco, Northern Tire and Tufco are two-time winners of the award. Bridgestone has received the award three times.

Cliffs' Alliance Supplier Program is part of a company-wide cost-reduction initiative that began in 1999. The initiative is a significant change from prior company methods used to procure products and services, as it establishes cross-functional teams composed of mine and corporate employees who work together to interview, acquire bids and negotiate contracts with potential suppliers for combined volumes of mine requirements.

The competition for multi-mine contracts among suppliers has made the bidding process aggressive, enabling Cliffs to achieve considerable cost savings. In exchange for price reductions and product performance improvements, alliance members gain long-term contracts of three to five years and the ability to work closely with Cliffs' mines to test and develop their products and services and thus increase sales.

Headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. is the largest producer of iron ore pellets in North America, selling the majority of its pellets to integrated steel companies in the United States and Canada. Cleveland-Cliffs Inc operates a total of six iron ore mines located in Michigan, Minnesota and Eastern Canada. The company is majority owner of Portman Limited, the third-largest iron ore mining company in Australia, serving the Asian iron ore markets with direct-shipping fines and lump ore.