The North American distribution operations of the production mill Edelstahl-Witten-Krefeld GmbH (EWK) will be renamed Swiss Steel International NA.

The new name for the distribution operations, which were formerly known as ThyssenKrupp Specialty Steels NA, becomes effective October 1, 2005. The name change is the result of the sale last May of EWK and its international sales subsidiaries to Swiss Steel AG.

“Integration of EWK into Swiss Steel will create the world’s largest steel production, distribution and processing company for long products,” said Tony Elfstrom, President and CEO of Swiss Steel International. “The combination will result in investments in product offerings, customer service capabilities and value added services that will benefit our customers.”

The new group will have 7,500 employees worldwide and total steel production capacity of 2.5 million tonnes, with annual sales of $4.1 billion USD.

Elfstrom commented that the same sales and marketing team would remain in place and that the source and mixture of products would not change. “Our tool steels will still be produced by EWK in Germany, and we will continue to provide non-ferrous tooling materials supplied through our distribution partners Alimex, Alcan and Brush Wellman. Plus, our Heat Treatment Division will continue to provide the highest quality vacuum heat treatment, metallurgical lab services and technical support.”

Elfstrom noted that EWK has received supervisory board approval to invest $150 million USD in current production facilities. These investments will reduce lead times and increase output in the production process.

Swiss Steel International NA has operations in Cleveland, Chicago, Detroit, Minneapolis, Toronto and Windsor, Ont.

Swiss Steel AG is located in Emmenbruecke, Switzerland. Through its acquisition of Edelstahl Witten-Krefeld GmbH (EWK) and Edelstahlwerke S|dwestfalen GmbH (EWS), Swiss Steel has become a globally active steel group with branches on every continent. The acquired sales offices and processing centers in North, Central and South America, as well as in Asia, Australia and South Africa will operate under the name Swiss Steel International. Swiss Steel AG is owned by the Schmolz & Bickenbach Group, Dusseldorf, Germany.