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Mittal to Restart Gary Plate Mill

05/24/2007 - Mittal Steel USA announced plans to restart its idled Gary Plate Mill, a move that will support the company’s export market plans in the face of strong global demand for plate products in the construction, machinery, and shipbuilding markets.

Mittal Steel USA announced plans to restart the idled plate mill at its Gary, Ind., facility. The company says the move is prompted by strong market demand for plate products.
 
The Gary plate mill has the ability to produce plate up to 150 inches in width with the longer lengths—up to 1500 inches—desired by customers for their ability to help boost productivity. The mill underwent a major modernization program in 1990 that included the addition of automatic hydraulic gauge control.
 
"The reopening of the Gary mill would allow Mittal to meet the increasing demands of the energy market, which is forecasted to be strong for the next several years," said Shelby Pixley, CEO Mittal Plate USA. "Largely due to the strength of this market, plate demand has grown significantly for large-diameter line pipe, wind towers, transmission towers, and tank cars."
 
Reopening the Gary plate mill supports Mittal’s previously announced plans to participate in the export market, a move that capitalizes on the current strong global demand for plate products in the construction, machinery and shipbuilding markets. Reopening the Gary plate mill will also enable Mittal to increase its heat-treat capacity for quench-and-temper product which, like wide plate, is in strong demand.
 
Reopening the 160-inch plate mill, which is targeted for September 2007, is expected to create more than 200 jobs in Northwest Indiana.
 
"Mittal Steel USA will be recreating jobs that were previously lost," said Dave McCall, United Steelworkers District 1 Director. "This shows what can be accomplished when a company that is dedicated to the business works with the USW to produce steel products competitively on a global basis."
 
Mittal Steel USA, with its affiliates, is the largest steel producer in North America and the largest integrated steel producer in the United States, serving a broad U.S. manufacturing base. The company was formed in April 2005 and consists of the former Ispat Inland and the former International Steel Group. It has operations in 12 states of the United States.
 
Arcelor Mittal, which has 330,000 employees in more than 60 countries, brings together world leading steel producers Arcelor and Mittal Steel. The company is a leader in such major global markets as automotive, construction, household appliances, and packaging, with leading R&D and technology, as well as sizeable captive supplies of raw materials and outstanding distribution networks. An industrial presence in 27 European, Asian, African and American countries exposes the company to all the key steel markets, from emerging to mature, positions it will be looking to develop in the high-growth Chinese and Indian markets.
 
Arcelor Mittal key pro-forma financials for 2006 show combined revenues of USD 88.6 billion, with a crude steel production of 118 million tonnes, representing around 10% of world steel output.