Mittal Steel USA welcomed the ratification of new collective-bargaining agreements by members of the United Steelworkers at former Ispat Inland Inc. locations in Indiana and Minnesota.

The new agreements apply to about 5,000 members of Local 1010 and 1010-06 at Mittal Steel USA–Indiana Harbor in East Chicago, Ind.; Local 9231 at I/N Tek and I/N Kote, Mittal's joint ventures with Nippon Steel Corp. in New Carlisle, Ind.; and Local 6115 at Mittal Steel USA–Minorca Mine in Virginia, Minn. The agreements are similar to those at the former International Steel Group (ISG) plants, which joined Ispat Inland earlier this year to form Mittal Steel USA.

"It was critical to reach these agreements," said Louis L. Schorsch, CEO of Mittal Steel USA. "They extend to former Ispat Inland operations the workplace efficiencies, shop-floor involvement and the union-management partnership that are characteristic of former ISG plants.

"We appreciate particularly the efforts of USW leadership in supporting and guiding this process," he said. "We look forward to working closely with the union leadership and all the employees of Mittal Steel USA as we implement the agreements and continue building the most successful and most admired institution in our industry."

Since the acquisition in April, Mittal Steel has been integrating ISG's operations with those of Ispat Inland, which the company has owned since 1998. The labor agreement represents a key step in this integration. "There were a number of changes at the shop-floor level that had to be worked through at the bargaining table, which prolonged the process, but the parties were persistent and we got it done," Schorsch said.

The new agreements run through Sept. 1, 2008, as do those at the former ISG plants.

Mittal Steel USA, North America's largest steelmaker, serves a broad U.S. manufacturing base. The company was formed in April 2005 and consists of Ispat Inland Inc. and Mittal Steel USA ISG Inc., formerly International Steel Group. It has operations in 12 states of the United States.

Mittal Steel Co. NV is the world's largest and most global steel company. The company has operations in 14 countries, on four continents. Mittal Steel encompasses all aspects of modern steelmaking, to produce a comprehensive portfolio of both flat and long steel products to meet a wide range of customer needs. It serves all the major steel-consuming sectors, including automotive, appliance, machinery and construction. For 2004, Mittal Steel had revenues of US$22.2 billion and steel shipments of 42.1 million tonnes.