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U. S. Steel, Kobe Announce Capital Investment for Pro-Tec Coating

12/03/2010 - United States Steel Corp. and Kobe Steel, Ltd. have reached an agreement for their joint venture, Pro-Tec Coating Co. in Leipsic, Ohio, to begin construction on a continuous annealing line at the facility. Completion of the project is estimated at 24 months.

United States Steel Corp. and Kobe Steel, Ltd. have reached an agreement for their joint venture, Pro-Tec Coating Co. in Leipsic, Ohio, to begin construction on a continuous annealing line at the facility. The project is expected to increase the joint venture's ability to serve its automotive customers.
 
The capital investment for this project is approximately $400 million and is expected to create 80 full-time jobs once operating. Pro-Tec has obtained financing commitments for the project subject to final documentation and other closing conditions. Completion of the project is estimated at 24 months.
 
U. S. Steel and Kobe Steel, through their joint venture in Pro-Tec, have been supplying the automotive industry with hot-dipped galvanized high-strength steel since 1993. With the addition of the continuous annealing line, Pro-Tec will now produce cold-rolled advanced high-strength steels and ultra high-strength steels for certain automotive structural parts.
 
The new continuous annealing line will have an annual production capacity of 500,000 tons. The line will process steel purchased from U. S. Steel and will be equipped to utilize both advanced water quench technology and a rapid gas jet cooling system to meet customer requirements.
 
"With this investment in Pro-Tec Coating Co., both U. S. Steel and Kobe Steel are well-positioned to serve our automotive customers. Pro-Tec is an industry leader in quality sheet steel products, and we are pleased to bring another quality product to market," said John P. Surma, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of United States Steel Corp.
 
Pro-Tec Coating Co., Leipsic, Ohio, provides coated sheet steel in coil form primarily to the automotive industry. Pro-Tec is a 50:50 joint venture partnership of United States Steel Corp. and Kobe Steel, Ltd., of Japan. With a 1 million ton annual capacity, Pro-Tec is one of the world's largest facilities producing high-end automotive sheet steel for the automotive industry.
 
United States Steel Corp., headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pa., is an integrated steel producer focused on high value-added flat-rolled and tubular steel products with complex chemistries and attributes that are required by manufacturers in the automotive, appliance, container, construction, industrial machinery, and oil and gas industries. U. S. Steel has major production operations in the United States, Canada, and Central Europe and has an annual raw steelmaking capability of 31.7 million net tons and employs more than 42,000 worldwide.
 
Kobe Steel Ltd., with head offices in Kobe and Tokyo, Japan, is one of Japan's leading integrated steelmakers of high-end steel products. It also produces welding, aluminum, and copper products. The company’s diverse segments offer industrial machinery, construction equipment, engineering, and environmental solutions. It has operations in Japan, the United States, Europe, and Asia. In the fiscal year ended March 2010, Kobe Steel produced 6.6 million tonnes of crude steel and employed 33,600 people.