In an announcement Monday evening, the companies said the new line will be built at their PRO-TEC Coating Co. joint venture in Leipsic, Ohio. The line will be capable of producing 500,000 tons annually and is to be put into service in 2019. 

"This line will be the first of its kind and utilizes proprietary technology capable of producing the high-quality, cutting-edge, advanced high-strength steels that will meet our automotive customers’ needs and solve some of their most pressing challenges. Our Generation 3 steels continue to reinforce why steel remains the lowest cost, strongest, safest and most environmentally efficient material of choice," U. S. Steel chief executive David Burritt said in a statement.  

Kobe Steel said the new line will be equipped with what it described as "cutting-edge"  heating and quenching capabilities, enabling production of high-formability, ultrahigh-strength steel with tensile strengths of at least 780 MPa. 

The project will give PRO-TEC its third galvanizing line. As it is, the plant is capable of producing 1.5 million tons. Construction is to begin in the fourth quarter of this year.