Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel Corp. announced that it will permanently idle its No. 1 Blast Furnace on Thursday, May 5, 2005. The shutdown will end more than 100 years of service by one of the oldest blast furnaces running in the United States.

The company will continue to operate its No. 5 blast furnace, along with its new Consteel(R) Electric Arc Furnace, to produce steel for its caster and hot strip mill.

The shutdown comes as Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel has transformed itself into the only steel company engaged in the making, processing and fabrication of steel and steel products using both integrated (blast furnace-based) and EAF technology. Its Consteel furnace produced its first heat on Nov. 29, 2004. Hot metal charging was introduced into the furnace last week, making it the only EAF in the Western Hemisphere to adopt this practice.

"With the charging of hot metal into our Consteel EAF and the shutdown of our No. 1 Blast Furnace, Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel has crossed another important threshold toward its transformation into a modern 21st Century steelmaker," said James G. Bradley, Chairman and CEO. "We are just beginning to see the benefits of our long-term strategy of combining integrated and EAF technology."

With current production levels from the EAF and sustained use of its No. 5 Blast Furnace and basic oxygen furnace, Wheeling-Pittsburgh will have ample capacity to serve its steel customers.

“The entire Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel EAF team has done an outstanding job of ramping up production of the world's largest Consteel EAF,” said Don Keaton, Vice President of Steel Manufacturing and Procurement. "We are beginning to take advantage of the Consteel EAF's full range of unique capabilities as we continue to successfully ramp up its production.

"I would also like to congratulate the No. 1 Blast Furnace team for keeping one of the oldest blast furnaces in the country operating at high production rates. It speaks highly of their expertise, as well as the care and dedication of the generations of employees who operated and maintained No. 1 for more than 100 years," Keaton added.

Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel is a steel company engaged in the making, processing and fabrication of steel and steel products using both integrated and electric arc furnace technology. The company's products include hot and cold rolled sheet and coated products such as galvanized, pre-painted and tin mill sheet. Additional products include roll formed corrugated roofing, roof deck, floor deck, bridgeform and other products used primarily by the construction, highway and agricultural markets.