Steel News

WCI Steel Announces Vice President and CFO

02 March 2005 - WCI Steel, Inc. announced that Thomas J. Gentile has been named Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, effective immediately.

Cliffs Tender Offer for Portman Limited is Final

02 March 2005 - Cleveland-Cliffs has declared that its increased offer under the takeover bid for Portman Limited is final and the offer price will not be further increased. The increase, announced on February 25, 2005, had raised the offer price from A$3.40 to A$3.85 cash for each Portman share. Under Australian law this declaration means that Cleveland-Cliffs will not be able to further increase its offer price under any circumstances.

Steelworkers Pledge Conditional Support for Stelco Restructuring

02 March 2005 - The United Steelworkers said that it is prepared to work with Stelco Inc. to develop a plan based on full adherence to the union's seven principles for restructuring and on new labor agreements for Locals 8782 (Lake Erie), 5220 (AltaSteel) and 5328 (Stelwire), that allows Stelco to successfully emerge from bankruptcy protection under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA).

Stelco Offers Miss the Mark

02 March 2005 - Stelco Inc.’s Board of Directors has determined that none of the proposals received satisfy its requirements for being designated as a prevailing offer under the order of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice. As a result, the Board will pursue new refinancing alternatives for the integrated steel business as part of its capital raising process.

AK Steel Announces Vice President of Labor Relations

01 March 2005 - AK Steel announced that Thomas F. McKenna, 59, has joined the company as Vice President—Labor Relations. In this role, Mr. McKenna will be responsible for the company's labor relations functions and its union-management relationships.

Nucor Names International Business Development Executive

01 March 2005 - Nucor Corp. announced that Joseph A. Rutkowski will see his responsibilities change from Executive Vice President of Business Development North America to Executive Vice President of Business Development International and North America.

NS Group Clarifies Standard & Poors Rating Announcement

01 March 2005 - NS Group, Inc. requested Standard & Poors to cancel its service to provide ongoing coverage in order to save annual fees. The company states that it lacks the need for a debt rating because it has no outstanding long-term debt.

YouthStream Media Networks to Acquire Kentucky Electric Steel

01 March 2005 - YouthStream Media Networks, Inc. has entered into definitive agreements to acquire KES Acquisition Co., LLC, the owner and operator of Kentucky Electric Steel, Ashland, Ky.

VAI Starts up Revamped Slab Caster for Shagang

01 March 2005 - Voest-Alpine Industrieanlagenbau GmbH (VAI) recently started up the twin-strand No. 1 Slab Caster it had modernized for Jiangsu Shagang, P.R. China. The caster upgrade was part of a steel plant relocation project from Germany to China, where VAI was the technology provider for the entire production route.

VAI Logs Multiple Contracts Valued at $200 Million

01 March 2005 - Voest-Alpine Industrieanlagenbau (VAI) has received major orders from Russia, India, Japan, Turkey and Korea with a total value of around $200 million.

SMS Meer Consortium Commissions Medium Section Mill at Arcelor

01 March 2005 - Trial production has commenced at Arcelor’s new high-capacity medium section mill at the Esch-Belval works in Luxemburg. The second beam produced satisfied the standard dimensions and was of merchantable quality.

Posco Pledges Support for Small and Medium Enterprises

01 March 2005 - Posco is moving forward with its co-survival management strategy through setting and enforcing an extensive small and medium enterprise support plan in all units including sales, procurement, outsourcing and human resource management.

Duisburg Steel Producers Extend Long-term Supply Agreements

01 March 2005 - Three Duisburg steel companies — ThyssenKrupp Stahl AG, Mittal Steel Ruhrort and TSTG Schienentechnik — have enjoyed close ties in the supply of pig iron and crude steel for more than seven years. The ties are based on contractual arrangements set up in 1997 covering a ten-year period upon the sale of the Ruhrort and Hochfeld plants by the former Thyssen Stahl AG.

ThyssenKrupp to Strengthen Terni Site with 124 Million Euro Investment

01 March 2005 - ThyssenKrupp Steel AG will strengthen ThyssenKrupp Acciai Speciali Terni with an investment of €124 million in stainless steel production by 2006. The investment will feature a new €30 million cold-rolling mill, which is scheduled to start production as early as 2006.

Quanex Reports First Quarter 2005 Results

01 March 2005 - Quanex Corp. reported record net income from continuing operations of $33.7 million on record net sales of $470.2 million for its fiscal first quarter.

Stelco Comments on Court Decisions

28 February 2005 - Stelco Inc. commented on the Court hearing held Friday. Feb. 25, in the matter of the company's Court-supervised restructuring.

Nucor Slates Vacuum Degassers for Decatur and Hickman

28 February 2005 - Nucor Corp. announced plans to install vacuum degassers at the sheet mill in Decatur, Ala., and at the sheet mill in Hickman, Ark.

Stelco Court Monitor Files 19th Report

25 February 2005 - Stelco Inc.’s court-appointed Monitor has filed its Nineteenth Report regarding the company's Court-supervised restructuring. The Report outlines progress in the company’s capital raising and asset sale process, and the retired salaried employees' request for a bid review committee.

Ispat Inland Reports Record Earnings in 2004

24 February 2005 - Ispat Inland Inc. reported net income of $41.7 million on sales revenue of $811.0 million for the fourth quarter, and record net income of $258.7 million on sales revenue of $3,157.6 million for the year 2004.

Gallatin Steel and Employees Support Tsunami Relief Effort

23 February 2005 - Gallatin Steel and its employees have contributed $105,490 to the tsunami relief effort in South Asia.