Electrical Steel Collaboration between ThyssenKrupp Steel and Nippon Steel intensified

Today， Nippon Steel Corporation (President: Akira Chihaya)， ThyssenKrupp Steel AG (Chairman of the Executive Board: Dr. Ulrich Middelmann) as well as ThyssenKrupp Electrical Steel GmbH (Chairman of the Executive Board: Dr. Wolfgang Trommer) have signed an Electrical Steel Collaboration Agreement to further expand their more than thirty years lasting technical cooperation into a broader and more comprehensive collaboration in the field of grain oriented and non grain oriented electrical steel.

Mr. Chihaya， upon the signing of this agreement， made the statement: ”Based on the cooperative relationship maintained between our two companies in the field of electrical steels over the years， we are confident that this significant collaboration will contribute to the further satisfaction of the customers world-wide.”

Dr. Middelmann underlines the strategic significance of the cooperation: ”By intensifying their long lasting and successful cooperation in this attractive growth segment Electrical Steel， the partners respond to the increasing need for globalization. We will provide top quality to our customers world-wide.”

With the growing recognition of the global importance of energy conservation， electrical steel users are making increasingly stringent quality requirements of the materials to realize higher energy efficiency of their products. As users’ operating scales expand and globalization moves accelerate， the two companies which are the leading manufacturers of electrical steel respectively in Japan and Europe ， are determined to step up efforts to contribute to a solution in saving energy and to better serve the needs of steel users based on technical development to be achieved through the intensified collaboration.

Electrical steel is of great importance for the manufacture of transformers， generators and electric motors. Building highly energy efficient transformers requires grain oriented steel with unique properties to minimize power loss in high voltage high capacity transmission. Also， in the field of non grain oriented electrical steel used as a core material for motors， as typically exemplified by traction motors of hybrid cars， high-efficiency motors with higher output are needed， likewise requiring electrical steel with high-performance comparable to that of grain oriented electrical steel. In the development of such high-performance electrical steel， specialized leading-edge research efforts are indispensable. Through this intensive collaboration the two companies will reduce costs and lead time of research and development as well as further develop the production processes for these products with the aim of making the processes more competitive and launching new products which will help save energy. To this end， both companies will promptly set up a steering committee to begin studies on specific themes for cooperation. The results of the work will contribute to both companies， but will be marketed separately.

Outline of ThyssenKrupp Steel AG
Company name: ThyssenKrupp Steel AG
Head office: Duisburg， Germany
Chairman of the Executive Board: Dr. Ulrich Middelmann
Crude steel production: 17 million mt
Sales: Euro 12.6 billion (2000/2001)

ThyssenKrupp Electrical Steel GmbH
Head office: Essen， Germany
Chairman of the Executive Board: Dr. Wolfgang Trommer
Electrical steel production: 0，986 million mt
Sales: Euro 770 million (2000/2001)
Main products: Grain Oriented and Non Grain Oriented Electrical Steel
Number of employees: 3，479 as of September 30， 2001


Outline of Nippon Steel Corporation
Company name: Nippon Steel Corporation
Head office: Chiyoda?ku， Tokyo， Japan
Representative Director and President: Akira Chihaya
Crude steel production: 27 million mt
Sales: 22.2 billion of dollars (2001)
Number of employees: 26，333 as of March 31， 2001




Contact:
Erwin Schneider Dietmar Stamm
Phone: +49 203 / 52 - 2 56 90 Phone: +49 203 / 52 - 2 62 67
Fax: +49 203 / 52 - 2 63 69 Fax: +49 203 / 52 - 2 57 07
e-mail: schneider＠tkst.thyssenkrupp.com e-mail: stamm＠tks.thyssenkrupp.com