Aug 10 2007
USIMINAS, which is an alliance partner in South America and an equity-method-applicable company of Nippon Steel, is the leading steel company in South America focusing on high-grade steels. Recently, with the growth of automobile production and the expanding development of energy resources such as oil and natural gas in South America, chiefly in Brazil, the growth in demand for steel products, centering on high-grade steels, is expected to continue to gather strength. To capture this demand, USIMINAS has been vigorously contemplating the USIMINAS System Development Plan (the “Plan”).
Today, USIMINAS has decided that the new blast furnace to be constructed at Ipatinga Works, which is one of its most important facilities in the Plan, be of the 5,000m3-class and the largest in Americas. USIMINAS has also decided some of the details of the investment policy about other facilities. The outline of the current investment policy, including the items decided today, is set out below.
Upon completion of the Plan, USIMINAS will become an outstanding producer of high-grade steels, turning out more than 11 million metric tons of crude steel by 2011, thereby further enhancing the respective corporate values of USIMINAS and Nippon Steel.
Nippon Steel has been taking part in the Plan. As part of its support, in addition to the several technical missions already sent, Nippon Steel has dispatched two technical advisers to USIMINAS this July. Nippon Steel will continue to support the Plan.