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Area Development - Site Selection, Facility Planning and Workforce Development

US Steel And Japan-based Kobe Steel Commission $400 Million Joint Venture In Leipsic, Ohio

05/13/2013
United States Steel Corporation and Japan-based Kobe Steel , Ltd. commissioned their new Continuous Annealing Line in Leipsic, Ohio, part of a $400 million joint venture by the partners into PRO-TEC Coating Company that created 80 full-time jobs.

PRO-TEC will now process some of the strongest and most formable grades of steel in North America, US Steel said. These new grades will assist automotive manufacturers in reaching the 2025 Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards of 54.5 miles per gallon for their passenger vehicle fleets and maintain the rigorous safety standards consumers demand.

"The investment in this Continuous Annealing Line represents more than just the future of this facility ; it also represents the future for automotive steel products and the applications in which they are used," said U. S. Steel Chairman and CEO John Surma. "U. S. Steel and Kobe Steel saw an opportunity for our PRO-TEC joint venture to help our automotive customers overcome the challenges associated with the 54.5 mpg regulation, and the products processed at PRO-TEC's new Continuous Annealing Line will offer our customers affordable, highly advanced options that will position them for ongoing success."

Through cutting-edge heat treat and quench technology, the 500,000-ton PRO-TEC Continuous Annealing Line will produce the next generation of Advanced High Strength Steels and Ultra High Strength Steels from 590 mega-pascal and higher.

These new grades of steel have unmatched metallurgical properties of superior strength, flatness and formability previously unavailable at these strength levels. These steels offer critical design solutions as automotive companies reduce the weight of component materials in their line to improve fuel economy, while continuing to enhance strength to improve passenger safety. These properties, coupled with steel's inherent recyclability and overall environmental performance, make steel the material of choice for automotive manufacturers.

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