Burns Harbor World Class

World-Class Products, People and Service Give Automakers A Competitive Edge

6000 of the industry's finest people, using world-class technology, help you build a competitive edge

In today's globally competitive automotive industry, building market share has never been tougher. That's why Burns Harbor people continuously seek ways to combine their unique skills with the latest technologies from around the world to give you products and service that provide a competitive edge.

Superior formability and a great showroom finish start with clean, consistent steel with precise chemistry

To produce sheet products with superior internal properties, surface quality and formability, it is essential to begin with world-class steelmaking. The three Basic Oxygen Furnaces (BOFs) at Burns Harbor rely on sophisticated computerization to produce liquid steel designed for specific automotive applications. Continuous testing, specialized ladle treatments and continuous casting assure precise control of steel composition, temperature, cleanliness and soundness.

Vacuum degassing improves steel properties

Vacuum degassing enables Burns Harbor to produce ultra-low carbon steels such as interstitial-free (I-F) steels which provide optimum formability.

Continuous casters produce internally clean slabs with excellent surface quality

Burns Harbor's two continuous casters produce slabs for rolling into automotive sheet steel. The outstanding showroom finish of auto body panels begins with automatic mold-level control in the casting process.

A continuously updated hot strip mill makes quality bands

Advanced computer controls, a scanning X-ray gauge, and special heating practices aid manufacture of hot bands for production of cold-rolled and coated sheet steel.

A blemish-free surface with long-lasting good looks comes from high technology rolling, annealing and state-of-the-art coating processes

Burns Harbor cold-rolled sheet offers superior dimensional accuracy, flatness and surface quality

The 80-inch tandem mill at Burns Harbor maintains precise control of thickness using a closed-loop system to automatically adjust the tension and speed of the strip passing through the mill, while also controlling the gap and force of the mill rolls.

Our Continuous Heat Treating Line (CHTL) produces steel with highly uniform mechanical properties - edge to edge, end to end, and coil to coil - and superior surface cleanliness. The CHTL can produce high-strength steel in yield strengths of 37 to 100 ksi.

World-class coating lines deliver a wide range of coating options

Burns Harbor 72-inch hot dip coating line

At Burns Harbor, the 72-inch HDCL uses technologies selected from the best in the world to produce both galvanized and galvannealed sheet suitable for exposed applications in thicknesses of 0.023 inches (0.6 mm) to 0.079 inches (2 mm). Some of these world-class features are:

Three-stage cleaning, including electrolytic alkaline cleaner and scrubber which, combined with the use of a radiant tube furnace, assures a clean sheet for exceptional surface quality and coating adhesion.
In-furnace hot bridles provide improved tracking and stable low tension required for interstitial-free steels for deep drawing applications.
Computerized, closed-loop coating mass control system and nitrogen wiping and shrouding maintain precise coating and mass uniformity.
Lead-free zinc bath delivers a smooth, spangle-free surface.
Induction galvannealing provides close control of alloy coatings.

Lackawanna 72-inch hot dip coating line

Hot dip galvanized and galvannealed sheet are also produced at Burns Harbor's Lackawanna, N.Y., facility. Using high-quality hot bands from Burns Harbor, this updated line produces highly formable galvanized and galvannealed sheets from 24 to 72 inches (610 - 1800 mm) wide and from 0.023 to 0.168 inches (0.60 - 4.30 mm) thick. Zero-spangle zinc pot chemistry, computerized closed-loop coating mass control, and an advanced galvannealing furnace ensure high-quality sheet for underbody and structural applications.

Walbridge electroplating/organic coating line

A full range of electrogalvanized products, including pure zinc-coated EG� sheet, zinc-nickel coated ZnNi EG� sheet, and an organic silicate-coated zinc-nickel ZnNi UC EG� sheet are made at Walbridge, Ohio. This modern facility combines an advanced electroplating line using Gravitel� technology from ARUS Andritz-Ruthner with a painting facility to allow production of painted electrogalvanized sheet in a single pass. These products include both ZnNi UC EG� sheet and painted ZnNi EG� for fuel tank applications.

From showroom finish to off-road toughness ... Burns Harbor products deliver quality that helps you build customer loyalty

We're proud to be one of the first steelmakers to earn your quality recognition through QS 9000 and ISO 9002 certifications.

We think of our steel as coiled-up hoods and fenders

We're not just making steel at Burns Harbor, but specifically engineering steel for your exact application. That's why we think of our automotive products as hoods, fenders, doors, underbodies and frames. It helps us stay focused on your needs ... not ours.

HOT-ROLLED

Hot-rolled is the basic structural material for underbodies, door impact beams, and wheel and frame applications. Available in a variety of thicknesses and strength levels, hot-rolled is used where strength, weldability and low cost are more important than low mass and corrosion resistance. Hot-rolled product can be further processed through cold reduction into cold-rolled products.

COLD-ROLLED

Cold-rolled sheet is the substrate for coated products made by Burns Harbor, Lackawanna, N.Y., and Walbridge, Ohio. It is available in various strength levels and lighter thicknesses than hot-rolled sheet. Its surface offers excellent appearance, suitable for both unexposed and highly exposed applications. Cold-rolled offers very formable, weldable, paintable and strong sheet at reasonable cost.

HOT DIP GALVANIZED

Hot dip galvanized sheet offers the highest corrosion resistance at the lowest cost, plus excellent formability. Available in many strength levels and a variety of thicknesses and coating weights, it is produced for unexposed or non-critical exposed panels in corrosion-prone areas.

HOT DIP GALVANNEALED

In-line alloying of the hot dip coating brings a zinc-iron alloy to the surface of the sheet, improving weldability compared to regular hot dip galvanized. When temper rolled, the surface is right for many exposed applications. Galvannealed sheet also has excellent paintability and formability.

ELECTROGALVANIZED (EG�)

Electroplating high-quality cold-rolled sheet with a thin layer of pure zinc retains the excellent surface and formability of the substrate, while greatly increasing corrosion resistance. Our EG� sheet, produced on a modern line in Walbridge, Ohio, is an outstanding choice for highly exposed exterior body panels.

ZINC-NICKEL (ZnNi EG�)

By changing the electroplated coating to 89 percent zinc and 11 percent nickel, increased weldability and corrosion resistance are achieved. ZnNi EG� is suitable for highly exposed body panels and, when coated with a specially formulated paint, is an effective replacement for terne plate in fuel tanks.

ZINC-NICKEL UC (ZnNi UC EG�)

When the ZnNi EG� is coated with an organic silicate top coat, the result is ZnNi UC EG�, which combines the excellent surface formability and weldability of the ZnNi EG� with a very effective barrier coat for inner surfaces.

From concept to rollout, Burns Harbor's technical and logistical support helps you maximize the value of our steel

Burns Harbor's Product Application Group and its Detroit-based Automotive Applications Team work with you to select the right steel and optimize its usage in your product.

With extensive experience in research, engineering, production and quality assurance, the Detroit-based automotive applications team has the capability and in-depth materials expertise to provide updates on new and experimental steels and structural/design services. They are leaders in formability analysis and can draw upon a stock of fully characterized sheet material to assist in die development and prototype build.

Our Detroit-based team can match your specific application to the manufacturing process to provide value and performance from concept through volume production. In addition, the entire Product Application group routinely works with our customers to remove cost and add value to the manufacturing process.

Bethlehem remains one of the technical leaders of the industry, thanks to comprehensive research dedicated to improving our processes and our products

Future generations of vehicles will need to be lighter, safer and manufactured at a lower total cost. This demands increasing levels of technology and innovation by both the automaker and the steelmaker. At our Homer research laboratories, over 200 highly trained Bethlehem research scientists are committed to developing technology, improving manufacturing processes and bettering steel performance while lowering total cost.

Technical Service Representatives use their production and quality assurance know-how to develop the solutions you need

Experienced people with both production and quality assurance backgrounds are available as needed for on-the-spot steel expertise to keep stamping presses running efficiently.

Bethlehem quality teams partner with your personnel to continually improve operations and working relationships

They provide fundamental support in improving your operation and provide the communication link between your shop floor and ours.

Customer Service Representatives facilitate your day-to-day transactions

Experienced Customer Service Representatives make order processing and shipping easy, fast and accurate. They also are the frontline communications link between Burns Harbor and the customer.

Electronic interface balances customer JIT needs with steel production

A unique 10-year partnership between Bethlehem and Electronic Data Systems keeps Burns Harbor on the cutting edge of electronic interface with the customer.

Burns Harbor uses JMICS (Joint Material Information Control System) to balance customer-forecasted requirements with steel production orders to achieve total reliability in delivering the right product, in the right amount, to the right place, at the right time.

Total Reliability Right product Right amount Right place Right time

"Automotive is our core business at Burns Harbor, and we're here to support you in every possible way ... to help you maintain a competitive edge and get maximum value from our steel."

Jim DiGiacinto General Manager, Automotive Sales

Serving Our Customers

We recognize that our customers have choices of materials and steel suppliers. We will be their first choice only by routinely and reliably providing what they need, when they need it and at fair and competitive prices.

Our success depends on their success. Our greatest opportunities will be realized through relationships built on mutual trust, cooperation and understanding of each other's product and business requirements.