Public Relations Division
Public Affairs Department
1170 Eighth Avenue
Bethlehem, PA 18016-7699
(610) 694-3711 - Phone
(610) 694-1509 - Fax

For Immediate Release

Sparrows Point, Md., April 15, 1998 -- Turning some shovelfuls of earth in what the company called a "Field of Dreams," Bethlehem Steel officials and governmental dignitaries broke ground today for an approximately $300-million continuous cold rolling mill complex at the Sparrows Point Division.

"This new cold sheet mill complex is a home run," in helping to fulfill Bethlehem Steel's strategy, said Curtis H. Barnette, chairman and chief executive officer. Making a comparison to baseball's Baltimore Orioles, Mr. Barnette said Bethlehem has a fine team of employees in place at Sparrows Point.

"We have the Cal Ripkens of our industry -- Iron and Steel men and women -- right here at Sparrows Point," he said. "They will bring into being a fine facility -- a world class cold sheet mill -- that will move us closer to achieving our Vision to Be the Premier Steel Company."

The 1.7 million ton-per-year, 800,000-square-foot facility is scheduled to begin production in early 2000. It will cold-roll coils produced at the Division's hot strip mill.

"Our work and planning of yesterday is seeing fruition; our dreams are being fulfilled," said Duane R. Dunham, Sparrows Point Division president. "This is a great day, indeed. The public and private sectors, and the Steelworkers union, all came together to take this from a dream to reality."

Referring to the authorization of the mill by Bethlehem's Board of Directors, and grants from the county and state, Mr. Dunham said, "Your investment here is a commitment to our state, county and communities, and it demonstrates Bethlehem's commitment and determination to be in the forefront of the steel industry. With this beginning, here today, we once again give new life to a flourishing enterprise."

Also participating in the ground breaking were U.S. Senators Paul S. Sarbanes and Barbara A. Mikulski, Congressmen Robert Erlich Jr. (R-2nd) and Benjamin L. Cardin (D-3rd), Maryland Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, Secretary James T. Brady, Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development; David Wilson, retired director of District 8, United Steelworkers of America; Roger P. Penny, Bethlehem's president and chief operating officer; Horst Wiesinger, Voest Alpine president and chief executive officer; Dr. James D. Fielder, Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development deputy director, and Robert L. Hannon, Baltimore County Economic Development director.

Bethlehem's Board of Directors authorized the cold mill complex on Oct. 29, 1997. The equipment and construction contract was awarded Feb. 27 to the consortium of VAI, a subsidiary of VA Technologie AG, Linz, Austria, and Fluor Daniel, Inc., Greenville, S.C., a subsidiary of Fluor Corp. VAI is supplying the major equipment for the mill and lines, while Fluor Daniel, along with Forti/Poole and Kent, L.L.C., of Baltimore, are responsible for the engineering and procurement for the facility and its construction.

The fully-automated cold mill complex is being tailored to fulfill Bethlehem's light flat-rolled sheet steel marketing strategy, and the needs of Sparrows Point's customers and the Division's upstream and downstream operations.

Cold-rolled products from Sparrows Point are used in containers, tubing, machinery, storage tanks, automotive parts, metal furniture, electrical lighting equipment and hardware, and also sold by service centers. Cold-rolled steel is also further processed at the Division's coating lines to produce galvanized or Galvalume (TM) sheet product for commercial and residential construction, heating ventilation and air conditioning, automotive and appliance industries.