BETHLEHEM, Pa., April 27, 1999 -- Bethlehem Steel Corporation's Board of Directors has authorized conversion of a continuous slab casting strand at the Corporation's Sparrows Point (Md.) Division to a wide slab casting strand at a cost of approximately $60 million. The converted caster will provide high quality, wide slabs to the Bethlehem Lukens Plate (BLP) Division, and will increase Bethlehem's overall slab production capability.

In making the announcement, Curtis H. Barnette, Bethlehem's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, said: "This investment addresses two strategic needs for Bethlehem Steel and Bethlehem Lukens Plate. First, the facility will provide low cost, high quality, wide slabs for rolling into light gauge coiled plates at BLP's Steckel Mill at Conshohocken, Pa., and into long length, light gauge plates for cut-to-length orders at BLP's 110-inch plate mill at the Burns Harbor (Ind.) Division. Second, it will permit Sparrows Point to increase cast slab production to help reduce a corporate requirement for purchased slabs.

Mr. Barnette pointed out that, "Bethlehem Steel continues to be very concerned about the serious injury being caused to Bethlehem and other domestic steelmakers by unfairly traded imports of plate products. However, we are proceeding with this project with the expectation that fair trade in plate products will be restored."

Van R. Reiner, President of Bethlehem Lukens Plate, said, "Installation of the new wide slab caster will enable Bethlehem Lukens Plate to offer its customers the most comprehensive selection of plate products available in the domestic market. Slabs from the new caster will ensure that we have a steady supply of steel to our plate rolling facilities, and it will reduce shortfalls of slabs that would otherwise have to be purchased to enable rolling of other flat-rolled steel products at Burns Harbor and Sparrows Point."

At Bethlehem Lukens Plate's Conshohocken plant, located just west of Philadelphia, slabs from the new caster will be rolled into wide, light gauge, coiled plate on the Division's Steckel Mill. The wider slabs will help Bethlehem to significantly reduce the costs-per-ton of producing plates on the Steckel Mill and, along with other competitiveness initiatives, will cause the mill to be fully cost-competitive with other newly constructed and recently announced domestic plate mills. Yields will be in excess of 90 percent, which is higher than plate that is produced from narrow slabs.

At Burns Harbor, the 110-inch plate mill will convert wide slabs from the new caster into long-length, light gauge plates suitable for a variety of cut-to-length orders. Yields for these products are also expected to be higher than 90 percent.

Sparrows Point currently operates two, single-strand slab casters, capable of casting slabs to widths up to 88 inches. Work on the strand to be converted is expected to begin this summer, coinciding with the scheduled reline of "L" blast furnace

"The upcoming production outage for the reline of 'L' blast furnace presents a unique opportunity during which certain construction work associated with the caster installation can be accomplished without any additional loss of production," said Carl W. Johnson, President of the Sparrows Point Division. "Installation is expected to be completed during a subsequent caster outage by mid-2000," Mr. Johnson said.