Bethlehem
Steel Corporation and
LTV Corporation Complete
Financing Arrangement For Their
Joint Venture, Columbus Coating Company
Bethlehem Steel Corporation
For Immediate Release
BETHLEHEM, Pa., November 18, 1999 -- Bethlehem Steel Corporation (NYSE:BS) and The LTV Corporation (NYSE:LTV) have concluded the financing arrangement for their joint venture, Columbus Coatings Company, a producer of premium quality corrosion resistant steel sheets.
The coating facility, currently under construction in Columbus, Ohio, will have the capacity to produce about 500,000 tons per year of corrosion-resistant sheet steel for automotive applications. The line is expected to begin operation by fourth quarter 2000.
This new state-of-the-art facility will help satisfy the automotive industry�s growing requirements for hot-dipped galvanized and galvannealed sheet steel. Bethlehem�s Burns Harbor, Ind., Division sells about one-half of its annual production to the automotive industry, and this new coating line joint venture will further strengthen and grow Burns Harbor�s position with the major automotive companies located in North America.
Bethlehem Steel, with 1998 sales of about $4.5 billion, is the second largest integrated steel company in the United States. In addition to its Burns Harbor Division, Bethlehem produces coated sheet steels for the automotive industry at Lackawanna, N.Y., and through a joint venture in Walbridge, Ohio.
The financing arrangement was provided by Boeing Capital Corporation and Heller Financial, Inc.