BETHLEHEM STEEL TO PARTICIPATE IN AUTOMOTIVE BLANKS JOINT VENTURE

For Immediate Release

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

BETHLEHEM, Pa., April 21, 1997 -- Bethlehem Steel Corporation announced today that it has acquired a minority equity interest in TWB Company, LLC, which supplies tailored welded steel blanks to the automotive industry. TWB,a joint venture of Worthington Industries and Thyssen Stahl,is located in Monroe, Mich., and operates the largest blank welding plant in North America.

Tailored blanks are produced by laser welding sheet steel of different thicknesses or strengths into a single blank for forming into complex automotive body parts. They allow automotive engineers to design parts that enhance the structural performance of vehicles while saving weight and thus improving fuel efficiency. Tailored blanks provide cost-efficient automotive production by optimizing the use of steel and reducing the amount of scrap.

Curtis H. Barnette, Bethlehem's chairman and chief executive officer, said that acquiring an equity interest in TWB is consistent with Bethlehem's strategy of being responsive to customers' needs by developing strategic alliances to provide customers with value-added products.

John P. McConnell, chairman and chief executive officer of Worthington Industries, commented: %quot;We are pleased to have Bethlehem Steel, one of the nation's leading producers of steel products for the automotive industry, participate in our TWB Company. We expect the market for tailored blanks to grow substantially during the next five years, and TWB will be well positioned to share in that growth.%quot;

Return to Archives