BETHLEHEM STEEL NAMED AMONG MOST INNOVATIVE USERS OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY BY INFORMATION WEEK MAGAZINE
For Immediate Release
Public Relations Division
Public Affairs Department
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Bethlehem, PA 18016-7699
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BETHLEHEM, Pa., October 12, 2000 - Information Week magazine has named Bethlehem Steel Corporation the leading integrated steelmaker in its annual survey of the most innovative users of information technology.
The magazine, which ranks the top 500 users of information technology in the country, measures how companies utilize technology to create tangible business benefits. The annual survey is considered by information technology managers to be the definitive measure of IT progress and professionalism, leading to technological and business innovation.
"Bethlehem Steel has long been a leader in the metals and manufacturing sectors for its extensive use of information technology as we become the premier steel production, services and solutions company," said Duane R. Dunham, Bethlehem's chairman, president and chief executive officer. "From the mid 1960s when we instituted electronic data interchange with our largest customers through our embracing internet-based business transactions in the 1990s and beyond, the use of information technology by Bethlehem has been a strategic initiative helping to create value and additional business opportunities."
In the metals and natural resources section of the article that accompanies the annual ranking, Bethlehem was featured for its early embracing of e-Business. The corporation maintains an equity interest in MetalSite, an online marketplace for steel products, and OneBuild, an online marketplace for construction products. In addition, Bethlehem has selected Ariba as its e-Procurement platform and is also using CoNext for leveraged buying. Bethlehem is also exploring internet-based technology for e-Manufacturing, e-Technology and e-Administration.
Bethlehem has established a business development and e-Business department "to lead our strategic alliances with web-based initiatives. Our nearly 100 years of experience with steel production serving, in particular, the construction and automotive industries, will allow us to create new opportunities to market our exceptional achievements to benefit Bethlehem's customers and stockholders," said Mr. Dunham.
Bethlehem Steel Corporation is the nation's second largest fully integrated steel company with 15,000 people working primarily in three major divisions -- Burns Harbor, Ind.; Sparrows Point, Md.(with plate mills in Coatesville and Conshohocken, Pa.), and Pennsylvania Steel Technologies, Steelton, Pa.. The corporation is a leading supplier to the North American automotive and construction industries, and is the largest supplier of plate products on the continent.