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Indiana Steel Plant to Double Production

ArcelorMittal (NYSE: MT) and Japan-based Nippon Steel Corporation announced today the global steel giants will expand their I/N Kote joint venture here, doubling its galvanized steel production and creating 100 new jobs by 2010.

The companies will invest more than $240 million to build and equip a 240,000-square-foot facility at the existing I/N Kote center in the North Central Indiana town to house a new continuous galvanizing line that will have an annual capacity of 480,000 tons.

"It's yet another big win for the Indiana economy, one with special excitement because it involves one of our longstanding leading corporate citizens. As we're seeing happen time and time again, companies like ArcelorMittal are choosing Indiana over many other states to do business because of our competitive tax climate, high-quality workforce and unmatched infrastructure," said Governor Mitch Daniels.

I/N Kote, which currently produces around 450,000 tons of galvanized and galvannealed steel annually at the site, will supply the new continuous galvanizing line with cold-rolled coils from ArcelorMittal's Indiana Harbor and Burns Harbor operations as well as ArcelorMittal and Nippon Steel's operation in New Carlisle.

The companies, which plan to break ground on the project later this year, currently employ more than 200 in New Carlisle and plan to begin hiring operations and maintenance associates in late 2008 ahead of the new facility's planned opening in 2010

"This is a great day for I/N Kote, our employees, the city of New Carlisle and the state of Indiana," said Chris Richards, general manager of I/N Kote and its sister facility, I/N Tek in New Carlisle. "This is an exciting opportunity for all of our stakeholders as it allows us to further meet customer demand while bringing new jobs to our community and we thank our partners at the state and local levels for their essential support."

The Indiana Economic Development Corporation offered I/N Kote up to $4.8 million in performance-based tax credits and up to $100,000 in training grants based on the company's job creation plans. St. Joseph County will provide property tax abatement.

I/N Kote's expansion in New Carlisle is expected to preserve 400 jobs at ArcelorMittal operations in East Chicago and Burns Harbor and follows less than a year after Daniels met with Arcelor Mittal founder and chief executive Lakshmi N. Mittal in London as part of the governor's European trade mission.

Founded in 1991, I/N Kote is a 50-50 joint venture between ArcelorMittal and Nippon Steel. The facility currently produces 450,000 tons (500,000 short tons) of hot-dip galvanized and galvannealed sheet and 360,000 tons (400,000 short tons) of electrogalvanized sheet annually.