CORUS INVESTS IN ADDITIONAL STEEL BLANKING LINE TO HELP MEET 100% SUPPLY CONTRACT FOR MAYFLOWER VEHICLE SYSTEMS

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CORUS INVESTS IN ADDITIONAL STEEL BLANKING LINE TO HELP MEET 100% SUPPLY CONTRACT FOR MAYFLOWER VEHICLE SYSTEMS
26 March 2003 - Corus

Corus, the international metals company, has announced that it is installing an additional multi-strand blanking line in order to help meet increased demand, which includes a contract to supply Mayflower Vehicle Systems with 100 per cent of its skin panel blank requirements. Installation of the new line, which represents a £250,000 investment at the company's specialist Automotive Service Centre in Wolverhampton, is expected to be complete by mid April.

The 20-tonne capacity, coil fed blanking line will supply Coventry based Mayflower Vehicle Systems with precision blanks for more than 100 different body parts for a number of major vehicle manufacturers. Blank production will start initially with a single shift, five days a week, allowing Corus to increase volume by over 30 per cent to meet immediate demand. Importantly, the line has the potential for Corus to double existing capacity in order to meet expected future growth in business.

Commenting on the further investment by Corus in its downstream facilities, Alan Hutchinson, General Manager of the Automotive Service Centre, said: 'As well as doubling our existing blanking capacity, the multi-strand blanking line will allow us to process the latest generation of high strength steels enabling us to meet the growing trend by vehicle manufacturers to specify these stronger grades of steel. In addition, the line's modular arrangement means that it is highly flexible and can be reconfigured if required in order to meet changing demand patterns within the industry.'

The £250,000 blanking line is the latest addition to the £30 million already invested by Corus in downstream automotive facilities at the Steelpark site to help meet the increasing demand from the automotive supply chain for tailor welded blanks and full-finish skin panel blanks ready for assembly. The site already boasts a comprehensive line-up of dedicated automotive processing facilities, including a 600-tonne large-bed pressing blanking line. In addition, Autolaser Technologies, the dedicated laser welding business adjacent to the Automotive Centre, was the first facility in Europe to have the capability to manufacture production volumes of advanced, second-generation, non-linear Nd:YAG (Neodymium-Yttrium Aluminium Garnet) laser-welded blanks. These are still being successfully used by BMW MINI and Jaguar.

Other recent downstream investments by Corus include the world's first production-ready laser-welded tubular blank machine commissioned at the Corus Hyfo Competence Centre at the IJmuiden plant in the Netherlands.

http://www.corusgroup.com

About: Corus
Corus Group Plc is one of the world's largest metal producers with an annual turnover of £8 billion and major operating facilities in the UK, the Netherlands, Germany, France, Norway and Belgium. Corus' four divisions comprising Strip Products, Long Products, Distribution & Building Systems and Aluminium provide innovative solutions to the construction, automotive, packaging, mechanical engineering and other markets worldwide.

Corus has 48,500 employees in over 40 countries and sales offices and service centres worldwide. Combining international expertise with local customer service, the Corus brand represents quality and strength.

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