CORUS AND SUMITOMO REPORT GOOD PROGRESS IN DEVELOPING AUTOMOTIVE PRODUCTS

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CORUS AND SUMITOMO REPORT GOOD PROGRESS IN DEVELOPING AUTOMOTIVE PRODUCTS
07 January 2003 - Corus Automotive

Corus and Sumitomo Metal Industries (SMI) report good progress in developing new strip steel products for the automotive industry and also in engineering steels under their technological collaboration agreement signed in January 2002.

Corus and SMI have brought together their complementary strengths in product development and process and applications technology, which include Corus’ know-how in galvanising and free-cutting steel and SMI’s galvanneal and high strength steels manufacturing technologies.

At the second meeting of their Steering Committee held in Tokyo in November 2002, the companies agreed to accelerate the development of new products and their delivery to the market, and to assist customers in implementing international material standards for new vehicle programmes, in order to increase the companies’ penetration of the global marketplace.

In the automotive field, Corus and SMI have started plant trials to supply samples of hot-dip galvanized high strength strip steel to shared customers. Their initial target product will include dual phase high strength steels and new bake hardenable steel for the next vehicle programmes, satisfying Japanese and European market requirements. They will also carry out the value assessment and development of next generation, high performance, strip steel for exposed panel and body structure application.

In the area of engineering steel, Corus and Sumitomo have already started a joint evaluation of candidate steels in order to replace the lead in low carbon free-cutting steels used in the automotive industry.

More generally, the steel companies will work together to improve quality and manufacturing technologies through process control - from steelmaking to finishing of galvanised and galvanneal products for the automotive sector and the surface quality of engineering steel products.

They will also use their customer service and application experience to create better value in use for current and future vehicles and to apply technologies such as tailor welded blanking and finite element simulation to the marketplace.

SMI’s Hasaki Research Laboratory will be used jointly and the testing facilities of both companies’ technology centres will be used in the launch of new products.

About: Corus Automotive
Corus is one of the leading suppliers of steel products, services and technology to the automotive industry. A broad range of Corus steel from strip, engineering steels, special strip and tubes are used to make products that go into automotive applications including body-in-white, closures, chassis and suspension systems, powertrain, seats, safety systems and other components. Corus is committed to the global automotive industry, and, uniquely, combines its materials and vehicle engineering knowledge to respond cost-effectively to key drivers of importance to the sector, such as safety, fuel-efficiency, innovation and the environment. The Company actively supports supply chain initiatives that improve efficiency and enhance the value of steel used in automotive applications.

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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