AISTech 2012 Town Hall Forum: New Technologies Could Increase Efficiency of Steel Production

---

Researched by Loretta Roush for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Participants from around the world came together to hear steel industry experts express their thoughts about the state of the steel industry in a town hall-type forum at the 2012 American Iron & Steel Technology AISTech Conference and Exposition in Atlanta, Georgia. Although rain dampened the Atlanta streets, the overall outlook for the industry remained bright. The much anticipated town hall forum drew a large crowd of attendees on the last day of the AISTech conference.

John Delano acted as moderator for the forum, while George J. Koenig, the president of Berry Metal Company (Harmony, Pennsylvania) acted as Town Hall Chair. The two were joined by a panel that included several industry experts.

This year's forum was given a slightly different twist, as questions came not only from attendees, but via video feeds from those unable to attend the conference.

Bill Ford, the CEO of Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F), asked: "How have you positioned yourself to help the auto industry?"

Michael S. Williams, the senior vice president of North America flat-rolled operations for United States Steel Corporation (NYSE:X) "We continue to develop our relationship with the auto manufacturers with a number of research and development centers, one of which is located in Detroit, Michigan. Our continuous annealing lines help in the manufacturing of lighter metals for the vehicles. We continue to help develop lighter-weight steel. Steel is still the value of choice for the auto industry."

Other panelists from companies such as ArcelorMittal (NYSE:MT) and Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE) echoed Williams' sentiments that when possible, the steelmakers worked closely to meet automakers' specific needs, as the automotive sector represents such a large portion of the market for the steel sector.

All the panelists agreed that the development of the North American natural gas market has positioned them to expand. Panelists stated that the extremely low U.S. natural gas prices are setting up a wave of infrastructure development and putting the U.S. in a position to dictate the natural gas technologies of the future. Companies are exploring and developing more ways to use natural gas in the steel manufacturing process. Michael S. Williams said that gas-based steel production technologies could save money and make the steel industry as a whole more competitive.

P.S. Venkataramanan, chief executive officer of Long Carbon North America for ArcelorMittal (NYSE:MT), sees these developments as a way of replacing other forms of energy consumption. Christian Dohr, the president and CEO of ThyssenKrupp Steel USA LLC, expects the industry to be able to become leaner and meaner and much more competitive in the global market. The use of more energy-efficient, high-tech equipment at ThyssenKrupp's newest plant in Alabama coupled with the lower energy costs will allow the company to be able to manufacture at a much lower cost across the board.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, and eight offices outside of North America, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle™, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities.