Joint Press Release Salzgitter and Corus

Salzgitter/IJmuiden – October 3, 2005 Cooperation in product development of High Strength and Ductility (HSD®)-steels New steel product with outstanding properties

Salzgitter and Corus have been working together on identifying opportunities for the application of High Strength and Ductility (HSD®)-steels in selected market sectors.

Salzgitter and Corus now announce that they are formalizing their efforts into a joint product development cooperation in the area of High Strength and Ductility (HSD®)-steels based on high manganese content. The performance of these steels is superior to conventional steels, with strength levels of 600 to 1400 MPa corresponding with elongations of 70 to 20%, respectively.

In this cooperation both companies will share complementary R&D expertise to develop and optimize these products.

The new HSD® - grade will be developed for a variety of applications. These refer in particular to parts with complex geometrical structure combined with high strength requirements. Examples are sophisticated components for mechanical engineering applications. In the Automotive sector substantial benefits can be achieved by mass reduction, improved crash resistance, and by providing the automotive engineer with enhanced design freedom.

Timing and availability of products and applications will be included in progress updates that will be provided in the course of 2006.