Investment Increased to $3.7 Billion

    TROY, Mich., May 11 /PRNewswire/ -- ThyssenKrupp today announced that
it has selected Alabama as the home for its new state-of-the-art steel and
stainless steel processing facility. The facility, a cooperative effort
between ThyssenKrupp Steel and ThyssenKrupp Stainless, will be located in
Northern Mobile and Southern Washington counties. The decision was approved
this morning by ThyssenKrupp AG's Supervisory Board during its meeting in
Dusseldorf, Germany.
    Initially planned as a $2.9 billion investment, ThyssenKrupp also
announced today that it will now invest $3.7 billion in this facility. The
increased investment primarily results from a rise in both steel and
stainless steel capacity, as well as the installation of additional
equipment to allow further diversification of the product portfolio.
    "Thanks to Governor Riley and everyone who has been part of this
project, we are excited to call Alabama home today," Peter Urban, Vice
Chairman of the ThyssenKrupp Steel Executive Board, said. "The planned
facility in Alabama is a key component of ThyssenKrupp Steel's forward
strategy for profitable growth. We are confident that the plant will
position us to maximize our competitiveness in the North American market
through a combination of cost and technology leadership."
    Michael Rademacher, Vice Chairman and CFO of ThyssenKrupp Stainless,
said, "This facility represents the largest investment in the history of
ThyssenKrupp Stainless. While our direct entry to the US market is perhaps
a bold step, it is also a logical and forward-looking one. The stainless
steel market throughout the NAFTA region offers significant potential, and
we are now poised to further strengthen our position."
    Alabama Governor Bob Riley noted, "With this project, Alabama and
ThyssenKrupp are making history. A project this size, with this amount of
economic impact, comes along perhaps once in a generation. It is
transformational, and we thank our partners at ThyssenKrupp, our state and
local economic development team, and Alabama's outstanding workforce for
making our success possible."
    ThyssenKrupp conducted extensive due diligence and negotiations to
select a location for the construction of a new facility in the United
States. The process began in February 2006 with 67 potential sites in 20
states. From the initial sites, ThyssenKrupp confined its search to
locations in three states: Alabama, Arkansas and Louisiana. In February of
this year, the company announced that it narrowed its search to two states,
Alabama and Louisiana.
    The decision to select Alabama was made based on the criteria the
company has been using in the site selection process. Decisive factors
included logistical considerations of the company's supply chain from
Brazil to our projected customers; operating costs such as electricity and
labor; and site specific capital expenditures.
    "This was a very difficult decision. Louisiana made an excellent
proposal and has many important and valuable attributes for business
development," noted Bob Soulliere, President and CEO of ThyssenKrupp Steel
and Stainless USA. "Governor Blanco and her team made a tremendous effort
and the professional approach of officials in Louisiana made our decision
all the more difficult. We thank the Louisiana team for their hard work,
dedication and commitment to the selection process."
    Soulliere continued, "We recognize this announcement comes as a
disappointment to many people in Louisiana, particularly those who worked
so hard on this project. But we believe the economic ripple effects of the
new plant will benefit the wider regional economy as well."
    The new plant complex, which is scheduled to begin operations in 2010,
is expected to be one of the largest private industrial development
projects in the United States over the next decade. Approximately 29,000
jobs will be generated during the construction phase. When it is fully
operational, the plant will employ 2,700 people. Over a 20-year period, the
facility is also expected to yield tens of thousands indirect jobs.
    Construction is expected to begin by the end of the year. Throughout
the process, ThyssenKrupp will post updates on its website,
http://www.ThyssenKruppNewUSPlant.com, about employment and vendor opportunities.
    The new facility will process carbon steel and stainless steel for
high- value applications by manufacturers in the United States and
throughout North America. The plant will serve industries including
automotive, construction, electrical and utility, in addition to serving
manufacturers of appliances, precision machinery and engineered products.
    The Alabama facility will include a hot strip mill which will be used
primarily to process slabs from the ThyssenKrupp's new steel plant in
Brazil. It will also feature cold rolling and hot-dip coating capacity for
high- quality end products of flat carbon steel. The facility will have an
annual capacity of 4.1 million metric tons of carbon steel end products. In
addition, a stainless steel melt shop will be built with an annual capacity
of up to one million metric tons of slabs, which will be also processed on
the hot strip mill. A cold rolling facility is to be built, which will be
designed initially to produce 350,000 tons of cold strip and 125,000 tons
of pickled hot strip. In addition, the stainless plant will provide
ThyssenKrupp Mexinox in San Luis Potosi (Mexico) with its required
pre-material (340,000 metric tons of hot band).
    "We look forward to a long relationship with Alabama," Urban said. "A
steel facility of this size and scope will be an integral part of the
ThyssenKrupp's overall business operations for decades to come and yield
generations of good jobs."
    "From employment opportunities to our environmental leadership and
responsible social practices, we will demonstrate ThyssenKrupp's commitment
to making a positive contribution to Northern Mobile and Southern
Washington counties," Rademacher added.
    The ThyssenKrupp Group, based in Dusseldorf, Germany, is a global
technology company which consists of five business segments - Steel,
Stainless, Technologies, Elevator and Services. The company has annual
sales of approximately euro 47 billion (US$61 billion) and employs 188,000
employees in over 70 countries worldwide.
    ThyssenKrupp Steel AG, based in Duisburg, Germany, is the holding
company for the carbon steel activities of the Group. It is the largest
single entity of ThyssenKrupp. Last year, it produced approximately 14
million metric tons of crude steel and generated sales of euro 10.7 billion
(US$14 billion). This business segment is focused on high-quality carbon
steel flat products and is one of the world's leading producers, ranking
second in Europe. The segment employs over 30,000 people. Its subsidiaries
are active in processing, coating and steel services. Subsidiaries include
Rasselstein GmbH, the world's largest tinplate production site in
Andernach, Germany, and Duisburg-based ThyssenKrupp Tailored Blanks GmbH,
world market and technology leader in laser-welded blanks for the auto
industry.
    ThyssenKrupp Stainless AG, also based in Duisburg, Germany, is the
holding company for the stainless activities of the Group. It has achieved
leading market positions worldwide in stainless steel flat-rolled products,
nickel alloys and titanium. With annual sales of euro 6.4 billion (US$8.3
billion),
    the segment employs 12,200 employees in Germany, Italy, China, Mexico
and the U.S.
    ThyssenKrupp operations can be found in every state in the U.S. There
are 70 ThyssenKrupp companies in more than 400 locations accounting for
25,000 employees and more than US$9.7 billion in annual sales. Through its
predecessor companies, ThyssenKrupp has been part of the U.S. historical
landscape for 170 years, dating back to 1837 when Alfred Krupp, founder of
predecessor company Krupp, provided coin minting machine prototypes to the
U.S.