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Steel in figures
All figures relate to continuing operations. * before taxes and minority interest
			2003/2004		2004/2005
Order intake	million €		9,134		9,255
Sales	million €		8,683		9,673
EBITDA	million €		1,182		1,660
Income*	million €		592		1,063
Employees (September 30)			32,202		31,576

Strengthening competitiveness in Germany

As a technology leader aiming to remain internationally competitive, the Steel segment continually optimizes its central location Duisburg on the Rhine as well as all its other plants for efficiency and competitiveness. We utilize all opportunities to make our internal processes faster, more efficient and more customer-focused.

Duisburg as the headquarters of ThyssenKrupp Steel is the largest steelmaking location in the world. The facilities there are continually optimized and upgraded for best performance. In the coming years, hot metal production is to be modernized in a €340 million investment program. The centerpiece of the program is the construction of blast furnace 8 as a replacement investment. In addition, blast furnace 9 directly nearby is to be relined. This will stabilize the hot metal base for the production and processing of steel at the German plants of ThyssenKrupp Steel.

Expansion in value-added products

Around 86% of the new Steel segment's flat steel sales are value-added products – sheet or strip already processed in one way or another. They include medium-wide strip, tinplate, electrical steel and tailored blanks, the products of our steel service operations in Europe and North America as well as construction and cold room products.

We are systematically expanding our strengths in growth areas. Our tinplate operation in Andernach has already been upgraded with a €160 million investment program. Today with an annual capacity of 1.44 million metric tons it occupies a leading position on the world market. Our production capacity for medium-wide strip, a high-quality product for the steel processing industry, is also set to grow. As part of a forward strategy it will increase to more than 1 million tons by the year 2008.

We are world market leaders in innovative steel tailored blanks. These are blanks for deep drawing welded together from individual steel sheets of different grade, thickness and coating. More and more car manufacturers are using them to make bodies which are lighter than conventional designs. One particular focus in the coming years will be on expanding our capacities in the booming Chinese market to allow us to supply the fast-growing auto industry there. A new production site will also be established in Sweden.

Integrated forward strategy: Brazil steel mill project

Good progress is also being made on our plans to build a steel mill in Brazil to supply low-cost slabs for our core market Europe and the NAFTA region. This forward strategy could strengthen our global position on the market for high-quality carbon flat steel.

The project is currently being prepared on the basis of a feasibility study. Provided approval is given by the decision-making bodies in the Group and construction begins without delay, the Brazilian mill could be in operation by mid-2008 producing 4.4 million tons of slab per year. State-of-the-art production facilities including dock and infrastructure are to be built at the coastal location of Sepetiba in the state of Rio de Janeiro, which is linked by a rail line to the ore mining region Minas Gerais. The world's largest ore producer Companhia Vale do Rio Doce plans to take a 10% stake in the project.

The Brazil project is the central element of an internationalization strategy which also includes all our other activities. We plan to use the slabs from Brazil to address the NAFTA market intensively, but we will also be systematically expanding our presence on other markets with products and services where we have specific strengths and sustainable competitive advantages.

Cooperation with Japan

Together with JFE Steel Corporation, Japan's second-largest steelmaker, we established the company JEVISE in Tokyo in 2005 to support auto OEMs on materials issues at an early stage of new car development. The launch was part of the strategic alliance with the Japanese steel company. Back in 2002, JFE and ThyssenKrupp Steel agreed common specifications for automotive steels and concluded cross-licensing agreements. The products can be supplied by the respective partners in Europe and Asia. In the future, the companies plan to expand their global network for supplying high-quality steels to the auto industry.