NKK Corporation (President and CEO: Mr. Masayuki Hammyo) and Kawasaki Steel Corporation (President and CEO: Mr. Fumio Sudo) of the JFE Group (JFE), together with ThyssenKrupp Stahl AG (Chairman of the Executive Board: Dr. Karl-Ulrich Köhler) today announced that ThyssenKrupp Stahl (TKS) has succeeded in winning orders from Toyota Motor Europe Manufacturing (TMEM) for bake-hardening steel sheets･ , officially referred to by the product name GA340BH.

In response to growing requirements by automotive customers for global availability of innovative steel materials, NKK, Kawasaki Steel and TKS signed a comprehensive technological cooperation agreement in April, 2002. Under this agreement the three parties have been working together to establish a global steel supply network, conducting joint technological activities in the field of carbon flat steel focused on automotive steel products, and on R & D in this area, to produce tangible solutions for the companies` automotive customers.

Although GA340BH is widely used in Japan for outer automotive panels, differences in automakers` design policies mean that this grade with its specific characteristics has not been used for this particular application among European automakers. Within the framework of comprehensive cooperation, and at TMEM`s request, TKS worked with JFE to obtain the necessary technical information and production know-how. As a result, TKS has been able to prepare a stable production base for the supply of GA340BH to TMEM and in line with its local purchasing strategy, TMEM was able to award the order for GA340BH to TKS.

Winning the TMEM order is a clear example of how the cooperative efforts of the strategic partners can bolster the satisfaction of automotive customers by expanding global material availability and enhancing world-wide service levels.

In a similar way, TKS will actively pursue further opportunities to also obtain new orders from the other TMEM assembly lines. Concrete results are expected not only from the mutual exchange of information regarding existing technologies, but also from joint R & D in future technologies. The optimal combination of high potentials and creativity will increase business opportunities for both companies on a global scale.

*) Bake-hardening steel is a kind of high strength steel that shows optimum formability during the stamping process, and acquires additional strength for light weight and crash worthiness later by the heat hardening effect that occurs in the baking process of body painting.

Contact:

ThyssenKrupp Steel AG

Erwin Schneider
Tel.: +49 203 / 52 2 56 90
Fax: +49 203 / 52 2 57 07
e-mail: erwin.schneider@tks.thyssenkrupp.com

Dietmar Stamm
Tel.: +49 203 / 52 2 62 67
Fax: +49 203 / 52 2 57 07
e-mail: dietmar.stamm@tks.thyssenkrupp.com