By tradition, France is an important market for ThyssenKrupp, said Professor Dr. Ekkehard D. Schulz, Chairman of the Executive Board of ThyssenKrupp AG, at the annual press conference of the Agence Francaise pour les Investissements Internationaux (AFII) in Paris. Schulz: "As a business location, France offers good conditions for investors such as a well-educated workforce, high per capita productivity and a very good infrastructure."

In fiscal year 2002/2003 ThyssenKrupp had a total of 41 subsidiaries in France which together employed 10,600 people. Sales amounted to nearly 2 billion euros, accounting for around 8 % of the Group`s total foreign sales of 23 billion euros. France is the third biggest market for ThyssenKrupp, behind the United States and Italy.

ThyssenKrupp`s five segments Steel, Automotive, Elevator, Technologies and Services have substantial operations in France and offer a wide range of innovative products and services such as stainless steel sheet, powertrain and steering systems for the automotive industry as well as elevators, escalators and passenger boarding bridges. The Group also provides warehousing and complex logistics solutions for its French customers, with a range of processing services for materials such as carbon and stainless steel, tubes, non ferrous metals and plastics.

ThyssenKrupp`s Automotive segment made an important strategic acquisition in France in 2003. Effective July of that year, the segment acquired the leading French car parts supplier Sofédit S.A., located in Versailles. "At a stroke, this acquisition has given the Group a leading position on the French automotive supply market. Above all, it has strengthened our relations with the customers Renault and PSA," said Schulz. ThyssenKrupp Sofédit with around 4,000 employees and 500 million euros in sales has established its credentials as a supplier of automotive stampings and assemblies for body and chassis applications. The company uses the latest production methods such as hydroforming, roll and stretch forming and the newly developed technology of hot stamping. The acquisition of Sofédit strengthens ThyssenKrupp Automotive`s leading positions in the Body and Chassis businesses and underlines the segment`s goal to expand its position as a global automotive supplier.

The business ties between ThyssenKrupp and France date back to 1841. In that year, Krupp, one of the Group`s predecessor companies, established its first permanent foreign representative office in Paris. In the subsequent decades, Thyssen and Krupp supplied France with products such as seemless railway tires, railway tracks and locomotives, not least with the 13,500 ton structural steel work for the "Centre Georges Pompidou" in Paris which was delivered in 1977.

With sales of 36 billion euros and 190,000 employees in more than 70 countries, ThyssenKrupp is one of the world`s major industrial and technology groups. The Company occupies leading international market positions. The three main business areas of steel, capital goods and services organized in five segments - Steel, Automotive, Elevator, Technologies and Services - mark out the Group`s areas of competence.

Contact:

Dr. Jürgen Claassen
Corporate Communications, Strategy, and Executive Affairs
Telefone +49 (211) 824-36002
Telefax + 49 (211) 824-36005
E-Mail: press@thyssenkrupp.com
www.thyssenkrupp.com