WHEELING, W.Va., July 6 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Wheeling Pittsburgh
Steel Corporation (Nasdaq: WPSC) has completed more than half of a demolition
program that is expected to generate in excess of $1.1 million in scrap steel
savings.
The program began in the first quarter and is expected to be completed by
late summer. It involves the demolition of buildings and permanently idled
mill and railroad equipment at all six of the company's primary and finishing
plants. The scrap is being cut to size for use in the company's basic oxygen
furnace (BOF). Wheeling Pittsburgh Steel will use all the ferrous scrap from
the demolition program.
About 25 percent of the raw material that goes into the BOF is scrap
steel, with the remainder made up primarily of molten iron. Scrap steel from
the demolition program has already gone into the company's steelmaking
operations.
"We took a careful look at the value of our idle equipment and vacant
buildings due to the record high scrap steel prices," said Donald E. Keaton,
Vice President of Steelmaking and Procurement. "We were very fortunate to
begin the demolition program as scrap prices peaked and have been very pleased
with the results."
Among the largest pieces of equipment being turned into scrap steel is the
company's No. 3 blast furnace, located at Mingo Junction, OH, and its sinter
plant, located at Follansbee, WV. The No. 3 blast furnace was idled in 1996,
while the sinter plant shutdown occurred in 1999. The company continues to
operate two blast furnaces.
Wheeling Pittsburgh Steel Corporation is a metal products company with
3,100 employees in facilities located in Steubenville, Mingo Junction,
Yorkville, and Martins Ferry, Ohio; Beech Bottom and Follansbee, West
Virginia; and Allenport, Pennsylvania. In addition, the company's Wheeling
Corrugating Division has 12 plants located throughout the United States.
Statements in this release that express a belief, expectation or
intention, as well as those which are not historical fact, are forward
looking. They involve a number of risks and uncertainties, which may cause
actual results to differ materially from such forward-looking statements. For
more information about these risks and uncertainties, please refer to Wheeling
Pittsburgh Corporation's annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended
December 31, 2003, and other filings, with the Securities and Exchange
Commission.
SOURCE Wheeling Pittsburgh Steel Corporation
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Related links:
http://www.wpsc.com
Company News On-Call:
http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/967451.html
CONTACT:
Jim Kosowski of Wheeling Pittsburgh Steel
Corporation, +1-304-234-2440
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