UltraLight Steel Auto Body Project Wins IndustryWeek Award
15 January 1999
UltraLight Steel Auto Body Project Wins IndustryWeek Award
International Steel Industry Project Deemed 1998 Winning Technology
DETROIT, Jan. 15 -- American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI)
is a winner in IndustryWeek's sixth annual Technology and Innovation Awards
Program. Editors of the leading manufacturing management magazine have
selected the UltraLight Steel Auto Body (ULSAB) as one of 25 1998 Technologies
of the Year. Eleven member companies of AISI's Automotive Applications
Committee represented AISI, a leader in establishing the ULSAB, as part of a
35-member international steel company consortium.
AISI is the only association named in the top 25, which also includes
internationally known innovators as Apple Computer Inc., Hewlett-Packard Co.,
IBM Corporation, Rockwell Automation, and Texas Instruments Inc.
"We are proud to receive recognition for the UltraLight Steel Auto Body
project accomplishments through this prestigious award," says Darryl Martin,
director, Automotive Applications Committee, AISI. "With ULSAB, we
demonstrated that the steel industry can and will take a leadership role in
helping its automotive partners meet the fuel economy, safety and
environmental challenges that face manufacturers in the next century."
ULSAB was introduced to the global automotive industry in March 1998,
followed by three months of in-depth briefings. It received wide acclaim from
the automotive community. ULSAB applies holistic design and new manufacturing
processes to the use of material advances in high strength steel to save
significant mass in body structures, contributing to fuel economy and safety.
The project revealed that steel, the most recyclable metal in the world, can
meet the world's demands for lighter weight vehicles.
ULSAB is one of four similar projects American Iron and Steel Institute
(AISI) unveiled in North America over the past two years. The UltraLight
Steel Auto Closures (ULSAC), UltraLight Steel Auto Suspensions (ULSAS) and the
Light Truck Study (LTS), together with ULSAB, form part of a cohesive, global
steel industry strategy to meet the environmental demand for fuel efficiency
through the development of mass-optimized, recyclable products and cost-
effective engineering solutions.
"Winners of the IW Technology and Innovation award are selected by
IndustryWeek editors, through reader nominations, in a judging process geared
to recognize outstanding achievement in technology," said John Brandt, editor
in chief. Award winners span the spectrum of science and engineering
achievements. Editors seek developments that show high potential for
redirecting business opportunities and creating new growth in the
manufacturing world.
Represented among the winners are software and hardware solutions for
manufacturing, new computer-aided systems for management decision-making, R&D
developments with potential for creating new industries, as well as commercial
products that represent bellwethers for fundamental change.
A complete list of the winners and a profile of each winning technology
are featured in IndustryWeek's December 21 issue and at http://www.industryweek.com.
American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) is a non-profit association of North
American companies engaged in the iron and steel industry. The Institute
comprises 48 member companies, including integrated and electric furnace
steelmakers, and 173 associate and affiliate members who are suppliers to or
customers of the steel industry. For a broader look at steel and its
applications, the institute has its own website at http://www.steel.org.
The Automotive Applications Committee (AAC) is a subcommittee of the
Market Development Committee of AISI and focuses on advancing the use of steel
in the highly competitive automotive market. With offices and staff located
in Detroit, cooperation between the automobile and steel industries has been
significant to its success. The Auto/Steel Partnership, a consortium of
DaimlerChrysler, Ford and General Motors and the member companies of the AAC,
now drive this industry cooperation.
This release and other steel-related information are available for viewing
and downloading at American Iron and Steel Institute/Automotive Applications
Committee's website at http://www.autosteel.org.
Automotive Applications Committee member companies:
AK Steel Corporation
Acme Steel Company
Bethlehem Steel Corporation
Dofasco Inc.
Ispat Inland, Inc.
LTV Steel Company
National Steel Corporation
Rouge Steel Company
Stelco Inc.
US Steel Group, a unit of USX Corporation
WCI Steel, Inc.
Weirton Steel Corporation
IndustryWeek, which is the flagship publication of Penton Media, is a
management magazine that helps senior executives in manufacturing, and its
supporting industries build, safeguard, and expand the wealth of their
companies. Now in its 28th year, IW has an audience of more than 800,000
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