World Steel Industry to Form New Consortium
1 February 1999
American Iron and Steel Institute Announces World Steel Industry to Form New Consortium to Develop Advanced Automotive Vehicle Concepts
DETROIT, Feb. 1 -- The American Iron and Steel Institute
announced today that representatives of the world steel industry recently
gathered in Miami, Fla., USA, to hold the inaugural meeting of a new
consortium formed to oversee an ambitious two-year automotive design and
engineering program, a significant broadening of the ULSAB (UltraLight Steel
Auto Body) series of initiatives.
The consortium, which already consists of 26 steel producing companies,
has been formed to support the automotive industry's search for steel-based
solutions to its long-term challenges.
The program, ULSAB-AVC (Advanced Vehicle Concepts), will take a holistic
approach to the development of a new advanced steel automotive vehicle
architecture. The scope of the program is intended to go beyond the body-in-
white to include closures, suspensions, engine cradle and all structural and
safety relevant components.
A comprehensive benchmarking of existing vehicle concepts and an
investigation of trends in vehicle development will be conducted at the
beginning of the program. Targets will be set with reference to the US PNGV
(Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles) and EUCAR (The European CO2
reduction program) projects.
The objective of the program is to demonstrate and communicate that the
innovative use of steel in automotive applications provides a range of
functional and societal benefits. These include:
* Environmental responsibility through energy and resource efficiency
* 100% recyclable with current recycling rates approaching 100%
* Safety through design and material selection
* High volume production through established and innovative manufacturing
techniques
* Inherent affordability through modern manufacturing technologies
* Low cost of ownership including ease of repair
Explaining the rationale behind the program, Dr. Christoph Schneider,
chairman of the new consortium, said in Miami, "The original ULSAB project
heightened interest in the use of steel in energy efficient, cost-effective
automobile structures. It was the extremely positive reactions from the
automotive industry to the ULSAB project that have encouraged us to embark on
this new program."
The consortium has commissioned Porsche Engineering Services, Inc. (PES)
of Troy, Mich., USA, to undertake the program. PES will be integrating
automotive industry feedback and the knowledge it acquired in the development
of the ULSAB body structure into this new initiative.
Summarizing, Dr. Schneider said, "ULSAB has demonstrated that steel is
capable of providing solutions to the most challenging automotive problems at
affordable cost without sacrifice of safety or performance. In addition,
steel does not exhibit the technology barriers characteristic of other
materials. This new program will reaffirm the steel industry's commitment to
the automotive industry and further enhance steel's position as the material
of choice in automotive applications."
The ULSAB-AVC Consortium currently consists of the following companies:
AK Steel Corporation - USA
Bethlehem Steel Corporation - USA
BHP Steel - Australia
British Steel plc - United Kingdom
Dofasco Inc. - Canada
Hoogovens Staal NV - The Netherlands
Iscor Steel Flat Products - South Africa
Ispat Inland, Inc. - USA
Kobe Steel, Ltd. - Japan
LTV Steel Company, Inc. - USA
National Steel Corporation - USA
Nippon Steel Corporation - Japan
NKK Corporation - Japan
Pohang Iron and Steel Co., Ltd
(POSCO) -- Republic of Korea
Rautaruukki Oyi - Finland
Rouge Steel Company - USA
Salzgitter AG - Germany
SIDERAR S.A.I.C. - Argentina
SSAB Tunnplat - Sweden
Stelco Inc. - Canada
The Tata Iron and Steel Company, Ltd. (TISCO) - India
Thyssen Krupp Stahl - Germany
USINOR Group - France
U.S. Steel Group, a unit of USX Corporation - USA
VOEST-ALPINE STAHL LINZ GmbH - Austria
Weirton Steel Corporation - USA