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U. S. Steel Serves Automotive Customers Better at New Center

14 October 1999

U. S. Steel Serves Automotive Customers Better at New State-of-the-Art Automotive Center in Troy, Michigan

    TROY, Mich., Oct. 13 -- Thirteen months after U.S. Steel's
Automotive Group held groundbreaking ceremonies for its new automotive center
in Troy, Michigan, the 43,300-square-foot facility is open for business.  The
new center has become the focal point for all of U.S. Steel's automotive
business. It brings together under one roof, automotive sales, product
technology and distribution and logistics services.  But, the heart and soul
of the building is its state-of-the-art 14,000-square-foot steel automotive
applications facility, located at 5850 New King Court, near the I-75/Crooks
Road Interchange.
    The applications facility includes a material test lab, a mechanical test
lab, a metallography lab, a CAE Lab, a machine shop and a steel sample bank
storage area.  These labs and support shops provide a broad range of
capabilities for both evaluating steel properties and for conducting
simulative forming tests to assess sheet steel performance in a variety of
manufacturing conditions. The facility also includes component testing for
structural performance and computer aided engineering (CAE) facilities to
support design and computer simulation capabilities.
    "We built the new automotive center for one reason -- to serve our
automotive customers better," says Paul Kadlic, U.S. Steel's vice president of
sales.
    "U.S. Steel is more than just a steel manufacturer or a commodity
supplier," Kadlic continued.  "We're an engineered materials company.  That's
where our new steel-applications facility comes into play.  It's key to
working with our customers to understand their needs and provide solutions to
their problems.  Our mission will be to improve the quality and performance of
our products and to help our automotive customers reduce their costs.  In the
end, we want to keep steel the material of choice and make U. S. Steel the
supplier of choice."
    "An essential part of our value-added approach to the automotive market is
our Early Vendor Involvement (EVI) Program," added Jim Kutka, general manager-
automotive for U.S. Steel.  "The purpose of EVI is to identify improvements in
all phases of the auto making process from design through production.  The
earlier we can get involved the better."
    The EVI initiative is spearheaded by the Product Technology Group which
works in the key areas of cost reduction, design services, tooling services
and customer technical support.  This group also works closely with our other
industry representatives in sales, quality assurance and research.

    U.S. Steel Group of USX Corporation (U.S. Steel), with an annual
raw steel capacity of 12.8 million tons, is the largest integrated steel
producer in the United States.  The Company, headquartered in Pittsburgh,
manufactures and sells a wide variety of steel mill products and raw materials
-- such as metallurgical coke and taconite pellets -- from its operations in
Gary, Indiana; Fairfield, Alabama; Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania;
and the Mesabi Iron Range in Minnesota.  Its activities also include
management of mineral resources, domestic coal mining, engineering and
consulting services, and technology licensing.
    Heavy investment -- more than $7 billion in the last two decades -- in
advanced technology and a proven track record of profitability have kept the
U.S. Steel Group at the forefront of both American and international
steelmaking.  U.S. Steel's substantial capital investment reflects its strong
commitment to competitive improvement and environmental enhancement.
State-of-the-art technology now controls more than 95 percent of emissions
from company production facilities, while the company is increasingly focused
on outright prevention of pollution at the source.
    U.S. Steel is committed to maximizing and balancing the benefits its
operations bring to all its employees, customers, shareholders and
communities.
    For more information on U.S. Steel, visit the Company's Website at
http://www.usx.com or http://www.ussteel.com.