IPSCO Installs Temper Mill in Paper Cal's St. Paul Facility
7 March 2000
IPSCO Installs Temper Mill in Paper Cal's St. Paul Facility; Company Expands Number of Plants to Offer Sophisticated Value-Added Steel Finishing
ST. PAUL, Minn.--March 7, 2000--IPSCO Inc. announced today that its subsidiary Paper Cal Steel Company would install a temper mill at its St. Paul, Minnesota, coil processing facility. The installation of this advanced technology allows IPSCO to offer the highest quality available in processed steel coil. This is the third temper mill that IPSCO has installed at its steel processing facilities."These temper mills, which improve steel shape and surface quality, have been included in two other IPSCO facilities," said David Sutherland, Vice President and General Manager, IPSCO Coil Processing. "This third facility broadens our proximity to potential and existing customers, as we will now be able to supply Central and Eastern Canada, the U.S. Northeast, the U.S. Southwest and the Upper Midwest."
"The product has been particularly well received by firms cutting parts out of plate using thermal cutting technologies such as laser and plasma arc. Following installation, the Minnesota processing facility will be a further source of highly engineered materials which find application in very sophisticated end uses," Mr. Sutherland noted.
"Because of its success thus far, this addition means we will have ample capacity to serve the regional markets where we already operate as coil processors. We have acquired a total of two sets of used mill stands so that another installation elsewhere could also be implemented quickly should the opportunity arise," Mr. Sutherland concluded.
The new mill will be installed at a cost of $8.2 million including capitalized interest and commissioning costs, and is expected to be in operation by November of this year, an unusually quick time frame and a result of IPSCO being able to purchase used mill stands, substantially reducing manufacturing time and cost. A sophisticated piece of equipment, it has the ability to handle widths up to 96 inches, thickness up to 0.5 inches, and high strength steels up to and exceeding 100,000 pounds per square inch yield strength. Capacity of the facility will be 300,000 tons per annum of cut-to-length product.
Apart from St. Paul, Houston, and Toronto IPSCO operates coil processing facilities in Surrey, British Columbia (also serving the U.S. Pacific Northwest) and Regina, Saskatchewan.
As a mini-mill flat rolled steel producer since 1960, IPSCO has over 40 years of experience producing a diversified group of steel products and providing value-added materials to its customers. The company is recognized as a leader in using technology to produce high quality products in the most efficient way and at the lowest possible cost. The company has processing operations throughout the United States and Canada.
For further information on IPSCO, please visit the company's Web site at www.ipsco.com.
This news release contains forward looking information with respect to IPSCO's operations and beliefs. Actual results may differ from these forward looking statements due to numerous factors, including estimated time of completion of equipment installation, cost of installation, and potential markets for the materials produced. These and other factors are outlined in IPSCO's regulatory filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including those on IPSCO's Annual Report for 1998, its MD&A and Form 40-F.