WEST CHESTER, Ohio, May 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- AK Steel said today that employees at its Middletown, Ohio steel plant have set a world record for consecutive heats of carbon steel continuously cast on either a single-strand or double-strand caster.
In a sequence that began on March 6, 2010, crews at the company's Middletown Works cast 2,156 consecutive heats of steel through the plant's double-strand caster. The sequence was ended on May 4, 2010 for a planned maintenance outage. During the 59-day sequence, a total of about 103 miles of carbon steel slabs were cast.
"Congratulations to our Middletown Works crews on their record-setting performance," said James L. Wainscott, chairman, president and CEO of AK Steel. "This extraordinary achievement exemplifies AK Steel's commitment to our key values of safety, quality and productivity."
Caster employees worked accident-free during the record-breaking run, while producing 474,131 tons of carbon steel slabs. Employees in the melting, maintenance, transportation, energy and blast furnace departments also contributed to the record performance.
AK Steel's Ashland, Kentucky plant previously held the world record for consecutive heats cast on a single-strand caster. That record - 1,851 consecutive heats - was set on September 26, 2002.
About AK Steel
AK Steel produces flat-rolled carbon, stainless and electrical steels, primarily for automotive, appliance, construction and electrical power generation and distribution markets. The company employs about 6,200 men and women in Middletown, Mansfield, Coshocton and Zanesville, Ohio; Butler, Pennsylvania; Ashland, Kentucky; Rockport, Indiana; and its corporate headquarters in West Chester, Ohio. Additional information about AK Steel is available on the company's web site at http://www.aksteel.com/.
AK Tube LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of AK Steel, employs about 300 men and women in plants in Walbridge, Ohio and Columbus, Indiana. AK Tube produces carbon and stainless electric resistance welded (ERW) tubular steel products for truck, automotive and other markets. Additional information about AK Tube LLC is available on its web site at http://www.aktube.com/.
AK Steel
CONTACT: Media: Alan H. McCoy, Vice President, Government and Public
Relations, +1-513-425-2826, or Investors: Albert E. Ferrara, Jr., Vice
President, Finance & CFO +1-513-425-2888
Web Site: http://www.aksteel.com/
