THYSSEN KRUPP: If you can Lift it,you can Steel it

PARIS (AFX) - Joseph Kinsch, chairman of Arcelor's administrative board,
said the company will begin to close its land-locked European blast furnaces,
focusing instead on coastal sites that are more profitable.
"We have to have a competitive price with regards to our rivals. Notably
those in Russia and Brazil, which have iron ore and coal. Against these steel
groups, which are our competitive sites? The coastal ones," Kinsch said in an
interview with French daily Le Monde.
"We will not make any new investments at our continental sites. These will
progressively be closed," he said.
Arcelor is also considering the sale of its US stainless steel unit J&L, as
the company does not have the means to become a leader in the American market.
"For stainless steel, we will concentrate on Europe and Brazil," Kinsch
said.
Concerning China, Kinsch said Arcelor will only look to build partnerships
in downstream steel operations. "It would be great to have a blast furnace in
Shanghai, but we don't, and we don't have the means to have one."
He added that he expects further concentration among global steel companies,
conceding that Arcelor may not be the world's largest steel group in the future.
"We may be knocked off our throne in terms of production volumes. But there
are other ways to be a leader, through technology and client services," Kinsch
said.
"Arcelor must be a model of organistion, of management, and of
profitability," he said.
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