
BackgroundSeverstal North America, Inc. (“SNA”) ranks as the fourth largest integrated steel company in the United States with its manufacturing facilities and corporate headquarters located in Dearborn, Michigan. SNA produces high quality flat-rolled carbon steel products - hot rolled, cold rolled, electrogalvanized and hot-dip galvanized - for customers in the automotive industry as well as for customers in the converter, service center and other related markets. To increase its line of value-added products, SNA has formed a number of joint ventures with other steel companies. Pursuing its commitment to an exceptional quality product and to the protection of human and environmental health, SNA has earned TS 16949, OHSAS 18001 and ISO 14001 certifications, the international standards for quality, health and safety and environmental management systems, respectively. SNA is a wholly-owned subsidiary of OAO Severstal ("Severstal"), one of Russia's largest steelmakers and one of the top fifteen integrated steel manufacturers in the world. History of the CompanyOn January 30, 2004, Severstal and its U.S.-based affiliate Severstal North America, Inc. acquired substantially all the assets of Rouge Industries, Inc. and its primary operating subsidiary Rouge Steel Company. As the first foreign acquisition made by Severstal, Alexey Mordashov, CEO of Severstal, hailed the SNA purchase as an important milestone in the global consolidation of the steel industry. He regarded the acquisition as an opportunity to combine the best qualities of the respective companies and to strengthen their economic effectiveness and market positioning. Joint VenturesIn addition to the integrated facility in Dearborn, Michigan, SNA also acquired Rouge Industries’ ownership interest in Double Eagle Steel Coating Company (“Double Eagle”) and its interest in Spartan Steel Coating, LLC (“Spartan Steel”). Double Eagle, a joint venture with United States Steel Corporation located in Dearborn, Michigan, is the world's largest electrogalvanizing line, producing premium-quality galvanized sheet steel primarily for automotive customers. Spartan Steel, a joint venture with Worthington Steel of Michigan located in Monroe, Michigan, produces hot-dip galvanized sheet steel primarily for automotive and service center customers. Mountain State Carbon, LLC (“Mountain State”), located in Follansbee, West Virginia, is a coke-making joint venture between SNA Carbon, LLC (a wholly-owned subsidiary of SNA) and Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel Corporation. Mountain State was formed to provide its owners a reliable supply of high quality, competitively-priced domestic coke. |