Endless possibilities

Corus Wire Rod

ContentsSteelmaking expertise 03Continuous investment 04Adding value 05Partnerships 06World-class products 07

Steelmakingexpertise on aglobal scaleCorus is an international, customer-focused steelmanufacturing company. In 2007, it became a subsidiaryof Tata Steel, and the group is now the sixth largest steel manufacturer in the world, with a capacity toproduce 28 million tonnes of crude steel per year and employing 83,000 people across four continents.

Investing in premium productsCorus Wire Rod is a core business unit within the group located on the integrated steelmaking site inScunthorpe, UK.

As a strategically important Corusbusiness, it has benefited from a seriesof major investments in steelmaking,rolling and distribution facilities. These investments enable the wirerod business to pursue its strategy ofdeveloping high-quality, premium rodproducts and services for the global wire industry.

Understanding our customersWe build long-term relationships withour customers by consistently providingthe quality of rod needed to fulfil theirrequirements.

03

We are continually investing in ourmanufacturing processes, our qualitysystems and our people to ensure we keep pace with rapidly evolving customer demands.

04

Continuous investmentCorus Wire Rod delivers premium grade products from our world-class rod mill. This is achieved bycontinuous investment in manufacturing facilities and management systems.

Ongoing investment in excellenceTo deliver consistent high-qualitypremium rod products, Corus has made significant capital investments at Scunthorpe. In 2005, a 20mdevelopment involved enhancement of the rolling mill, new sampling andinspection facilities and introduced astate-of-the-art automated warehousingand despatch facility.

Further investment in 2007 of 190m the biggest investment at the site for30 years introduced a streamlinedsupply route into the rod mill andimproves the quality of billet and bloomfeedstock. A brand-new continuousbloom caster was installed to feed a new size of bloom directly into the rod mill and eliminate the need forintermediate reheating and rolling offeedstock. Within the rod mill, a newbloom reheat furnace and breakdownmill were installed to process this newsize of feedstock and deliver it in to theexisting rod mill process.

The benefits delivered by theseinvestments include:

cleaner steels with reduceddecarburisation and more consistentmicrostructure

a simplified and more flexible processroute for rod manufacture

an enhanced rod size range,increasing the maximum diameterfrom 13.5mm to 15mm, and heaviercoil weights up to 2.2 tonnes

improvements in dimensional controland surface quality of rod

faster inspection, testing and releaseof coils

improvements in coil handling andstorage, which eliminate mechanicaldamage for grades where surfacequality is critical.

Quality-assured products and processesAll wire rod products are manufacturedvia the same approved process route,throughout steelmaking and rod rolling.Our quality systems satisfy ISO9001:2000 and are audited consistentlyby Lloyds register. The Scunthorpe siteis also approved to the ISO 14001environmental management standard.

Corus employs a continuousimprovement programme based on the principles of lean thinking. Thisapproach is applied consistently in each of the businesses, with continuousimprovement coaches ensuring that wemanage our processes and people foroptimum performance.

Significant capitalinvestments enable Corusto deliver high qualitypremium rod products.

05

Working together to add valueCorus Wire Rod offers much more than steel.We recognise that our success dependsupon our customers success, and westrive to establish partnerships that addvalue by providing expertise, advice andresources. We believe in developingspecial relationships that create valueand deliver complete supply chainsolutions.

At the heart of our efforts is ourknowledge and experience in steelmetallurgy and rod manufacture. Wework hard to stay one step ahead of thelatest innovations, often working in co-operation with our customers on solutions for specific wireapplications. By focusing on technicalcollaboration, we aim to understandeach customers manufacturing processand help them to improve and developtheir own products.

Developing the supply chainOur approach to supply chainexcellence recognises that reducingcosts and improving efficiency are key to success in the wire industry.We help customers to achieve theseobjectives with:

the most frequent production cycle of any rod mill in Europe. We roll most of our rod diameters at leastonce within a two-week cycle offering optimum lead times andhelping customers to keep stocks to a minimum

efficient delivery schedules fordestinations around the world, using Corus distribution and logisticsresources and specialist haulagecontractors

a range of online services andelectronic documents that makedealing with Corus Wire Rod simpler,faster and more efficient.

06

Corus Wire RodOur philosophy is that successful partnerships are the key to successful business.

As well as delivering quality productsand services, we recognise the need to develop and maintain relationshipswith key people within our customersbusinesses. This approach enables us to fully understand our customersrequirements so that we consistentlymeet their high standards.

Account managementLeading our efforts to understand every business we work with are ourdedicated account management teams.Every customer is assigned to anaccount management team, who willmanage all aspects of the supply chain,from initial product specification andtechnical stages of an order, to stockmanagement and final delivery.

In many cases, account managementteams work in tandem with the localCorus sales office in each country,meaning that help and support is neverfar away wherever you are in theworld. Corus has sales offices andservice centres in more than 40countries worldwide, and is developingthe network in new markets.

Technical supportThe focus of our technical support forcustomers is to build an understandingof their manufacturing processes, so that we can help to improve anddevelop their products.

In addition to the expertise within thewire rod business, we draw ondedicated research and developmentresources at Corus technology centres,such as Swinden Technology Centre.The technical expertise and facilitieshere enable us to conduct joint researchand development projects withcustomers, helping them to developinnovative solutions for their supplychains.

Online servicesOur online facility offers a range ofelectronic services and documents thatmake dealing with Corus simpler, fasterand more efficient. The services include:

rolling programme displays order progress account status monitoring electronic documentation.

We also offer an auto email service,delivering up-to-date order statusinformation and documentation direct to customers inboxes.

Corus Wire Rod onlineservices provides aninnovative way to workmore closely with us.

07

Premium rod productsMajor investments at Scunthorpe havefocused on improving the quality andrange of products we manufacture.

We strive to consistently supply thequality of wire rod demanded byindividual customers in a range ofmarkets. Our strategy is to focus ondeveloping high-value drawing qualityand premium rod products for theinternational wire industry.

A wide range of steel compositions,from ultra-low carbon (1.0%C), areavailable. These include specific gradesfor tyre cord, free-cutting and cold-heading applications, as well as micro-alloy compositions. The table belowsummarises the main product qualities,their characteristics and applications inthe wire industry.

Rod diameter 5.5-15.0mm in

0.5mm increments

Coil weight Nominal 2100kg

Coil dimensions Outside diameter 1250mm

Inside diameter 850mm

Product range

Category Steel type Characteristics Typical applications

Low carbon steels (

Care has been taken to ensure that thisinformation is accurate, but Corus Group plc,and its subsidiaries, does not acceptresponsibility or liability for errors orinformation which is found to be misleading.

Copyright 2008Corus

Design: www.ledgardjepson.com

Corus Wire RodPO Box 1Brigg RoadScunthorpeNorth LincolnshireDN16 1BPUnited KingdomT +44 (0) 1724 405 455F +44 (0) 8790 023 126E wirerod@corusgroup.com

www.coruswirerod.com