Four Steel Mills Start Up Praxair's CoJet^TM Gas Injection System

November 15, 1999

Praxair, Inc. today announced start-up of its patented CoJet^TM gas injection system at four steel mills: CSC Ltd., Ohio; Global Steel and Wire S.A., Spain; SiderPotenza SpA., Italy; and Siderca S.A., Argentina.

Praxair currently licenses its CoJet system to steel makers for installation on new or existing electric arc furnaces. The system, which can save a typical steel mill an estimated $1.2 million per year, uses wall-mounted nozzles for lancing and provides energy savings, safety, productivity and environmental benefits. To date, the technology is operating at 12 steel mills in six different countries.

CSC Ltd., a division of The Reserve Group, is a specialty steel maker based in Warren, Ohio, with annual output of 342,000 metric tons. The company produces special bar quality (SBQ) steel products for the automotive and construction industries. Praxair supplies oxygen to the steel maker via a 50 metric tons-per-day non-cryogenic oxygen generating plant at the CSC site. Liquid argon and nitrogen will continue to be delivered via cryogenic trailer from nearby Praxair air separation plants.

Global Steel and Wire S.A. operates a 130 metric ton electric arc furnace at its plant in Santander, on the northern coast of Spain, producing about 700,000 metric tons per year of construction quality steel.

SiderPotenza is a member of the Italian LUCCHINI SpA group and operates a 75 metric tons electric arc furnace in Potenza, Italy, about 150 km south of Naples. The facility produces more than 400,000 metric tons of steel per year to make rebar.

Siderca is the first steel mill in South America to use the new oxygen injection system, which is well-suited to furnaces like those at Siderca that use scrap alternatives such as direct reduced iron because the system provides faster decarburization and higher rates of oxygen lancing. Siderca is one of the steel manufacturing companies of Techint group and produces 1 million metric tons of steel annually. Praxair supplies oxygen and other industrial gases to Siderca from a nearby air separation plant.

Praxair is the largest industrial gases company in North and South America, and one of the largest worldwide, with 1998 sales of $4.8 billion. The company produces, sells and distributes atmospheric and process gases, and high-performance surface coatings. Praxair products, services and technology bring productivity and environmental benefits to a wide variety of industries, including aerospace, food and beverage, healthcare, electronics, steel, chemicals and refining, metal fabrication, water treatment, glass and others.

Praxair, Inc.