Steelmaking at Port Kembla History Corporate Overview Nature of the Port Kembla Steelworks Steel Production (Processes & Products) Extras Environment Marketing Research Working at the Steelworks Steel Language Important (www) Links HSC Online International Iron & Steel Institute

The Port Kembla Steelworks is located 80 kilometres south of Sydney in the heart of Port Kembla, an industrial suburb in the Greater City of Wollongong. A fully integrated plant with steelmaking capacity of 5 million tonnes a year, the Steelworks is situated on an area of 800 hectares and directly employs up to 6000 people, The Steelworks is one of the world's most technically advanced producers of high quality slab, plate and strip products. It has become arguably one of Australia's most valuable industries, competing for overseas markets and providing valuable export dollars for the Australian economy. The steelworks has a history as a plant operated by the Broken Hill Proprietary Limited (BHP) Company. BHP was a transnational corporation and because of its large size the company was divided into three sectors: minerals (mining - iron, coal, silver); steel (iron and steel, steel products) and petroleum (oil and gas). BHP started its steel operations at Newcastle. The acquisition of the Port Kembla Steelworks from the Hoskins family and the later takeover of John Lysaghts gave BHP monopoly control of both iron and steel production across Australia. This helped BHP negotiate major government support during the 1980's to overcome the impact of reduced tariff protection for Australian industry. The steel industry plan was worth $100 million per year for 5 years with BHP committing a massive amount to redevelop the Port Kembla plant to make it more efficient. The "spin-off" of the Port Kembla Steelworks into a seperate company was a major change in corporate direction for BHP i.e. selling off steel and concentrating on mining in partnership with another transnational firm Billiton. One significant step in this process was to close the "old technology" Newcastle plant. BHP also divested a significant part of the rest of its steel sector with the creation of OneSteel. This involved linking a number of BHP's steel production operations including Tubemakers/Metaland, OneSteel Reinforcing, the Whyalla steel making plant, the Sydney Mini-mill which produces rod and bar products, several wire making plants and Steel and Tube Holdings, NZ. The new Company formed arounf the Port Kembla Steelworks was initially called BHP Steel, but in 2003 became known as BlueScope Steel - see www.bluescopesteel.com. The Port Kembla Steelworks is very competitive internationally because unlike many other companies, it has had to operate without the benefit of government tariff, quota and subsidy support. This has made the company a very tough competitor i.e. it is considered to be an efficient, low cost, high quality producer. In its formative years, the relatively low value of the $Aust. made steel production for BlueScope Steel cheaper and helped the Port Kembla Steelworks to increased its steel exports. Shareholder value for BlueScope Steel is of paramount concern. The company is accountable to shareholders who are interested in profits because if the company is not profitable then its value (share price) will decrease. The Steel Industry is a mature business (an efficient producer with a good customer base) but BlueScope Steel at Port Kembla is well placed to grow its business due to the use of leading edge technology involved in steel coating processes that produce COLORBOND® and ZINCALUME® products in particular. Shareholders are only one part of the philosophy of BlueScope Steel, however. The Company uses a "Bond" as a guidelines to how it conducts business; We and our customers proudly bring inspiration, strength and colour to communities with BlueScope Steel. Our customers are our partners. Our success depends on our customers and suppliers choosing us. Our strength lies in working closely with them to create value and trust, together with superior products, service and ideas. Our people are our strength. Our success comes from our people. We work in a safe and satisfying environment. We choose to treat each other with trust and respect and maintain a healthy balance between work and family life. Our experience, teamwork and ability to deliver steel inspired solutions are our most valued and rewarded strengths. Our shareholders are our foundations. Our success is made possible by the shareholders and lenders who choose to invest in us. In return, we commit to continuing profitability and growth in value, which together, make us all stronger. Our communities are our homes. Our success relies on communities supporting our business and products. In turn, we care for the environment, create wealth, respect local values and encourage involvement. Our strength is in choosing to do what is right.

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