ANNUAL REPORT ARCELOR 2003 - paperJam

Durability: Manufacturers are now able to offerwarranties of up to 30 years thanks to the coatedsteel products currently available on the market.Currently the customary warranty is 12 years.Steel is constantly evolving: Nearly 30 qualitiesof different steel products can be specified for a bodyin white depending on the desired performance. 60%of the steel products on the market today did not exist5 years ago.Steel solutions in packagingSafety: Steel packaging offers excellent protectionfor the products it contains, be they canned products,beverages, baby milk powder, coffee… or any otherproduct. Its strength makes it an indispensablepackaging for any type of product, its robustnessallows it to absorb shocks, its imperviousness tolight, gas and micro-organisms prevents any kind ofdegradation of the contents for a long period of time,and finally its durability makes it completely safe forconsumers.Steel solutions in household appliancesSteel products, aside from their intrinsic qualities interms of cost reduction in the finished product, theiraesthetic and acoustic properties, their ease of useand energy savings, are also environmentally friendly.The European WEEE directives, which will come intoforce in 2006 and concern the recycling of electronicand electrical devices, constitute a tremendousopportunity for promoting the economic and ecologicalinterests of steel use in the design of householdappliances thanks to the ability to recycle steel materialindefinitely.Environment: The magnetic properties of steelfacilitate recycling whatever the processing of usedpackaging: selective sorting, composting, incineration.Cans have become significantly lighter in the last tenyears, representing a reduction in material at the source.Finally, steel can be and is recycled to become a newsteel product.120ANNUAL REPORT ARCELOR 2003