| Steel Dynamics Announces Joint-Venture to Manufacture Composite Railroad Ties. |
| FORT WAYNE, INDIANA, March 9, 2006 — Today Steel Dynamics, Inc.
(NASDAQ:STLD) announced that it has formed a joint venture, Dynamic
Composites, LLC, which it will substantially own and control, for the
purpose of manufacturing high-strength, long-life composite railroad
ties. The joint venture plans to invest about $5 million, which will be
provided by Steel Dynamics, to equip and start up a facility at a site
to be determined that will have the capacity initially to produce
250,000 ties per year. Using automated manufacturing processes, the
plant is expected to employ about 20 people. Start-up of the plant is
expected by the end of 2006.
Composite ties will be manufactured under exclusive license from Primix Corporation, Atwood, Indiana, (OTC:PMXX) which previously developed and introduced the product under the “Primix” label. The composite tie consists of a formed steel core which is filled with concrete for stability and mass, and recycled synthetic inserts for spike retention. Both the core and the inserts are encapsulated by a synthetic material primarily made from recycled rubber and plastic. The steel used in the cores will be supplied by SDI’s Flat Roll Division. Steel Dynamics considers the composite tie business to be a natural complement to its rail business, offering specific product benefits to customers. Both products will share the same customer base, which is primarily North America’s Class I railroads. North American demand for railroad ties is estimated to range from 15 to 19 million ties per year, a $700 to $800 million market. Currently, wood ties comprise an estimated 95% of the market, the remainder being concrete, steel, and composite ties. SDI believes there is excellent potential for composite ties to gain a substantial share of this market because of the new product’s perceived longer life, operational benefits, and cost-effectiveness. Forward Looking StatementsThis press release contains some predictive statements about future events, including statements related to conditions in the steel marketplace, Steel Dynamics’ revenue growth, costs of raw materials, future profitability, and the operation of new or existing facilities. These statements are intended to be made as “forward-looking,” subject to many risks and uncertainties, within the safe harbor protections of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such predictive statements are not guarantees of future performance, and actual results could differ materially from our current expectations. We refer you to SDI’s detailed explanation of the many factors and risks that may cause such predictive statements to turn out differently, as set forth in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and in other reports which we from time to time file with the Securities and Exchange Commission, available publicly on the SEC Web site, www.sec.gov and on the company’s Web site, www.steeldynamics.com. Contact: |
| 3/9/2006 |