ashland oil
... Rockport Works and a plan to virtually eliminate all hot-rolled exposure. In 1999, AK Steel shifted from commodity steel products towards value-added steel products by merging with Armco Incorporated. From acquiring Armco, AK Steel increased its shipments of value-added, higher-profit products to 93%. AK Steel positioned itself to customers and the market by focusing and selling its steel primarily to the automotive industry, which accounted for 59% of its sales. AK Steel Corporation's financial problems begin within the steel industry itself. Excess capacity, increase of imports, rising energy cost, and a lower demand are major factors in the decline of the steel industry. In addition, the steel industry is not competitive worldwide. AK Steel has been one of the few survivors of the steel industry. The most important thing AK should do is to continue to modernize its product mix and enter new markets. AK has a huge amount of debt due to higher energy costs and pension and retirement benefits, and the only way to offset these expenses is to increase sales. The company has developed AgIon antimicrobial steel coating, which is a durable inorganic material that inhibits the growth of bacteria, mold, mildew, and other microorganisms. AK should aggressively market this new material, and this will increase sales tremendously. Using these new materials will give AK an edge over its competition, since the firm holds all rights and patents to the compound. Using the Internet to market new products could transform the steel business, and give AK a competitive advantage. An Internet-based approach to selling its products would also eliminate the need for distributors, because customers could order directly from the site. Since AK should focus on new and improved steel products, the company should sell off...