News Release - Supply Chain Partnership Honored for Industry-First Innovation Found in 2014 Acura MDX

Media contacts:

ArcelorMittal
Mary Beth Holdford
(330) 659-9121
marybeth.holdford@arcelormittal.com 

Honda North America, Inc.
Mark Morrison
(937) 644-6487
mark_morrison@hna.honda.com 

Magna
Tracy Fuerst
(248) 631-5396
tracy.fuerst@magna.com

 

Supply chain partnership honored for industry-first innovation found in 2014 Acura MDX

ArcelorMittal, Honda and Magna partner to launch laser-welded, hot-stamped door ring resulting in significant weight reduction and improved safety

April 8, 2014 – ArcelorMittal, Honda and Magna’s Cosma International announced today that a joint nomination for the 2014 Automotive News PACE Awards was selected as the winner in the ‘Manufacturing Process and Capital Equipment’ category for the industry’s first laser-welded, hot-stamped door ring in the 2014 Acura MDX.

Winners were announced at the 20th annual Automotive News PACE Awards ceremony on April 7, 2014, at The Max M. Fisher Music Center in Detroit. The PACE Awards celebrate automotive suppliers' innovations in products, manufacturing processes and information technology, according to Automotive News.

Additionally, Honda, in partnership with ArcelorMittal and Magna’s Cosma International, was awarded the 2014 Innovation Partnership Award. This award comes from the collective vote of the independent panel of PACE Award judges after considering all 34 finalists for 2014 on the scope of collaboration and innovation as seen in their respective evaluations and personal site visits. According to J. Ferron, director of judging for the PACE Awards, the judges select the OEMs who have collaborated in very unique ways to commercialize innovations.

“We are honored to receive such significant industry recognition from Automotive Newsfor our partnership with ArcelorMittal and Magna’s Cosma International to develop the world’s first ultra-high strength steel, one piece front door stiffner ring. This partnership was integral to achieving our vision of ‘lighter, stronger, faster’ for the MDX,” said James A. Keller, vice president, auto development strategy, Honda R&D Americas, Inc.

“The door ring enhances the safety performance of the MDX to meet today’s stringent roof crush and side impact standards, as well as the rigorous new IIHS small overlap front crash test. Ultimately, the cost effective, strong yet lightweight door ring helps deliver on Honda’s core values of safety and environmental responsibility by providing better fuel economy and improved overall performance to our customers,” said Keller.

Working from Honda’s design, the innovation encompassed three-years of technology development and collaboration among the partners. The award-winning door ring – a key part of the body structure that gives automobiles their strength and shape -- sets a new standard in comparison to conventional multi-piece, spot-weld designs.

The door ring starts at the largest integrated steelmaking operation in North America, ArcelorMittal Indiana Harbor in East Chicago, Ind., with the production of patented Usibor® 1500, an aluminum silicon coated advanced high strength steel. The Usibor® 1500 steel is prepped at an ArcelorMittal joint venture in Dearborn, Mich., then shipped to ArcelorMittal Tailored Blanks in Pioneer, Ohio, where the enabling technology for the door ring, called laser ablation, takes place. After the laser ablation, a quality control process is done via a high-tech process to ensure precision.

Once the finished laser-welded blanks successfully pass inspection, they are shipped to Magna’s Cosma International operating unit in Eagle Bend, Tenn., where they are hot stamped into the finished door ring before heading to Honda’s production facility in Lincoln, Ala., to become part of the Acura MDX. The ultimate result after hot-stamping is a lighter, stronger body structure that translates to better fuel economy and safety ratings for consumers.

“Both PACE awards offer significant recognition of Honda’s innovative spirit and the collaboration that existed between all three partners to commercialize an industry-first technology that translates to important benefits for Honda, its suppliers and consumers,” said Greg Ludkovsky, vice president, global research & development, ArcelorMittal. “We’re proud to be the leader in providing innovative steel solutions to help automakers achieve demanding fuel efficiency requirements at a lower cost, and with lower total lifecycle CO₂ emissions, than competing materials.”

John Farrell, president, Cosma International, said: “It’s an honor to receive this recognition. Through collaboration with our customer Honda and leading steel company ArcelorMittal, we are able to provide a smart, well-engineered solution that helps meet emissions, fuel economy and safety challenges.”

The combination of Honda’s design, ArcelorMittal’s steel and laser-welded blank technology, and Cosma’s hot-stamping manufacturing process resulted in a weight reduction of 8.6 pounds on the Acura MDX. Overall, the door ring innovation helps the 2014 Acura MDX (V6, AWD) achieve fuel economy of 18/27 MPG city/highway, an improvement of two MPG city and six MPG highway over the 2013 model.

 

About ArcelorMittal

ArcelorMittal is the world's leading steel and mining company, with a presence in more than 60 countries and an industrial footprint in over 20 countries. Guided by a philosophy to produce safe, sustainable steel, we are the leading supplier of quality steel in the major global steel markets including automotive, construction, household appliances and packaging, with world-class research and development and outstanding distribution networks.

Through our core values of sustainability, quality and leadership, we operate responsibly with respect to the health, safety and wellbeing of our employees, contractors and the communities in which we operate.

For us, steel is the fabric of life, as it is at the heart of the modern world from railways to cars and washing machines. We are actively researching and producing steel-based technologies and solutions that make many of the products and components we use in our everyday lives more energy-efficient.

We are one of the world’s five largest producers of iron ore and metallurgical coal and our mining business is an essential part of our growth strategy. With a geographically diversified portfolio of iron ore and coal assets, we are strategically positioned to serve our network of steel plants and the external global market. While our steel operations are important customers, our supply to the external market is increasing as we grow.

In 2013, ArcelorMittal had revenues of $79.4 billion and crude steel production of 91.2 million tonnes, while iron ore production reached 58.4 million tonnes.

ArcelorMittal is listed on the stock exchanges of New York (MT), Amsterdam (MT), Paris (MT), Luxembourg (MT) and on the Spanish stock exchanges of Barcelona, Bilbao, Madrid and Valencia (MTS). For more information about ArcelorMittal please visit: www.arcelormittal.com.

 

About Honda

Honda established operations in America in 1959, and now employs more than 33,000 associates in its North America sales, R&D and manufacturing. It now operates 15 major manufacturing facilities in North America, producing a wide range of Honda and Acura automobiles, automobile engines and transmissions, Honda all-terrain vehicles, and power equipment products such as lawn mowers, mini-tillers and general purpose engines, using domestic and globally sourced parts. 

This includes eight Honda auto plants in the North American region that have the capacity to produce 1.92 million automobiles each year.  Honda operates major research and development centers in the U.S. that fully design, develop and engineer many of the products Honda produces in North America. 

In 2013, nearly 95 percent of the Honda and Acura automobiles sold in the U.S. were produced in North America.

 

About Magna International

We are a leading global automotive supplier with 316 manufacturing operations and 84 product development, engineering and sales centres in 29 countries. We have over 125,000 employees focused on delivering superior value to our customers through innovative products and World Class Manufacturing. Our product capabilities include producing body, chassis, interior, exterior, seating, powertrain, electronic, vision, closure and roof systems and modules, as well as complete vehicle engineering and contract manufacturing. Our common shares trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange (MG) and the New York Stock Exchange (MGA). For further information about Magna, visit our website at www.magna.com.

 

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