CST’s extraordinary operating performance is owed to a model based on highly qualified employees, preventative maintenance investments, product and market flexibility, ongoing strategic partnerships, continual technological upgrades, client service and an efficient energy matrix. It is also a result of the integration of all its areas toward a common objective to maintain operational stability.




      CST ran its plant at full capacity, operating above expectations through almost all of 2003, setting successive records and reaching outstanding performance benchmarks throughout the Company’s units.

      The steel shop reached an annualized output level of 5.4 million tons per year, with three months during the year exceeding 450,000 tons per month. The Company’s Converter #1 also set a world daily production record, completing 49 runs and pouring 15,400 tons of liquid steel. The converter’s refractory run also recorded its best historical average (44.33 runs/day).
      In the fourth quarter of 2003, a production loss was incurred as a result of an incident in the blast furnace area. The occurrence impacted liquid steel, slab and hot coil production, though it did not jeopardize the ability to reach annual production targets. Production recovered gradually, and in December Blast Furnace #1 reached record monthly pig iron production (323,000 tons) and productivity (2.36 t/m³/day).