Mukherjee: 2004 a Banner Year for Steel Industry

John Wolz

Interwire 2005 drew 5,200 attendees, up 12% from the previous show indicating “continued signs of resurgence” in the industry, according to the Wire Association International Inc.
About 500 companies exhibited at Interwire 2005 held May 14-19, 2005, in Atlanta.
Keynoter Malay Mukherjee, COO of Mittal Steel company, noted that the “global steel industry enjoyed a banner year in 2004, even when China”s role was taken out of the equation.” Trade continued to “flow towards higher price markets.” Mukherjee stressed that steel producers must make customers aware of the need for “decent margins if the industry is to continue to go forward with the necessary innovation and technology”
Mittal Steel, recently became the world”s largest steel producer.
Mukherjee suggested a need for further industry consolidation and good management by steel producers for long term success.
The trade show featured an Italian pavilion and the International Wire & Machinery Association pavilion.
Sponsors this year included the American Wire Producers Association, Powder Coating Institute, Society of Plastic Enginers, Wire & Cable Industry Suppliers Association and the educational allies of the Asociacion National de Transformadores de Acero and the Australasian Wire Industry Association.
The next major WAI event will be an international technical conference in October 24-26, 2005, in Prague, Czech Republic. Web: wirenet.org �2005 FastenerNews.com