AK Steel (AKS) Launches Nexmet Line Of High Strength Steels
Zacks Investment Research | Aug 23, 2016 05:03AM ET
AK Steel Holding Corporation (NYSE:AKS) declared that it is introducing Nexmet, an innovative family of high strength steels for use in automotive lightweighting applications. The products are geared to help automotive original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) in meeting 2025 U.S. Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) targets.
The Nexmet family of products will provide high strength, greater ductility, and enhanced formability solutions for a variety of needs for structural and exterior automotive body lightweighting uses.
Nexmet 440EX is the company's first new steel to be launched in this line of products. The product combines high yield and tensile strength at thinner gauges to enable lightweight designs. This results in increased performance where surface appearance and dent resistance are critical. AK Steel's Nexmet 440EX is currently available and is being qualified by automotive OEMs as a steel solution for exposed body panel lightweighting needs.
AK Steel will launch its next generation Advanced High Strength Steel (AHSS) products – Nexmet 1000 and 1200 – in early 2017, after completing upgrades at the company’s Dearborn Works hot dip galvanized line. These products will offer considerably improved ductility at tensile strengths of 1000 megapascal (MPa) and 1200 MPa, and will be used to help lightweight automotive body structures.
AK Steel is well placed to gain from strength in the automotive market and higher shipment of steel products to automakers, supported by increased automotive builds. The company is witnessing continued momentum in the automotive market, driven by high rates of light vehicles production and sales. Automotive contribution to the company’s revenues was 60% last year.
AK Steel has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Better-ranked stocks in the steel space include ArcelorMittal (NYSE:MT) , Schnitzer Steel Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:SCHN) and Ternium S.A. (NYSE:TX) . While both ArcelorMittal and Schnitzer Steel sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), Ternium carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
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