September 30, 2007 — ArcelorMittal and ThyssenKrupp Steel have decided to close Steel 24-7, the e-commerce platform they own and had been administrating jointly. The site was established by four steelmakers in 2001, though three of those producers were consolidated into Arcelor S.A. in 2002. Arcelor was formed by Usinor S.A., Arbed S.A., and Aceralia S.A., and last year it agreed to merge with Mittal Steel.
Corus Plc. had been an original investor in the venture, but its stake was acquired by ThysssenKrupp Steel in 2004.
In a statement, ArcelorMittal explained that "the evolution of information technology and the fast-paced consolidation of the steel industry have given a decisive competitive edge to more individualized solutions, thus making the original concept of Steel 24-7 obsolete."
Both ArcelorMittal and ThyssenKrupp indicate they intend to develop their own separate e-commerce platforms.
The decision to close Steel 24-7 was made in late August and confirmed by a shareholders' meeting September 28.
Reports indicate that Steel 24-7 has more than 700 registered customers in 37 countries, though most of the buyers are understood to be European operations. More than 1 million transactions are said to have been processed during the site's years of operation.
Whilst the Internet has impacted greatly on the way that we purchase consumer goods, I have always had doubts about it's roll in the steel market. Anyone know of an unmitigated success story?
Tell me :-)
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