Worthington Industries expands in Chinese market via steel-framing venture

Worthington Industries is expanding in the Chinese market with the
launch of a joint venture that will produce steel-framed housing, the
company said this morning.

The Columbus-based steel processor will own 40 percent of the venture
and Hubei Modern Urban construction and Development Group Co. of China
will own 60 percent. The venture will be known as Worthington Modern
Steel Framing System Co.

"We have invested resources in China over the past five years to pursue
this market, and those efforts are starting to pay off," said John P.
McConnell, Worthington chairman and CEO, in a statement.

Worthington's metal framing business has been the worst performing of
its major divisions, largely because of the downturn in commercial
building in the United States.

This new initiative, separate from the existing metal-framing
operations, will give the company greater access to a rapidly growing
market.

"Our Shanghai design office has been engaged in trial steel-framed
mid-rise buildings for several months with the Ministry of Construction
as China focuses on national building codes that promote steel framing,"
McConnell said.

The China venture will be located in Xintao in the Hubei province, a
part of central China that is receiving significant development
investment from the government, Worthington said. The venture will
operate in five provinces that have a combined population of about 300
million.