Ladd Hall of Nucor Steel at CPBIS Distinguished Lecture Series: Bestmarking performance in the steel industry - why success occurs.

ATLANTA, GEORGIA, January 23, 2004 – (PR Newswire) -- This seminar was given today by Mr. Ladd Hall, Vice President and General Manager of Nucor Steel from 11:00-12:30 pm EST. Mr. Hall spoke on "Bestmarking performance in the steel industry - why success occurs". As always the Distinguished Lecture Series was offered live in the Institute of Paper Science and Technology’s Kress Auditorium and by live and archived webcast.

For more information on the Distinguished Lecture Series or to register please click on: http://www.cpbis.gatech.edu/connect/forumslectures/distlect03_04/index.htm or contact Charley Burney by phone at 404-894-1488 or Charley.Burney@cpbis.gatech.edu

Nucor Steel is one of the Steel Industry's few domestic relative success stories of the past decade or so. This lecture's focus was on what Nucor Steel calls Best Marketing -- where Nucor has analyzed itself, its competition, and the best performing companies across many industries to identify why success occurs.

Nucor has modified its best practices to meet its needs and foster an environment of continuous improvement. The firm has formed corporate-wide teams that are dedicated to improving safety, quality, productivity, costs, customer service, delivery performance, consistency, and reliability. In sales, Nucor measures success based upon shareholder value, meeting customer needs, operating earnings versus its competition, selling value versus its competition, and market share in strategic sectors. In manufacturing, Nucor measures success based again upon share holder value, achieving the industry's low cost position and reducing costs, improving quality and maximizing assets' performance. Success is found at Nucor by pursing this portfolio of directed goals.

Ladd Hall has been with the Nucor Corporation for the past 22 years. He started his career in 1981 in the sales department until 1988, continuing on to various positions including department manager over the Cold Finish division, Vice President/General Manager over the Vulcraft Division, and then Vulcraft, Cold Finish, & Grinding Ball Divisions, General Manager of a steel mill, and finally VP/General Manager at the Berkeley Division.

The Distinguished Lecture Series comprises four presentations, from 11am to 12:30pm, on the fourth Fridays in January, February, March, and the fourth Thursday in April.

Buckman Laboratories sponsors the Distinguished Lecture Series. The series is free to the public.

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About CPBIS: The Center for Paper Business and Industry Studies (CPBIS) is a globally recognized and industry-valued academic center, creating knowledge and tools that support paper industry decision-makers, and producing interdisciplinary graduates who contribute to the long-term success of the paper industry. The CPBIS is co-sponsored by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech), and the Paper Industry.
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