Economic

A sustainable economy is necessary for us to continue to provide value to our stockholders, employees, and community.

Click here to learn about our financial performance for 2007. We also continue to reduce costs — in 2007, we had over $111 million of gross cost reductions.

Our products have long life cycles.

• Many begin as recycled raw materials and at the end of their useful lives become scrap material to be used again. Click here to learn more about the sustainability aspects of our products.
• Due to the durability and heat and corrosion resistant properties of many of our specialty metals, the end products' useful lives are extended. Therefore, funds that would otherwise need to be spent repairing or replacing those products, such as component parts, can be used elsewhere.

In addition, there are a number of other indirect contributions to the economy from our business:

• capital expenditures, which include support of local infrastructure
• dividends to stockholders
• wages to employees and payments to suppliers
• payment of taxes to government entities
• revenue as a result or our direct and indirect international sales
• donations to charitable causes and engagement in the community