OREANDA-NEWS. March 13, 2014. Ford’s next-generation Edge crossover – due to hit the market in January 2015 – will be manufactured using Extragal® steel produced at ArcelorMittal Dofasco in Hamilton, Canada.

Extragal® is a double-sided pure zinc galvanised steel grade which offers high corrosion resistance and surface quality, making it ideal for automotive applications.

Extragal® steel produced at ArcelorMittal Dofasco is already used in the outer body panels of the current generation of the Edge. The same steels will be supplied for the 2015 Edge, for use in the outer body panels including doors, liftgate and fenders. A variety of advanced high strength steels (AHSS) will also be supplied by our NAFTA facilities. This includes Usibor® steels for hot stampings.

The new Edge is Ford's latest entry in the global utility vehicle market — a part of the auto industry that recorded 13% year-on-year growth in 2013 with more than 1.2 million vehicles sold worldwide. The 2015 Edge will to be sold in 60 countries around the world, and will be assembled at Ford’s Oakville plant, only 20km from our Dofasco plant. The development means new job security for 2,800 Ford autoworkers as well as for employees at ArcelorMittal Dofasco.

"Ford is a long-standing and valued customer for ArcelorMittal Dofasco and this is another example of the positive impact manufacturers have on the Canadian economy and on the communities in which we operate," said Peter LeBlanc, ArcelorMittal Dofasco’s director of automotive sales for NAFTA.

Production of the new Edge, which will include parking assist technology and sensors that will help the vehicle avoid collisions before the driver realises there is danger, will begin at the end of this year. The vehicle will be in showrooms early in 2015.

This is just one example of the ongoing partnership between ArcelorMittal Dofasco and Ford. Dofasco sends about a third of its production to the automotive industry, and supplies its steels to all the Ford vehicles manufactured in North America.