NEW YORK — ArcelorMittal Dofasco is now the sole owner of DJ Galvanizing Corp. after Japanese steelmaker JFE Steel Corp. pulled out of the joint venture, an ArcelorMittal spokeswoman told AMM.

A spokesman for JFE Steel, which previously held a 50-percent stake in DJ Galvanizing, also confirmed the Japanese company’s exit from the joint venture.

Windsor, Ontario-based DJ Galvanizing operates a hot-dip galvanizing line, providing zinc-coated steel primarily for automotive applications. It is capable of producing 400,000 tonnes per year.

ArcelorMittal Dofasco, Hamilton, Ontario, and JFE Steel, Tokyo, in 2003 entered a long-term agreement that allowed ArcelorMittal Dofasco to increase its use of the joint-venture galvanizing line, with the goal of eventually using 100 percent of the line’s capacity (amm.com, July 30, 2003).

There have been no changes to DJ Galvanizing’s day-to-day customer interaction, and ArcelorMittal Dofasco—part of Luxembourg-based ArcelorMittal SA—remains "focused on continuous improvement" and will "strive for customer service and quality of the highest standards in the industry," the spokeswoman said.