I think the auto companies and other people in the auto industry have been quite impressed with how the steel companies within one region can get together, let alone a global consortium. Every now and then you get feedback and you hear this is impressive. Positive feedback from automakers worldwide is reinforcing the idea of pre-competitive technology cooperation among steel producers around the globe. Before this project, inside the steel industry, I think competitors used to play their cards very close to the vest. Now, I think we see a different story.
People are much more open and sharing.
We appreciate getting a chance to talk to each other. In some corporate cultures, their protocol didn't even allow people inside the company, like a marketing and a technical person, to talk easily to each other about issues such as this. He says the industry derived benefits well beyond their traditional scope, in technology innovation, and the distribution of that message to the end customer. Educating a worldwide steel industry on how to improve automotive applications creates what Opbroek calls a universal rising tide. This might cost a little more, but without it we would have less leverage technically and we wouldn't have as much global influence.