ARBED SA

in full Aciries Runies De Burbach-eich-dudelange, integrated steelproducing company that is the largest industrial concern in Luxembourg. The company was formed in 1911 through the merger of Les Forges d'Eich, Le Gallais, Metz et Cie. (established in 1838 under a different name); La Socit Anonyme des Mines du Luxembourg et Forges de Sarrebruck (1856), and La Socit Anonyme des Hauts Forneaux et Forges de Dudelange (1882). Since then the company has formed subsidiaries in Europe and South America. Through its subsidiary and affiliate companies, the company engages in every step of steel production and processing, from the extraction of coal and iron ore (from its own mines) to the fabrication of highly specialized steel products, including the whole range of rolled-steel products and some finished products, especially wire. In 1980 it entered into a joint venture with Bethlehem, an American steel company, to produce Galvalume, a sheet steel product patented by Bethlehem, for distribution to Europe and abroad.