IPSCO Officially Opens Alabama Steel Mill

Hundreds Celebrate Company's Grand Opening

Lisle, Illinois, 13 November 2001 - IPSCO Inc. (NYSE/TSE:IPS) today celebrated the official opening of its U.S. mini-mill in Mobile, Alabama, the company's newest world class in-line plate mill. With the addition of the Mobile steelworks, IPSCO operates three steel making facilities, five coil processing facilities including three with temper mills and six pipe making facilities throughout North America. "This is a remarkable achievement for a company which started as a small pipe manufacturer in the Canadian prairies just over four and a half decades ago," said Roger Phillips, President and Chief Executive Officer of IPSCO Inc.

IPSCO's Mobile Steelworks initiated operations earlier this year. From ground breaking to start-up, it has taken less than 24 months to complete. Phillips credits the project construction, commissioning and start-up teams for this ambitious and successful achievement. The mill, first announced in 1998 and costing over U.S. $425 million, specializes in the production of discrete plate with the product moving "in-line" from caster to the point of shipping. "The facility has already produced at a rate that is in excess of fifty percent of its rated capacity of 1,250,000 tons and markets permitting, we hope to be at or near full capacity by the end of the first quarter of 2002," added Charles Sanida, President, IPSCO Steel (Alabama) Inc., the wholly owned subsidiary that operates the Mobile facility.

IPSCO customers, many of whom were present at the opening ceremony, have welcomed the addition of a modern fully world cost-competitive facility in the southern region of the U.S. market. "Numerous orders have been received from customers who see the strategic need to be aligned with a modern facility capable of meeting their needs during the worst of the import and market pressures" said Dan Miksta, Vice President, Steel Product Sales for the Company.

In addition to providing quality plate product to the regional market, IPSCO is a major employer in Mobile. "IPSCO is pleased to be able to provide high quality, technologically sophisticated jobs in this area and we are pleased with the high caliber of employees that we have been able to attract," noted Sanida. IPSCO Steel (Alabama) Inc. is also a major contributor to the Mobile community in the form of financial support for local functions, groups and charities.

Mr. Burton Joyce, Chairman of the Board, IPSCO Inc., Phillips, Sanida and Alabama Governor Don Siegelman were among the numerous dignitaries participating in a ribbon cutting ceremony today at the Mobile facility.

Company Contact:
Raymond L. Bell, Jr.
Vice President of Personnel, Legal & Community Relations
IPSCO Steel (Alabama) Inc.
Tel. 251-662-4510
Release 01-44

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