Kobe Steel-Alcoa joint venture acquires second
                   aluminum rolling mill in Australia

May 9, 1996 -- KAAL Australia Pty, Ltd., a 50/50 joint venture between Kobe 
Steel, Ltd. and Aluminum Company of America, purchased the Point Henry 
aluminum rolling facility of Alcoa of Australia Limited for approximately A$100 
million.  The agreement was signed on April 30, 1996.  From May 1, 1996, 
Alcoa of Australia Limited's rolled products assets at Point Henry became part 
of KAAL Australia.  The acquisition gives KAAL Australia a total cold rolling 
capacity of 185,000 metric tons of aluminum sheet per year. 

KAAL Australia was formed in December 1995 and subsequently acquired 
Comalco Limited's Yennora rolling mill, situated approximately 25 kilometers 
west of Sydney in New South Wales.   To meet the demand for aluminum can 
stock in Australia and Asia, Kobe Steel and Alcoa decided to integrate the 
Point Henry facility under KAAL Australia.  

Located near Geelong, Victoria, about 90 kilometers southwest of Melbourne, 
the Point Henry rolling mill has a cold rolling capacity of 85,000 metric tons per 
year.  The facility has an ingot casting plant, a hot rolling line, a cold rolling mill 
and a coil coating line, as well as associated finishing equipment. 

Point Henry's rolling mill will continue to produce body, end and tab stock for 
the Australian and Asian aluminum can markets.  This will complement KAAL 
Australia's existing production of aluminum can body stock, sheet and foil from 
the Yennora plant.  

KAAL Australia employs approximately 830 people.  The chairman is Susumu 
Kikuchi, who is concurrently a director at Kobe Steel, and the managing  
director is Chris Lynch. 


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For more information, please contact:
Gary Tsuchida, Publicity Dept.
Tokyo, Japan
E-mail  www-admin@kobelco.co.jp
Tel    (03) 3218-6055
Fax    (03) 5252-7961

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