Metal One Corporation (headquartered in Minato-ku, Tokyo; President Masashi Mizutani) will establish WATEX Corporation, a new structural and construction steel products sales company, on March 1, 2004. This move is one step in the integration and reorganization of subsidiaries that is the core of Metal One's "Mid-term Consolidated Management Plan."

The new company will be responsible for region-specific sales centering on sales of inventory stock. The activities of WATEX Corporation and Metal One Structural Steel and Resource Corporation (to be established April 1; details in separate release) will complement each other. WATEX Corporation will manage many of the needs of the construction steel field.

WATEX Corporation will expand its business based on the assets and commercial rights provided by Wataei Steel Co., Ltd. (headquartered in Chuo-ku, Tokyo; President: Shozo Kitagawa).

Details:
	1.	Name:		WATEX Corporation
	2.	Headquarters:		NI Building, 4-11-2 Hatchobori, Chuo-ku, Tokyo
	3.	Branches and offices:		Urayasu Branch, Takasaki Branch, Utsunomiya Branch,Sapporo Branch, Niigata Branch, Asahikawa Branch, Mito Office, Obihiro Office
	4.	Legal representative:		Seiichi Aoki, president
	5.	Capitalization:		¥330 million
	6.	Main shareholder:		Metal One Corporation (100%)
	7.	Established:		March 1, 2004
	8.	Scale of operations:		Approximately ¥15 billion