Beautifully engraved certificate from the Ling-Temco-Vought, Inc. issued in 1968. This historic document was printed by the American Banknote Company and has an ornate border around it with a vignette of an allegorical man suspended in a globe. This item has the printed signatures of the company's president and secretary and is over 39 years old. The LTV Corporation filed for protection under chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code on December 29, 2000 as a result of losses incurred by its integrated steel business. LTV obtained debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing in March 2001 and developed a plan to restructure its integrated steel operations as a low-cost, viable business. Obtaining $250 million of government-guaranteed loans was an integral part of the restructuring plan. On September 27, 2001 National City Bank and KeyBank applied for federal guarantees covering 85% of the principal amount of the loans. Additional assistance from the State of Ohio, Cuyahoga County, the City of Cleveland, and a major supplier to LTV Steel increased the credit support to National City and Key to 98%. The Federal Emergency Steel Loan Guarantee Board (ESLGB) could not act on the banks' first application because it did not contain a favorable opinion of LTV's ability to repay the new loans. LTV, in cooperation with the banks and the ESLGB, developed a revised restructuring plan that further reduced operating costs at its integrated steel unit. Recognizing the deteriorating conditions of the domestic steel industry, the revised restructuring plan required direct wage concessions from LTV Steel's unionized workers, elimination of more salaried jobs, and increased employee contributions toward insurance benefits. The revised restructuring plan also required retirees to assume a greater share of the cost of company-provided healthcare insurance. (Note: A Modified Labor Agreement negotiated by the Company's Committee of Unsecured Creditors eliminated work rules and jobs but did not provide direct reductions in wage rates or healthcare benefit programs.) LTV Steel Company, Inc. LTV Steel is the nation's third largest integrated steel producer and the second largest producer of flat rolled steel in the United States. The Company is a leading supplier of quality-critical flat rolled steel products used by automotive, appliance and electrical equipment manufacturers, and is an acknowledged leader in quality and service. Principal products include hot rolled, cold rolled and coated steel sheets, including tin-plated steel. LTV operates two integrated steel mills (Cleveland Works and Indiana Harbor Works), and various finishing and processing facilities. Leading Steel Technologies Trico Steel Company Trico Steel Company began production at its new flat rolled steel plant in Decatur, Alabama, in April 1997. At full capacity the plant can produce up to 2.2 million tons of hot rolled steel products annually in widths up to 65 inches and gauges as thin as one millimeter. The new ultralight gauge hot rolled steel will compete with certain grades of cold rolled steel. LTV owns a 50% interest in Trico Steel and two of the world's leading steel companies Sumitomo Metal Industries, Ltd. and Corus Group plc (formerly British Steel plc) each owns a 25% interest. Metal Fabrication LTV Copperweld is North America's largest manufactuer of steel tubing and the world's largest producer of bimetallic wire for the telecommunications and utilities industries. LTV Copperweld also is the largest producer of structural steel tubing in North America with 23 plants and 3,500 people, the company produces over 1.5 million tons of tubular products annually. LTV Copperweld was created in 1999 following LTV's acquisition of the Copperweld Corporation, Copperweld Canada Inc. and the Welded Tube Co. of America. These new units were combined with LTV's exisitng tubular products operations. VP Buildings, Inc. is the nation's second largest manufacturer of pre-engineered metal buildings for low-rise commercial and industrial applications. VP also manufactures steel roofing and other building components. VP Buildings has a growing presence in the international construction market.