Champions Pipe & Supply Inc. (Champions) and Mitsui Tubular Products LLC. (MTP) today announced the agreement of merging, with Champions Pipe & Supply Inc. being the surviving Company. Combined operations will commence as of April 1st, 2008.

Champions, whose majority shareholder is Mitsui and Co. (U.S.A.) Inc, (Mitsui), will become a 100% subsidiary of Mitsui after this merger. Champions is one of the major OCTG distributors in the U.S. market with access to domestic mills.

MTP is currently 100% owned by Mitsui and is a distributor of 13 Chromium OCTG, drill pipe, line pipe, specialty tube, and plate, with access to foreign mills, including Japanese mills.

With this merger, Champions will be able to provide “Integrated” services as a full-line tubular products distributor for the Oil & Gas Industry.

“Through twenty years plus of operations, Champions and MTP have individually established a good presence in the pipe industry”, said Ken DeLuish, President of MTP, who will become the President of Champions. “However, to satisfy our customers’ ever-increasing demands, we decided to merge two companies, and give customers the opportunity to contact the new company and to find everything they need. Champions’ access to domestic mills, and MTP’s access to Japanese and other foreign mills will enable the new Champions to provide such services.”

This decision is also a result of Mitsui’s commitment in the energy related steel industry. “With this merger, new Champions will have access to Mitsui and its parent company, Mitsui & Co. Ltd.,‘s assets all over the world. " Mr. DeLuish added. “In addition to our strength in the U.S. domestic business, we intend to increase export business for our growth. We also intend to expand our business and/or product line with acquisition of other companies."

*The information contained in this news release is true and accurate at the time of publication; however, it may be subject to change without prior notice.