Alton Industries Inc

A Taiwanese steel manufacturer has officially opened a trading business here as part of a larger effort by the Asian nation to help even out its huge trade imbalance with the United States. Alton Industries Inc., a subsidiary of Taipei-based Yieh Loong Group, will be the largest Taiwanese enterprise to settle in Orange County, said officials at the Coordination Council for North American Affairs, Taiwan's quasi-official government representative in the United States.

From the comfort of his large office across from the Tustin Marine Corps Air Station, Michael Lee contemplates what among the vast array of American products might be a hit with consumers in Taiwan and Hong Kong. Lee, 40, is president of Alton Industries Corp. in Tustin, a subsidiary of Taiwan's Yieh Loong Group, a giant conglomerate with its principal interest in steelmaking.

From the comfort of his large office across from the Tustin Marine Corps Air Station, Michael Lee contemplates what among the vast array of American products might be a hit with consumers in Taiwan and Hong Kong. Lee, 40, is president of Alton Industries Corp. in Tustin, a subsidiary of Taiwan's Yieh Loong Group, a giant conglomerate with its principal interest in steelmaking.

A Taiwanese steel manufacturer has officially opened a trading business here as part of a larger effort by the Asian nation to help even out its huge trade imbalance with the United States. Alton Industries Inc., a subsidiary of Taipei-based Yieh Loong Group, will be the largest Taiwanese enterprise to settle in Orange County, said officials at the Coordination Council for North American Affairs, Taiwan's quasi-official government representative in the United States.

Executives in boardrooms across Orange County breathed a collective sigh of relief Monday, saying they hope that France's ratification of a wide-ranging treaty on European economic and political unity will make international business prospects less shaky for now.