The Stel Salaried Pensioners Organization wishes to thank The Hamilton Spectator for permission to post the following article by reporter Naomi Powell, published in the August 28, 2007 edition
Bar mill sale 'still a possibility'
But first 'we want
to understand what we have,' says U.S. Steel CEO
The Hamilton Spectator
(Aug 28, 2007)
U.S. Steel. will hold off on a planned sale
of Stelco's Hamilton bar mill.
Though the sale is still "a
possibility" U.S. Steel CEO John Surma told the Spectator he will evaluate
the operation before making a decision.
"It's certainly possible but we like to
understand what we have before we would comment or commit to do those
things," he said.
"That asset is not one we're terribly
familiar with. We would want to understand it, understand the market it's in,
which could be important to us."
Stelco had been in talks to sell the bar
mill to Germany's Max Aicher Group.
U.S. Steel plans to invest about $100 million
into Stelco's Hamilton Steel and Lake Erie facilities. Specific areas for
improvement include cokemaking operations in both plants, and pickling and cold
mill operations at Hamilton Steel.
Speaking to the Spectator's editorial board
Surma restated his intention to keep both plants running.
"We look for both facilities to be
strong and vibrant for the long term," he said. "We wouldn't be doing
this if we didn't think that's how it would turn out."
U.S. Steel has been interested in Stelco
since 2004, when the Hamilton company was still in the midst of bankruptcy
protection. Stelco has shown significant progress in terms of productivity
since then, Surma said.
"The improvements in productivity,
which in our business is the only thing that wins in the long run, well there's
been great progress there," he said. "We were delighted to see
it."
"All those projects are starting to
bear fruit"
U.S. Steel has no plans for major workforce
cuts at Stelco, and Surma is in fact concerned about the aging workforce in the
North American steel industry.
"The manning levels (at Stelco) are in
pretty good condition right now," he said.
U.S. Steel plans to ship excess slabs from
Stelco's Hamilton Steel facility to existing finishing operations in Michigan
and Illinois. That could mean greater opportunities for Hamilton's port.
U.S. Steel has tripled in size since 2000,
following the acquisition of several assets in the United States and Europe. It
is now the fifth largest steel producer in the world.
npowell@thespec.com
905-526-4620