The Stel Salaried Pensioners Organization wishes to thank The Hamilton Spectator for permission to post the following article by Reporter Tara Perkins published in the September 2, 2004 edition
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Sep. 2, 2004. 12:39 AM |
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More Stelco divisions may get the
axe |
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Company asking judge for permission to sell off
Stelfil, Stelpipe and Stelwire |
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By Tara Perkins |
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Another Stelco division is on the chopping block and the list could grow. Stelfil, located in Montreal, will be put up for sale. Stelco will now ask a judge Tuesday for permission to sell Stelpipe, Stelwire and Stelfil. And yesterday, CEO Courtney Pratt said the company is taking a look at its two mini-mills, Norambar and AltaSteel. "We are still considering whether they are assets that we should sell or keep," he said. Stelfil, AltaSteel and Norambar are not under bankruptcy protection. Stelfil makes wire and has more than 300 employees. Last year, it sold about $61 million worth of wire products. Pratt would not say yesterday whether the division is profitable. Stelfil was getting most of its rod, which it uses to make wire, from Stelco's Hamilton rod mill. That mill will close this fall. Stelco officials said in April they expected to sell Stelfil in the long run. But they had said Norambar and AltaSteel were profitable. A strategic review this summer found that Stelco must decrease its product lines and focus on steelmaking in Hamilton and Nanticoke. Pratt said yesterday that the sale of Stelco divisions will include union input. "In the information we will ask for from the potential purchasers, there is a lot of information about their intention with respect to employees and any changes they would need in the collective agreements," Pratt said. "If that's the case, it obviously has to be discussed and negotiated with the union." He said there has been interest in all of Stelco's subsidiaries. "But all they are is people saying to us 'if and when you put it up for sale, we want to know about it." tperkins@thespec.com 905-526-4620 |