Welcome Back, Stelco
 

It’s the end of an era as Stelco name disappears

October 31, 2007
BY NAOMI POWELL

Goodbye, Stelco. Hello, U.S. Steel Canada.

On its first day as Stelco’s new owner, U.S. Steel replaced the corporate name that’s been inextricably linked with Hamilton for decades.

By Wednesday afternoon, Stelco’s website and the glass front door of its Hamilton head office were already emblazoned with its new handle: U.S. Steel Canada.

The switch came as Pittsburgh-based U.S. Steel closed its $1.1-billion purchase of Stelco and swiftly installed a new Hamilton management team, led by industry veteran Douglas R. Matthews.

“United States Steel Canada, United States Steel Serbia, United States Steel Slovakia (that’s) the way we name subsidiary companies within United States Steel,” Matthews said in an interview.

“Of course we wanted to respect the history and heritage of Stelco, the Steel Company of Canada. We thought it would be nice to merge the two names.”

For Terrie DeMelo, who watched a worker scrape the Stelco logo off the glass door of its headquarters yesterday, the change is bittersweet.

“How can you talk about Hamilton and not mention Stelco?” said the Hamilton native and former employee of the steelmaker.

“In the long run (the sale) is probably a good thing for the company. But the thing about it being a Canadian company just feels like it’s gone.”

The Steel Company of Canada was formed on June 8, 1910, through the incorporation of five individual screw, steel, bolt and wire manufacturers.

It officially changed its name to Stelco in 1980, partly to satisfy new French-language requirements.

The name Stelco, it was found, worked well in both French and English.

The Stelco moniker soon became synonymous with Canadian steelmaking.

By the time industrial giant U.S. Steel came calling this year however, Stelco and its workforce had been dragged through years of financial problems and a difficult restructuring.

Against that background, some workers found it hard to shed a tear for the retired name.

“I don’t care,” said Tony Liota, an industrial mechanic in Stelco’s cold mill.

“I’m probably better off with these guys as a worker than I was with Stelco because of the size of the organization. I’m now part of a worldwide company versus one little company that was trying to make a go of it.”

Matthews said most remaining Stelco signage will be replaced with the U.S. Steel Canada logo.

what a stupid name.
US Steel Canada??

Thanks for your takeover fellas, but this chap will always call it Stelco - Steel Company of Canada.

Eh, I don't care what it's called if they can make the place start earning money again.

What this guy said here:

“I’m probably better off with these guys as a worker than I was with Stelco because of the size of the organization. I’m now part of a worldwide company versus one little company that was trying to make a go of it.”

Is very true.

People will be calling it stelco for a long time to come.
Hopefully US Steel can make it profitable, like dofasco.

they've been making gobs of money.

I'm sure it was a different scene when the folks pulling the strings at Stelco and Dofasco also lived and shopped in Hamilton, and thus had a stake in the community.

U.S. Steel Canada plans Hamilton blast furnace shutdown

October 14, 2008
By Naomi Powell, The Hamilton Spectator

U.S. Steel Canada is planning to shut down its Hamilton blast furnace for up to eight weeks as the global market meltdown takes its toll on the steel sector.

A shutdown at the former Stelco would likely begin at the end of the month, says a source familiar with the plans.

The move comes as steelmakers across the globe face plunging demand from customers badly battered by the credit crisis.

Many large customers have been unable to borrow the money they need to buy steel. Others are struggling to contend with a slowing economy that has shrunk demand for everything from construction to appliances and cars.

Last month, ArcelorMittal Dofasco announced plans to scale back production in the second half of the year with CEO Juergen Schachler citing "tough economic times and unexpected weakness in the North American manufacturing sector."

Parent company ArcelorMittal has said it will slash production by 15 per cent across its global operations.

And last week, Russian steel firm OAO Severstal announced plans to slash its October production by 25 per cent at its Russian plant and 30 per cent at its operations in the United States and Italy.

Trevor Harris, spokesperson for U.S. Steel Canada, declined to comment on potential production cuts. He said operational changes would be discussed in the company’s quarterly earnings call, scheduled for Oct. 26.

“As we’ve said in the past, we will adjust production up and down to keep pace with customer orders,” Harris said.

It is unclear whether the cuts would result in layoffs. The former Stelco employs about 1,700 hourly workers at its Hamilton plant.

ArcelorMittal Dofasco has said it will cut back on overtime and reduce its casual employee base as it slows production.

Will they change the story after the 8 weeks is up and say we decided to shut the whole place down? I hope it doesn't come to that. Sure is a bleak future all around.

That could be a possibility. When oil was $145 a barrel, it was actually cheaper to produce a ton of steel in NA then to ship it from China. With oil back down under $80, that advantage is now gone.

It's no secret that USS really wanted the Lake Erie works, it's the crown jewel of the industry.

More to come...

oil will go back up.

Wow is that all that is left at Stelco (besides the salary dudes)? I thought there was more than that left there. Good luck to them. Hopefully the recent drop in the dollar will give them a hand. I bet Michigan wishes they had a currency they could drop 15% in a few weeks (although in no way am I advocating a general longterm policy of whoring out your currency).

I was shocked at how low that was too. Wow that's unreal.

And yes there has been rumours for years now moving everthing to the lake Erie works.

... haha! i totally believe this. a car dealer said as soon as oil came back down this week she started selling SUVs and trucks again. I swear, dogs are more intelligent than some people..

Interesting. My grade 12 urban geography teacher bet us that Stelco would end up consolidating their operations at Lake Erie works within 20 years--and that was 20 years ago this year, I think! Hope he doesn't try and collect our wager with interest.

U.S. Steel idles Hamilton furnace
The Hamilton Spectator
(Oct 24, 2008)

U.S. Steel Canada has begun shutting down its Hamilton blast furnace due to the global financial crisis.

The company intends to halt primary steelmaking for six to eight weeks while continuing to make coke at full speed, sources say.

Layoffs at the steelmaker are possible but a "last resort." The company is in talks with union leaders to reschedule maintenance projects to keep employees on the job.

The tentative timeline for the shutdown could change depending on the economy.

A friend of mine who's a steamfitter heard they were going to stop making coke too--nearly total shutdown. Hopefully that's not true.

This adds to the mix:

Since USS doesn't have GreenShift to use as a scapegoat, perhaps they will use this as their excuse for closing up shop in Hamilton...

Those fines will be a slap on the wrist, like the $85,000 Dofasco got for safety violations.

Significant layoff announcements at USS Hamilton Works are imminent.

I hate this recession and all these layoffs. :(

US Steel Hamilton also extending blast-furnace shutdown
November 13, 2008

BY NAOMI POWELL
The Hamilton Spectator

U.S. Steel Canada will lay off 209 workers and extend the shutdown of its Hamilton blast furnace into 2009, union leaders say.

The steelmaker will temporarily lay off 177 employees  Monday, said Rolf Gerstenberger, president of the United Steelworkers union representing Hamilton workers.

The union was told an  additional 32  layoffs will come in the next two to three weeks, he said.

The workers will not be called back until the plant’s blast furnace is brought back from a shutdown, Gerstenberger said.

The shutdown  -  which began late last month for a tentaive period of six to eight weeks - will now be extended into the new year, Gerstenberger said.

U.S. Steel Canada would only confirm it will lay off 175 workers and would not speculate on any future cuts.

“The length of the layoffs will depend on an increase in customer demand,” said spokesperson Trevor Harris.

Layoffs are occurring across Pittsburgh-based U.S. Steel’s North American operations, he said.

“While we have made every effort to maintain employment levels at our operations; we must now adjust our workforce to match our production levels,” Harris said.

“The dramatic downturn in the economy has negatively affected our overall business, and we have adjusted production across all of our operations to stay in line with customer demand.”

The Hamilton plant employs about 1700 people.

I hope the federal government decides to put billions of dollars into rail infrastructure programs including high speed rail. The auto industry will not rebound and rail building could replace some of the steel demand being lost. Using money that would otherwise go to EI payments and useless bailouts to a failing industry, we could employ people producing something of real value that would be ours for generations to come.

This could really be a big contract for all. Both steel companies can supply the steel for the rails and the cars. And National Steel Car can make the cars. That makes a good outcome for all 3 of the companies.

Sadly, I suspect that when USS bought Stelco it was more interested in its customer accounts than its production facilities. I don't expect to see Hamilton Works as part of its portfolio in the near future. I expect to see it divided up and sold off in parts. Or simply mothballed. They may keep Nanticoke but that's about it. I guess there's some comfort in the fact that the Hamilton plant is no longer a significant employer for this city.

Sadly it seems to be headed that way. I hope it doesn't come to that though. I guess time will tell.

yea, that's looking more likely everyday now.
I'm starting to think that it might be time for the place to just close down once and for all and for Hamilton to embark on the journey of re-creating ourself.
Tough, I know. That loss of tax dollars will turn city hall into a freaking circus, but it's going to happen eventually. This might be as good a time as any. Once the next boom period comes, perhaps the land will be bought and the long process of clean-up and rehab can begin.

Layoffs hit Lake Erie Works
U.S. Steel announces temporary cuts as industry crisis worsens

November 26, 2008
Naomi Powell
The Hamilton Spectator

U.S. Steel Canada is planning about 100 layoffs at its Lake Erie facility as the crisis in the steel industry worsens, union leaders say.

The temporary cuts come on the heels of roughly 175 layoffs at the steelmaker's Hamilton operation, where the blast furnace was shut down due to slumping demand.

"We've been told to expect layoffs and the union is preparing for that," said Bill Ferguson, president of the United Steelworkers union at the Lake Erie plant. "They told us they're running different scenarios, but we should be prepared to see people go in December."

Though no official notice has been issued to workers, many on the plant floor have already been notified of the cuts by their managers, he added.

U.S. Steel Canada employs about 1,100 workers at the Lake Erie plant in Nanticoke. It employs 1,700 workers in Hamilton. Both plants make steel using a blast furnace.

Trevor Harris, a spokesperson for the firm, declined to comment on any potential layoffs.

Demand for steel has flatlined as orders dry up from key customers in the automotive, appliance and construction industries.

Analysts expect the massive production slowdown in the sector to continue as the global financial meltdown unfolds. Although weekly production levels have not yet fallen to the 10-year lows last seen in 2001, they will likely reach this point shortly, according to Mike Willemse, a steel industry analyst for CIBC World Markets.

In a note to investors, Willemse said steel production "could decline by as much as 50 per cent before stabilizing."

Steel giant ArcelorMittal has slashed global production by one-third, cutting output at Hamilton's Dofasco by 40 per cent through at least the rest of this year. The plant will shut down for two weeks at Christmas, with about 5,000 workers required to take unpaid leave or vacation.

Pittsburgh-based U.S. Steel has also slowed production. In addition to the Canadian cuts, it has laid off 500 workers at operations in the Pittsburgh area; northwest Indiana; Fairfield, Ala.; Ecorse and River Rouge, Mich.; and Granite City, Ill.

Analysts don't expect demand for steel to pick up until at least mid-2009 as customers work through their own inventory and scale back on production of cars and appliances.

Check out this huge multi-company industrial complex in Germany entirely dedicated to wind turbine production:

http://www.compositesworld.com/uploa...adepart1_c.jpg

Hamilton's future?

A hint into the future of Hamilton's plant?

U.S. Steel transferring work to Nanticoke

December 03, 2008
Naomi Powell
The Hamilton Spectator
http://www.thespec.com/News/Business/article/475912

A local steelmaker will pick up production as U.S. Steel lays off 3,500 workers south of the border.

U.S. Steel announced plans last night to idle three American plants as it battles a deep downturn in the industry.

The firm's remaining production will be consolidated at four locations, including U.S. Steel Canada's Lake Erie plant in Nanticoke.

"We believe that our difficult decision to temporarily consolidate our production is a necessary response to current market conditions," U.S. Steel CEO John Surma said in a statement last night.

The company will temporarily stop production at plants near Detroit and St. Louis and at an iron ore facility in Minnesota. Operations won't resume until markets recover, said spokesperson Courtney Boone.

U.S. Steel would not comment on how much production would be brought to its operations in Nanticoke, or at the other plants where it intends to concentrate production: Mon Valley Works near Pittsburgh, Gary Works in Gary, Ind., and Fairfield Works near Birmingham, Ala.

"It's certainly regrettable the company had to take these actions," said Bill Ferguson, president of the United Steelworkers union in Lake Erie. "At the same time I'm relieved Lake Erie is not on the block as yet."

Ferguson didn't know how the announcement would affect potential layoffs. Union leaders were told last week to expect about 100 layoffs in Nanticoke.

Built in the early 1980s, Lake Erie Works is the newest integrated steel plant in North America and is among U.S. Steel's most efficient.

By contrast, the company's plants in Pittsburgh and Indiana are older, with higher costs, he said.

As for the fate of U.S. Steel Canada's Hamilton plant, Boone would only say that the company is "continuing to review the ongoing operations at all of our facilities."

The blast furnace in Hamilton remains out of commission following a shutdown in late October.

U.S. Steel has already laid off more than 190 workers in the plant, and has told the union to prepare for 150 more, union leaders say.

U.S. Steel Canada employs 1,700 workers in Hamilton and 1,100 in Nanticoke.

Another announcement from US Steel is imminent, and it will not be good news for Hamilton. There may be some prime waterfront property available soon...

If by prime you mean the biggest damn brown field you've ever seen... then yes.

Potentially one of the most expensive cleanups in Canadian history to get that land usable, I'd imagine.

Probably above $100 million, think of all the coal buried in the soil from the storage.

Perfect for an economic stimulus project.

I have heard through a very reliable grape vine that the steel industry in Hamilton will be cutting up to 1,000 jobs in January.

I lived in one of the Spencer Creek condos a couple of years ago. I was surprised it had been an industrial site that underwent remediation. It looks like it had never been contaminated. This cleanup resulted in 4 upscale condo buildings and a retirement residence.

So, how much money will it take to remediate Stelco properties if it does shut down?

Imagine a whole new complex of condos. I think the core needs a mix of housing anyways.

What good are waterfront condos if there are no jobs? It's going to create a bunch of Toronto commuters that will just add to the traffic headache, not to mention the further decay of the City of Hamilton.

Let's not get ahead of ourselves here. For one, Stelco isn't even closed. Then the plant would have to be demolished. After that, somebody would have to fund the cleanup . There won't be any private funding for that job, and governments are usually reluctant to fund anything in Hamilton, especially a huge project like this. The city won't be able to afford it. After it's cleaned up, if it ever gets cleaned up, I seriously doubt anyone will want to put condos there, as the land will still be completely surrounded by other industrial areas.

I agree with you Flar. Who wants a condo right beside dirty industry? No way one could open any windows, let alone sit on a balcony. Plus we are in a recession. No one is spending major money these days.

The Port Authority will likely purchase the land. It'll be up to them to decide what to do with the land, likely keep it for employment since that's all that they focus on.

Come on, what do you know?

No condo I agree with that. However I think seeing something other then steel plants would good in the long run. I mean even to not have to look at that from the Bridge would be a positive in the long run. But heck who really knows.

Parkland with a path along the shore all the way through to Cootes Paradise.

Dreaming of it...wow.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...Winds_2007.png

this is the former Lackawana steel site in Buffalo. It took a Federal Superfund to clean it up. There is no way Hamilton could do it alone. Perhaps at the same time of Randle Reef clean up they might be starting to clean up Stelco.

Forget the dreaming! Why would you want it shut down? 1200 people would lose there high paying jobs. At an average of 4 persons per house hold that would be 4800 people directly effected. US Steel Canada would have no reason to keep an office in Hamilton. Another couple of 100 jobs lost. The trucking jobs, the dock and shipping jobs and the hundreds of jobs of support and suppliers would be lost. For want? A couple of condos or wind mills? It is better off as a viable steel mill.

Indeed, I would like to see it stay open too.

Let's be fair, it would be more than a "couple" of condos; this is prime waterfront we're talking about.

Shut down of Hamilton Works is bound to happen one day unless big investments is made to upgrade Hamilton Works. Or else everything will be transfered to the Lake Erie plant.

Look ahead to the future. Steel Industry in NA is not going anywhere, and I don't want my tax dollars going to prop up an ancient industry if transformation is possible (meaning a bailout). With globalization, changes will happen. Sure some people will be put out of work, but look at Pittsburgh. Their industries evolved. No, I've never been there, but alot of things I hear about Pittsburgh is that it's done a fantastic job of getting out the Manufacturing (Steel) Industry and focusing more on Health & Technology.

One problem. Hamilton is like Gary, Indiana. It's not like Pittsburgh, which is THE place to be in Western Pennsylvania. THE place to be in Gary Indiana is a little more north, aka Chicago, and THE place to be here is in Toronto, Ontario.

The reason areas like Barton and along the waterfront are so decrepit and run-down are because of the steel mills, due to pollution, and just the gritty factor trickle south.

Confused by your post. What do you mean by "Steel Industry in NA is not going anywhere"?

Do you mean it's here to stay? Or do you mean it's not progressing?