Platts Steel Conference: Something new, something old

Platts Steel Conference: Something new, something old
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For the past two years, Mario Longhi has had to idle facilities and reduce the size of the workforce at United States Steel Corporation (U.S. Steel), but he said he remains optimistic the 115-year-old company is charting a course for future success.

Longhi, who spoke at the Platts Steel Markets North America Conference in Chicago in mid-March, called 2015 “a year we would like to forget, but we shouldn’t.”

He noted that U.S. Steel in 2015 idled some of its facilities, “reduced our workforce at all levels and delayed our electric arc furnace project [in Alabama.] We definitely did not relish making these decisions, but we did what was best in the long-term health of our business.”

Longhi expressed optimism that the “Carnegie Way” internal program at U.S. Steel is resulting in “sustainable improvements, not merely cutting costs.” He added, “I cannot say enough about how our employees have embraced change.”

On the heels of a new contract with the United Steelworkers union, Longhi said, “The union has been a true partner in the way we make improvements. The collaboration is incredible.” He praised the new contract as “a fine deal that can help us move forward. The most positive aspect is to have every employee participating and collaborating. They have come forward with thousands of projects,” he remarked.

Not in spite of but because of the company’s cutbacks, Longhi said there are reasons for optimism. He said the company’s internal evaluations found that “at some facilities, 10 percent of our volume was affecting our profitability by 50 percent.” He added, “The pursuit of size is not what the Carnegie Way is all about. The sole focus is value driven. We may have to get smaller before we get bigger again.”

Mark Bula, the chief commercial officer of Big River Steel (BRS), Osceola, Arkansas, said the start-up company’s finishing (annealing and galvanizing) operations will be online by the end of March 2016 while the melt shop is scheduled to ramp up in November 2016. He said the company’s inbound scrap barge unloading dock on the Mississippi River is up and running and has demonstrated through recent heavy rains that it can continue operating through adverse weather conditions.

Bula said the $1.5 billion project is being backed by the German government—which has supplied “very affordable” debt terms—and a variety of domestic investors that includes the Koch Minerals subsidiary of Koch Industries, the Arkansas Teacher Retirement System and Miami-based Global Principal Partners.

Bula said he often fields the question, “What are you thinking building a steel mill right now?” The answer, he said, is that BRS’ investors “believe in what we’re going to do and how we’re going to do it.”

The company plans to offer niche and specialty steels for America’s electrical grid system and other energy and construction applications. Bula said the BRS Flex Mill concept combines “the best of EAF and integrated mills; it’s a combination of the two.” He added, “We’ve got a mill that’s built to make grades unheard of at the mini-mill level.”

Bula expressed optimism for the prospects of the mill on the 1,300-acre site in Osceola, and said the company owns an adjacent 700 acres to prepare for anticipated growth.

The 2016 Platts Steel Markets North America Conference took place March 14-15 at the Ritz-Carlton Chicago.

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Source: Recycling Today
Platts Steel Conference: Something new, something old
<![CDATA[ For the past two years, Mario Longhi has had to idle facilities and reduce the size of the workforce at United States Steel Corporation (U.S. Steel), but he said he remains optimistic the 115-year-old company is charting a course for future success. Longhi, who spoke at the Platts Steel Markets North America Conference in Chicago in mid-March, called 2015 “a year we would like to forget, but we shouldn’t.” He noted that U.S. Steel in 2015 idled some of its facilities, “reduced our workforce at all levels and delayed our electric arc furnace project [in Alabama.] We definitely did not relish making these decisions, but we did what was best in the long-term health of our business.” Longhi expressed optimism that the “Carnegie Way” internal program at U.S. Steel is resulting in “sustainable improvements, not merely cutting costs.” He added, “I cannot say enough about how our employees have embraced change.” On the heels of a new contract with the United Steelworkers union, Longhi said, “The union has been a true partner in the way we make improvements. The collaboration is incredible.” He praised the new contract as “a fine deal that can help us move forward. The most…