Equipment From Former RG Steel Plant Sold at Auction in Martins Ferry
As he paid $40,000 for a generator that cost nearly seven times that amount when it was first installed at the former RG Steel coil galvanizing plant, Brad Buscato couldn't help but think about all the jobs there that are now things of the past.
Buscato, who owns Industry Terminal and Salvage, a barge-towing company in Industry, Pa., was one of dozens looking for a bargain on industrial equipment as more than 600 lots of items from inside the former RG Steel facility were auctioned off Thursday.
The day-long liquidation sale was conducted by auctioneer Myron Bowling of Ross, Ohio. The public sale included hundreds pieces of equipment used in the galvanizing process, along with forklifts, cranes, motors and more. The auctioneer's website described the sale as "a huge scrap opportunity."
Items were sold for as little as $100 up to tens of thousands of dollars. Buscato said the generator he bought cost about $275,000 when it was first installed in the plant, and noted it had only been used for 30 hours.
He said he may use the generator as an engine for a tow boat or he may resell it.
"It's a bittersweet experience," Buscato said of the auction. "When you think about the jobs -- it's a shame."
During a break, Bowling said he believed the auction was going well. About 40 people were in attendance. He noted it would take about 90 days for the auctioned machinery and equipment to be fully removed from the site, which is owned by Wheeling businessman Quay Mull.
Mull purchased the mill for $2 million during RG Steel's bankruptcy sale in 2012.
Other sections of the facility are being used by various companies such as fracking sludge recycler Austin Master Services. Ohio Coatings also stores steel coils there.
Remnants of the facility's former name, Wheeling Corrugating, could be seen in the form of old advertising signage inside the plant. A couple of its former workers also were there for the sale.
Millwright Jeff Ware said he worked at the plant from 1987 to 2012.
"It was a great job," Ware said, noting the plant galvanized steel and made sheet metal roofing. "I never, ever hated coming to work."
Ware now works at Austin Master Services. He attended the auction with his co-worker Tim Fleming, who also worked at the plant.
"I loved it here. I made a lot of friends here," Fleming said.
Ware and Fleming were checking to see if there was any equipment they could bid on that could be used at Austin Master Services. Ware noted, however, the one piece he wanted went for $600 and he was only willing to pay $100.
"It's very sad to see it all bid off," Ware said. "We hoped one day they would fire this back up. … This is just proof that it will never start again."
Joseph Vodvarka, owner of Vodvarka Springs of Clinton, Pa., attended the auction with his son, Jesse, who was looking to possibly bid on equipment they could use for their spring-making business. His wife, Pat, is a native of Shadyside.
Vodvarka said seeing the mill's equipment liquidated was a sad representation of the United States' foreign trade policies.
"We're the only country in the world that doesn't protect its workers, and this is the result," Vodarka said of the sale.