Leaders To Meet With Severstal
Compiled by StaffState Reps. John Domenick, D-Smithfield, and Tom Letson, D-Warren, on Monday announced they have secured a meeting with executives of Severstal North America.
Three company executives - Doug Schrader, vice president/general manager of government relations; Wilbur Winland, Severstal Wheeling vice president/general manager; and Greg Echols, vice president/general manager of Severstal Warren - will meet with Domenick and Letson at 2 p.m. Thursday in Columbus.
Domenick and Letson, along with state Sen. Jason Wilson, D-Columbiana, recently sent a letter to Severstal requesting the company return its steel plants to active production or sell them to a company that will utilize them.
"We are extremely pleased that Severstal has agreed to this meeting," Domenick and Letson said in a statement. "We need to get the dialogue started in order to put Ohioans back to work. We have said several times that we are eager to sit down with Severstal and work out the issues that are keeping skilled Ohioans out of work. This is a hopeful sign."
Domenick and Letson noted that while Severstal has idled a number of plants, there are other companies that have expressed interest in utilizing them.
In their letter to company executives, the lawmakers wrote, "Our constituents feel the pain of being laid off from your plants, and all concerned would be best served by having these plants operating again and the workers again gainfully employed."
Severstal North America recently confirmed it will be restarting its shuttered cold mill in Yorkville on Dec. 13, though the company is not saying how many workers are returning or for how long.
The company said sheet steel from Severstal's Sparrows Point, Md., mill will be used to supply the Yorkville plant, which will send its cold-rolled products to customers and to the Severstal Martins Ferry plant for coating.
That mill was idled in June as Severstal shuttered most of its local operations other than the Follansbee coke plant, which has continued to run at low levels of capacity.
The hot end of the plant in Mingo Junction, where iron and steel was produced, cast and rolled into sheets to supply Yorkville, remains idle.
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acmecoke1
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12-07-09 1:19 PM
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Severstal is losing millions of dollars a day by letting the plant just sit there. How much have you think they have lost already? They are already thinking about unloading all of the Esmark service centers that they got in the WPSC purchase. Even today, the old Esmark has offered $110 million dollars to buy them back. Severtal is bleeding badly with all of this unused property. Don't you think they are not considering getting out of Mingo and Warren? They is money available to retart Steubenville-Mingo, federal, local, state and private. They know that a non-union mill will have a better chance of succeeding. The USW is a DEAD ISSUE. Let them strike all they want-who cares! Let the people who want to make steel, make steel. Severstal cannot pursue the slab market because THEY ARE UNIONIZED!!! They cannot make the price beak. There are far more positive points to this than negative. You have got to think outside the box to save a starving community.
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oldsteelmaker
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12-07-09 12:34 PM
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Severstal doesn't need new financing, they already have contracts for ore coal and limestone, and they already OWN the place. A startup has to finance all of that, after they come up with the money to buy the place. Tell me, who do you think will put up all that cash in this market? Do you plan on getting some of the Porkulus money? You must have better political contacts with Washington than any of the local politicians!
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oldsteelmaker
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12-07-09 12:29 PM
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I repeat, you are living in a dream world. If that market existed, don't you think Severstal would be pursuing it? These plants cost them over a billion dollars. Don't you think they would be running them if there was any business to put in them? They are in the perfect spot to dump the union if they wanted to. After all, what could the union do, strike??? Kinda hard to hurt a company by striking a plant that's already closed.
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acmecoke1
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12-06-09 9:38 PM
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Actually, I present a more practical approach than you do. There are several sources for financing, right here in the United States and NOT in China and Russia. You have to know the market, know what the current situation is with working in America. It is not the 1950's and the union system is pretty much dead in this country. In order to make a decent wage you must work in a natural athmosphere of economic reality. Unions refused to adapt to this reality. Again, I want the workers to make a decent living wage for their families and be able to afford health and life insurance. This theory has proven to be the most successful model for steelworkers in this country. Your wages must be in line with the market. Its a heck of a lot better than McDonalds, Pizza Hut or welfare. Most steelworkers want to make a decent wage rather than go to lower wage or entry level jobs. Mingo-Steubenville has the equipment right now to make that happen. Again, don't think won't work-Debbie Downer!
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oldsteelmaker
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12-05-09 2:56 AM
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I give up. You are living in a fantasy world. There's this small problem called private property. You identified yourself as a Democrat, so you haven't much respect for that, but the courts still do. Severstal does own the place, and all your wishful thinking will not change that. And you still are totally ignoring the true problem; where will the money come from???
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acmecoke1
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12-03-09 9:40 PM
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And any smart democrat leader in the Ohio Valley knows that decent jobs are far more valuable than the support of the USW. People vote, not the USW. If you give them a decent job with the best wage you can provide who are they going to vote for? The USW is a dead issue Nationally. If you take out all the USW votes in the USA it is hardly a drop in the bucket. They are not important anymore...ditto the UAW, the Teamsters etc. I always vote democratic, but I also vote for good jobs. Good jobs are available here with an independent Mingo-Steubenville. I pray for the union members who voted for Severstal, but they deserved what they got. Now lets stop blowing wind and make something happen. Too much talk-not enough action.
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acmecoke1
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12-03-09 9:31 PM
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There area number of ways to force Severstal to sell. How are they going to stop it? Invade us? I don't think so. If they want to keep their other operations vivable in the United States we can sure put the clamp on them. The same thing is true with the USW. There are workers from all over the country willing to find a decent job at Steubenville-Mingo Jct. If the UAW does not want to work for a decent wage, there is no law in the Ohio or the United States stopping a non-union shop in the Ohio Valley. There are too many steelworkers who are hungry, jobless and begging for work. This is not to mean that they should be paid slave labor-they need to make a wage that their family can live on. This can be done without the UAW and don't think it can't. Severstal, ArcelorMittal, AK, USS and the rest are TRAPPED. Nucor is not and that is why they are successful. An independent Wheeling slab maker will be also successful. Even truck drivers will ship steel for a decent wage.
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oldsteelmaker
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12-03-09 5:04 PM
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Acme, you keep ignoring two points. You can't force Severstal to sell, and you don't have anyone with a billion or so sitting there waiting to buy it. Everything else is wishful thinking. And if you think the USWA will sit still for setting up a non-union shop in Mingo, you are really kidding yourself. This is the same union that was willing to close up WP permanently in 1985, rather than give concessions. The only reason they settled on a contract was the judge threatening to put the entire negotiating team in Lewisville Federal Pen for contempt that got it resolved. They don't give a bleep about you having a job; they care that it's a UNION job so they can collect dues and saddle the company with extra people so they can keep the useless brother-in-law employed.
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acmecoke1
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12-03-09 12:04 PM
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Sorry, you really do not listen. There are a lot of independent and non-union processors who would by slabs if they are priced right. I agree that the USW cannot be involved (like Nucor) and you have to find agressive steel management that has to "think out of the box." This is hardly impossible. I never fail to be impressed by inventive thinking. There are great managers out there who are just waiting to get their hands on a project with such great possibilities. You just can't sit on your hind end and say "sorry its over." There are too many things that can be done with a slab producing Mingo there is no sense in not trying. It can operate as a successful "mini slab mill" in the worst case, if it completely reorganized with new and creative management and a non USW set-up. This does not mean that the employees will not have good paying jobs. It will, however, have to mean that all your restrictive work rules will be elimated and workers do not want to b
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oldsteelmaker
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12-03-09 9:13 AM
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In case you haven't noticed, there are still mills shut down. That's not to break the union, they are down because there are no orders. You still haven't answered the fundamental question. Who will pay for this??? Are you forgetting both bidders proposed a quarter billion in improvements? That's because they are needed. A stand-alone blast-furnace based slab producer in this country is a recipe for failure. There is no steady customer for slabs except Thyssen and most of what they are bringing in is stainless. which Mingo can't make. None of the volume minis run slabs, they are thin casters. Who you gonna sell to, US? Mittal? They have idle capacity. And who is going to run this place, the USWA? They are the geniuses that caused this mess! They could mess up a one-car funeral procession. All you have in Steubenville is an empty office building. All the corporate types that were any good have new jobs. No management, no customers... great idea
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acmecoke1
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12-02-09 10:17 PM
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Any business has to spend money to make money. What you are talking about is basic start up expenses that are associated with any blast furnace and steel plant operation. I am not too worried about the Russians because they can be squeezed to sell (in a number of ways). Monessen was in a much worse situation than Mingo. It was much further away from lake transporation, they did not have a modern electric furnace, their most modern blast furnace (Jane) was not as efficient as Mingo No. 5. Remember that Mingo No. 5 is still rated within the top five of the most efficient blast furnaces in the United States. Also, the electric furnace uses both molten iron or scrap and has an up to date emissions system. Old Steelmaker you have got to think outside of the box for a change. That is the only way progress comes in America. You don't need the Wheeling Office Building-you can operate the whole operation out of the North Plant office building. Nucor proved that big steel is a done deal.
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oldsteelmaker
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12-02-09 7:47 PM
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On the plus side, the Australian parliament has voted down their cap and trade bill by a significant margin. And they already had a Minister all set up to run the program!!! There may be hope yet.
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oldsteelmaker
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12-02-09 6:38 PM
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It's all moot anyway. What makes you think they will sell? Right now it's just costing taxes, unemployment, and fire watch. If they ever need it, they can run it. These congressional pinheads have no legal way to force a sale; Severstal didn't use government money to make the deal. And Severstal is not broke, so you can't force them into bankruptcy. Even Obie would have a hard time shoving that through the courts. And even if they considered a trial, it would drag on so long that he would be out of office and all of the workers would have lost their recall rights before anything happened. Not to mentioned Obie does not want to hack off the Russian government, which a stunt like that would certainly do. Severstal's owners have a lot of clout with Putin. Besides, THERE IS NO MONEY TO DO THIS.
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oldsteelmaker
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12-02-09 6:30 PM
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To cold start a blast furnace you first fill it with coke, then light it. Any idea how much coke that takes? You then light it, then SLOWLY start blowing cold air. That's a brand new lining in there that costs millions, you can't take any chances to damage it. It can last for years if you treat it right, or months if you don't. You also light burners under the stoves and SLOWLY start heating them as well. You have to have both the furnace and at least half of the stoves up to temperature before you can start feeding ore and limestone into the furnace. It usually takes close to a week to do this, and it's pure loss because you are not making any iron during the heatup. Back when Monessen was still running its caster they would start up for a few months, run blooms and shut down. Each time they blew out the blast furnace it cost the company a million bucks. What makes you think it's any cheaper now? You are living in a dream world.
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acmecoke1
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12-02-09 5:58 PM
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Well, if I had the money there would be no doubt that I would buy it and make a profit. All things you mentioned I realize fully, but there is always a market for slabs. Just because the caster is old does not mean it cannot function properly and the blast furnace was recently repaired before it was shut down. The electric furnace is still the most modern set-up in the country, and it does not cost millions to re-light a blast furnace in the first place. You answered your own question about slabs-there are many non-union steel processors in this country who would be glad to purchase cheaper non-union slabs. Why do you think ThyssenKrupp is importing cheap slabs made in Brazil into this country? We can make them cheaper here because ocean freight is quite expensive. Pellet prices are currently down in the U.S. and rail usage is also down. Coke can be bought across the river or through dealers like Sun Energy. Mingo Junction also has lower ovehead than most U.S. slab producers as well.
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oldsteelmaker
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12-02-09 2:45 PM
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You are kidding yourself, Acme. The Wheeling Pitt blast furnace was and will be a high cost unit, because it's not on deep water. No local ore, so pellets will go by water to a port, offload to a train to move to the plant. When profits are tiny, every extra step is a negative. The Caster is over 25 years old. WP did try to keep it modern, but they never had the budgets US or Mittal had to get the best. And who would buy the slabs? Every company that uses cast slabs is unionized. I doubt in the continuing soft market leaving shops closed and buying slabs will sit well. If Severstal is somehow forced to sell those facilities, what incentive do they have to use the output when they have their own idle capacity? And who will be supplying the umpteen hundred million dollars needed to buy iron and coke and limestone, and move it to the plant? It costs several million just to light the blast furnace. If you have that in spare change, why don't YOU buy the place?
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acmecoke1
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12-02-09 1:19 PM
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Both Baltimore and Dearborn and underused. In the worst case Mingo can go independent to produce slabs. This would take full co-operation of the union to be willing to take a pay cut to make the plant competitive. The equipment at the blast furnace, BOF and electric furnace is quite viable to do this. I agree that the 80" mill will never be sold. However, as an independent Wheeling can undercut the giant Severstal blast furnaces and steel production units just by their location. Transporting union made slabs from Baltimore and Detroit cannot be as cheap as quality local made slabs. Again, there is enough good steel leadership in this country to make it work.
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oldsteelmaker
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12-02-09 12:35 PM
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Atodd, Severstal bought WP to get the coke plant and the Mingo Hot Mill. The rest just came along with the deal. They bought it because the market looked very good at the time, and overpaid. You don't pay a billion just to eliminate a competitor. With 300 million tons capacity in China, shutting down one marginal supplier in the US is not a sensible idea. Maybe if it cost 30 million, maybe, not a billion. Even the Warren deal makes more sense than that. WCI made specialty grades, like Dearborn, so shutting them down could improve that market, but WP was a general mill competing with everyone. They were just 3% of the supply. Severstal is building a wide cold mill. The only wide hot mill they have is Mingo. They will never sell, and you can't force them to sell. Just more political posturing for some useless Democrat bleepity bleeps.
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oldsteelmaker
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12-02-09 9:22 AM
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Sorry, but I must have missed the "For sale" sign. Actually you have it a little backwards. The Mingo Hot Mill is one of the better bits of the company, when there is a good market. Martins Ferry is a bit of a clunker, and so is the caster. The real problem is there is no legal way to force them to sell. They actually overpaid for the place. Also, you seem to be overlooking one small point. There is no more management left. Headquarters, including the sales force, has been fired or transferred. Do you expect the orders to just show up? Where will the ore and coal come from? Sorry guys, that bullet has been fired. You can't stuff it back into the gun. As for taking it by force, get real. They tried that in Homestead with Carnegie; it didn't work then, it won't now.
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acmecoke1
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12-01-09 11:55 PM
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The union has put Severstal in a position to pick the old WP apart. The best parts will be connected to Baltimore just as I predicted. This will include the coke plant, Yorktown, Martins Ferry and Wheeling Corrugating. Mingo and Steubenville are finished. Unless you can buy Yorktown, Wheeling Corrugating, and part of the coke plant with Mingo then the Ohio Valley is just plain out of luck. MINGO is a great plant and the operating part of Steubenville is still valuable.What is needed is a modern cold mill built on the site of the old Steubenville plant. There is such a great tradition of steel making in the Ohio Valley that I can't believe that the greedy union bosses convinced the steelworkers to support Severstal. All they had to do was to look across the river and see what a massive world steel company does to small town America. Why should we take it!! If the Russians don't sell it to a viable operator, we should take it by force.
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atoddh
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12-01-09 6:49 PM
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Note that one reason for buying W-P was to eliminate competition. As Acme warned previously,Severstal will keep only the parts of W-P that fit into their larger operation in much the same stytle as occured at Wierton. It is unlikely they will sell to create competion for themselves.W-P will be just a shadow of its former operation; as has occured at Wierton(12,000 to 800.)W-P may have a staff of 600-800 vs 3500: about a 100 million/yr. permanent decline in area payroll:An 80% decline.
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acmecoke1
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12-01-09 12:31 AM
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This meeting is way overdue.The union should have never voted to become part of Severstal. All the logic on the planet was against going with Severstal, but yet they voted for it. All Severstal wanted was the coke plant to feed its blast furnaces in Baltimore and Detroit. They have no use for Mingo Jct. Now a rebuilt blast furnace and a new electric furnace stands idle. This time the union is themselves the reason why people have no jobs in the Ohio Valley. As I said before, the plant CAN MAKE MONEY and PROVIDE GOOD JOBS. This plant can stand alone successfully with better leadership and no more union TRICKS. It is a great plant-BUY IT OUT. Make it an independent company once more-REMEMBER-you can never trust the Russians. When will we ever learn? Pray for the Ohio Valley this Christmas.
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