Stelco Lake Erie Works
Coordinates: 42°48′38″N 80°04′22″W / 42.810672°N -80.072694°E
 Stelco Lake Erie Works, 2007 |
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| Steel | |
|---|---|
| Greenfield steel mill | |
| Serving canal | Welland Canal |
| Serving Railway | Southern Ontario Railway |
| Further ownership | Stelco (1980) |
| U.S. Steel Canada (2007) | |
| Coordinates | 42°48′38″N 80°04′22″W / 42.810672°N -80.072694°E |
| Construction | |
| Built | 1980 |
| Employees | 1500 |
| References | |
 Stelco Lake Erie Works
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The Stelco Lake Erie Works is a greenfield steel mill located in the small village of Nanticoke, Ontario, Canada.[1]
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[edit] Summary
The current owner of this business venture is U.S. Steel Canada, a wholly owned subsidiary of United States Steel,[2] which is now the fifth largest steelmaker in the world. U.S. Steel Canada purchased Stelco in 2007. This operation has a focus on making steel for the automotive sector. As North America's newest greenfield steel mill and one of its most efficient mills in North America, this facility is a lifeline for its employees.
Stelco Lake Erie Works generally operates in a region of Southern Ontario where there are no wind generators planned until 2013.[3] Their electricity is provided mostly by the nearby coal-power plant (which will switch to biomass in 2014[4] due to a Ontario government regulation to get rid of coal power as a supplement to their hydro energy[5]) and through the hydroelectric grid centered around Niagara Falls at the Sir Adam Beck Hydroelectric Power Stations.
[edit] Recent history
Many people from all over Haldimand County and Norfolk County worked at this site until temporarily losing their jobs due to the lockout or simply being laid off.
This drastic move ended up costing about 1500 jobs for Stelco.[6] Twelve thousand non-Stelco jobs were also lost for the entire region on an overall basis. Just like Flint, Michigan was dependent on General Motors for their livelihood in the 20th century,[7] Norfolk County was dependent on Stelco to provide a crutch to the retirement community's economy. When the Stelco Lake Erie Works was closed temporarily, the local economy of Norfolk County slowed down to a crawl. People were getting laid off from jobs even though some of them were unrelated to Stelco. The Nanticoke and Hamilton plants were shut down on Lake Erie Works in 2009;[8] leaving most people in the area with little or no disposable income to spend on consumer goods and items. A tenantive agreeement was made on April 8, 2010 after an eight-month lockout[9][10] and a vote ratification was made on April 15, 2010 at 11:15 P.M..[11]
The Stelco Lake Erie Works would finally re-open after an eight-month lockout in time for workers to return on April 23, 2010.[11] Most of the local jobs were eventually restored regardless of their relationship to Stelco's operations; resulting in a major drop in the local unemployment rate for the summer of 2010.[12]
[edit] References
[edit] Notes
- ^ Lake Erie Works - Profile
- ^ Steel News (Aug. 27, 2007)
- ^ Daniel Pearce (2011). "Green projects receive go-ahead". Brantford Expositor. http://www.brantfordexpositor.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2527693&archive=true. Retrieved 2012-01-24. "The big news, however, was in Haldimand County. That community was awarded a project that could see up to 100 wind turbines along the lake-shore in the Nanticoke area. As well, the proposal that includes the Port Dover windmills extends into Haldimand, where another 40 or more turbines could be located." mirror
- ^ http://www.opg.com/power/fossil/brochures/nanticokebrochure.pdf
- ^ Ecojustice (11 October 2006). "Ontario abandons coal phase-out, guts smog and climate change plans". http://www.ecojustice.ca/media-centre/press-releases/ontario-abandons-coal-phase-out-guts-smog-and-climate-change-plans. Retrieved 5 November 2010.
- ^ Financial Post (May 06, 2009)
- ^ Report about Flint, Michigan
- ^ Toronto Star (March 4, 2009)
- ^ U.S. Steel and locked-out workers reach an agreement (April 8, 2010)
- ^ The Globe and Mail (April 9, 2010)
- ^ a b Steel Market Update (April 15, 2010)
- ^ Major drop in Norfolk unemployment rate - The Simcoe Reformer
