ISG Weirton Steel

Founded by Ernest T. Weir in West Virginia in 1909, Weirton Steel was a fully integrated steel producer and one of the world's largest producers of tin plate products.

History

Weirton Steel Corporation was an integrated steel mill founded in 1909 by Ernest T. Weir who built Weirton Steel into one of the world's leading steel producers. In 1905, Weir and his partner, James Phillips, bought a tin mill in Clarksburg, West Virginia. By 1909, the partners successfully relocated and expanded the operation in what was then Hollidays Cove, West Virginia. They chose Hollidays Cove because of its abundant water supply which was much needed for steel production, and at the same time, offered ready access to major steel markets.

In 1929, Weir merged Weirton Steel with Detroit's Michigan Steel and Cleveland's M. A. Hanna Company to form National Steel Corporation. National Steel quickly took a place among the nation's largest steel producers. However, toward the end of the century, Weirton Steel had fallen on hard times.

Weirton Steel had been the world's largest Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) steel plant when employees had purchased stocks in the 1980s. After Weirton filed for bankruptcy, ISG put in a low offer of $237 million. On April 22, 2004, U.S. federal bankruptcy Judge L. Edward Friend II ruled that Ohio-based ISG could purchase Weirton Steel, a steel company with 3,000 employees for $237 million. By court order, the assets were then auctioned, with most being acquired by ISG. ISG then formed a new division called ISG Weirton Steel.

On April 5, 2005, ISG completed a merger with Mittal Steel. Then again, in 2006, Mittal Steel completed a merger with Arcelor, resulting in a new company known as Arcelor Mittal.

See also

• List of steel producers

External links

• The History of Weirton Steel Corporation