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Stelco

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U.S. Steel Canada
Company typesubsidiary
IndustrySteel milling
Founded1910 as Steel Company of Canada (Stelco)
FounderCharles S. Wilcox
HeadquartersHamilton, Ontario, Nanticoke, Ontario
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Mike McQuade, President - US Steel Canada
ProductsHot-rolled steel
cold-rolled steel
galvanized steel sheet
special bar quality
green steel
ore mining
Number of employees
2,000
WebsiteUS Steel Canada

US Steel Canada (formerly Stelco) is a steel company based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Stelco was founded in 1910 from several smaller firms. It continued on for almost 100 years, until it filed for bankruptcy in 2007 and was bought by U.S. Steel. The Hamilton plant has not produced steel since 2011, but its coke ovens and cold rolling finishing works remain in operation.

History

Several existing smaller steelworks combined and were incorporated as the Steel Company of Canada in 1910.[1] Charles S. Wilcox was the first president of Iron and Steel Company of Canada, (later called simply Stelco), which was formed from five companies:

Hamilton Steel and Iron Company and The Canada Screw Company were founded before 1867 and Montreal Rolling Mills predates to the 1790s by businessman John Bigelow, succeeded by Alured Bigelow, later becoming Pillow & Hersey.[citation needed] During this time horses were used onsite and there was a blacksmith shop that was open until about 2004.

Canada Screw Company was founded in 1864 in Dundas, Ontario by J. P. Billington and T. Forsyth and later moved to Hamilton.

Hamilton Waterfront Trail, Stelco in background

Several union drives at the plant were unsuccessful, until the founding strike of Local 1005 of the United Steelworkers of America in 1946.

In 2004, Stelco had financial difficulties and went under court-ordered protection from its creditors, including the Deutsche Bank. Stelco exited CCAA protection on March 31, 2006. It has divested itself of several non-core operations, including Stelwire, Norambar (formerly Stelco McMaster Works) and Welland Pipe. The CCAA exit has seen the remaining operations restructured into 9 separate operating businesses, held by the corporate entity of Stelco.

On August 27, 2007, US Steel purchased Stelco for $1.9 billion – $1.1 billion in cash, and assuming $800 million in debt. The company has since been renamed Hamilton Works – US Steel Canada. The deal closed effective October 31, 2007. The company was renamed U. S. Steel Canada Inc. and its shares were delisted from the Toronto Stock Exchange.

In an effort to streamline operations, U.S. Steel announced on March 3, 2009 that it would be temporarily shutting down its Hamilton plant and most of its Lake Erie plant putting more than 2,000 people out of work. This announcement came 4 months after U.S. Steel laid off 700 employees at the Hamilton plant when it shut down its blast furnace.[2]

Market conditions and declining customer orders prompted US Steel to shut down the Hamilton Works on October 1, 2010.[3] 100 jobs were restored when the German Max Aicher steel company bought two steel mills from US Steel, and opened them as "Max Aicher North America".[4] More jobs are expected to be created when the mills are in full production.[4] The Hamilton steel-making and iron-making operations were permanently closed on December 31, 2013.[5]

On September 16, 2014 US Steel Canada has announced that it would apply for court protection from its creditors.[6] US Steel then stated that it intended to sell all of its remaining operations in Hamilton in the next two months.[7]

Environmental Impact

Many of its main buildings in the north end of Hamilton are built on reclaimed or infilled land, which harmed the drainage of Hamilton and the water ecology of Hamilton Harbour.

Operations

In addition to the main Hilton Works, named after the late company president Hugh Hilton, and the Lake Erie Works in Nanticoke on Lake Erie, until the 2006 restructuring Stelco's operations also included Stelco McMaster Works in Contrecœur, Quebec, and Stelwire (both acquired by ArcelorMittal in 2006). The Nanticoke plant was notable because it is of a relatively modern design, and uses far less water. US Steel Canada currently operates the facilities in Nanticoke and Hamilton.

Stelco Tower, associated with Lloyd D. Jackson Square in downtown Hamilton, has been an office building for the company and others since the 1970s, but has now been completely vacated by Stelco and renamed to 100 King St. West.

References

  1. ^ "History of Industry in Hamilton, Ontario". Retrieved 2009-07-27.
  2. ^ Powell, Naomi (March 4, 2009). "Stelco's Hamilton and Lake Erie plants idled". The Star. Toronto. Retrieved 2009-03-04.
  3. ^ "Blast Furnace Shut Down Again".
  4. ^ a b German buyer firing up two shuttered U.S. Steel mills - TheSpec.com
  5. ^ Reuters (2013-10-29). "U.S. Steel to close Hamilton operations". The Toronto Star. Archived from the original on 2013-10-29. Retrieved 2013-10-29. {{cite news}}: |author= has generic name (help); Invalid |ref=harv (help); Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  6. ^ [1]
  7. ^ [2]
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