Steel News

Clear Thinking Group to Serve as Liquidation Trustee for Slater Steel

30 March 2005 - Clear Thinking Group, LLC, and Joseph E. Myers, a partner and managing director, have been appointed liquidation trustee for Slater Steel, Inc. The appointment became effective with confirmation of the company's Chapter 11 Plan of Reorganization by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, District of Delaware.

Wheeling-Pittsburgh Names New President and COO

30 March 2005 - Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel Corp. announced that Harry L. Page, 58, will assume the new position of President and Chief Operating Officer, effective April 1, 2005. James G. Bradley will continue as Chairman of the Board and CEO.

U. S. Steel Announces General Manager for Minnesota Ore Operations

29 March 2005 - United States Steel Corp. announced the appointment of Dennis G. Quirk to the position of General Manager of Minnesota Ore Operations, reporting to David H. Lohr, Vice President—Plant Operations.

TXI Reports 3rd Quarter Results, Still Looking to Spin off Steel Operations

25 March 2005 - Texas Industries, Inc. reported net income of $16.0 million for the quarter ended February 28, 2005.

AK Steel Receives Dual Supplier Awards from Toyota

25 March 2005 - AK Steel has once again earned dual supplier awards from Toyota Motor Manufacturing North America, Inc.

Republic Reports 2004 Financial Results

25 March 2005 - Republic Engineered Products Inc. reported net income of $39.3 million on net sales of $1.19 billion for the year ended December 31, 2004.

Ipsco to Add High-speed Finishing Facilities at Blytheville Pipe

25 March 2005 - March 25, 2005 — Ipsco Inc. is installing a state-of-the-art high speed Oil Country Tubular Goods finishing lines at its Blytheville, Ark., pipe mill.

Stelco Seeks Approval to Sell Interest in Camrose Pipe

25 March 2005 - Stelco Inc. has applied for a Court order approving the sale by Stelcam Holdings Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Stelco, of its partnership interest in Camrose Pipe Co. to Canadian National Steel Corp. (CNSC). CNSC, an indirect subsidiary of Oregon Steel Mills Inc., is the other partner in the Camrose Pipe Partnership.

Northshore Mine Receives Cliffs Mine Safety Award

24 March 2005 - Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. announced that its Northshore Mining Co., Silver Bay, Minn., is once again the recipient of Cliffs' President's Award for Safety. The award is presented annually to the Cliffs mine with the best safety performance, as measured by the frequency rate for Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) reportable injuries.

Cleveland-Cliffs Increases Portman Interest to Over 60%

23 March 2005 - Cleveland-Cliffs Inc has received acceptances increasing its voting power in Portman Limited to over 60%.

Quanex Approves Capital Project for MacSteel

23 March 2005 - Quanex Corp.’s Board of Directors has approved Phase 9, a $38 million value added capital improvement project for its MacSteel Monroe facility.

Commercial Metals Reports Record 2nd Quarter

23 March 2005 - Commercial Metals Co. reported net earnings of $56.6 million on net sales of $1.6 billion for the quarter ended February 28, 2005, ranking it as the strongest second quarter ever reported for the company. The company also reported net earnings of $130.3 million on net sales of $3.1 billion for the first six months of the fiscal year.

Quanex Announces Purchase of Besten

22 March 2005 - Quanex Corp. announced the purchase of privately held Besten Inc., located in Cleveland, Ohio.

Cleveland-Cliffs Increases Interest in Portman

22 March 2005 - Cleveland-Cliffs Inc has acquired a total relevant interest in approximately 48.4 million Portman shares, representing approximately 27.6% of Portman's issued share capital as of Monday morning. The offer for Portman was due to close at 7:00 p.m. (Perth time), which is 6:00 a.m. (New York time) on March 22, 2005.

Allegheny Ludlum Sets Price Increases for Cold Rolled Stainless

22 March 2005 - ATI Allegheny Ludlum announced that it would increase prices for T309, T310 and T330 cold-rolled stainless steel sheet, strip, plate, continuous mill plate and Tubular Quality sheet and strip by approximately 5%.

Ladle Carrier Tires Explode at Severstal North America

22 March 2005 - Severstal North America, Inc. reported that twelve Severstal and outside emergency responders were injured when two tires on a liquid steel carrier caught fire and exploded.

Steel Dynamics Appoints Two New Directors

18 March 2005 - Steel Dynamics, Inc.’s Board of Directors has increased the authorized number of directors from ten to eleven. The board announced that current SDI director James E. Kelley, 86, has resigned due to ill health.

Roanoke Electric Steel Adjusts Fuel Surcharge

18 March 2005 - Roanoke Electric Steel Corp. has informed its customers that it will increase its fuel surcharge from 8 to 12%, effective with shipments on Monday, March 21.

Sterling Steel to Implement Ivara Asset Reliability Program

18 March 2005 - Sterling Steel Co., LLC has partnered with Ivara Corp. to improve equipment reliability. The asset reliability initiative will focus on improving maintenance effectiveness and increasing asset performance, with the ultimate goals of increasing equipment availability and throughput, reducing plant downtime, lowering operating costs, and optimizing spare parts inventory.

Worthington Industries Reports 3rd Quarter Results

17 March 2005 - Worthington Industries, Inc. reported net earnings of $33.1 million on net sales of $747.4 million for third quarter, and net earnings of $138.6 million on net sales of $2,261.9 million for the nine-month period ended February 28, 2005.