A Steel Industry Update

I just spent two very full days attending the Southeast Chapter meeting of the Association of Iron & Steel Technology (AIST). The meeting was held in Charleston, South Carolina, and concluded yesterday with a tour of Nucor Steel Corporation's Berkeley, SC steel making facility. The industry has undergone dramatic change since I last was employed by a steel company in 1980. Nucor, a virtual unknown then, is now this country's second largest steelmaker.

The mill at Berkeley is one of three (2 owned by Nucor) located within the state. The plant was built from scratch, beginning in 1995, with operations commencing in 1996, according to the company people who guided us around and provided insight into the operation. It's now capable of producing approximately 2 million tons of finished product per year with a workforce of some 900 employees. According to my rough calculations, that translates into a production rate of slightly under 1 man-hour per ton of finished steel. That's over 6 times better than the industry average in the 1970's, and is due primarily to advances in technology.

The steel plant is simply fascinating and awesome. Two 170 ton electric furnaces melt raw materials (mostly scrap) in a display that you've just got to see for yourself. After 25 minutes or so, the molten steel is transferred to ladles (they have 4), where the chemical analysis is controlled with various alloy additions. When ready, the liquid steel is poured into one of three continuous casting machines that turn out a steady stream of slabs or billets, to be rolled into sheets or structural shapes, respectively.

While the operation itself is fascinating, what impressed me even more was the evident pride of workmanship that every member of Nucor's staff exhibited as they explained what was going on at each step of the process. These people like what they're doing, and were having a good time at it. I'm really encouraged by that, as it speaks volumes regarding the state of the industry, which, I believe, is excellent.

Meanwhile, back at the hotel, we were treated to presentations about operations, equipment and metallurgy that were uniformly well-delivered by plant operators, engineers and metallurgists. We also heard managers express great confidence in the industry, born out by stories of export orders to such places as Taiwan and Viet Nam. I'm not sure that any of those present could really believe that steel companies in the United States were exporting steel to Asia, rather than the other way around. Maybe we can bring back manufacturing here, and with it, the opportunities we so desperately need to ensure our future as the economic leader of the world.