Kaiser Steel
Encyclopedia
Kaiser Ventures is an American corporation, headquartered in Ontario, California
. It was founded by Henry J. Kaiser
to provide steel
plate for the Pacific Coast
shipbuilding
industry, which expanded during World War II
, then shrank, then expanded again during the Korean War
. California Shipbuilding Corporation
on Terminal Island, CA, was one of these shipyards which built hundreds of Liberty Ship
s and Victory Ship
s in World War II, and was also a project of Henry Kaiser. Kaiser Steel was noted for making the most of its costly steelmaking inputs, and it captured, along with the U.S. Steel
plant in Utah
, much of the Pacific Coast
steel market by the late 1950s. Its assets included steelmaking
plants in Napa, California
that it acquired from Basalt Rock Company
in 1955, and Fontana, California
, and an iron ore mine at Eagle Mountain, California
.
Kaiser worked with Dr. Sydney Garfield to establish prepaid medical care via the Kaiser Health Plan
, the Fontana steel plant workers becoming early members.
Kaiser closed its mills in the 1980s. It was subsequently subject to buyouts and a 1987 bankruptcy filing, before reemerging as Kaiser Ventures in the 1990s. It sold land in Fontana to Penske Motorsports
to create the California Speedway and leased its water rights to San Bernardino County. Its largest project is the conversion of its former mine in Eagle Mountain into a landfill.
Writer Ayn Rand
visited Kaiser Steel in October 1947, as part of her research for the novel "Atlas Shrugged
", a large part of which takes place at the fictional "Rearden Steel". The Journals of Ayn Rand
include numerous items on the plant's daily routine, including both detailed technical information on the process of smelting and and the terminology involved, for example: "Blast furnaces are usually named after women. The one at Kaiser's is named "Bess" after Mrs. Kaiser and is referred to by the workers as "Old Bess".
The Fontana site was the location where the steel mill scene was filmed at the end of the movie Terminator II. The site was also the location for an underground rave party in 1995 called Stargate, which thousands attended after being shuttled in from a nearby shopping center.
Ontario, California
Ontario is a city located in San Bernardino County, California, United States, 35 miles east of downtown Los Angeles. Located in the western part of the Inland Empire region, it lies just east of the Los Angeles county line and is part of the Greater Los Angeles Area...
. It was founded by Henry J. Kaiser
Henry J. Kaiser
Henry John Kaiser was an American industrialist who became known as the father of modern American shipbuilding. He established the Kaiser Shipyard which built Liberty ships during World War II, after which he formed Kaiser Aluminum and Kaiser Steel. Kaiser organized Kaiser Permanente health care...
to provide steel
Steel
Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten...
plate for the Pacific Coast
Pacific Coast
A country's Pacific coast is the part of its coast bordering the Pacific Ocean.-The Americas:Countries on the western side of the Americas have a Pacific coast as their western border.* Geography of Canada* Geography of Chile* Geography of Colombia...
shipbuilding
Shipbuilding
Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and floating vessels. It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces its roots to before recorded history.Shipbuilding and ship repairs, both...
industry, which expanded during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, then shrank, then expanded again during the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
. California Shipbuilding Corporation
California Shipbuilding Corporation
California Shipbuilding Corporation built 467 Liberty and Victory ships during World War II, including Haskell-class attack transports. California Shipbuilding Corporation was often referred to as Calship...
on Terminal Island, CA, was one of these shipyards which built hundreds of Liberty Ship
Liberty ship
Liberty ships were cargo ships built in the United States during World War II. Though British in conception, they were adapted by the U.S. as they were cheap and quick to build, and came to symbolize U.S. wartime industrial output. Based on vessels ordered by Britain to replace ships torpedoed by...
s and Victory Ship
Victory ship
The Victory ship was a type of cargo ship produced in large numbers by North American shipyards during World War II to replace shipping losses caused by German submarines...
s in World War II, and was also a project of Henry Kaiser. Kaiser Steel was noted for making the most of its costly steelmaking inputs, and it captured, along with the U.S. Steel
U.S. Steel
The United States Steel Corporation , more commonly known as U.S. Steel, is an integrated steel producer with major production operations in the United States, Canada, and Central Europe. The company is the world's tenth largest steel producer ranked by sales...
plant in Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
, much of the Pacific Coast
Pacific Coast
A country's Pacific coast is the part of its coast bordering the Pacific Ocean.-The Americas:Countries on the western side of the Americas have a Pacific coast as their western border.* Geography of Canada* Geography of Chile* Geography of Colombia...
steel market by the late 1950s. Its assets included steelmaking
Steelmaking
Steelmaking is the second step in producing steel from iron ore. In this stage, impurities such as sulfur, phosphorus, and excess carbon are removed from the raw iron, and alloying elements such as manganese, nickel, chromium and vanadium are added to produce the exact steel required.-Older...
plants in Napa, California
Napa, California
-History:The name Napa was probably derived from the name given to a southern Nappan village whose people shared the area with elk, deer, grizzlies and cougars for many centuries, according to Napa historian Kami Santiago. At the time of the first recorded exploration into Napa Valley in 1823, the...
that it acquired from Basalt Rock Company
Basalt Rock Company
Basalt Rock Company was a multifaceted industrial operation that was founded in 1920. The company started as a rock quarrying operation located a few miles south of Napa, California near the Napa River. It later branched out into the ship building business in 1941 when it started building ships...
in 1955, and Fontana, California
Fontana, California
Fontana is a city of 196,069 residents in San Bernardino County, California. Founded in 1913, it remained essentially rural until World War II, when entrepreneur Henry J. Kaiser built a large steel mill in the area...
, and an iron ore mine at Eagle Mountain, California
Eagle Mountain, California
Eagle Mountain, California is a modern day ghost town, in the Colorado Desert, in Riverside County founded in 1948 by noted industrialist Henry J. Kaiser. The town is located at the entrance of the now-defunct Eagle Mountain iron mine, once owned by the Southern Pacific Railroad, then Kaiser Steel,...
.
Kaiser worked with Dr. Sydney Garfield to establish prepaid medical care via the Kaiser Health Plan
Kaiser Permanente
Kaiser Permanente is an integrated managed care consortium, based in Oakland, California, United States, founded in 1945 by industrialist Henry J. Kaiser and physician Sidney Garfield...
, the Fontana steel plant workers becoming early members.
Kaiser closed its mills in the 1980s. It was subsequently subject to buyouts and a 1987 bankruptcy filing, before reemerging as Kaiser Ventures in the 1990s. It sold land in Fontana to Penske Motorsports
International Speedway Corporation
International Speedway Corporation is a corporation whose primary business is the ownership and management of NASCAR race tracks. ISC was founded by NASCAR founder Bill France, Sr. in 1953 for the construction of Daytona International Speedway and in 1999 they merged with Penske Motorsports to...
to create the California Speedway and leased its water rights to San Bernardino County. Its largest project is the conversion of its former mine in Eagle Mountain into a landfill.
Writer Ayn Rand
Ayn Rand
Ayn Rand was a Russian-American novelist, philosopher, playwright, and screenwriter. She is known for her two best-selling novels The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged and for developing a philosophical system she called Objectivism....
visited Kaiser Steel in October 1947, as part of her research for the novel "Atlas Shrugged
Atlas Shrugged
Atlas Shrugged is a novel by Ayn Rand, first published in 1957 in the United States. Rand's fourth and last novel, it was also her longest, and the one she considered to be her magnum opus in the realm of fiction writing...
", a large part of which takes place at the fictional "Rearden Steel". The Journals of Ayn Rand
Journals of Ayn Rand
Journals of Ayn Rand is a book derived from the private journals of novelist and philosopher Ayn Rand, and published in 1997, 15 years after her death. It was edited by David Harriman with the approval of Rand's estate.-Background:...
include numerous items on the plant's daily routine, including both detailed technical information on the process of smelting and and the terminology involved, for example: "Blast furnaces are usually named after women. The one at Kaiser's is named "Bess" after Mrs. Kaiser and is referred to by the workers as "Old Bess".
The Fontana site was the location where the steel mill scene was filmed at the end of the movie Terminator II. The site was also the location for an underground rave party in 1995 called Stargate, which thousands attended after being shuttled in from a nearby shopping center.