Stelco
Encyclopedia
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...
company based in Hamilton, Ontario
Hamilton, Ontario
Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Conceived by George Hamilton when he purchased the Durand farm shortly after the War of 1812, Hamilton has become the centre of a densely populated and industrialized region at the west end of Lake Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
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History
Several existing smaller steelworks combined and were incorporated as the Steel Company of Canada in 1910. Charles S. Wilcox was the first president of Iron and Steel Company of Canada, (later called simply Stelco), which was formed from five companies:- Canada Screw Company – 1864 Dundas, OntarioDundas, OntarioDundas is a formerly independent town and now constituent community in the city of Hamilton in Ontario, Canada. It's nickname is the Valley Town. The population has been stable for decades at about twenty thousand, largely because it has not annexed rural land from the protected Dundas Valley...
- Hamilton Steel and Iron Company – 1861 Hamilton, OntarioHamilton, OntarioHamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Conceived by George Hamilton when he purchased the Durand farm shortly after the War of 1812, Hamilton has become the centre of a densely populated and industrialized region at the west end of Lake Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe...
- Montreal Rolling Mills – 1790s Montreal, Quebec
- Dominion Wire Manufacturing Company – Lachine, QuebecLachine, QuebecLachine was a city on the Island of Montreal in southwestern Quebec, Canada. It is now a borough within the city of Montreal.-History:...
- Canada Bolt and Nut Company – Swansea, Ontario
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.
Canada Screw Company was founded in 1864 in Dundas, Ontario by J. P. Billington and T. Forsyth and later moved to Hamilton.
On August 27, 2007, US Steel purchased Stelco for $1.9 billion--$1.1 billion in cash, and assuming $800 million in debt. 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
Toronto Stock Exchange
Toronto Stock Exchange is the largest stock exchange in Canada, the third largest in North America and the seventh largest in the world by market capitalisation. Based in Canada's largest city, Toronto, it is owned by and operated as a subsidiary of the TMX Group for the trading of senior equities...
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On March 3, 2009, US Steel announced that further consolidating was necessary to maximize efficiency while meeting customer demands. In this regard, they announced a "temporary idling" of the finishing and coking operations at Hamilton Works in Hamilton, Ontario
Hamilton, Ontario
Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Conceived by George Hamilton when he purchased the Durand farm shortly after the War of 1812, Hamilton has become the centre of a densely populated and industrialized region at the west end of Lake Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe...
, and the steelmaking and finishing operations at Lake Erie Works near Nanticoke, Ontario
Nanticoke, Ontario
Nanticoke is an unincorporated community and former city located on the western border of Haldimand County, Ontario, Canada. It is southeast of Simcoe in neighbouring Norfolk County and south of Brantford...
. Coking operations at Lake Erie Works will continue production. Approximately 1,500 employees will be affected.
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 HarbourBurlington Bay
Burlington Bay, known more commonly as Hamilton Harbour, lies on the western tip of Lake Ontario, bounded on the northwest by the City of Burlington, on the south by the City of Hamilton, and on the east by Hamilton Beach and Burlington Beach...
. Several union drives at the plant were unsuccessful, until the founding strike of Local 1005 of the United Steelworkers of America in 1946.
Operations
In addition to the main Hilton Works, named after the late company president (Hugh Hilton), its operations include Stelco McMaster Works in Contrecoeur Quebec, Stelwire and the Lake Erie WorksStelco Lake Erie Works
The Stelco Lake Erie Works is located in the small village of Nanticoke, Ontario, Canada. The owner of this business venture is U.S. Steel Canada, a wholly owned subsidiary of United States Steel, which is now the fifth largest steelmaker in the world. U.S. Steel Canada purchased Stelco in 2007....
in Nanticoke
Nanticoke, Ontario
Nanticoke is an unincorporated community and former city located on the western border of Haldimand County, Ontario, Canada. It is southeast of Simcoe in neighbouring Norfolk County and south of Brantford...
on Lake Erie
Lake Erie
Lake Erie is the fourth largest lake of the five Great Lakes in North America, and the tenth largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also has the shortest average water residence time. It is bounded on the north by the...
. The Nanticoke plant was notable because it is of a relatively modern design, and uses far less water than a fear.
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 re-named to 100 King St. West. In 2004, Stelco has been having financial difficulties and has been under court ordered protection from its creditors, including the Deutsche Bank
Deutsche Bank
Deutsche Bank AG is a global financial service company with its headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany. It employs more than 100,000 people in over 70 countries, and has a large presence in Europe, the Americas, Asia Pacific and the emerging markets...
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Bankruptcy and Acquisition
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.In 2007, Stelco was purchased by US Steel and has since been renamed Hamilton Works – US Steel Canada.