Welcome Back, Stelco

[King&James]

Time for some concepts! How much density does one need to spread say $1B of remediation into built space to make it feasible to build economically.

[drpgq]

Stelco opts to shore up steelmaking infrastructure in Hamilton
Decision to stabilize furnaces leads to speculation could fire up production

https://www.thespec.com/news-story/8...e-in-hamilton/

Is Stelco's new owner laying the groundwork for a return to steelmaking at the former Hilton Works?

Six years after U.S. Steel Canada shut down the blast furnace on the bay, and only six months after emerging from bankruptcy protection, the plant is abuzz in anticipation of a steel manufacturing renaissance and the return of hundreds of new jobs.

A new report — from the authority that has been keeping track of developments relating to Stelco's court-supervised creditor protection — says Stelco has decided to stabilize rather than demolish some key components of its steelmaking infrastructure: three basic oxygen furnaces (BOF) that were idled along with the blast furnace.

[drpgq]

Stelco has strong first quarter in quest to rebuild the company
https://www.thespec.com/news-story/8...d-the-company/

Stelco's owners say the company's revenue increased by 25 per cent in the first three months of the year compared to the first quarter of 2017 and it would have been higher if there wasn't a trucking shortage.

The trucking industry has been struggling to find new drivers to replace the 10,000 drivers who retire every year in Canada and it's been having a major impact on companies that use trucks to distribute products.

Stelco CEO Alan Kestenbaum said in a conference call Thursday, "we could have shipped more with optimal shipping capability" ... but "nevertheless we grew shipping volumes to an annual run rate of 2.5 million net tonnes from 2017 shipments of 2 million tonnes."


Faced with the transportation problem that is expected to continue for the foreseeable future, he said, Stelco has diversified its shipping options by increasing rail capacity and using ship barges from its Lake Erie docks.

"That means the new Stelco can now ship by truck, rail, barge and ship to destinations around the globe," he said.

The company's revenue jumped to $482 million from $386 million over the same period last year, as volumes increased by 23 per cent and average selling prices were up by two per cent.

Net income was listed at $49 million compared to $8 million last year.

[matt602]

Interesting to read the details. Looks like there will be more ships and trains going into Stelco. This is good news as there is plenty of unused infrastructure in the North end for both of those things. It would also mean spinoff jobs at National Steel Car and marine related industries in Hamilton, plus relief of truck traffic through the city and on the highways.

[realcity]

This is great. Stelco survives. I look forward to seeing all the stacks all pumping max capacity. Happy 108.

[realcity]

I have a Hamilton SimCity and it goes through the same things in the east end of the wind. Right now. I put in some art galleries and commercial dots and the neighborhood picks up. Fred should play.

[NortheastWind]

Yesterday the smoke coming from their stack was black, leaving a black streak across the east end of the city. Maybe they can invest some of that 48 mil into fixing their pollution problem.

[realcity]

I think it is great to see the stacks pumping production again. This little bit of smoke is nothing to what it looked like in the 70s 80s, the snow fell black. No other city like the Hammer. I remember driving into Hamilton from 6 south and there was a yellow dome over the city.

[anactualalien]

Stelco to buy surplus Hamilton waterfront land, mayor says city not consulted

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilt...ario-1.4689963

[eatboots]

Wow, I'm calling bullshit on this one, the lands were mysteriously valued really low and then Stelco gets to buy them

convenient.

[ScreamingViking]

I wonder if they're accepting the environmental liability along with it. I could see the province making this kind of deal if it takes that risk off their shoulders (which unfortunately puts any kind of future cleanup back into limbo, depending on what happens next with industrial land uses).

Shadows of backroom dealing aside, I imagine Bedrock will flip a substantial portion of the Hamilton land to fund investment in steel-making. If a deal for that hasn't already been cooked up, the city could still have opportunity to purchase some, or the port authority, or a private developer looking to re-purpose it for other industrial/commercial activities.

On the plus side, there must be prospect of a return to higher property tax revenue to the city as the assessment goes back up. I believe I read that in one of the Spec stories.

NOTE TO MODS: these last few posts should probably be moved to the Welcome Back, Stelco thread... this one has been primarily about the west harbour lands.

[drpgq]

I think in one of the Spec articles they were taking back environmental responsibility from the province. I agree that's probably the province's motivation.

Originally Posted by ScreamingViking

I wonder if they're accepting the environmental liability along with it. I could see the province making this kind of deal if it takes that risk off their shoulders (which unfortunately puts any kind of future cleanup back into limbo, depending on what happens next with industrial land uses).

Shadows of backroom dealing aside, I imagine Bedrock will flip a substantial portion of the Hamilton land to fund investment in steel-making. If a deal for that hasn't already been cooked up, the city could still have opportunity to purchase some, or the port authority, or a private developer looking to re-purpose it for other industrial/commercial activities.

On the plus side, there must be prospect of a return to higher property tax revenue to the city as the assessment goes back up. I believe I read that in one of the Spec stories.

NOTE TO MODS: these last few posts should probably be moved to the Welcome Back, Stelco thread... this one has been primarily about the west harbour lands.

[ScreamingViking]

Interesting. The province is keeping the liability.

Bedrock has every chance to make this work, the pensioners are being looked after with more funds right away, and there may be potential for additional uses on the land they're purchasing. Despite the city's disappointment in how things have happened with the land deal, there are wins here.


Stelco land purchase carries environmental liability protection

Mark McNeil
The Hamilton Spectator -- June 5, 2018

Stelco Inc. says nearly 3,000 acres of industrial property in Hamilton and Nanticoke that it is buying from a province-created land trust carries with it a provincial promise of protection from environmental liability.

In a media release yesterday, the Hamilton-based steelmaker said, "Stelco continues to receive the benefit of the environmental release in respect of the Lands that was granted by the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change (MOECC) on closing of the (Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act) reorganization."

...

Another big issue with the land purchase is that tens of millions of dollars will flow to Stelco retiree benefits.

Originally, that was supposed to happen with a property sale after the lands were remediated, something that was expected to take many years. Now, without remediation, Stelco has taken ownership of the property and passed on a sudden unexpected influx of cash for pensioners.

...

Kestenbaum also seemed to suggest that the company is interested in some of its new property being used for things other than steelmaking.

"Additionally, we look forward to engaging with various other parties including the City of Hamilton on further development opportunities of the land and port area," he said.

Full story here

[realcity]

Once the multi-year Randle Reef remediation project is completed in 2022, a six-hectare docking facility peninsula will go into operation on top of the reef. Combining that new facility with a port development on waterfront land along Stelco's western boundary would greatly expand the transportation hub potential of the area.


I thought the cap on Randle Reef was going to be a park. I'm all for it to go into shipping, Hamilton has Bay Front Park. Although the idea of a park to watch the cargo ships would be interesting.

[thistleclub]

Toronto Star:

Stelco Holdings Inc. (STLC)

The Hamilton, Ont., steelmaker has struggled this year with slumping steel prices and plunge in shipments by as much as half during the summer. The stock’s rebound this week follows a stunning 50 per cent recovery in steel prices, mostly in the third quarter. There’s also an investor recognition that accounting for the drop in shipments is Stelco’s ambitious retrofitting of both its flagship steelworks in Hamilton and its more modern Nanticoke, Ont., facilities, an upgrading project that will reduce costs and increase output. Stelco has been repeatedly gratified that it has been able to sell all the steel it makes, yet frustrated that until the upgrading is completed it can’t make still more.

[ScreamingViking]

Originally Posted by thistleclub

Toronto Star:

I think the land on the harbourfront is the biggest most liquid asset the "new Stelco" has... despite all the foo-froo about the company's production (and I've been quite positive in my posts) Bedrock's bedrock is all that fill.

[ScreamingViking]

Story in today's Spec about the local steel industry...


The Faceoff: Steel prices are taking off and Stelco is on a tear — but rival Dofasco still dominates the auto market

https://www.thespec.com/ts/business/...to-market.html

By Josh Rubin
The Hamilton Spectator
Sat., March 6, 2021



Stelco takes control of its destiny

Is the Rust Belt finally getting a little bit of polish?

It certainly seems that way, at least for Stelco, and its biggest investor, U.S.-based private equity firm Bedrock Industries, whose official corporate headquarters is in the Netherlands.

With steel prices rising as economies around the world anticipate the COVID-19 pandemic winding down, Stelco has seen its share price rise this year. Bedrock has cashed in, but not in a way observers had feared when it first bought the company.

The company reclaimed its birth name in 2016 after being bought out of bankruptcy as U.S. Steel Canada in 2016. At the time, some observers feared Bedrock, which paid an estimated $500 million for the Hamilton-based steelmaker, was just in it for a quick buck, possibly by stripping assets. Yes, Bedrock has since done all right for itself, selling off chunks of its stake in Stelco in a series of sales totalling about $844 million. The most recent sale came this past week, with a secondary offering worth $183 million that will leave Bedrock holding roughly 38 per cent of Stelco shares once the deal closes later this month.

On Bedrock’s watch, Stelco has invested significantly in new equipment, including North America’s only “smart” blast furnace, a more efficient piece of machinery that allowed the company to boost production and cut operating costs; it also added a pig-iron production facility this year.

Dofasco is a small but vital cog in a big wheel

In a couple of obvious ways, Dofasco has a leg up against its crosstown archrival, Stelco. With roughly 5,000 employees, it’s got more than double the workforce. It also produces roughly five million tons of steel products annually, compared to Stelco’s two million.

Those Dofasco workers are a relatively tiny part of a global steel behemoth, ArcelorMittal, which was formed in April 2006 when India’s Mittal Steel took over Luxembourg-based Arcelor. (Arcelor had won a bidding war for Dofasco just three months earlier over Germany’s Thyssen Krupp). The combined company today has 245,000 employees across 60 countries. Included in that total are 13 plants in the U.S., and another site in Contrecoeur, Que.

Still, says long-time steel industry observer Peter Warrian, the Dofasco operation is a crucial cog for ArcelorMittal. Warrian, an economist at U of T’s Munk School of Public Affairs and former research director for the United Steelworkers, says Hamilton is one of the company’s three most strategically-vital sites around the globe (the others being in Ghent, Belgium and Tabaro, Brazil).

...

full story here

[LikeHamilton]

This is Stelco's BOF (basic oxygen furnace) and Caster, yesterday they started to dismantle it. Closing out steel making at The Steel Company of Canada. Stelco will only produce coke for Lake Erie and be a finishing mill. Photo by Cody Lee

Stelco BOF by R L, on Flickr

Video of the property.

https://vimeo.com/channels/1666784/442482457

[ScreamingViking]

I've wondered for a while now if that was being taken down or modified. The top of the structure has looked different... like pieces were removed.

Where was that quote from?

[craftbeerdad]

Nice find LikeHamilton.

There's quite a few videos of the complex, some short snippets and longer pieces, very nicely done.

Check out these

https://vimeo.com/442481918 (blast furnace)

https://vimeo.com/442476471 (landscapes)


Summary video
https://vimeo.com/442456009 (overview)