stelco

The Steel Company of Canada was established in 1910. It was founded after the merging of the Hamilton Steel and Iron Company (1900) with the Canada Screw Company (1866), Montreal Rolling Mills (1868), the Dominion Wire Manufacturing Company (1883) and the Canada Bolt and Nut Company.{{cite encyclopedia|author=Deborah C. Sawyer; Erin James-Abra|url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/stelco-inc|title=StelCo Inc|encyclopedia=The Canadian Encyclopedia|date=March 4, 2015|access-date=September 1, 2019}}

{{cite journal|last1=Watson|first1=Thomas|title=The Ode: Stelco (1910–2010)|journal=Canadian Business Journal|date=April 7, 2011|url=http://www.canadianbusiness.com/lifestyle/the-ode-stelco-1910-2010/|access-date=June 14, 2016}}{{cite news|title=Stelco Timeline: A story of booms, busts and back again|url=http://www.thespec.com/news-story/2143631-stelco-timeline-a-story-of-booms-busts-and-back-again/|access-date=June 14, 2016|publisher=Hamilton Spectator|date=August 27, 2007|archive-date=August 10, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160810000918/http://www.thespec.com/news-story/2143631-stelco-timeline-a-story-of-booms-busts-and-back-again/|url-status=dead}} Charles S. Wilcox, president of the Hamilton Steel and Iron Company at the time of the consolidation, was appointed the first president of Stelco. He held the position until 1916, continuing on with the company as chairman of the board until his death in 1938.{{cite news|title=Namesakes: Wilcox Street|url=http://www.thespec.com/news-story/3901873-namesakes-wilcox-street/|access-date=June 14, 2016|publisher=Hamilton Spectator|date=July 19, 2013}}

Image:HamiltonWaterfrontTrailB.JPG

Several union drives at the plant were unsuccessful until the founding strike of Local 1005 of the United Steelworkers of America in 1946.

In 2004, Stelco had financial difficulties and went under court-ordered protection from its creditors, including the Deutsche Bank. Stelco exited Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) bankruptcy protection on March 31, 2006.{{cite news|title=Stelco's path to takeover|url=https://www.thestar.com/business/2007/08/28/stelcos_path_to_takeover.html|access-date=June 14, 2016|publisher=Toronto Star|date=December 26, 2012}} Several non-core operations were divested, including Stelwire, Norambar (formerly Stelco McMaster Works) and Welland Pipe. The CCAA exit has seen the remaining operations restructured into nine separate operating businesses held by the corporate entity of Stelco.

On August 27, 2007, U.S. Steel purchased Stelco for $1.9 billion – $1.1 billion in cash and assuming $800 million in debt.{{citation needed |date=February 2019}} The company was renamed Hamilton Works – US Steel Canada. The deal closed on October 31, 2007. The company was renamed U.S. Steel Canada Inc., and its shares were delisted from the Toronto Stock Exchange.

In an effort to streamline operations, U.S. Steel announced on March 3, 2009, that it would be temporarily shutting down its Hamilton plant and most of its Lake Erie plant, putting more than 2,000 people out of work. This announcement came four months after U.S. Steel laid off 700 employees at the Hamilton plant when it shut down its blast furnace.{{cite news| last = Powell| first = Naomi| title = Stelco's Hamilton and Lake Erie plants idled| url=https://www.thestar.com/article/596186| access-date = March 4, 2009 | work=The Star | location=Toronto | date=March 4, 2009}}

Market conditions and declining customer orders prompted U.S. Steel to shut down the Hamilton Works on October 1, 2010.{{cite news| title = Blast Furnace Shut Down Again| url=http://www.900chml.com/Channels/Reg/NewsLocalGeneral/Story.aspx?ID=1288021}} 100 jobs were restored when the German Max Aicher steel company bought two steel mills from US Steel and opened them as "Max Aicher North America."{{Cite web |url=http://www.thespec.com/news/business/article/276313--german-buyer-firing-up-two-shuttered-u-s-steel-mills |title=German buyer firing up two shuttered U.S. Steel mills - TheSpec.com |access-date=November 17, 2010 |archive-date=September 3, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120903015027/http://www.thespec.com/news/business/article/276313--german-buyer-firing-up-two-shuttered-u-s-steel-mills |url-status=dead }} More jobs are expected to be created when the mills are in full production. The Hamilton steel-making and iron-making operations were permanently closed on December 31, 2013.

{{cite news

| title = U.S. Steel to close Hamilton operations

| url = https://www.thestar.com/business/economy/2013/10/29/us_steel_to_close_hamilton_operations.html

| access-date = October 29, 2013

| newspaper = The Toronto Star

| date = October 29, 2013

| agency = Reuters

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131030211047/http://www.thestar.com/business/economy/2013/10/29/us_steel_to_close_hamilton_operations.html

| archive-date = October 30, 2013

| url-status = live

}}

On September 16, 2014, U.S. Steel Canada announced that it would apply for court protection from its creditors.{{Cite news|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/us-steel-canada-files-for-creditor-protection/article20630355/|title = U.S. Steel Canada files for creditor protection}} US Steel then stated that it intended to sell all of its remaining operations in Hamilton in the next two months.{{Cite news|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/us-steel-canada-to-sell-hamilton-works-operations/article20748635/|title = U.S. Steel Canada to sell Hamilton Works operations}}

U.S. Steel Canada was severed from U.S. Steel Corporation in 2015 after it entered CCAA protection in 2014.[https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/news/restructuring-officer-backs-proposed-u-s-steel-canada-deal-1.3832422 CBC News, "Restructuring officer backs proposed U.S. Steel Canada deal," by Kelly Bennett, November 2, 2016 ] In November 2016, a deal was struck to sell U.S. Steel Canada to Bedrock Industries.

On December 2, 2016, the company took the "Stelco" name again. In 2017, an initial public offering raised {{CAD|200 million}} for the company.{{cite news|last1=Deveau|first1=Scott|title=Stelco jumps in trading debut as it goes it alone|url=https://beta.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/investment-ideas/stelco-jumps-in-trading-after-raising-200-million-in-ipo/article36824848/?ref=http://www.theglobeandmail.com&|access-date=November 3, 2017|work=The Globe and Mail|date=November 3, 2017}}

Portions of the Stelco's archives are held at Library and Archives Canada,{{Cite web|date=June 12, 2020|title=The Steel Company of Canada (Stelco) fonds [multiple media]|url=http://collectionscanada.gc.ca/ourl/res.php?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&url_tim=2020-06-12T17%3A41%3A58Z&url_ctx_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Actx&rft_dat=4801595&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fcollectionscanada.gc.ca%3Apam&lang=eng|website=Library and Archives Canada}} Brock University,RG 75-45, Ontario Editorial Bureau fonds, Stelco records, 1951–1989, Brock University Archives, Brock University.{{Cite journal|last=Cameron|first=Chantal|date=May 28, 2015|title=Stelco records, 1951–1989|url=http://dr.library.brocku.ca/handle/10464/6637|language=en}} and the Canadian Centre for Architecture.{{Cite web|last=Architecture (CCA)|first=Canadian Centre for|title=Guide to archival holdings|url=https://www.cca.qc.ca/en/archives/|access-date=June 12, 2020|website=www.cca.qc.ca|language=en}} In January 2021 Stelco added pig iron production capability to its Lake Erie blast furnace.{{Cite web|title=Stelco Commissions Pig-Iron Caster|url=https://www.industrialheating.com/articles/96144-stelco-commissions-pig-iron-caster?v=preview|access-date=February 2, 2021|website=www.industrialheating.com|language=en}}

Stelco purchased a 40% stake in the Hamilton Tiger-Cats professional football team in January 2022.{{cite news|last=Milton|first=Steve|date=March 31, 2022|title=What does the Ticats/Forge new ownership structure all mean?|newspaper=The Hamilton Spectator|url=https://www.thespec.com/sports/hamilton-region/opinion/2022/03/31/what-does-the-ticatsforge-new-ownership-structure-all-mean.html|access-date=18 October 2022}}

In July 2024, it was publicly announced that Cleveland-Cliffs, an American steel manufacturer, was acquiring Stelco for approximately US$2.5 billion.{{Cite web |date=July 15, 2024 |title=Cleveland-Cliffs Announces the Acquisition of Stelco |url=https://www.clevelandcliffs.com/news/news-releases/detail/643/cleveland-cliffs-announces-the-acquisition-of-stelco |access-date=July 15, 2024 |website=Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. |language=en}} The purchase was completed four months later.{{Cite web|url=https://www.clevelandcliffs.com/news/news-releases/detail/661/cleveland-cliffs-completes-acquisition-of-stelco|title=Cleveland-Cliffs Completes Acquisition of Stelco|work=Cleveland-Cliffs|date=November 2024 |access-date=November 19, 2024|language=en}}

File:StelcoTowerJacksonSquare.jpg

Steelmaking in Canada has long been associated with pollution. For example, in 1989, Stelco and Dofasco were listed among the "dirty dozen" polluters in Ontario:

{{blockquote |

"For many years Steeltown's two giants pumped liquid discharges that contained cyanide, phosphorus, ammonia, solvents and phenols straight into Hamilton Harbour. Stelco, in particular, was still pumping more phenols and cyanide into the harbour than it was supposed to in early 1987. But both firms have been cleaning up to meet the terms of a pollution control order imposed on them by Queen's Park [and] the harbour is getting cleaner and supports 58 known species of fish."{{cite news|newspaper=The Toronto Star|date=March 11, 1989|page=D1 and D5|title=The Dirty Dozen|author=Tom Spears}}

}}

Since Stelco ceased steelmaking in 2011, it received less media attention regarding pollution.

The company operates the main Hilton Works in Hamilton, named after the late company president Hugh Hilton, and the Lake Erie Works in Nanticoke on Lake Erie. Until the 2006 restructuring, Stelco's operations also included Stelco McMaster Works in Contrecœur, Quebec and Stelwire (both acquired by ArcelorMittal in 2006 and now operates as ArcelorMittal Long Products Canada – Hamilton-East Complex and Mittal Canada Contrecoeur-Ouest Inc.). The Nanticoke plant was notable because it is of a relatively newer design, and uses far less water.

Stelco Tower, now known as 100 King Street West and associated with Lloyd D. Jackson Square, is an office building in downtown Hamilton where the company's headquarters had been located since the 1970s, but has been completely vacated by Stelco.{{citation needed|date=July 2022}} Stelco's current head office is co-located with their Hamilton Works location at 386 Wilcox Street in Hamilton.

Presidents of the company are:

• Charles Seward Wilcox, 1910–1916
• Robert Hobson, 1916–1926
• Ross H. McMaster, 1926–1945
• Hugh G. Hilton, 1945–1957
• Vincent William Thomas Scully, 1957–1967
• Harold Melvin Griffith, 1967–1971
• J. Peter Gordon, 1971–1976
• John D. Allan, 1976–1987
• Robert Edmond Heneault, 1987–1991 (Stelco Enterprises)
• Frederick Harold Telmer, 1987–1991 (Stelco Steel)
• Robert J. Milbourne, 1991–2003
• James C. Alfano, 1996–2003
• Frederick Harold Telmer, 2003 (interim)
• Courtney Pratt, 2004–2006
• Rodney B. Mott, 2006–2007
• Douglas R. Matthews, 2007–2009
• David J. Rintoul, 2009–2010
• Anton Jura, 2010–2014
• Michael A. McQuade, 2014–2018

{{Reflist}}

• [http://www.hamiltonsteel.ca/ Hamilton Steel]
• [http://www.stahlseite.de/stelco.htm Photos from the Stelco Steel mill ]
• [http://www.lakeeriesteel.com/ Lake Erie Steel]
• [http://www.hamiltoncoke.com/ Hamilton Coke]
• [http://www.lakeeriecoke.com/ Lake Erie Coke]
• [http://www.hamiltonenergy.com/ Hamilton Energy]
• [http://www.lakeerieenergy.com/ Lake Erie Energy] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060517063600/http://www.lakeerieenergy.com/ |date=May 17, 2006 }}
• [http://www.hamiltonland.ca/ Hamilton Land] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070301022223/http://www.hamiltonland.ca/ |date=March 1, 2007 }}
• [http://www.lakeerieland.ca/ Lake Erie Land] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060620185114/http://www.lakeerieland.ca/ |date=June 20, 2006 }}
• [http://www.hlemining.com/ HLE Mining]

{{Hamilton}}

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Category:Steel companies of Canada

Category:Manufacturing companies established in 1910

Category:Companies based in Hamilton, Ontario

Category:Canadian subsidiaries of foreign companies

Category:Companies that have filed for bankruptcy in Canada

Category:1910 establishments in Ontario

Category:Companies formerly listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange

Category:Hamilton Tiger-Cats owners

Category:2017 initial public offerings

Category:2024 mergers and acquisitions