2 Turcotte-Algoma's 'real deal'.When Denis Denis, king of Portugal: see Diniz. Turcotte's mentor and Algoma Steel ''See also Algoma (Disambiguation) Algoma Steel Corporation (TSX: AGA) was founded in 1902 by Francis Clergue, an American entrepreneur who had settled in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. board member Patrick Lavelle labelled the 45-year-old president and CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. of the Sault Ste. Marie Sault Sainte Marie — pronounced "Soo Saint Marie" (IPA /su seɪnt məˈɹi/) — is the name of two cities on the Saint Marys River, which forms part of the boundary between the United States and Canada. steelmaker as a 'Boy Scout' in a national magazine cover story, Turcotte couldn't really argue about the good-natured dig. The naivety na·ive·ty or na·ïve·ty n. Artlessness or credulity; naiveté. naivety or naïveté Noun the state or quality of being naive Noun 1. fits the profile of the tenacious former Tembec executive who's not afraid to question anything that's considered conventional industry wisdom. Turcotte says he's not afraid to ask "Why can't this be done?' in probing for ways to shave the tax bill, lighting costs or tap into the full intellectual potential of his workforce to find a solution "If you do that, you gain respect and that leads to trust," says the Thunder Bay-raised Turcotte who arrived in September 2002 as Algoma emerged from bankruptcy protection, its second major restructuring in a decade. "If there's enough common ground and you can align people's effort from the board room to the shop floor, you can blow all your competitors away. That's hard to do, but most companies never try." Like many North American North American named after North America. North American blastomycosis see North American blastomycosis. North American cattle tick see boophilusannulatus. steelmakers, Algoma has had its share of tough times with disastrous capital spending capital spending Spending for long-term assets such as factories, equipment, machinery, and buildings that permits the production of more goods and services in future years. projects and an adversarial relationship with its unionized workforce. "Believe me, we're not holding hands singing the company song every morning, we have fundamental disagreements still," says Turcotte. "But this company could not have achieved what it has if everybody wasn't working together, better than it had in the past." [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The leading-edge Direct Strip Production Complex (DSPC DSPC distearoylphosphatidylcholine DSPC Direct Shell Production Casting DSPC Direct Strip Production Complex DSPC Director Strategic Planning Coordination DSPC Digital Studio Picture Control ), a $440 million rolling mill rolling mill: see steel. that almost sank the 3000-employee company, is now producing at full capacity. Turcotte admits paying down the DSPC's massive debt was a "big dragon to slay slay tr.v. slew , slain , slay·ing, slays 1. To kill violently. 2. past tense and past participle often slayed Slang " after the previous management borrowed more than $400 million (US) at high interest rates for what he calls "bleeding edge A pun on "leading edge." It implies that using the latest technology is often risky because it has not been tested with enough users and may not perform as expected. Introducing an advanced product or service is also risky because the user community may not be ready for it or really want "technology." Algoma is now receiving the mill's full benefit after an "atrocious" two-year, startup curve. It's now breaking records in producing more than 1.8 million tonnes of steel on annual basis, with the potential of pushing that to two million tonnes. Ironing out bugs requires full employee involvement, he says. "To move mountains, you gotta engage the hearts and minds and full commitment of all the people involved." Algoma's rags-to-riches story from a debt-ridden, insolvent company to one of world's most efficient steel producers is well documented. Turcotte is given much credit for Algoma's results-oriented attitudinal shift that's improved production performance, focused on debt and cost reductions, and resulted in more outside-the-box thinking in their strategic planning. Their $35 million German SIAG SIAG Survey Instrument, Azimuth Gyroscope joint venture to build wind towers in the Sault turned some heads earlier this year. And although their European partner is undergoing corporate restructuring, Algoma is making contingency plans to still pursue this fast-growing energy market with other international partners. The concept made sense to Turcotte as a way of adding value to their lower cost "as-rolled" plate, which will be laser-profiled for wind tower assembly. He's also been lauded for staring down the aggressive advances last spring from New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of hedge fund hedge fund, in finance, a highly speculative, largely unregulated investment device. Originating in the 1950s, the funds "hedge" by offsetting "short" positions (borrowing a security and then selling it at a higher price before repaying the lender) against "long" Paulson & Co., which held a 19 per cent stake in Algoma, and wanted a $420 million payout to shareholders. Both parties avoided a special shareholders' vote and compromised on a $200-million share buyback, which was completed in September. "You always try to find solutions even with your adversaries." Unlike his CEO predecessors, who tended to concentrate on the core business when markets soured or spend lavishly on massive mill projects that floundered, Turcotte isn't willing to "bet the farm" on first out-of-the-box technologies, but focus instead on projects that "strategically make sense." "He's the real deal," says Peter Warrian, a leading steel industry analyst and a senior research fellow at the University of Toronto's Munk Centre for International Studies The Munk Centre for International Studies, part of the University of Trinity College, a federated college of the University of Toronto, is devoted to the study of numerous issues of international significance. . He calls Turcotte a "terrific asset," mentioning him in the same breathe as IPSCO president Roger Phillips, also a steel industry outsider who transformed the Saskatchewan plate and pipe maker into a North American leader. "Never mistake brains for sheer luck," says Warrian. "Denis is a humble guy and he'll tell you that, too, but he's got a success story in spite of (improved) steel prices, because there's plenty of lousy stories out there, too." Warrian says Algoma is intelligently reinvesting while also exploring long-term strategic interests. "Within conventional wisdom, Algoma tried everything in the book. You needed someone who had a different kind of play book." Even today, with relatively healthy markets, Algoma announced a $59.5 million third quarter profit, the company is planning for the inevitable rainy day when steel prices dip. "You gotta grab control of what you do have control of," says Turcotte. "Always assume the market's going to fall apart tomorrow. You've got to always be a little bit nervous and apprehensive." But for Algoma to survive as an independent producer, especially with global sharks like Mittal Steel in full acquisition mode, striking some sort of strategic alliance or partnership is essential, says Warrian. The company is out exploring alliances with non-competitive players in South America, Europe and Asia to develop new products, new technology and source materials. "We will look at anything that fits within our strategic framework," says Turcotte. "We see positive things developing over the next 12 to 18 months." Says Warrian: "The steel industry is not the place for orphans. Each consolidation story is different, but the physics are clear, they've got to bulk up to be able to deal with commodity prices upstream as well as the auto industry downstream. They're not big enough to do that. "Either you're the meat in the sandwich or you need bigger elbows, and they're opting for bigger elbows." www.algoma.com By IAN ROSS Northern Ontario Business Northern Ontario Business is a Canadian magazine, which publishes monthly in Greater Sudbury, Ontario. The magazine covers business news and issues in Northern Ontario. QUICK FACTS Algoma Steel CEO DenisTurcotte Raised: Thunder Bay Born: 1961 Claim to fame: Lead Algoma to be one of the world's most efficient steel producers |
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