Costs of consolidation. (Scrap Industry News).Consolidation is proposed as the solution to the steel industry's problems. But Phillip Casey, 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 Gerdau AmeriSteel Corp., Tampa, Fla., says there is nothing easy about the process of consolidation. "I can assure you, there is all kinds of hell going on," he told attendees of the Steel Scrap 101 Seminar, held in St. Louis in mid-February. "We're in essence trying to consolidate four separate company cultures into one during a time when conditions are tough." The side effects Side effects Effects of a proposed project on other parts of the firm. of consolidation are tough on everyone involved, Casey indicated, including employees, managers, customers and suppliers. While there has been some merger activity already, more appears poised to occur. Major changes seem certain on the integrated steelmaking side, where the International Steel Group (ISG ISG Iraq Study Group ISG Iraq Survey Group ISG International Steel Group ISG Integrated Security Gateway ISG Information Systems Group ISG Information Systems Group (IBM) ISG Integrated Starter/Generator ), Cleveland; AK Steel, Middletown, Ohio Middletown is an All-American City[2] located in Butler and Warren counties in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Ohio. Formerly in Lemon, Turtlecreek, and Franklin townships, Middletown was incorporated by the Ohio General Assembly on February 11, 1833, and ; and U.S. Steel The United States Steel Corporation (NYSE: X) is an integrated steel producer with major production operations in the United States and Central Europe. The company is the world's seventh-largest steel producer ranked by sales (see list of steel producers). Corp., Pittsburgh, are bidding against each other to acquire most of the integrated capacity in the U.S. "Imagine the kind of trauma they are going to interject in·ter·ject tr.v. in·ter·ject·ed, in·ter·ject·ing, in·ter·jects To insert between other elements; interpose. See Synonyms at introduce. into this drama," Casey remarked. Casey said that the role of an executive in these times is also challenging. "You have to be visible to people [and] encourage them to take care of the customers and not worry about their job security." Customers may have to adjust to working with much leaner office staffs at steel companies, Casey indicated, pointing out the lean management model of ISG in particular. "Imagine how many communication chains are going to be broken," he remarked. "Customers are being ripped out of their comfort zones." Ultimately, Casey said he believes there will be from three to five integrated steelmakers left in the U.S. and three to five major"bar producers" on the mini-mill side. "During the next 24 months, [corporate] names that have been around for 100 years will disappear. Small regional mills are going to have a hard time competing," he declared, "not because they don't have talented managers [but] because of a lack of access to capital." The Steel Scrap 101 Seminar was hosted in St. Louis in February by the Institute of Scrap Recycling recycling, the process of recovering and reusing waste products—from household use, manufacturing, agriculture, and business—and thereby reducing their burden on the environment. Industries Inc. and the Steel Manufacturers Association. |
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