According to an article from The Associated Press,"A judge has ordered steelmaker Severstal Wheeling to temporarily stop removing equipment from its Beech Bottom plant.

Ohio County Circuit Judge James Mazzone granted the United Steelworkers' request for a preliminary injunction Tuesday. He says that allows time for a hearing on the matter within the next 10 days.

The union believes the company is moving equipment to a nonunion Wheeling Corrugating plant in Virginia.

But Severstal spokeswoman Marika Diamond told The Intelligencer the equipment came from plants in Indiana and Minnesota that closed last year.

She says it never ran or operated at Beech Bottom; it was only stored there. Diamond declined comment on the union's action."

This is a followup to the article in Steel Market Update's last newsletter which reported that "according to the Severstal NA spokesperson, “The equipment that you are referring to came out of other Wheeling Corrugating facilities in Indiana and Minneapolis, which were closed in 2009. The equipment was only stored at Beach Bottom, but never ran or operated at Beach Bottom. Although I cannot comment on the Union’s recent action, the union was made aware of this move several weeks ago.”

Industry sources told Steel Market Update on Monday evening a portion of the equipment came from a former decking plant located in Gary, Indiana and the balance of the equipment was from a building products plant closed in Minneapolis, MN. The equipment was being moved so that it could be refurbished and then moved to where it was needed.

Wheeling Corrugating has shut down a number of plants due to the economic crisis which has hit the construction markets especially hard over the past few years.

Our sources advised SMU the president of the United Steelworkers had been advised of the pending move and he had agreed to it. The issue is strictly a local one with the Local 1238 leadership."

One of our sources today told SMU that Wheeling Corrugating is in the process of looking at its options to have the injunction removed.