Steel Mills
Big River Steel CEO John Correnti Dead at Age 68
Written by John Packard
August 19, 2015
A huge hole has been made in the heart the US steel industry. Big River Steel CEO John Correnti died this morning while on an out-of-town business trip.
John Correnti, 68, was no stranger to the development of steel mills. His plan to build the mini-mill in Osceola, Ark. was backed by almost 50 years of experience in the steel industry.
Correnti began his steel experience in 1969 in construction management at US Steel. He joined Nucor Corporation in 1980 as manager of construction and developed methods that cut construction time of new steel facilities by 50 percent. He was promoted to Vice President in 1984 then to Chief Operating Officer. Correnti took over as president of Nucor following Ken Iverson’s resignation in 1991 and then as Nucor’s president and CEO from 1996 to 1999.
In 2000 he led a successful proxy fight to take over Birmingham Steel and then served as its CEO and Chairman until its sale to Nucor in 2002. Correnti moved on to develop SteelCorr, LLC as Chairman, CEO and President. He founded SeverCorr LLC in 2005, which eventually became Severstal Columbus LLC, and served as its President and CEO until 2008. The Mississippi mill is now owned by Steel Dynamics
John Correnti was the CEO of Steel Development Company LLC since 1994 as well as a director and member of the audit committee of the Corrections Corporation of America since 2000.
He received a Bachelor of Science degree in civil engineering from Clarkson University and maintained a home in Blytheville, Ark.
Mr. Correnti was well thought of in the steel industry community and will be missed for his passion, humor and drive.
John Packard
Read more from John PackardLatest in Steel Mills
AHMSA opens doors to potential buyers as $1.3B asset auction nears
AHMSA is opening its doors to potential buyers to tour its steel plant and mining operations in northern Mexico in preparation for the next stage of its bankruptcy process: the auction of its assets.
USW seeks clarity on USS plans for Granite City Works
The United Steelworkers union has asked U.S. Steel to elaborate on its Granite City Works plans following reports that the steelmaker is ending processing at the facility.
Nucor maintains plate prices, opens October order book
Nucor aims to keep plate prices flat for a seventh straight month with the opening of its October order book.
ArcelorMittal Mexico to import from sister mills as it works to resume DRI production
ArcelorMittal has partially restarted operations at its direct reduction plant in Lazaro Cardenas, Michoacan. An explosion on Aug. 18 rocked the massive steelworks on Mexico’s Pacific coast, impacting production of direct-reduced iron (DRI).
Fall maintenance outages are coming in hot
Labor Day has passed, the sun is starting to set a little earlier each day, and cooler weather has begun to find its way down to many of us across North America. And you know what that means for the steel industry… Fall maintenance outages!