U.S. Steel's Burritt: "We Must Dream Big"

“As we think about the next generation of steelmaking, it is my strong belief that in order to capitalize on our present, we need to adapt, and in fact leverage, the technological societal changes that are all around us while preserving the values, structures and practices that have served us well in the past.” 

U.S. Steel’s investment in Mon Valley Works will do just that, he said, preserving the integrated steelmaking process while adding a state-of-the-art endless casting and rolling facility at its Edgar Thomson Plant and a cost effective and environmentally sound cogeneration facility at its Clairton Plant.

The future success of the steel industry will also depend on attracting, developing and retaining the most talented people to drive innovation. Companies should work together with other like-minded businesses to pull together resources to help prepare and place candidates in the manufacturing and steel industries, said Burritt. Once candidates are hired, it is essential to provide a strong value proposition to ensure that those talented people stay. At U.S. Steel, individual leadership plans are formed to help each employee deliver his or her best work. “At U.S. Steel, we recognize best talent wins,” Burritt added.

“Steel has vital role to play in the creation of a truly sustainable circular economy, grounded in the life-cycle approach,” said Burritt. The U.S. industry has made tremendous strides in environmental stewardship, protecting the environment, employees and community, while under some of the most stringent environmental regulations in the world. U.S. Steel has spent more than $830 million on environmental upgrades in the past three years. The new co-generation plant at Clairton will augment the recent upgrades to prevent sulfur dioxide emissions and reduce particulate matter.

New steel investment, innovative processes and products make this a renaissance time for the U.S. steel industry. “Our domestic industry is recovering from years of unfair trading practices and global overcapacity, in large part because of the [Section] 232 trade remedies that allowed us to reinvest in our businesses,” said Burritt. He credited the Trump administration for understanding the “strategically important role the steel industry plays in our national and economic security.”

Burritt noted that there is still more to do to level the playing field with foreign competitors. “We will continue to advocate for trade that is both free and fair and defend ourselves from those who think the rules don’t apply to them.”

During a later question-and-answer period, Burritt said he doesn’t expect any changes to the current trade environment in the foreseeable future. Even before the Trump administration, the industry worked together with government to address trade issues though traditional trade remedy measures, a trend that U.S. Steel sees continuing. Investments the industry is making in capacity, supply chain and innovation will serve to sustain the industry for years to come.